Bugs, Daffy, and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang are about to tread the boards: Warner Bros. Animation will create Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical for HBO Max and Cartoon Network.
The original animated family movie event will feature original song and dance numbers and new orchestrations from the Warner Bros. library of movie musicals. Here’s the logline: “After starring in a long-running Looney Tunes Broadway smash production, an exhausted Bugs Bunny decides it’s time to trade in sold-out shows for life as a regular rabbit. Ever the spotlight opportunist, Daffy Duck attempts to step into the lead role, but his star ambitions are quickly sidetracked when he is kidnapped by an obsessive fan who has more sinister plans for her favorite stage duck. With his ticket to Broadway retirement in danger, Bugs sets off on a rescue mission to find Daffy and, with the help of his Looney Tunes co-stars, hopefully, his joy of performing again.”
More from Deadline
“Bugs Bunny on Broadway? Yes, please!” said Amy Friedman, Warner Bros.’ head of kids & family programming. “This musical gives off old Hollywood and Broadway vibes while offering a new, modern way to sing along to this one-of-a-kind Looney Tunes movie with the whole family.”
“Mayhem and music have helped define the comedic genius of the Looney Tunes for decades,” added Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios. “It is a pairing that has created some of the greatest cartoons of our time, and it’s going to be a thrill to add our own musical stamp to these characters.”
Screenplay and lyrics are by Emmy-award winner Ariel Dumas (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and music and orchestration by Pulitzer Prize, Tony, and Grammy award-winner Tom Kitt (Next to Normal). Veteran animator Brandon Jeffords serves as director and supervising producer (Vivo, Smurfs: The Lost Village, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs). Sam Register serves as executive producer.
More Bugs Bunny fare is planned for the WB platforms. Bugs Bunny Builders, the first Looney Tunes preschool show in over 20 years, premieres Monday, July 25 at 8:00. ET/PT on Cartoonito on Cartoon Network and Tuesday, July 26 on Cartoonito on HBO Max. Described as the first of its kind in Looney Tunes history, the show will combine “the wackiness, humor, and slapstick of the iconic characters with a modern Human-centric Learning curriculum.”
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
