the Looney Tunes reboot

And by reboot I mean heartless abandonment.
I love the Looney Tunes. My dad loves the Looney Tunes. I can't imagine how many thousands or millions of people still love the cartoon serials from the 1930s. But that's how good they are. They're timeless, hilarious, and super iconic. No matter how many times I see a Looney Tunes cartoon, or recently I just saw it, I still find it hilarious. And now that I've grown, I'm noticing things I never did before, catching references I didn't know about, and appreciating the cartoons on a whole new level.
Everything about them is top notch. It's some of the best animation ever. The characterization is superb, so much that it's why Disney Animation, who was the pinnacle of animated achievement, wanted Warner to be such a big part of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The directing is excellent, allowing the likes of Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng and Tex Avery to create a style all their own and build a name for themeselves, as animation directors. Who does that?! And the voice acting is phenomenal, which is probably why they've always had such a hard time bringing the characters back. Because Mel Blanc made those characters so loveable and entertaining. But that's not to say it's impossible. It just means you have to do it right.
Not crap out on it and bring us the new Looney Tunes Show:
For those who may be scratching their heads trying to figure this out, let me explain. It's exactly like you're thinking it is, but hoping it isn't. The premise of the show is Bugs and Daffy are roommates, they spend time together and misadventures ensue, most like by Daffy's antics leading from one thing to the next until it's all nice and crazy. Also, in case you couldn't tell, Bugs and Daffy are very much the "odd couple", Bugs being the irritable "straight man" and Daffy being the vaguely amoral comedic one. Here's a clip of the show which demonstrates the two's personality, as well as the style of the show:
Now if any of this seems familiar to you, you're probably a fan of Cartoon Network's recent hit, Regular Show. Or maybe your a fan of Clerks: The Animated Series. Or perhaps one of any shows with this exact same premise and style of comedy. If you're a fan of Clerks, you'll like this show. But if you're a fan of the Looney Tunes, you probably won't. But getting back to the point; the premise of 'two roommates, one who drives the other insane with his antics' is the most basic concept for a tv show. I would say it's been done a million times, but every example of a show like it actually had the sense to improve upon the concept some. But not this show, their idea of making this show special is purely 'it's got the Looney Tunes in it.' If it wasn't for the fact this show was heavily relying on brand recognition, it would just be a general sitcom cartoon.
The thing is, I don't really see what's wrong with that. I'd rather see them just make up two random characters, plug them in, and have that be the show. I honestly don't think it would matter either. The show has enough comedy it can hold it's own. Just market it right and it'll work. There's no need to ruin Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck but reinventing them to fit the criteria of these characters who are not really Bugs and Daffy. Bugs is not an irritable down-to-earth type who always disappointed by his roommate. He is a silly guy, who's upbeat even when someone's pissed him off.  He's the one to start shenanigans and get people into ridiculous situations.  He has also screws with people, gets mad, and zones out dressing someone's scalp like a fruit salad. I'm not even gonna mention the cross-dressing part of his eccentricity. The same goes for Daffy, who is usually the irritated one who breaks the fourth wall. They're both nut jobs who go loony and cause distress for others, but Daffy is the one who became the go to guy for getting the short end of the stick. Now it's Bugs. And the audience.
I understand that characters evolve and change over time, and that Bugs, Daffy, and half of the Looney Tunes characters didn't start the way they they're most recognized. So I'm not gonna get on how not right I think they look kinda odd and remind me of this. But I want to make clear that I'm perfectly in my right to bash this new show and say, evolution or not, because this new version of the Looney Tunes is not an redesign, modernization, or anything of the sort. This is like making a revamp of Ren & Stimpy but using Mickey and Donald instead. It disregards the integrity of the original characters, the work of the individuals who made these characters, and anybody who has the will to actually take a chance on a new idea.
If Warner really really feels the Looney Tunes are all they have to create a new cartoon series with, then why don't they just make more Looney Tunes cartoons?! Cartoon Network has been running classic Looney Tunes for a month, along with their movies, to rekindle interest in the characters. Personally, I think they're just reminding everyone of why they should be upset with this new show. Still, the cartoons were being shown again, and the world rejoiced. The other day, I caught a new cartoon, in full audience-pandering-3D. It was a Wile E. vs the Roadrunner, and it was great. They didn't speak, he tried to catch the Roadrunner, and the Roadrunner bests him. It was totally in the vain of the original cartoons, just modernized. And they played it among all the classics. It was just fine. Disney released a Goofy cartoon before one of their movies a couple years ago, and the audience loved it. Warner could do the exact same. Then they could let Cartoon Network or whoever wants to air the classics mix in a few new ones and give us new classics. It's As Simple As That.
Keep it simple Warner. No need to reinvent. That kind of thinking gives us stuff like this.

In my last post I praised the Old Spice gentlemen for their winning personalities. But I didn't go far enough to express the amazingness of the captaining Old Spice guy, Isaiah Mustafa. Isaiah is a former NFL receiver and barbecue restauranteur. Knowing that, it's hard to not be wowed by him and deem him even awesomer than before.
Having said all that, let me tell you about the Dos Equis guy, Jonathon Goldsmith, the most interesting man in the world. And no, I'm not referring to his character, I am referring to Jonathon Goldsmith.

Jonathon Goldsmith is an actor from the Bronx who trained with the likes of Robert Duvall and Dustin Hoffman, who he told off early in his career, saying he would make it and Hoffman wouldn't. Unfortunately, after moving to Los Angeles, his acting career consisted mostly of being killed on cop shows. These included everything from being hung to be ground up a nun impersonator. He did play the villain of a John Wayne movie, The Shootist, where Wayne fired blood capsules from a prop gun right between Goldsmith's eyes for several takes. He put up with painfully being shot in the face repeatedly at point blank because he's a badass. He eventually left acting and started what I would call an entrepreneurship. He started his own marketing company and assisted others on achieving their goals. After doing enough pitches on stages he yearned to return to acting, so he retired from the multi-million dollar company he himself started to be a struggling actor again.
But this isn't the part that gets me excited, while I still think it's pretty darn cool. No, here's what makes him the interesting entrepreneurial legend that he is. He also had a water-less car washing business. He's worked as a garbageman and a construction worker. He's rescued a stranded climber in Mt. Whitney and a drowning girl in Malibu. He supports a few important charities, including the S.A.B.R.E. Foundation to save Siberian tigers, which he has fed by hand. He was friends with the great Hollywood swordfighter, Fernando Lama, with whom they shared a love of sailing. It's that same love that keeps him living on 47-foot houseboat. He has a large library. He's into old philosophers more than he's into sports. He loves pocketknives and can open gang-style. He enjoys wine tasting and chopping wood. At this point, it sounds like potential material for one of his iconic Dos Equis ads.
It's stuff like that which makes me feel a little more sane about wanting to live like the character he plays in beer commercials. I participated in the Most Interesting Man's Cargo Hunt last summer, and I want to attend the Most Interesting Academy. I want to develop a taste for both kind of tortilla chips just to be a little more like the larger than life character. And if that would make someone a little more like the magnificent character than Jonathon Goldsmith is, I think that's perfectly acceptable.

The New Old Spice Guy

Much to my own surprise, I'm become a fan of several spokescharacters.

They've developed strong personalities that I, and the rest of the country can't help but me drawn to. I genuinely love The Most Interesting Man In the World. I want to be anything like him. I want to even be a pale comparison of him.
Still, perhaps the most charming and captivating spokescharacter of the bunch is The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. The original commercial is one of the most brilliant, successful, and entertaining commercials of all time. And a good part of that is all on the muscular shoulders of  Isaiah Mustafa, the charismatic actor who is a master of timing and staying focused as the world literally moves around him. It's far too easy to see why women love him and men want to be him. Evenmoreso than his predecessors, Neil Patrick Harris, who women love and want their men to be like, and Bruce Campbell, who both men and women love and want to be like.
Well, now, I'd like to introduce the next Old Spice guy, who's manly name has yet to be revealed. Until then I'll call him The Man Who Smells Like a Man Should Smell. He is not replacing The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, as America has proclaimed our love for that man. But this new man is Old Spice's representative for countries that aren't America. I assume countries which have a larger reptilian problem than this one.
I, for one, love this man. I think he is a great spokescharacter. Just as strong, charming, and handsome as all his Old Spice associates. I will admit, he is not as glorious as the American counterpart, but I would still love to see more of him being amazing. I would also love to get a white suit, grow my hair out, and walk around pretending to be half as awesome as he is. I could pull that off way easier than I could a towel.

After spending all morning scurrying in and out of the apartment, looking for my professional resume envelopes, I managed to get my resume and cover letter in the mail, just before the postman left the building.
Five minutes later, I find out that job has already been filled.