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The 3rd of the Looney Tunes compilation movies may not be as strong as the previous two (The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981)) but it is still a fun watch. Plus it was a childhood favorite of mine.
Like the previous two movies in the series, this movie combines newly animated scenes with classic cartoon shorts to create a feature length movie. However unlike the previous two this film combines this all into one story. Though like The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie this film is also directed by Friz Freleng. However unlike the previous two movies, the classic cartoons used here come from diffrent directors. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie features all cartoons directed by Chuck Jones (who also directed the new scenes) and The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie featured cartoons directed by Friz Freleng. This movie instead features classic cartoon shorts from Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson. The cartoon shorts used in this film are Cracked Quack (1952, directed by Freleng), Apes of Wrath (1959, directed by Freleng), Wise Quackers (1949), directed by Freleng), Ali Baba Bunny (1957, directed by Jones) (also used in The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie), Tweety and the Beanstalk (1957, directed by Freleng), Bewitched Bunny (1954, directed by Jones), Goldimouse and the Three Cats (1960, directed by Freleng), Red Riding Hoodwinked (1955, directed by Freleng), The Pied Piper of Guadalupe (1961, directed by Freleng), Mexican Boarders (1962, directed by Freleng), One Froggy Evening (1955, directed by Jones) and Aqua Duck (1963, directed by McKimson). Despite Yosemite Sam playing a large role in the story, none of the classic shorts used here include him.
The storyline involves Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck as book salesmen, competing to see who can sell the most books. Meanwhile a sultan (Yosemite Sam) is looking for a new storyteller for his spoiled brat son (who is very much like the character Junior from the Friz Freleng directed Looney Tunes short, A Waggily Tale (1956)). Finding Bugs at his door trying to sell a book of stories. Sam then forces Bugs to be his son's new storyteller.
There is a whole lot to enjoy about this movie. Every one of the classic cartoon shorts used here is gem. Each one put a smile on my face. They not only charming and fun but some of them are laugh out loud funny. In fact many of these shorts are why this was a childhood favorite of mine. This movie marked the first time I had seen Cracked Quack, The Pied Piper of Guadalupe and Mexican Borders, all of which I simply loved. So as I kid, I would watch this movie over and over again to see these shorts again. To this day, I can still quote nearly every line of this movie off the top of my head. Watching this movie today, still brings me back to watching the film as a kid. Yet even the new scenes are pretty good. The storyline is basic and simple but fun, just like all of the best Looney Tunes films. Yet it never feels like it is stretched to make it feature length, but instead fits into the time period. While these new scenes may not be as laugh out loud funny as the classic shorts, they are still quite charming. The new gags for the most part work well enough and definitely made me smile and even laugh at times. The dynamics between Bugs, Yosemite Sam and his son are a lot of fun as well and I enjoyed Bugs' Groucho Marx type comments about the kid.
This movie does have its faults that make it not as strong as the previous two feature length compilation films. Though there was some editing of the classic shorts in the previous movies, here there is quite a bit more of it. This is obviously done to make it fit better with this movie's more typical story. For fans of the classic shorts, this editing can get annoying as there are some truly great moments cut out of here. Some of the cartoons also feature unnecessary narration from Bugs that they would all be better off without. This narration especially hurts One Froggy Evening. Though it is not the fault of the filmmakers, Mel Blanc (the voice of most of the Looney Tunes) had definitely grown older by the time this movie was made and the difference in how his voice sounded can be felt between the new and old sequences.
Despite its flaws this movie is still a delight to watch. Enjoy it yourself or show it to a kid, it might be one of their childhood favorites like it is mine.
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