Even at my age, sometimes, you just have to indulge your inner child. There are a handful of things that I've never outgrown. One of them is the art form known as animation. I've always loved cartoons. When I was a kid (and this really shows my age), there were only three television networks and on Saturday mornings all of them showed animated programs aimed at kids who had the weekends away from school. Although I experimented with other networks from time to time, I always had a special place in my heart for CBS because in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for an hour and a half each Saturday, they would broadcast old Warner Brothers cartoons. They were essentially introduced to me by my dad who would get up with me and watch them as well--he always had a fondness for the Road Runner.
(SPECIAL
NOTE: It's important to remember that these animated shorts were
originally shown in theaters just before Warner Brothers feature films.
In a documentary I once saw about Warner Brothers animation, one of the
directors at the famed "Termite Terrace" animation studio--and, sadly, I
forget which director--said that Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were
never intended for children. He said that they made them to amuse
themselves. If nothing else, this reinforces a long-held theory of mine
that when someone does something creative, it's done primarily for that
very purpose.)
Today,
it's easy to get sentimental about it as it was one of those father/son
activities that I look back on with fondness, like playing chess or
going to the movies. But at the same time, it instilled in me a
fascination with animation that persists to this day. And even though
I've read about and researched and watched all sorts of cartoons ranging
from Walt Disney and Hayao Miyazaki to Seth MscFarlane and Matt
Groening, the classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies will forever be
my favourites. I've always said that Bugs Bunny is a personal hero of
mine, which I know sounds weird, but it's absolutely true. Bugs
represents the charming, dashing smart-ass that I long to be in life.
In reality, sadly, I'm probably more like Daffy Duck, but Bugs still
remains aspirational. (For more on this, you can read what I wrote
three years ago and re-posted on this blog last August.)
When
I first saw the trailer to this week's film, I got super excited. When
it was released in November of 2003, I was there opening night. My
mother was living with me at the time (like so much in my life--long
story), and I dragged her to the theater with me. In hindsight, it was
kind of gracious of her to go along because she never particularly liked
cartoons. The theater was packed--admittedly, most of them were there
to see the Russell Crowe film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,
which just happened to open the same day. I'll always remember that
after the movie, as we were leaving the theater, Mom witnessed some guy
do something really stupid. I didn't see it, but I presume he was
trying to impress some woman. She looked at me and asked if men ever
grow up. I said, "You're asking this of a man who's almost 30 years old
and just took you to see a movie because Bugs Bunny was in it. What do
you think?"
And
while it may not be the most fondly remembered Looney Tunes adventure, I
still revisit it from time to time and it always puts a smile on my
face. Like it's predecessor, 1996's Space Jam, this film
combined both animation and live action. In the film, Brendan Fraser
plays DJ Drake, a security guard at Warner Brothers who wants to be a
stunt performer. He also wants desperately to make it on his own and
get out of the shadow of his father, superspy action star Damien Drake
(Timothy Dalton spoofing his James Bond image). After getting fired
from his job by studio exec Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), DJ--now being
essentially stalked by the also recently-fired Daffy Duck--receives a
message from Damien who turns out to actually be a superspy who's been
captured whilst on a mission to find the elusive diamond known as the
Blue Monkey before it falls into the hands of the evil head of the Acme
corporation (Steve Martin). Written by Larry Doyle, directed by Joe
Dante, and featuring appearances by Heather Locklear, Joan Cusack,
Matthew Lillard, Jeff Gordon, Roger Corman, and Ron Perlman, please
enjoy Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Until
next week, stay safe, be good to your neighbours, and please remember
that if you don't find a rabbit with lipstick amusin', you and I have
nuttin' to say to each other.
Yours in peace, love, and rock 'n' roll!
The Reverend Will the Thrill
