I have a very distinct memory from my childhood of my mother calling out to me, “Bugs Bunny is on!” I was on the swing set at this time, so I flung myself off, crashed onto the ground, and got the wind knocked out of me for the first time. I still managed to stumble inside to watch the cartoon rabbit, because like Hell I was gonna let that a-hole gravity stop me.
If anyone is truly human then chances are they've loved TUNES at some point, and with all this popularity around resurrecting old childhood passions, it would seem inevitable that the beloved cartoon goofs would get their shot at a modern iteration. Thanks to writer Max Landis, one of those adorable characters will be getting that shot at nostalgia-fueled glory.
During a DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY panel at Comic-Con, Landis broke the news that he was writing a Pepe Le Pew movie for Warner Bros. News is that Landis wrote a treatment of the character that the studio quite liked and is now pursuing with Landis attached.
Le Pew is of course known as the French skunk who trolls around looking for his “l’amour”, and in doing so gives off a pretty perverted vibe. His usual attempted conquest is a black cat (Penelope Pussycat) who gets mistaken for a skunk after some kind of accident paints a white stripe down her back. She often rejects his advances, not only because he is a skunk and she is a cat, but because Le Pew is a total creeper.
Now you may be thinking those jokes about Le Pew being a total frat dude are harmless, but I truly think that making a Le Pew movie may not be the wisest move. Le Pew is considered a somewhat antiquated stereotype of French men, with his exaggerated accent and abundant sex drive. Not to mention, with today’s climate surrounding sexual abuse, many may not want their kids watching a skunk sexually harass a cat.
But maybe Landis found a way around it, making him more affable and less perverted. I mean, I’ve always gotten a kick out of the French skunk, but in today’s more politically correct society it may be best to try a more…subtle approach.
Though I can attribute the aforementioned memory as being the cause of my fear of playground equipment, I still get warm, fuzzy feelings when thinking about mornings spent watching TUNES, cereal on my lap and boogers in my nose. So, of course, I would love to see a new TUNES movie—a real TUNES movie—and this may be exactly that movie. And no, a sequel to a terrible TUNES basketball movie doesn’t count as a real TUNES movie. Yes, I am saying SPACE JAM is a terrible movie. Wanna fight about it?
Landis' next movie, POWER RANGERS, is set for March 24, 2017.