Loonatics Unleashed: The Complete First Season

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Episodes: C+

 

 

Have you ever thought to yourself; yea the Looney Tunes are funny but are they EXTREME?!?  Well, someone at Warner obviously did.  Now for your enjoyment on 2-Disc DVD is Loonatics Unleashed: The Complete First Season.  The show takes place in the distant future (well, 765 years to be exact), where the world is a quite different place.  The world is full of new technology and new dangers, but a band of wacky and loony creatures have made it their duty to defend the earth.  The classic Warner Bros characters (actually their descendants) all appear in their new and futuristic forms.

 

There is Danger Duck, Tech E Coyote, Ace Bunny, Rev Runner, Slam Tasmanian, and Lexi Bunny; from this the audience can clearly gather who their ancestors were.  Each fuzzy or feathery creature brings their own talents to the battle field, whether it is speed, laser vision, or technological genius each crime fighter is a vital team member.  The way the members got these fantastic powers, was due to a renegade meteor hitting the planet which not only changed The Loonatics into their fantastic forms but the world as we know it.

 

Loonatics: The Complete First Season is interesting.  To an extent the series is much like other series such as The Batman or Teen Titans, with a crime fighting edge and animation stylings that resemble that of a new wave of anime.  The show is a bit unnecessary in that it almost seems arbitrary that the Looney Tunes were used to model the crime fighting team, but as the audience watches the episodes progress that at first awkwardness is lost.  Superheroes have always been a great animation fixture and it seems that Loonatics is there to follow in the footsteps of many other great series.

 

The show has also gained the attention of great voice actors such as Michael Clark Duncan, Tim Curry, Florence Henderson, and many more to help fill the shoes and masks of the evil doers.  The addition of these known celebrities just gives the series that extra ‘umph.’

 

The technical features on this 2-Disc DVD release are nicely presented, but the extras are lacking substance.  The picture is presented in a 1.33 X 1 Full Screen that is clear and color balanced, but would have appeared better in an anamorphic Widescreen.  The sound is presented in a simple Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is not too impressive but ‘POPS,’ ‘ZINGS,’ and ‘ZOOMS’ when needed.  The extras are very weak on the set only offering fans of the series a Loonatics Unleashed: Villain Invasion! Challenge that lost this reviewers interests quite quickly.

 

This series was fun, affordable, and inventive.  This reviewer definitely recommends this series for children of all ages.  So put on your cape, grab your laser gun, and tuck in those rabbit ears because it is time for some crime fighting zaniness.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty II