Looney Tunes: Back in Action (PG, 2003)

This live action/animated feature begins when Daffy Duck – jealous of Bugs Bunny's high-profile career -- is let go by the studio after he demands more money and attention. But Daffy soon gets caught up in a plot involving the kidnapping of secret agent Damien Drake (played by Timothy Dalton) by the evil chairman of the Acme Corporation (Steve Martin). With help from the Drake's son (Brendan Fraser), Daffy embarks on a mission to rescue the kidnapped spy. Meanwhile, Bugs and a Warner Brothers executive (Jenna Elfman) decide that Daffy is an integral part of the Looney Tunes gang.

The subversive spirit of the Looney Tunes is in good hands in LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION. Director Joe Dante is clearly a fan and he keeps the jokes coming. There are movie parodies (Psycho, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), throwaway gags, and lots of all-out mayhem, especially a wildly surreal romp through the paintings at the Louvre. And though Wile E. Coyote is now ordering online from Acme.com, the goodies are just as outrageous and subject to Murphy's Law as ever.

Live-action performers Brendan Fraser, Timothy Dalton, Steve Martin, and Joan Cusack, all have fun, but they can't steal the movie from Bugs, Daffy, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweetie Pie, Marvin Martian, the Tasmanian Devil, Pepe LePew, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, and of course Mr. Coyote.

Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Joe Dante
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 90 minutes
Theatrical release: November 14, 2003
DVD release: March 2, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: some mild language and innuendo