Sufferin’ succotash, what in tarnation is going on over at Warner Bros-Discovery?! They’ve been a hot mess ever since David Zaslav took the helm in 2021. If only there were some way to identify the problem. In his tenure, Zaslav has shelved Batgirl for a tax write-off, taken the HBO out of HBO Max, and wreaked havoc at TCM. Earlier this month he tried to can Coyote vs. Acme for another tax write-off, but swiftly reversed course after public pressure. Zaslav also had some lovely things to say recently about “overpaying for great talent.” So here we are two weeks later and Max announces that Looney Tunes shorts will be removed from the service. As in, the original classic cartoons, half of which were already cut from Max at the start of this year (more on that later). The outrage on social media was so great that Max hurriedly responded mere hours later saying “Oops, that was a typo!” I have never been more proud of social media.
On Monday, Max inspired a fan outcry across social media after announcing that the already reduced library of classic Looney Tunes shorts would be leaving the service entirely in December. The monthly list of titles exiting the service included not only the iconic Looney Tunes shorts from the legendary studio’s history, but The Looney Tunes Show, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Hours later, the Warner Bros-Discovery platform issued a statement saying this was an accident. A revised version of the list includes the following statement: “Looney Tunes was included in error as a title leaving the platform. This is not the case and the show will continue streaming on Max.”
Per the revised list, the only Looney Tunes property leaving Max will be the 2003 film, Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Bugs Bunny and friends haven’t had the easiest time, as of late. Last year, Max removed over 250 episodes of the Looney Tunes shorts, leaving only the first 15 of 31 seasons.
The thought of the remaining cartoons leaving was especially frustrating in the eyes of fans following the news that Warner Bros scrapped the completed movie Coyote vs. Acme as a tax write-off. The film was set to follow in the footsteps of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, two titles which were abruptly pulled from WB’s release schedule last year for the tax benefit.
While it has since been announced that director Dave Green will be allowed to shop the hybrid live-action/animated movie to other potential distributors for a theatrical or streaming release, the initial announcement was heavily criticized. According to The Hollywood Reporter, several filmmakers canceled upcoming meetings with Warner Bros after the news broke.
Between the write-off cancellations and various shows being pulled from the platform, the streamer has garnered a reputation for disappearing titles — which is why Looney Tunes fans were quick to voice their anger when it seemed the studio was dropping the anvil on their own iconic cartoons.
A resounding Yay! that we get to cling to Seasons 1-15 after all. But speaking as a card-carrying Looney Tunes lover myself, the content in Seasons 16-31 is the real gold. That first half begins in 1930 with the first black-and-white Merrie Melodies cartoons, and ends by 1950. It’s the early work. It’s Bugs Bunny in his becoming era. It’s great for watching the evolution of Bugs from your run-of-the-mill rabbit to the wise-cracking, cross-dressing, inimitable New Yorker we think of today. But you know what we’re missing by not having the episodes of the 1950s-1960s? Duck Amuck. Bully for Bugs. One Froggy Evening. Robin Hood Daffy. What’s Opera, Doc? I repeat, they pulled What’s Opera, Doc? from viewing!!! David Zaslav has decimated the Looney Tunes catalog on Max so egregiously, the only possible explanation is that he’s put longtime rival Mickey Mouse in charge of Max’s animation streaming. Someone please find a magic helmet and get Zaslav out of there! By now he’s missed every left turn at Albuquerque.
The Looney Tunes are cultural treasures. They should be as readily available to everybody as possible. https://t.co/JEQperd40X pic.twitter.com/UtbWFDcK1r
— Vincent Alexander (@NonsenseIsland) November 28, 2023
Once again, the guy who is literally the Emmy-winning voice of the studio's fricken mascot is calling out the decisions of the management of WBD in regard to another mistreatment of the Looney Tunes property.
And I'm all for it. https://t.co/rzgDCg9f0P
— Jeff Harris (@nemalki) November 28, 2023
That was quick.
Also… "in error."
It's like I said… mess with Looney Tunes at your peril. EVERYBODY loves Looney Tunes. https://t.co/C2SDIKfyug
— Jeff Harris (@nemalki) November 28, 2023
photos credit: Cover Images/WB, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon and via Twitter
The only logical explanation to this guy’s approach to running this business is that, forget shelving completed films for a tax write off, he’s looking to tank the entire operation for a tax write off.
Streaming is a hard business to make a profit from, so you might be right.
The problem is that consumers like it. They’ve gotten used to it and they don’t want to go back, so that move would be so unpopular it would tank the whole HBO business.
“If only there were some way to identify the problem.”
Ha! The dude is a menace. How much longer are they going to let him continue this shitfuckery?
I was literally just watching those Looney Tunes cartoons last week and was loving it! I’m glad they’re staying and the later seasons should be brought back too. They are all treasures and bring back such great childhood memories for me!
I love HBO. Or what HBO used to be. Since I subscribed to HBOMax they merged and now I am paying for all these home flipping, baking and other reality shows I do not want. It clogs up my menu and increases prices for crappy product. I realize there are plenty of people who love these shows, it’s just frustrating. And keep the Looney Tunes FFS.
I have the three DVD box sets and no MAX subscription, so I’m set. I can see why they keep wanting to dump them. I bet the viewership numbers aren’t great and I bet the interface and server load for hosting them is relatively high.
But people want them to be available! Max seems to be incapable of doing the sensible thing – curating a list of top classics that will always be available and then splitting the rest into some sort rotating availability. But that would cost money, so it’s not happening.
According to reports, a lot of Zazlav’s dumbass moves can be linked to the fact that his bonus is tied to cash-flow, rather than stock price or profits. And cash-flow is highly manipulable by simply firing people and canceling projects, which is what he’s doing. Congress should be looking into it, and probably would be if the world weren’t on fire.
When HBO (F U MAX) is under this kind of management it’s always a freefall of bad decisions. There was a time wonderful shows were canceled during some dark times in HBO like Rome, Carnival, and Deadwood. Those were some sad years.
Why on earth are they are paying this man MILLIONS of dollars to make terrible decisions?
Has anyone ever seen the Looney Tunes episode “Acme Concrete”. I have seen in twice by accident but have never been able to find it on streaming. “Acme Concrete” features Elmer Fudd and some highly irate beavers.
Posting late just to say Zaslav is a freaking moron who does not understand anything about the cultural value of the tremendous archive he is sitting on. I can’t believe the head of Warner Bros. allowed Coyote vs. Acme to go to any other distributor — the Road Runner universe is a WB heritage brand. Only Mickey Mouse & co. are more closely associated with a studio name than the Looney Tunes gang and WB. And now he tried to delete all of Looney Tunes. As Bugs would say, What a maroon.