Looney Tunes (Matthew O'Callaghan era)



From 2010 through 2014, a series of new Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies cartoons were released in theaters, being directed by Curious George director, Matthew O'Callaghan. This era mainly focused on the characters, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, though instead of being animated in 2D, it was animated in 3D; marking the first time since 1953's "Lumber Jack Rabbit" to be animated in said format. These shorts are sometimes referred to by fans as the Matthew O'Callaghan Era.

Unlike the infamous Larry Doyle-era, this era was more well-received for lots of reasons.

List of Shorts

 * "Coyote Falls" (2010), (featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner)
 * "Fur of Flying" (2010), (featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner)
 * "Rabid Rider" (2010), (featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner)
 * "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat" (2011), (featuring Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny)
 * "Daffy's Rhapsody" (2012), (featuring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd)
 * "Flash in the Pain" (2014), (featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner with cameos of Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny)

Why This Era Rocks

 * 1) It stays faithful to the original Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies shorts thanks to Matthew O'Callaghan, who understood the characters and their personalities.
 * 2) The 3D animation (courtesy of Reel FX) is enjoyable and nice to watch with your family and friends, and manages to keep the charm of the 2D animation.
 * 3) This is an huge improvement over the Larry Doyle-era, in which put a hiatus on the Looney Tunes shorts for a decade, mainly due to its terrible voice acting, like Billy West voicing Porky Pig and Tweety Bird in two of its shorts respectively, and for many other reasons.
 * 4) Nice, incredible, and creative writing from Matthew O'Callaghan's crew.
 * 5) Two shorts titled "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat" and "Daffy's Rhapsody" feature archival recordings from the legendary Mel Blanc, who provided the singing and speaking voice of Tweety and Daffy through recordings.
 * 6) The short "Flash in the Pain" ended both this era, as well as the main Looney Tunes revival series altogether on a high note.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The era intends to focus too much on Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, as they have four shorts while other Looney Tunes characters have two shorts.

Reception
Unlike the Larry Doyle-era, this era had received largly positive reviews from critics and fans of Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies, who praised the writing, 3D animation, faithfulness to the original shorts, and the direction of O'Callaghan.

Trivia

 * The era's final short "Flash in the Pain", was released in 2014, the same year that The Looney Tunes Show ended to make room for a new Looney Tunes series titled New Looney Tunes.
 * O'Callaghan would later go on to serve as a story artist for another Looney Tunes project titled Space Jam: A New Legacy.