Looney Tunes Cartoons

Did You Know?

• 10 episodes centering around Bugs were included as bonus features on the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set on December 1, 2020.
• The first season became available on iTunes on August 29, 2021.
• The full series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 19, 2026.

Production

In 2017, after finishing Uncle Grandpa for Cartoon Network, Pete Browngardt met with Warner Bros. creative executive Audrey Diehl at a lunch meeting. During the discussion, he expressed a desire to direct a Looney Tunes short in the spirit of the classic 1940s cartoons. Diehl arranged a meeting with studio president Sam Register. Browngardt began casting, hiring Eric Bauza, and recruited Jim Soper as a character designer after admiring his art on Instagram. Warner Bros. Animation announced the series in June 2018, stating it would consist of 1,000 minutes spread across 1–6 minute shorts each season, release in 2019, and feature marquee characters voiced by their current voice actors in simple gag-driven and visually vibrant stories. The style recalls classic Looney Tunes shorts, particularly those by Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Register and Browngardt serve as executive producers. Jim Soper designed the characters, with model sheets copyrighted from 2018. Initial designs appeared in the Warner Bros. Animation logo shown before Teen Titans Go! To the Movies and subsequent direct-to-video films; that logo featured Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, was directed and storyboarded by Browngardt, and animated by Eric Goldberg. Animation direction was handled by Joey Capps, who previously worked on Adult Swim's Superjail! The series includes most of the Looney Tunes repertoire, with some one-off characters receiving second appearances. Featured characters include Bugs Bunny, Daffy, Tweety, Sylvester, Porky, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Granny, Marvin the Martian, Beaky and Mama Buzzard, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Cecil Turtle, Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, Cicero Pig, Taz, Gossamer, Dr. Frankenbeans, Witch Hazel, Petunia Pig, Rocky and Mugsy, Clancy Cop, the Gashouse Gorillas, the Russian Dog, Doctor Quack, Foghorn Leghorn, Barnyard Dawg, Hector the Bulldog, the Dead End Kid, Pete Puma, Hubie and Bertie, Claude Cat, Gruesome Gorilla and the Mrs., the Gremlin, Miss Prissy, Marc Antony and Pussyfoot, K-9, Charlie Dog, and the Three Bears.

Release

The series debuted at Annecy before its first ten episodes hit HBO Max on May 27, 2020. Another twenty episodes followed by April 29, 2021. Cartoon Network aired the show starting July 5, 2021, as a tie-in for Space Jam: A New Legacy. On April Fools' Day, ACME Night ran a marathon featuring Bugs Bunny pranking illusionist Kevin Parry. Internationally, Teletoon in Canada began on October 11, 2020. Cartoon Network in Australia and New Zealand started April 23, 2021. Boomerang in the UK, Ireland, and Central and Eastern Europe premiered June 7, 2021. Japan’s Cartoon Network debuted August 15, 2021.

Reception

The first ten shorts debuted at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2019 and received very positive reactions, described as true to the spirit of the original Looney Tunes shorts. Oneofus.net noted the shorts were manic, beautifully animated, with amazing voice acting and music that recaptured the originals. The official HBO Max launch of the first ten episodes also drew positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported an 88% approval rating based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 8.00/10, and a critics' consensus calling it a vibrantly goofy return to form. Metacritic gave a weighted score of 71 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews.

Spin-off feature film

A feature film based on the series, titled The Day the Earth Blew Up, was directed by Browngardt and co-written by Kevin Costello of Tom & Jerry. It centers on Daffy Duck and Porky Pig trying to stop an alien invasion. The film was released in theaters on March 14, 2025. Originally set for HBO Max, it was announced on August 22, 2022, that the film would not move forward on that platform and would be shopped elsewhere. A one-minute clip was released on September 22, 2022, for the Ottawa International Animation Festival. On October 26, 2023, a theatrical release was announced; GFM Animation launched sales at the American Film Market from October 31 to November 5, 2023, where first look footage was shown.