Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C
There
have been many, many filmed takes on the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol. From Alastair Sim’s classic to the Muppets, a
variety of characters have loaned themselves to one of the greatest tales ever
written. The Looney Tunes take a second
swing (yes, this is the second time the Looney Tunes have told this tale) at
the classic in Bah, Humduck! A Looney
Tunes Christmas. The Looney Tunes
originally starred in a eight minute 1979 version entitled Bugs Bunny Christmas Carol. In
the new animated film Bah, Humduck!
none of the character’s names are changed to fit more closely with the Charles
Dickens story, but overall does embody all the same concepts.
Daffy
Duck plays a Scrooge Like millionaire who owns a large company, loving to do
nothing more than count his money and be mean.
Porky Pig reprises his role as a Bob Cratchit like character who is a
widow and cares after his only child Priscilla Pig. Following the Dickens’ Tale Daffy Duck must
reform his evil ways and is visited by four ghosts Sylvester Cat (a Marley type
character), Past (Granny), Present (Yosemite Sam, who played Scrooge in the
first version), and Future (The Tasmanian Devil). In the end, of course, Daffy reforms his ways
and all is forgiven unlike his usual animated appearances. This film was cute and funny, instilling the
zany, slapstick comedy antics of the Looney Tunes crew to put a new twist on a
past classic.
The
technicals on this holiday themed DVD are quite good, though the extras could
use some work. The picture is crisp,
bright, and colorful in its 1.33 X 1 Full Screen Format as it was produced,
although the presentation would have been nicer in an Anamorphic Widescreen format
if cutting it that way was possible. The
sound is also pretty good in its Dolby 5.1 Surround presentation, where each
BAM! SLAM! and Looney Tune SNAP! can be heard clearly along with the seasonal
background music.
The
extras are slightly entertaining, the games at least keeping this reviewer’s
interest for a short period of time. The
game section has three segments, the first section being a remote guided maze,
then a remote guided up/down path game, and finally a character match
game. The match game will surely be a
struggle for younger audiences who have not grown up with the Looney Tunes as
much as past generations, the game using less recognizable characters such as
Slow Poke Rodriguez (Mouse), Bertie (grey mouse), Charlie Dog (Dog), Bookworm,
Claude (yellow cat), Gossamer (big, red, hairy guy), and Priscilla (Porky’s
daughter). Overall, this is a nicely
presented holiday DVD.
Though
this may sound like just a holiday film, it surely is able to be enjoyed year
round.
- Michael P Dougherty II
