They don’t have to. Nobody said anything about Space Jam being the most well written thing under the Looney Tunes bracket.
What you said was that the audience’s suspension of disbelief couldn’t accept an irrationality like that, and that audiences are incapable of following a movie that has both irrational humor and emotional beats at the same time.
Which we know is untrue given that, in reality, nobody cared and it didn't impact the suspension of disbelief or capacity for the audience to follow the film in the slightest. The film becoming a cult classic is important, because it's an obvious indication that the idea that the film was impossible for audiences to appreciate or understand is incorrect.
Not that rationality and good writing are synonymous in the first place. Keeping in mind that one of the best written jokes in Looney Tunes history is about a character shouting at another character “shoot me now!” out of sheer stupidity.
Or to put it in a more brief way:
If your argument is "audiences can't accept this," then "audiences demonstrably did, in fact, accept this" is pretty much the counterpoint to make, yes.
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Didn't you just say only a few pages ago that you were going to cool it on trying to force that topic?
Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 24th 2024 at 8:18:15 AM
I've been getting into the Looney Tunes Music youtube channel a lot recently. It basically looks at the many WB music / pop library (or, rarely, original) musical tracks arranged in Looney Tunes and showcases all the times they've appeared through the film shorts' history.
It's pretty dope, especially if you're into animation and music history and such.
The song here is "You Never Know Where You're Going 'Til You Get There," which was originally from the movie "Cinderella Jones."
But there's even a few other songs on there that, by all appearances, have no surviving non-Looney Tunes recordings, making Looney Tunes the only places anyone nowadays can hear them.
Note: It's a good warning that the channel shows every time a song appeared in a Looney Tunes short, which means they don't leave out the banned cartoons or the wartime cartoons. It can be surprising if you're not expecting it, and it's worth noting.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 24th 2024 at 9:41:30 AM
Since Space Jam's quality was brought up earlier...
I think it's a decently written movie. It takes writing chops to take such a stupid premise on paper and making it successful. Michael Jordan engaged in a nice bit of self deprecation concerning his attempt at baseball, the Monstars looked pretty intimidating as villains, and there was still classic Looney Tunes humor. One issue I do have with it is that the Looney Tunes really come off as supporting characters in the narrative. But otherwise it's a solid movie that's fun to watch. And that's ultimately what matters most for a movie.
Disgusted, but not surprised
Previously Toko WH
Alright. I only hate being in the dark as much as anyone else. It feels heartbreaking to see a beloved franchise rich in anarchy and creative freedom fall into obscurity or bogged down by contemporary creative decisions. Have you noticed that they are just letting a bunch of new episodes just sit there while the international networks handle them much better?
Daffy in Wackyland got shadow dropped. It pretty much shows the treatment they gave to projects like Looney Tunes Cartoons, Tiny Toons Looniversity and Bugs Bunny Builders. No advertising and no announcements when they will air. There are no new episodes since March 2024. The talks of tax write offs are a destruction and erasure of art. Disrespectful to thousands of workers.
I want to see this brand alive again. It’s all I want. Ann Sarnoff and her execs should also be accountable for nearly damaging the brand’s integrity as well.
Edited by rwinger24 on Oct 25th 2024 at 9:19:13 AM
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One thing you notice when looking at this is how many obscure pieces and silent film stock music Stalling used in his scores (indeed, he had been a theater organist in the early 20s). For example, the 1910 march "Frat":
I gave this channel a follow too. There are plenty of Harms, Witmark and Remick tunes in the public domain right now and it will be an occurring thing year after year. They even used songs from other publishers like Sam Fox. Warner Bros. will be lucky to revive these Tin Pan Alley songs many years later as instrumental background music since they will be out of copyright. New arrangements will be under their ownership but the songs can be remixed by any musician.
It’s one of the downsides of all Looney Tunes spin-offs since the 2000s as the execs tend to favor original and contemporary trends that make it sound generic as any other animated show.
It'd be very interesting to see what it would be like if we had a Carl Stalling figure in cartoons or film today doing with more modern music. The closest I can think of to that kind of thing nowadays is Guardians of the Galaxy's scores, though even that isn't quite the same thing.
So, possibly breaking news but Dave Down Under put out a video reporting on reports of there apparently being a "super secret" potentially Jones inspired Looney Tunes film currently in production.
Taking all bets on if it actually comes to fruition, folks.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 27th 2024 at 12:20:22 PM
Like Beetlejuice 2 and Hocus Pocus 2, I'll believe it when I see it.
Probably not good comparisons as those films eventually got did get made.
Like creepy stories? Check out my book!I think I probably misunderstood what Known Unknown was looking for. I understood him to mean he was looking for soundtracks specifically tailored to the works to which their attached (of which Arcane is one, which is why I mentioned it) when I think now what he meant was soundtracks composed of already existing pieces of music—as Stalling didn't, at least for the most part, write the music that appeared in Looney Tunes, but rather selected already existing pieces he thought were appropriate , like Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse."
So anyway, that's my mistake. Ignore it.
It seems weird that WB would be so gun-ho on making a new Looney Tunes project so soon after basically sending The Day the Earth Blew Up across multiple companies and essentially leaving both Bye Bye Bunny and Coyote vs. Acme behind, but I guess it is nice they haven't entirely left them behind.
Seems like the new animation department are moving forward on all their confirmed projects actually. The Cat in the Hat and Oh the Places You'll Go adaptations are still happening, and so is the "Meet the Flintstones" movie.
WB just tweeted that they are making an Emily the Strange animated movie with Bad Robot https://x.com/wbpictures/status/1851655304532131883?s=46&t=7YT7yMPCw2VMMwQUxWj5_A
Edited by BigBadShadow25 on Oct 30th 2024 at 1:27:17 PM
You’re Gonna Carry That Weight.
I want to be excited about this, but somehow, I just can't. I think I'm succumbing to The Firefly Effect, due to WB cancelling animated projects left and right
This is probably better suited to the Warner/Discovery merger thread.

People have never accepted Space Jam as a great movie or a great Looney Tunes story. 'Space Jam is very well written' said absolutely no one ever. It has been accepted because Hey Look All Those Looney Tunes in the Same Place, Hey Look It's Michael Jordan, Hey Look Curvaceous Bunny for the furries, and now Hey Look Nineties Nostalgia. Now you're sliding towards the 'It's good because it's popular' argument because you can't allow that the narrative doesn't work, ya know, narratively. If the movie succeeded it was for other reasons but not because it was well constructed.
Please remember that, ultimately, fictional works of entertainment are just that.