Some of the most beloved characters from your childhood could be getting a very PC makeover as social movements demand immediate changes to how guns and police are depicted in media.
You probably grew up watching Looney Tunes cartoons created by Warner Bros. that includes Bugs and a slew of other famous cartoon characters dating back to the 1940s. They were an adventurous, rambunctious, and unforgettable gang with characters like Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Porky Pink, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam getting into all kinds of hyginks and hilarious situations together.
Those last two characters — Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd — are going to look a little different in future cartoons.
So what’s the big change coming up for these two historic characters? No guns allowed.
New Looney Tunes Cartoons on HBO Max
The new streaming service from HBO, called HBO Max, will premier new episodes of Looney Tunes. The showrunner and executive producer, Peter Browngardt, recently said in a statement that “we’re not doing guns.” He then went on to explain that there will still be the typical type of cartoon violence that people are used to seeing, but visually neither of the characters will carry their trademark guns.
Yosemite Sam used to carry two six-shooter pistols, while Elmer Fudd carried his famously oversized double-barrel shotgun.
How in the world will Elmer Fudd be able to hunt and say his famous saying, “shhhhhh, be vewy, vewy quiet, I’m hunting wabbits.” Obviously, he was going after Bugs Bunny in a comic portrayal of hunting in many of these old school cartoons. It was all in good fun though. Elmer Fudd never actually got to make tasty hasenpfeffer (rabbit stew) with Bugs. But both of the guns carried by each character were a vital part of their personality and history, essential to each in their comic pursuits.
Making Gun Ownership Irrelevant
Many gun groups feel that the move to take away guns from shows in popular culture is an attempt to make gun ownership irrelevant, and takes away from the importance of the Second Amendment.
The anti-gun rights groups seem to be winning in Hollywood. Keep in mind that new cartoon characters don’t usually carry guns anymore. Take a look at Woody from the very popular “Toy Story” movies. He’s a sheriff cowboy doll that’s supposed to be from a 1950s television show for kids, but while he wears a holster, it’s always empty.
Replacing Firearms Altogether
None of this really makes any sense considering the new cartoon called “Dynamite Dance” featuresElmer Fudd wielding a scythe at Bugs Bunny and a stick of dynamite being used to fend him off. How are those instruments of destruction more politically correct than a hunting rifle? This is still pretty violent imagery, but maybe it makes those anti-gun people feel better.
The whole thing is pretty ridiculous. To strip iconic and classic characters of their trademark guns is to deny the history of why they were using them in the first place.
