Wokeness has hit the iconic Looney Tunes reboot, as its creators ban its characters from carrying firearms to apparently not promote gun violence. All other sorts of violence, however, remain in place.
The new series of animated shorts, titled Looney Tunes Cartoons, has been released on the subscription-based HBO Max platform. The series features all the main characters from the iconic 1930s and ‘40s series, still engaging in exaggerated cartoonish violence – with only one difference – from now on, the show will not feature any firearms.
“We’re not doing guns,” Peter Browngardt, an executive producer of the updated series, told the New York Times. “But we can do cartoony violence – TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”
That’s it, Yosemite Sam has been stripped of his revolvers, while Elmer Fudd lost his shotgun. Instead, Elmer will be now trying to bag Bugs Bunny during the “wabbit season” wielding a scythe.
The creators probably believed that trying to slay the cartoon rabbit in an old-fashioned melee would be less damaging to young viewers than using more sophisticated weaponry. However, the bizarre case of self-censorship has invoked a whole storm of mockery online.
Many pointed out that the change would make Fudd look like a ‘wabbit Grim Reaper’ instead of an unlucky hunter.
Others said that the change will strip the affected characters of their charm, arguing that their trademark weapons are inseparable from them.
Some, however, seemed to be quite supportive of the move – yet still mocked the bizarre weapon pick for Fudd.
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