Synopsis
When I heard about Loonatics Unleashed the cartoon show, I like many heard it from the web critics. “We can’t stand it”, “It’s ruining the image of the Looney Tunes”, or just simply “It sucks” were their cries. However, what I also found interesting in my research is that these comments mostly came before the show even aired. So, the web critics sport superhero abilities I see. They should be villains on this show. Anyhow, needless to say I was a little worried when I saw it at t…e end of my review queue. But what I did find was a little gem of a cartoon show.
Loonatics Unleashed is the story of six superheroes, all descendants from the Looney Tunes greats. They also for the most part act akin to their classic counterparts or are a combination of the classic and their Tiny Toons counterpart. The characters are Ace Bunny (Bugs Bunny & Buster Bunny), Lexi Bunny (kinda like Babs Bunny from Tiny Toons but more or less specifically made just for the show), Danger Duck (Daffy), Tech E. Coyote (Wile E. Coyote), Slam Tasmanian (combo of Taz & Dizzy Devil), and Rev Runner (combo of Road Runner & Little Beeper). But these superheros have super powers and are somewhat predictable according to the character it is based on. Rev Runner runs at super sonic speed, Tech E. Coyote can build tons of gadgets and regenerate at will (because Wile E. Coyote used to fall off cliffs and appear unscratched by the next scene…okay I will stop with the history lesson). Anyhow, these superheroes get their superpowers from a renegade meteor and form a team to fight various villains (some voiced by rather famous people; Tim Curry, Michael Clarke Duncan & Florence Henderson to name a few).
There are pros and cons to this show. However, lucky for us there are more good things working here than bad. First, there is a lot of funny banter back and forth. The jokes come quickly, whether it’s pulling out the classic joke relay of “No I’m Not, Yes You are, No I’m Not, Yes You are, Yes You Are, No I’m Not! or even a little humor that can be panned to the adults. Like when the guy characters see a hot female villain or Danger Duck’s “appreciation” of Misty Breeze. However, the jokes do sometimes become cornball because they come too fast and too many. It’s often throwing some many things and seeing what sticks philosophy that works against them. The characters also don’t have much depth, so unless we just really like them; we aren’t given a reason to. Not to mention some side characters (Zodavia, the mysterious supervisor of the Loonatics that acts like she’s Charlie from Charlie’s Angels for one) are just plain annoying. However, there is a lot of good fun here and honestly more hits than misses in the action/comedy department.
Video
The video is in the standard 1.33:1 television aspect ratio. The characters have a certain anime style to them along with their classic counterparts shapes to make them recognizable to the fans. There are a lot of bright & vibrant colors and good things working here. The scenery is well done, and honestly it reminds me a little bit of the way they do the Batman Animated scenery work which is always appreciated. Nothing glaring here to cast down upon.
Audio
Audio we get in Dolby Digital Surround 2.0 in English Only. Standard fare for cartoon shows these days, this sounds good but for an action show we don’t get too many wow special effects sounds. The dialog between the characters is clear and can easily be heard, so overall a positive effect.
Special Features
Automatic Trailers: The extras start on disc two. We get trailers when we pop in the disc for Justice League Unlimited Season 2 and Batman Beyond Season 3. (I need to pick up the latter).
Trailers: The Batman Season 3, Teen Titans Season 3(also need to get this one), Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (ditto), What is New Scooby Doo? Season 1, and the teaser trailer to the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.
Loonatics Unleashed: Villain Invasion: The final extra is in the form of a dvd remote game. You are trying to shoot the meteors out of the sky with your remote before they hit Acmetropolis. Problem is that the instructions aren’t very good and it’s near impossible to hit anything (which either means I need to replace my remote’s batteries or they just didn’t take much time to make this). A 10 minute featurette on the villains of the first season would have been much better time used.
Final Thoughts
This is a situation of don’t always believe the critics. Loonatics Unleashed is a fun, charming show full of cool superheroes (Danger Duck & Tech E. Coyote are my two favorites) & interesting villains that we wish we could get to know more. The issues here are that we get very little origin and back story. The first episode alone we are thrown into a plot and it never stops moving forward until the last couple episodes of the season where they reveal a little more. By that time however, we have already come up with our own theories so it’s a moot point. The comedy is good, but a little cornball and it comes together in a nice package. The discs itself are the standard fare that most shows get these day. Good video, decent audio, and nearly no extras to speak of (unless you like trailers for other WB cartoon shows). If you have kids who are into superhero shows but are a bit younger you should give this a try. Parents themselves might also find it funny and able to watch which is more than you can say of some cartoon shows out there these days.
Episodes
Loonatics on Ice
Attack of the Fuzz Balls
Cloak of Black Velvet
Weathering Heights
Going Underground
The Comet Cometh
The World is My Circus
Stop the World I Want to Get Off
Sypher
The Menace of Mastermind
Time After Time
Acmegeddon – Part I
Acmegeddon – Part II
Special Features List
- Automatic Trailers (2)
- Trailers (5)
- Loonatics Unleashed: Villain Invasion (DVD Remote Game)
Screenshots
