New ‘Looney Tunes’ Cartoons Ban Elmer Fudd From Having A Gun – But Other Mayhem Is Okay

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Elmer J. Fudd will have to find another way to bag that wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny, during hunting season. Because in the updated Looney Tunes cartoons streaming on HBO Max, he won’t be allowed to have a rifle, according to a report.

In the new versions of the classic cartoons, Fudd will still be hunting, but will use a scythe. That’s a modification in response to US gun violence, according to a report.

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In response to US gun violence, the showrunners will not include firearms in Fudd’s arsenal. That is not to say that he has given up hunting Bugs Bunny, though – he just uses a scythe instead.

“We’re not doing guns,” said Peter Browngardt, executive producers of the series, in an interview with the New York Times. “But we can do cartoony violence – TNT, the Acme stuff.”

Browngardt added that the cartoons will stay true to the originals. “I always thought, ‘What if Warner Bros had never stopped making Looney Tunes cartoons? As much as we possibly could, we treated the production in that way.”

The modern versions will reflect modern sensibilities, he said.

“We’re going through this wave of anti-bullying, ‘everyone needs to be friends’, ‘everyone needs to get along’. Looney Tunes is pretty much the antithesis of that. It’s two characters in conflict, sometimes getting pretty violent.”

HBO Max’s just-launched kids and family programming includes new Warner Bros Animation-produced cartoons Looney Tunes based on the iconic animated shorts. The service includes the catalog of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and their pals that aired from 1930–1969, encompassing some 250 shorts in all.

Warner Bros Animation will produce the new Looney Tunes Cartoons. The new series will include 80 eleven-minute episodes, each comprised of animated shorts that vary in length and include adapted storylines for today’s audience. Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register serve as executive producers.

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