Elmer Fudd And Yosemite Sam Won’t Have Their Guns In The New “Looney Tunes” Reboot
When I think of Looney Tunes, I think of ridiculous violence and grisly “how could a little coyote survive that?” injuries. Classic gags like Acme brand TNT, anvils and boulders dropping on heads, and guns backfiring and exploding into faces. But you can forget about that last one, because the new Looney Tunes reboot on HBO Max is “not doing guns”. That’s right – famously trigger-happy gun nuts Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam have been stripped of their firearms. What about their (wait for me to Google…) Second Amendment rights?!
Executive producer Peter Browngardt explained in a New York Times interview that the show removed guns in an attempt to avoid America’s gun control controversy, but not to worry, because there will still be “cartoony violence”. He says Elmer Fudd’s gun will be replaced by a scythe (that big hoe-like ax thing the Grim Reaper carries, which is an agricultural tool). So far, no word on what weapon they’ll go with for Yosemite Sam.
Peter also says that there will be a general change to some stories to reflect how society has shifted (via Popculture):
“We’re going through this wave of anti-bullying, everybody needs to be friends,” Browngardt shared in the interview, adding that it’s complicated with these characters, who he says is the “antithesis” of that because “it’s two characters in conflict” where things mostly get “pretty violent.”
Huh. A potentially more loving relationship between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner? I mean, Wile E. has always been obsessed with that one particular bird. Maybe their decades-long game of predator-prey comes down to more than mere hunger, hmmm? HMMM?
Neither Elmer Fudd or Yosemite Sam have responded to this development, but I can’t imagine they’ll be happy. They’ve clearly used big guns to make up for their shortcomings. Both men are only two feet tall, plus Elmer is totally bald with a speech impediment. The poor bastard, all he wanted was some delicious rabbit stew! Anything to distract from his miserable, lonely life.
For now, we’ll have to content ourselves with this:
Pic: Wenn.com