Barnes & Noble

The anarchic spirit of "Termite Terrace" -- birthplace to the holy ‘toon trinity of Porky, Daffy, and Bugs -- is strong within director Joe Dante. The Gremlins maestro unleashes his inner Tex Avery and Chuck Jones with this madcap comedy that adds luster to the Warner Bros. stable of wildly unstable characters. The story has something to do with a frantic cross-country odyssey to retrieve Daffy, who has been unjustly fired by a clueless Warner Bros. exec (Jenna Elfman). Accompanying her is DJ Drake (Brendan Fraser), a studio security guard who has also been unceremoniously bounced. Bugs is also along for the ride to supply a steady stream of wisecracks and wreak the usual animated mayhem. There is also some nonsense about Drake's movie star dad (Timothy Dalton) being an actual secret agent, and the sinister head of the dreaded Acme Corporation (Steve Martin) plotting to make a monkey of everyone, literally. But never mind: All that matters is the breakneck barrage of non sequiturs, movie references, gratuitous product placements, cameos (Heather Locklear, Joan Cusack), and in-joke appearances by colleagues from Dante's B-movie days (Mary Woronov, Dick Miller, Roger Corman). Back in Action slam-dunks Space Jam on every level, most impressively in the seamless integration of live-action, animation, and clever writing. The sequence in which Elmer chases Bugs and Daffy through a succession of masterpieces in the Louvre is suitable for framing in its own right. And whoever came up with the idea of making Yosemite Sam a Las Vegas saloon owner is not being paid enough. Looney Tunes may have been a box-office disappointment, but expect this unjustly neglected gem to see plenty of action on home video. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

In a land where cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood people work side by side, one little black duck lands in a big pot of trouble in this comedy, which brings the beloved Looney Tunes characters into the real world. Daffy Duck (voice of Joe Alaskey) has grown tired of his status as Warner Bros.' leading avian second fiddle and demands that if he can't be given equal billing with his rival Bugs Bunny (also voiced by Alaskey), he wants to be released from his contract. Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), Warners' vice president in charge of comedy, is way ahead of Daffy and orders studio stuntman D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to kick the duck off the studio lot. D.J. soon discovers getting rid of Daffy is no easy task, and the duck is in tow when Drake makes a startling discovery -- his father Damien Drake (Timothy Dalton), a movie star best know for playing ultra-suave secret agents, really is a secret agent, and he's been kidnapped by Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the evil leader of the monolithic Acme Corporation. Damien knows the secret hiding place of the priceless Blue Monkey Diamond and Mr. Chairman will stop at nothing to get it, so D.J. and Daffy set out to rescue Damien and save the diamond, one step behind Acme's musclemen and one step ahead of Kate and Bugs, who now realize how important Daffy is to the Looney Tunes franchise. Looney Tunes: Back in Action also stars Heather Locklear as a lounge singer working for Yosemite Sam (voice of Steve Babiar), Joan Cusack, John Cleese, Stan Freberg, and Roger Corman. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 085393324728
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 1:32:00
• Sales Rank: 43,917

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Family Comedies: 4 Film Favorites

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