Cloaked Critic Reviews Bah, Humduck!

!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!

Released in 2006, "Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas" is literally the last decent thing Warner Bros. did with the Looney Tunes before atrocities like "Loonatics Unleashed" and "The Looney Tunes Show". This movie was the Looney Tunes' answer to "Mickey's Once (and Twice) Upon A Christmas". Incidentally, this film actually marks the second time that the Looney Tunes would parody Dickens' Christmas Carol. The first time was in a segment exclusive to "Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales" from 1979 where Sam played as Scrooge and Bugs also played as a Nephew Fred/Charles Dickens-type character much like in this movie. However and quite surprisingly Daffy did not appear in that special. I guess you could say this movie makes up for his absence back then.

Even though this movie is intended to be a parody of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" I personally think it shares more parallels with "Scrooged". Just the overall tone, feel, and setting, and even Daffy's comedic mannerisms liken this movie more to the 1988 film starring Bill Murray then the classic Dickens' book. Also the way Granny and Sam beat the hell out of Daffy reminds me of how the Ghost of Christmas Present in "Scrooged" delighted in hitting and slapping Bill Murray's character. In that sense, I suppose this would make this movie inadvertently a parody of a parody...of course considering this is Warner Bros that would actually make sense and be quite fitting. I could honestly make the same argument for the Animaniacs cartoon, "A Christmas Plotz"; which also bared similairites to the Bill Murry comedy.

The movie is exactly what you'd expect and want from a film starring the Looney Tunes. It's chopped to the brim full wild wacky slapstick and hijinks and clever well-written jokes and innuendo making it a comical treat for Looney Tunes fans of all ages. The animation is so crisp and clean it just takes me back to the Silver Age of Animation and prior Looney Tunes films that brought joyful tears to my eyes. Even if you didn't like "Space Jam" or "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" you can't deny that both films were beautifully animated by skilled and talented artists who took pride in their craft...boy, I sure miss those days. In addition to the spectacular animation quality this movie also sports a very impressive jazzy soundtrack courtesy of the talented Gordon Goodwin who's musical genius helped make films like "National Treasure", "Bad Boys II", "The Incredibles", "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes", and "Gone in 60 Seconds" the pop culture treasures that they are...he was also the music for Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Freakazoid too.

Even though Daffy's playing a scrooge-like role in this flick he's still the same crazed Daffy Duck we know and love and constantly winds up getting walloped all throughout this movie as a result of his own clumsiness and arrogance-driven stupidity. Bugs Bunny reprises his role from the first Looney Tunes Christmas Carol parody playing as a blend of Nephew Fred and a sort of Charles Dickens-like narrative character, and though he provides a sufficent degree of humor to keep the story interesting (and to keep Daffy's feather's ruffled) he does seem to be fairly reserved in this flick, but I suppose that's for the best since he's not supposed to be the main focus of this movie. I was a bit surprised the first time I watched this movie to see Sam playing as the Ghost of Christmas Present since he's generally the villainous antagonist in these cartoons, but it appears that even when Sam plays the good guy he's still the same rootin' tootin' ornery badass he's always been...and it's hilarious to see him beat the crap out of Daffy. The only thing I will say seems a bit off in this movie is Tweety. He seems a little more crass and sarcastic then most of his earlier adaptations...unless of course the writer's were attempting to channel Bob Clampett's original portrayal of the character; in which case this film's tailoring of Tweety is pretty spot on.

I also love the interaction between the characters. Not since "Space Jam" have we seen such a mingling of Looney Tune all-stars and lesser-knowns, because unlike the classic Walt Disney characters the Looney Tunes have had very few major specials and feature films as a collective group, and generally certain Looney Tunes characters can only be seen co-starring alongside a select few of their expansive cast. In this movie however the barriers are torn down and you see a host of Looney Tunes come out to humor and delight in this unsung holiday pearl. I love seeing my favorite characters interacting with other characters that they usual don't, and the usual interactions are just as hiliarious as the classics. Porky returns to be Daffy's soft-spoken foot stool, Marvin and Speedy still manage to get under Daffy's feathers, and Bugs, Sam, and Taz just aren't having any of Daffy's crap.

This movie is the type of thing I wish Warner Bros would do more of with the Looney Tunes. Warners has really been fucking up lately regarding their classic iconic cartoon stars, and it's time they take a step back, look at the old stuff they've done with the Looney Tunes, and try to tailor all their future productions after them. The Looney Tunes are beloved worldwide by generations of people. They are the grandfathers of classic cartoon comedy, and it's been utterly painful to watch Warner Bros screw them over so bad! They need to fire the hack writers who've come up with the recent bullshit they've made and get the geniuses from the 90's and early 2000's back who actually knew how to write fuckin' comedy, because as it stands right now fuckin' Mickey Mouse is stealing Bugs Bunny's thunder. Mickey's new series of cartoons on Youtube are some of the funniest things I've seen in recent years, and he's making Bugs and the other Looney Tunes look like total chumps! GET IT TOGETHER WB!!!