The Looney Tunes are “Back in Action” to save the world

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Starring Jenna Elfman, Brendan Fraser and…

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Starring Jenna Elfman, Brendan Fraser and Steve Martin

Directed by Joe Dante

Cartoons, fine art and the movie industry are not safe from the snappy humor and amusing parodies that make up the film “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” Live action and familiar Looney Tunes cartoon characters collide on a crazy adventure to save all of humanity from being changed into monkeys. However, the journey is just as amusing as the destination, and, as the movie goes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Paris to Africa, there’s plenty to laugh about.

Daffy Duck and security guard D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) are both fired from the Warner Brothers Studio on the same day, after a fiasco with the water tower. Daffy follows Drake home, and together, they discover that Drake’s father is really a super-secret spy, not just an actor who plays one in the movies. As Daffy and Drake head to Los Angeles to save Damien Drake, Bugs Bunny and “V.P. of Comedy” Kate Hughton (Jenna Elfman) chase after the pair in order to re-hire Daffy.

Both the cartoon characters and real-life stars poke fun at themselves in the movie. In one scene, Mathew Lillard, the actor who portrayed Shaggy in the live-action Scooby Doo movie, is conversing with cartoon Shaggy and Scooby Doo about his portrayal over lunch. Fraser’s character, D.J. Drake, says he was the stuntman in the Mummy movies and was on camera more than “that Fraser guy.” These moments are entertaining and aren’t overdone, and provide a little comic relief for the adults in the audience.

Other gags and inside jokes were used throughout the film, some easy to laugh at and some flashing on the screen so fast that they were hard to catch. When a Wal-Mart appears in the middle of the desert, Elfman’s character explains that the audience won’t even notice how strange this is because they are used to product placement. Other strange occurrences in the movie are dismissed with those clever one-liners. After Bugs Bunny explains a type of painting to the audience and defeats Elmer Fudd, he remarks that the audience should learn something when they go to the movies.

Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the evil head of the Acme Corporation, is a nerdy, bad guy who doesn’t believe that his Acme products are shoddy, even when they malfunction in his control room. His board members have silly titles, such as “V.P. of Stating the Obvious.” Martin uses a loud, nasal voice and a bow-legged, shuffling walk to keep the humor going with his character. While Martin is a definite asset to the film, he doesn’t dominate the comedy with his scenes. There’s plenty to laugh about during every part of the movie.

Most of all, “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” is more than a film for kids and cartoon freaks. There’s something for everyone to laugh at, and the jokes come fast, so the waiting time for laughter is not very long. For an entertaining time at the movies, “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” is a pretty safe bet.