Loonatics Unleashed: New Futuristic Animated Series from WB Based on Original Lonny Toon Characters
Being nearly 40-years-old, I have obviously had a long, ongoing relationship with Warner Bros. animated television series, Looney Tunes and their many famous characters.
Having said that, when the WB announced last year that it was releasing an entirely new futuristic series called “The Loonatics,” based on their original characters, I thought the idea was ingenious to say the least.
The series is described by Warner Bros. as an “action-comedy” and is meant to be a mixture of the Looney Tunes shorts’ irreverent style of humor and a modern action animated series, with the characters designed in an anime style.
The episodes of Loonatics Unleashed take place in 2772, the year that a meteor struck the fictional city-planet of Acmetropolis. In that year a meteor from space strikes Acmetropolis and knocks it completely off of its original axis. However, instead of destroying the planet, the impact of the meteor and its resultant shockwave gives off supernatural cosmic energies that gives some of the city’s inhabitants superpowers while incapacitating others in its wake.
A mysterious and powerful woman called Zadavia calls upon six of the affected residents that live in Acmetropolis to form a team of superheroes. She becomes their supervisor, dispatching them for the purpose of combating any and all threats to Acmetropolis and its citizens. The newly formed team is known as the Loonatics and resides on the 125th floor of a large tower.
The characters are the direct descendants of the classic Looney Tunes characters, according to multiple press releases and official sources. Here are the show’s main characters.
Loonatics
Ace Bunny (voiced by Charlie Schlatter): the adroit and quick-witted, action-driven leader who galvanizes his crew for each mission. Ace possesses powers including optical enhancement, infrared laser-lock vision (or laser blasts from his eyes) and martial arts expertise. He proves himself as an excellent swordsman, since he carries a collapsible one. Before getting his powers, Ace was a martial arts stunt double working for a movie studio. Ace is a descendant of Bugs Bunny, right down to the voice, and wears a yellow colored uniform.
Lexi Bunny (voiced by Jessica Di Cicco) is the second-in-command of the Loonatics and possesses expert eavesdropping skills, hyper-sensitive hearing, tremendous aerial agility and the ability to shoot “brain blasts” from the top of her head with some form of telekinesis. Lexi is a descendant of Lola Bunny, and wears a pink colored costume. It is possible that she is also a descendant of Bugs Bunny, her relation to Ace, if any, as well as whether Bugs and Lola had children together is unclear.
Danger Duck (voiced by Jason Marsden) is the spotlight hungry, egoistical member of the Loonatics. Duck longs to lead the Loonatics, although he does seem to accept/tolerate Ace’s impressive leadership. Duck boasts teleportation powers (called a “quantum quack” in the opening credits and simply called “Quacking” by Duck himself) and the ability to toss magical energy spheres (often referred to as “Eggs”). Before gaining his powers, Duck worked as a swimming pool cleaner, and true to form, he dreamed of becoming a lifeguard. Danger is a descendant of Daffy Duck, and wears an orange colored costume. His voice sounds similar to Daffy Duck, but without his trademark lisp
Rev Runner (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a head-spinningly quick character, in multiple senses of the word. He possesses a brain-embedded psychic GPS-tracking system and the power of superspeed. In addition to hyper speed and GPS, Rev has the power to fly. Before his meteor-induced transformation, Rev was a delivery boy and inventor who was always late, even while using rocket skates he created. A little known, or at least unnoticed fact is that Rev is actually quite intelligent, sometimes solving problems that would otherwise be left to Tech E. Coyote. Rev is a descendant of the Road Runner, and wears a red colored costume. Unlike his ancestor, who only went “meep meep”, Rev can actually talk, though usually at high speed, sometimes annoying or confusing others.
Slam Tasmanian (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is the group’s grunting muscle-bound heavyweight, who possesses superstrength. Slam can spin into a tornado and also launch smaller tornados from his arms. Interestingly, it is implied that he is not simply grunting at all times, but speaking in a tongue the audience isn’t meant to understand. Sometimes, the other Loonatics will mention what Slam said, but in English, effectively translating any important dialogue. Before becoming a superhero, Slam was a professional wrestler, called Twisted Spinner (The Terror from Somewhere). Slam is a descendant of the Tasmanian Devil, and wears a purple costume.
Tech E. Coyote (also voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is the team’s technician. Tech E. constructs vehicles and conducts surveillance, and also has powers of molecular regeneration that render him nearly immortal, but not invincible or immune to pain.
He also has the ability to create magnetic pulses that allow him to levitate metallic objects and scramble electronics. Before the meteor struck Acmetropolis, Tech was a student at the Acme Institute, where his urge to achieve perfection led to numerous screw-ups. Tech E. is a descendant of Wile E. Coyote, and wears a green colored costume.
Whether you’re a young child or an aging parent with young children who knows all about the history the original Looney Tunes, Loonatics Unleashed is a fun cartoon that epitomizes today’s hi-tech society at its very best – and to quote one famous Looney Tunes character who does not appear in the show – “that’s all folks.”
