Explained Supervising Producer Tony Cervone, "It was a big challenge to come up with a new show and go, 'What are we going to do format-wise? How are we going to make this new and modern but don't change the characters at all and maintain the integrity of the characters? And yet push them in new ways and make them grow and make them different.' This show is this show. It's not the classic cartoons. So everything has to work for The Looney Tunes Show."
Lead Character Designer Jessica Borutski was brought in to re-design the characters, but noted, "The idea was to keep it looking very classic, but I just wanted to give it something so that kids know who the characters are, but there's something fresh about them and make it very subtle. I streamlined some of the shapes of the characters." Borutski noted that when it came to Bugs, "I love his feet, so I really played those up a little bit."
While Bugs and Daffy are the main characters, expect to see all of your old favorite Looney Tunes characters appear throughout the series, including Porky Pig, who the writers realized could be a great third part of the Bugs/Daffy dynamic as they progressed into the series. Story Editor/Head Writer Hugh Davidson said that, of course, "Bugs is clearly on top" when it comes to holding the power. But as for Daffy, writer Rachel Ramras put it like this: "Even a loser likes to have more of a loser around and that's what Porky is. But Porky just likes to be part of the gang, so he takes it."
Among the voice cast, you'll hear a couple of notable Saturday Night Live cast members. Kirsten Wiig plays Lola Bunny, a character first introduced in Space Jam, who gets a very different portrayal here. Said Cervone, "I like this Lola. I like this kind of Katherine Hepburn-esque, crazy but charming character. She's got a lot of layers to her and Kirsten does a phenomenal job."
Fred Armisen voices Speedy Gonzales and Ramras explained, "Speedy owns local pizza hangout. He's so cute and so funny. He sort of emerged as a very fun voice of reason."
The episodes will also include "Merrie Melodies" shorts, which are mainly music-oriented, such as a soul video parody in which Elmer Fudd seductively sings about his love of Grilled Cheese. Cervone described the Merrie Melodies segments as, "Kind of like bonus material on a DVD, except it's in a television show. Music is an important part, historically, in Looney Tunes cartoons and Warner Bros. cartoons, up through Animaniacs and Tiny Toons as well. It helped us go deeper into the catalog. Marvin's not in the main stories all that much, but it's cool to do Marvin songs, and that way Marvin's in the show and it kind of gives us a different flavor. And it's the same thing with Road Runner and Coyote. How would we fit them in? I wouldn't want to see them in the suburbs."
The writers laughed about the difficulty sometimes inherent in trying to figure out how these animated animals fit into the world they live in. Sylvester and Tweety will be seen on the show and Ramras noted, "They are still pets. So then it starts getting very tricky, because it's like, 'So the rabbit is a person and the bird is an animal?' And honestly, it is a little tough, so we do separate them." Added Davidson, "Yeah, for the most part, if Bugs and Daffy ever go across the street and see Grannie, they don't talk to Sylvester and Tweety. They keep their conversation separate. Otherwise, it would look like someone owned somebody, which might get a little bizarre – and less funny!"
Davidson acknowledged that dealing with the Looney Tunes characters, "There's a pressure. Everyone here wants it to be funny. You're comparing it to things that people think are the funniest thing that they ever made!" He also noted, "There was always something genuinely funny about the shorts for adults – possibly more for adults. Hopefully this show appeals to them as well."
Times have changed since the original shorts, which Davidson recalled, with a smile, often involved, "Somebody's trying to eat somebody, or somebody's trying to kill somebody. And they're delightful! I love one character holding the shotgun in the face of another and pulling the trigger. But you can't do that anymore. But you have a responsibility, because the characters are so funny, to figure out how to make them that funny. Just because you can't have shotguns, it's not time to make them vehicles to teach lessons or morality tales. They're still funny, anarchic characters."
Added Ramras, "If the character is good enough, they can be funny with a gun to their face or at the grocery store. If they're funny, they're funny."
The Looney Tunes Show premieres Tuesday, May 3rd at 8:00pm ET/PT on Cartoon Network.