LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (2003) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Timothy Dalton, Joan Cusack, Heather Locklear, Bill Goldberg, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin Martian, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Tweety, Porky Pig and Foghorn Leghorn. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Director of photography Dean Cudney. Screenplay by Larry Doyle. Directed by Joe Dante. Rated PG. Approx. 90 mins.
A massive cornucopia of in-jokes and movie references propel Looney Tunes: Back in Action to the extent your brain nearly overloads.
This superb blend of live action and animation is a loosey-goosey feature utilizing all the stock Warner Bros. animation characters as well as a plethora of live action and cartoon cameos.
The silly plot revolves around the recovery of the fabled and mysterious Blue Monkey diamond, sought by the evil Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin) of the Acme Corp. The diamond has the power to transform humans into monkeys, a ploy Mr. Chairman will use to employ cheap labor to manufacture his products. He then will revert the primates to people so they can buy his merchandise.
Well, what were you expecting, Hamlet?
To the rescue comes DJ Drake (Brendan Fraser) a recently fired studio security guard and aspiring stuntman; Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), a studio vice president whose job hangs in the balance because she fired Daffy Duck; the greedy and grasping Daffy, under the delusion that he is the hero of the film; and that Oscar-winning rabbit, Bugs Bunny, who is out to woo Daffy back to the studio.
Beside recovering the diamond, DJ must rescue his father, Damian Drake (Timothy Dalton), the studio's top star who specializes in playing suave international spies on screen. It turns out that's a cover for his real job -- a suave international spy.
The elder Drake has been kidnapped by Mr. Chairman, who is trying to force him to reveal the diamond's secret location.
The story is a trifle, but it speeds along at a dizzying pace.
Director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Gremlins 2, The Howling, Matinee) unleashes his film buff geek side -- a compliment, I assure you, -- as he throws in references and homages from Finding Nemo, Psycho, This Island Earth, Forbidden Planet and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, just to name a few.
And the throw-away bit in a restaurant with actor Matthew Lillard is a scream.
Where Dante, along with screenwriter Larry Doyle, a former Simpsons writer, succeed is in keeping the animated actors in character.
Daffy remains egomaniacal, selfish, grasping and self-centered. Bugs is the cool, wise-guy rabbit. Elmer Fudd continues to be outwitted by the rabbit and duck, Yosemite Sam retains his bombastic personality, keeping his blustery short fuse lit and Wile E. Coyote still puts his faith in Acme products to help achieve his goals.
As for the live-action performers, Fraser is wonderfully tongue-in-cheek and self-depricating; Elfman is winning; Dalton shows a sense of humor spoofing his James Bond image; and Martin is hilariously brave, acting almost like a living cartoon character, nearly reminiscent of Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Mention also should be made of Joan Cusack, who turns in another of her ongoing oddball performances as the head of the secret base, Area 52.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a hoot, loads of fun for the whole family. It's silly, but smart, dead-on entertainment that will leave you grinning. Perhaps, if the movie does well, that won't be all, folks.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies. Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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