HBO Max, Cartoon Network to Bow ‘Bye Bye Bunny’

John Hopewell
·2 min read
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Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang will be back in a Broadway-set “Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical,” the first-ever Looney Tunes Original animated movie musical, which is produced by Warner Bros. Animation.

Envisaged as a family event, “Bye Bye Bunny” will screen on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.

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The announcement brought to a climax a mega studio focus on Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios Hanna -Barbera Studios Europe held at France’s Annecy Festival where the three studios presented an early look at some of their latest and greatest projects coming soon.

With a screenplay and lyrics by Emmy Award winner Ariel Dumas, a head writer on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and huge Looney Tunes fan, “Bye Bye Bunny” shows Warner Bros. Animation pursuing one of its main mandates: Drawing upon the studio’s voluminous library vault in animation and then bringing its heritage into the modern age.

In this case, the movie musical will feature original dynamic song and dance numbers and new orchestrations from the Warner Bros. library of legendary movie musicals, WBA announced Wednesday,

In a meta twist, the musical also reflects on the state of Bugs Bunny after so many years in the limelight.

After starring in a long-running Looney Tunes Broadway smash production, an exhausted Bugs Bunny decides it’s time to trade in sold-out shows for life as a regular rabbit, the synopsis runs.

That opens the door for the ever attraction -loving Daffy Duck to bid to step into the lead role – until he is kidnapped by an obsessive fan who, WBA explains, has more sinister plans for her favorite stage duck.

“With his ticket to Broadway retirement in danger, Bugs sets off on a rescue mission to find Daffy and, with the help of his Looney Tunes co-stars, hopefully, his joy of performing again,” the synopsis ends.

Pulitzer Prize, Tony and Grammy award-winner Tom Kitt (“Next to Normal”) oversees music and orchestration. Veteran animator Brandon Jeffords (“Vivo,” “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”) serves as director and supervising producer.

Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, is the movie’s executive producer.

“Bugs Bunny on Broadway? Yes, please! This musical gives off old Hollywood and Broadway vibes while offering a new, modern way to sing along to this one-of-a-kind Looney Tunes movie with the whole family,” said Amy Friedman, head of kids & family programming, Warner Bros.

Register agreed: ”Mayhem and music have helped define the comedic genius of the Looney Tunes for decades. It is a pairing that has created some of the greatest cartoons of our time, and it’s going to be a thrill to add our own musical stamp to these characters.”

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