Discussion Characters / LOONEYTUNES

I believe that Lola is definitely one of the major Looney Tunes characters by now. Yes, she's a relatively recent addition to the cast, but she's had central roles in almost every Looney Tunes project made since her introduction, with only a few exceptions. Also, consider this: later this month, Entertainment Weekly will publish a cover story on Space Jam: A New Legacy. This◊ will be the cover. Please note that the image includes Lola, while excluding many of the older, more established characters. Also, the story itself has a section about her role in the film. The editors of Entertainment Weekly seem to think that Lola is popular enough to put her on the cover and give her substantial coverage in the article. If all these factors don't qualify her to be a major character, what would?

Thanks for answering. OK, Space Jam was Lola's introduction movie in the first place, and the characters in that magazine's cover are the members of the basketball team from the old Space Jam movie. But for the Looney Tunes franchise as a whole, I don't know if she counts and many articles and polls don't include her among the most famous Looney Tunes characters (like this or this, or others). IMO Lola is a popular Iconic Sequel Character now, but since she never appears in classic Looney Tunes, not a major character

Other opinions?

1. "...the characters in that magazine's cover are the members of the basketball team from the old Space Jam movie."

Well, yes and no. The cover is about the new movie, which is why it features LeBron James instead of Michael Jordan. (Having said that, James is the only one pictured who didn't appear in the first movie.)

2. You make a good point about Lola not ranking in those polls. However, she might have excluded because she's not one of the classic Looney Tunes — which leads me to my next point.

3. Obviously, Lola never appeared in the classic Looney Tunes. However, the franchise has continued into the present, and Lola has been featured prominently alongside Bugs, Daffy and all the classic characters ever since Space Jam. I don't think she should be regarded as a secondary character just because she came along too late to appear in the classic toons.

4. Let me compare Lola with another WB-owned character, Harley Quinn. Both of them were added to long-running franchises in The '90s, quickly became popular, and earned major roles in those franchises. (Admittedly, Harley wasn't intended for a starring role from the beginning, as Lola was.) Still, both characters have been around for 25-30 years, have become the most popular female characters in their respective franchises, and have starred in their own movies (although Lola's was Direct to Video). There are fans who have grown up with them and don't remember a time before they existed. Saying that Lola isn't a major Looney Tunes character is like saying that Harley isn't a major Batman character.

5. Finally, consider that when WB and Entertainment Weekly released the advance photos from New Legacy, Lola was the character that everyone was talking about. Admittedly, not for the best reasons, but she was the focus of the discussion, not Bugs or Daffy or Porky. This alone should qualify her as a major character.

After Annette 12 replied to this, I wrote:

1. "...the characters in that magazine's cover are the members of the basketball team from the old Space Jam movie."

Well, yes and no. The cover is about the new movie, which is why it features LeBron James instead of Michael Jordan. (Having said that, James is the only one pictured who didn't appear in the first movie.)

2. You make a good point about Lola not ranking in those polls. However, she might have excluded because she's not one of the classic Looney Tunes — which leads me to my next point.

3. Obviously, Lola never appeared in the classic Looney Tunes. However, the franchise has continued into the present, and Lola has been featured prominently alongside Bugs, Daffy and all the classic characters ever since Space Jam. I don't think she should be regarded as a secondary character just because she came along too late to appear in the classic toons.

4. Let me compare Lola with another WB-owned character, Harley Quinn. Both of them were added to long-running franchises in The '90s, quickly became popular, and earned major roles in those franchises. (Admittedly, Harley wasn't intended for a starring role from the beginning, as Lola was.) Still, both characters have been around for 25-30 years, have become the most popular female characters in their respective franchises, and have starred in their own movies (although Lola's was Direct to Video). There are fans who have grown up with them and don't remember a time before they existed. Saying that Lola isn't a major Looney Tunes character is like saying that Harley isn't a major Batman character.

5. Finally, consider that when WB and Entertainment Weekly released the advance photos from New Legacy, Lola was the character that everyone was talking about. Admittedly, not for the best reasons, but she was the focus of the discussion, not Bugs or Daffy or Porky. This alone should qualify her as a major character.

No, in my opinion. Flanderization is when a character becomes an exaggerated version of himself, but Daffy's personality is replaced by a totally different one. The right trope is Characterization Marches On. I never tried to correct this because this wiki talks about Daffy's "flanderization" (referring to the Chuck Jones era and his change of personality in the 50s) pretty much everywhere and there are too many pages to correct