Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam Ditch Their Guns in HBO Max Cartoons
By Tess Farrand, Associate Content Editor
LOONEY TUNES’ Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam will not carry their trademark guns in their HBO Max run.
“We’re not doing guns,” said Peter Browngardt, executive producer. “But, we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”
Both Sam and Fudd are known for their intense hatred of the Bugs Bunny wabbit, and much of their antics involve firing shots at the carrot-loving creature. Fudd, a hunter, is always on the lookout for “wabbit season” with his trusty rifle. Sam is known for his quick draw of a pistol in each hand that he fires at will. The characters’ guns are as much a part of them as Fudd’s hat or Sam’s mustache.
The Chicago Sun Times reported:
Despite the lack of guns for Fudd, and characters like pistol-shooting Yosemite Sam, Browngardt vowed to keep to the original feel of the cartoons, considered some of the greatest in animated cartoon history.
“I always thought, ‘What if Warner Bros. had never stopped making ‘Looney Tunes’ cartoons?’” said Browngardt. “As much as we possibly could, we treated the production in that way.”
Though the lack of guns could be a good thing for youngsters who are prone to copycat violent behavior on screen, the remainder of cartoon violence could present a problem.
As Dr. Ted Baehr wrote in “The Media-Wise Family”:
“Consider a cartoon where a character is hit by a hammer, the character shakes his head and continues on his way. Many researchers consider this ‘happy violence,’ the worst type of entertainment violence because it is unrealistic. Such cartoon violence might encourage children to imitate it because it shows no consequences.”
Yet, the elimination of guns could prove to be a good thing for children.
As Baehr writes:
Scientific evidence strongly indicates a connection between television violence and violence in the real world. The cumulative effect of all these studies indicates a statistically significant connection between watching violence on television and behaving aggressively. These studies have prompted the American Medical Association, The American Psychiatric Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and many other organizations to issue policy statements condemning violence in the media.
But, was the “no-gun” decision an attempt to bend to PC culture?
CNN reported, “No mention is made of whether or not that the guns being removed was a response to gun violence and school shootings in the US.”
The new slate of LOONEY TUNES shorts is streaming on HBO Max already.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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