With anticipation high for Warner Bros. Feature Animation’s comic collaboration with the Farrelly Bros., Osmosis Jones (due in theaters next spring), the studio has started making plans for its next feature-length animated theatrical.
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t’s been decided that Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will be returning to the big screen in another live-action/animation adventure. But the studio has not determined which scenario, among those pitched, to run with. Producer Quincy Jones, a long-time Looney Tunes fan, has weighed in with a ‘Great Race/Cannonball Run’ road race comedy, while the in-house animation department has a secret agent spoof in mind.
Warner Bros. has had a rocky time with cartoon features in the last few years so it has returned to a proven formula. Space Jam, an international box office success, (though costing over US$100 million to produce) proved that Bugs Bunny and crew were a big theatrical draw, while Quest for Camelot (1998) fizzled and The Iron Giant (1999), though a critical favorite, also bombed at the box office. The two Pokémon features released within the past year, however, were quite successful in the U.S. and have encouraged the studio to spin off its familiar television successes. Warner will also release Cartoon Network’s The Powerpuff Girls Movie (currently in production) next year.