Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: November 14, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
14
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
PremiereGlenn Kenny
It's flat-out comedy all the way, head-spinningly clever (you'll be talking about a sequence set in the Louvre for weeks) and always engaging. For my money, it's the comedy of the year. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Replete with so many wisecracks, puns, double entendres and visual jokes that you almost need a flow chart to keep up with them all. But try; the effort is definitely worthwhile, and the results are hilarious. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The film is an across-the-board charmer that should appeal to children as well as their parents, aficionados of animation and old-movie buffs who will be challenged to sort out the blur of seemingly hundreds of classic film references. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterLuke Sader
It will never be confused with the groundbreaking "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," but when it comes to a zippy live-action-meets-animation kid flick with plenty of grown-up gags, Looney Tunes: Back in Action does not disappoint. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
The movie looks like it cost a fortune, with Dean Cundey's glistening widescreen compositions and Bill Brzeski's towering, storybook sets providing the backdrop for seamless visual effects. What's more, it's equally rich in ideas. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Spirited, quintessential, and often hilarious. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Delightful, delicious and destructive. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
A nutty, zany, wacky, unruly, spastically hilarious hodgepodge that hits at least twice as often as it misses—which is a big deal, since there are more gags per square foot of celluloid than in any film since Joe Dante's "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (1990). Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Fraser, Martin, and the rest of the flesh-and-blood characters look like they’re having a ball, which translates instantly to the audience as well. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Fraser and Elfman are goofily endearing even if they seem more sincere acting opposite the rabbit and the duck than they do each other. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The joy is in the details, and they are unrelentingly comic. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Not as inspired as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" but in the same spirit. It's goofy fun. Or maybe we should make that daffy fun. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
So jam-packed with self-referential humor, pop culture cameos, and nods to some of the greatest moments in animation, that it's almost impossible not to like it. Read full review
70
Village VoiceBen Kenigsberg
Dante's masterstroke is to make the movie as visually and narratively unhinged as its source material. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Looney Tunes doesn't have much on its addled mind other than pure entertainment, and on this level it succeeds quite nicely. Read full review
70
Film ThreatDavid Grove
Is Looney Tunes: Back in Action a great achievement in animation? No, but I think that's the point of the film -- that the old cartoon characters and drawings are more human than the visual miracles produced by Disney and Pixar. Read full review
63
USA TodayMike Clark
Even when the movie works, it's so much like having Daffy Duck assault your face that you want to buy a box set of elevator music for the calming drive home. Read full review
63
New York PostMegan Lehmann
The meta jokes come thick and fast - some clunk, but there's no time to mourn - and the references are far from limited to the Warner Bros. world (at one point, Bugs exclaims, "Whaddya know - I found Nemo!"). Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
If the movie has loads of nerve, its ambitious fusion of cartoons and live-action comedy is only fitfully amusing. Read full review
60
EmpireColin Kennedy
Best of all, an astonishing sequence in which Bugs, Daffy and Porky Pig leap from painting to painting in a breathless chase through the Louvre sufficiently demonstrates just how much life modern animation techniques can breathe into these timeless characters. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian Lowry
A not-inventive-enough romp that belches out gags at a rapid-fire clip but connects so sporadically as to leave the audience enervated but only sparingly entertained. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverMelissa Levine
A mind-numbing, achingly post-modern advertisement for itself, which attempts to distract us from its highly merchandised nature by constantly referring to it. In other words, it's morally corrupt, but your kids will love it. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
You never lose awareness that Fraser and, particularly, Elfman are acting alongside creatures they can't actually see, and you constantly think you should be having more fun than you are. In the end, you want to ask the filmmakers: Is that all, folks? Read full review
50
SalonCharles Taylor
There's a reason why Looney Tunes cartoons were six minutes long. Stretched out over an hour and a half, they're wearying. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The film is preoccupied with whiz-bang adventure rather than storytelling. There's also too much cartoon violence for young kids. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldChristine Dolan
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck might want to talk to their agents about looking for better material. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
I've laughed harder during a single "Road Runner" cartoon than I did throughout Back in Action. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Fraser's goofiness matches that of the animated characters and he cheerfully pokes fun at his celebrity persona, while Elfman is oddly appealing as a strong woman who must seek help from a wascally wabbit. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
Fraser and Bugs Bunny are the highlights of this pleasant but unoriginal film. Read full review
50
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Has its funny moments, but all too often it's a corny, lackluster film in which humans pretend (not always convincingly) to interact with cartoons. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
With the exception of its bland leads, Back In Action's frenetic plot serves as its biggest weakness, but it at least provides the framework for two Tashlin-worthy setpieces. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
There are flashes of wit -- Speedy Gonzales muttering about political correctness and an arty chase through the Louvre. But there is also random flatulence, a.k.a. the stink of desperation. Read full review
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