Could Warner Bros. sell off its Looney Tunes cartoon franchise? That’s the question sweeping through Hollywood at the moment. A report last week suggested that the studio was looking to offload Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of its iconic Looney Tunes franchise.
Warner Bros. losing Looney Tunes seems like insanity. But, as the website Slashfilm said this week, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav "may just be the single worst movie studio head in the entire 100+ years-long history of cinema."
Under Zaslav’s leadership, WBD last week pulled all classic Looney Tunes shorts from its streaming service, Max. The studio previously had killed the “Coyote vs. Acme” feature film that it had completed. A Deadline report suggested that the studio sees Looney Tunes as “children’s programming,” which would by itself be an indictment of Warner Bros. management’s lack of understanding about the franchise, which retains cross-generational appeal.
Looney Tunes has enjoyed a long history in theme parks, starting with their appearance in 1976 in the two Marriott's Great America theme parks, located outside Chicago and the in the San Francisco Bay area. Six Flags’ 1984 acquisition of the Great America park in Illinois also bought the chain the right to use the Looney Tunes characters in its theme parks, which Six Flags still holds.
But the best use of Looney Tunes in a theme park exists not at Six Flags, but in the Miral-owned Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi.
The park’s Ani-Mayhem is my favorite interactive dark ride in the world and the best use of Looney Tunes IP anywhere. Ani-Mayhem captures the chaotic spirit of the franchise, employing all of its major characters and delivering (pun intended, if you’ve been on the ride) a love letter to its classic cartoon shorts.
But if Warner Bros. is to cast off Looney Tunes, where could these characters find a new home?
The obvious candidates would be the two entertainment companies that have proven that they know how to grow animation franchises into multi-billion-dollar businesses across multiple media. Time to make some phone calls, Disney and Universal.
Universal’s history of embracing irreverent entertainment might make it seem the better fit for Looney Tunes. But when I try to think of a theme park attraction that best embraces the spirit of Looney Tunes, after Ani-Mayhem, my choice is… Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Paul Rudish’s recent Mickey Mouse shorts, upon which the Walt Disney World and Disneyland rides are based, show that Disney can embrace some pretty loony toons, as well. Bringing Looney Tunes to Disney also could get us a Roger Rabbit 2.
Disney already has Pixar in addition to its own animation studio. Universal has Illumination and Dreamworks Animation in its stable. So for both, adding Looney Tunes might seem like gilding the lily. But I cannot imagine that either studio would pass on the opportunity to add characters such as Bugs Bunny to their repertoire - especially if that kept the other company from getting the IP.
The North American theme park rights to Looney Tunes should remain with Six Flags through 2053, when its license contract expires. Yet if either Disney or Universal bought the franchise, those companies likely would not hesitate to write check to buy back those rights for an amount that would be trivial to them but transformative for Six Flags. What Disney would do with Looney Tunes in its parks, beyond character meets, I don’t know. But Universal would have an easy new theme for the Toon Lagoon land in Islands of Adventure.
Still, Disney and Universal might not get the chance to bid. If the reports are correct, and Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to sell Looney Tunes, it could choose to sell the franchise to a smaller company that puts together a leverage deal. After all, former Discovery, Inc. CEO Zaslav got control of Warner Bros. Discovery when former WB owner AT&T decided that it wanted out of the entertainment business. Minnows swallowing whales is WBD’s DNA.
Zaslav also is said to be close to selling the cancelled “Coyote vs. Acme” movie to small distributor Ketchup Entertainment, which just released “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie.” WDB originally slated that animated movie for release on Max before shelving it. So a firesale of the whole IP seems possible, given that Zaslav seems to have little idea of the franchise’s true value.
If Zaslav opened bidding to companies such as Disney and Universal, he might discover (hah!) Looney Tunes’ true worth. That realization might then keep him from agreeing to sell what could be a billion-dollar asset, if managed properly.
But theme park fans can dream, can’t we?
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I was hesitant to think that Universal or Disney should get this until you mentioned a Toon Lagoon refresh.
I just saw The Day The Earth Blew Up last week and loved it. It was irreverent and edgy while still being entertaining enough for my toddler to enjoy. It almost reminded me of a Looney Tunes cartoon via the Ren and Stimpy show. And that’s a compliment. I would love to see this amazing IP utilized by someone that knows what to do with it. The possibilities for a theme park attraction (stateside that is) are limitless. Hell, I’d pay great money to have a drink at a cocktail lounge that featured an occasional dueling piano rift between Donald and Daffy duck.
The Looney Tunes IP is a really important part of the USF IOA story. That park was supposed to be “Cartoon World” anchored by DC and Looney Tunes. Things didn’t work out of course, but you can imagine a very different history where this did happen, leaving no real suitable for Harry Potter to go.
If Universal got Looney Tunes. I think they’d work well as a replacement IP for both Marvel and the newspaper comics area. With Disney, there’s no real place for them, they didn’t know what to do when they had Power Rangers, and I don’t think they’d have any clue what to do with the Fox animations.
Between The Mouse and Kabletown I definitely think the Toons are a better fit at the latter company. Disney already has a stable of underutilized classic cartoon characters, and Bugs and company would be a nice fit within Illumination.
I would love to see Looney Toons Lagoon at IOA, but retheming the water rides is a smidge trickier. Roadrunner would work as a Dudley replacement if you ignore the desert setting. Popeye is in the public domain, so maybe he sticks around and Uni swaps out the Sunday funnies theming with Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian and the problematic Pepe LePew. In any case I don't see Kabletown not bidding for a useful theme park franchise having just lost Bourne.
I worry neither could do real justice even if it's hard to see them doing worse than WB has been. I will lean to Universal just for update to Toon Lagoon while Disney has more than enough characters.
Still, would miss seeing them at Six Flags Great America which was always fun.
I really hope they don't wind up at Disney. The quality level of that company's projects seems to decrease with each new acquisition, and given what typically makes up a Looney Tunes short I suspect they'd just sit on the property rather than do anything worthwhile with it. Universal would by an okay home for them, but I'd much rather the property get picked up by a smaller studio that can dedicate their resources to keeping the brand alive as it should be rather than using them in what would likely be a minor role at best.
Not happening but a 5th Disney park with a Mickey and friends, Pixar, Muppets, and Looney Tunes lands would be ridiculously popular and not lacking in merchandise sales.
The Day the Earth Blew Up was a very fun movie. It has gotten some good traction by word of mouth. Should have been DOA with a stealth release and no marketing. But I think this demonstrates the potential of the IP when in the right hands and that it has relevance and connects with the audience. Certainly, much more so than Popeye, Dudley Do-Right and Betty Boop at IOA. A reskin of Toon Lagoon would be a perfect fit. And perhaps, they could secure this just in time for a Looney Tunes renaissance the way they did with Marvel.
Loony Tunes and Minions!!! The ultimate movie!! Universal will/would treat the Tunes better than Disney would (Muppets). For the last two years I have been thinking Universal would buy out WB-Disillusioned (Discovery). The studios are separated by a Golf course practically in LA. And as a Part-time Team Member at EPIC I can tell you the quality would be far superior than what Disney would do.
We just saw The Day the Earth Blew Up yesterday and loved it. Disney would be a poor choice. The way the company has handled The Muppets shows it doesn't know what to do with this kind of content. I also don't love the idea of Disney owning every single franchise imaginable. Universal would be a better home. A redo of Toon Lagoon in IOA as Looney Tunes Lagoon would be amazing.
The fact WB is abandoning its history is wild. They need to give Zaslav the boot.
WB has certainly made a mess of the Looney Toons franchise of late, but I don't think there are going to be major studios scrambling to buy it, and certainly not for the price that WB would ask for the IP. I could definitely see a smaller production company perhaps purchasing parts of the catalogue, but buying the full library and licensing rights is probably not something any entertainment company would want to take on right now.
Obviously, Looney Toons has endless applications in the theme park space, especially given how poorly Six Flags used their license (along with their DC license). However, I can't see Universal buying it, and other parks just don't have the capital or will to do any more than what Six Flags has done with it.
It couldn't be Disney. Looney Tunes was the only real competitor to the classic Disney Short cartoons. It would have to be Universal but unfortunately they would need to be relevant for Universal to pay proper homage to them. I haven't seen a major LT investment since Space Jam back in the 90s, and the newer one flopped. Universal would have to invest in new profitable movies and shows before putting them in a theme park, or else they will go the way of Suess Landing and Toon Lagoon.
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This is getting further afield from theme parks, but this seems like the kind of acquisition that would be made by one of the new upstart big-tech-era studios like Amazon, Apple, or whatever Skydance-Paramount is called these days. It's a quick way for a corporation to get children's programming (to use Zaslav's line of thought) with a recognizable brand. I don't know what Disney would gain from another separate animation brand, vs. I could see Apple going for it, for the same reason they snatched up the rights to the Charlie Brown Christmas special.