Looney Tunes: Laff Riot (found unreleased pitch pilot of "The Looney Tunes Show" animated sitcom; 2009)

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LaffRiotLogo.jpg

The pilot pitch's logo.

Status: Found

Date found: 04 Sep 2020 / 28 Sep 2020 (uncropped)

Found by: Trevor Thompson

In July 2009, Warner Bros. Animation announced a new television series based on the Looney Tunes, tentatively titled Looney Tunes: Laff Riot. Conceived after the critical failure of Loonatics Unleashed, this new series was intended to go back to the Golden Age cartoons in terms of tone whilst updating the characters’ appearances.[1]

However, by November 2009, test screenings of Laff Riot's pilot left Warner Bros.' executives unimpressed, resulting in layoffs in WB's animation division and a retooling of the show.[2][3] Its changes lead to the creation of The Looney Tunes Show, now with a sitcom setting. The new setting, as well as the show's art direction, was the subject of criticism from several Looney Tunes fans. The Looney Tunes Show premiered on Cartoon Network on May 3rd, 2011, to mixed reviews lasting only two seasons and a direct-to-video movie. However, it ended up getting a cult following. Several elements from the Laff Riot pilot were repurposed for and adapted into The Looney Tunes Show episode "Casa de Calma," as that was one of the first episodes produced.

While Jeff Bergman ended up replacing Joe Alaskey in The Looney Tunes Show, this pilot is notable for being the latter's final Looney Tunes-related movie/television project before his death in 2016.

Rediscovery

On May 31st, 2020, Trevor Thompson, better known as The Looney Tunes Critic, and owner of the YouTube channel Ferris Wheelhouse, uploaded a video titled Hold the Restorations, Please!, where he talks about the restoration of several classic Looney Tunes shorts on the recently released HBO Max. Near the end of the video, he shares the opening of the Laff Riot pilot, which plays for one minute until it gets cut back to the video's main topic. The video's credits show another clip, which lasts 18 seconds.[4]

Despite his followers wanting more footage from the pilot, Trevor stated on Twitter that he would only release the full pilot if his channel reaches five thousand subscribers.[5] On June 25th, 2020, he revealed in a video Great Restorations are What's Cookin'! that an upcoming video about the history of the revival of the Looney Tunes would be made. He also said the video would include the remainder of the Laff Riot footage, although it is unknown when this video will release.[6] On September 4th, 2020, the full pilot was uploaded to Trevor's YouTube channel, since the Looney Tunes Cartoons video was taking so long.[7] On September 28th, Trevor released the video without his channel's watermark.[8]

Cast

  • Joe Alaskey as Bugs and Daffy
  • Bob Bergen as Porky and Tweety
  • Paul Julian as Road Runner (archival recordings)

Crew

  • Mauricio Pardo (director)[9]
  • Jessica Borutski
  • Matt Danner
  • Jim Smith

Gallery

Videos

The full pilot.

Images

External Link

See Also

References