TV Elmer Fudd gun removed

[VisionofMilotic]

Iconic Looney Toon villains Yosemite Sam and Elmer have gotten a little makeover for the brand new Looney Tunes cartoons on HBO Max. The irascible cowboy will no longer wield his trademark double pistols, and the hapless hunter has also had the signature shotgun taken away.

No guns of any kind will appear in the animation. It has been noted that the violent imagery ingrained in the classic Loony Tunes series won't be removed entirely, but the comical nature of the violence will be continuously underscored. Attacks with sink plungers and tools from an artist's workshop, chases with gardening equipment and booby traps for example take place in the series, but gun violence has been deemed no longer funny by the producers.

"We're not doing guns," Peter Browngardt, the executive producer and showrunner of the series, told the New York Times in a recent interview. "But we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in."

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/elmer-fudd-gun-looney-tunes-cartoons-71140116

Some fans feel this creative decision takes away from the iconic nature of the characters.

"Elmer fudd without his gun, is like yosemite sam without his moustache," wrote Twitter user @Alien_McQueen on Sunday.

"Give Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd their guns back! #justiceforelmer #justiceforyosemite," tweeted user @JwQueck on Monday.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/elmer-...ooney-tunes-cartoons-yosemite-sam-bugs-bunny/

While the series animator Michael Ruocco has vocally defended the creative decision to remove guns, in addition to not wanting the appearance of glamorizing guns, he doesn't agree that firearms were integral to what made the characters funny, and has argued that dropping them actually opens up the door to a greater variety of jokes.

"Also, think about context about what's going on in the world, and how long ago our show started production. Late 2017, early 2018," Ruocco tweeted. "Right on the heels of a record number of mass shootings, particularly the horrific one in Las Vegas. NOBODY wanted to touch guns working in media."

"I personally did not care [about] or miss Elmer's rifle," Ruocco added in a subsequent tweet. "We got a lot more out of his personality and his lack of wit than any implement in his hands. Move on." In a final tweet, Ruocco added the animators "got a lot more out of wordplay, dynamite and the character's own naivety/stupidity than we ever did with guns."

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news...-ban-artist-michael-rucco-addresses-backlash/

Where do you stand? Is it time for Elmer and Sam to ditch these weapons, or should these characters not have not been altered in this way?

 

[professor plum]

I've seen people on social media absolutely livid about this, blaming the "liberal media!!!!!!" for this change. The cartoons originated at a different time in America, and I don't see an issue with these updates.

 

[Caite-chan]

I vote No because there's no reason to remove them honestly. This is what our parents grew up on and if that's the case then change EVERYTHING from the past. Not only that it should be the parent's responsibility to teach their kids what's right and wrong. I almost feel like they are running out of ideas so they said Hey let's take their guns away.

Honestly if you have to do that then come up with your own ideas. Quit trying to change the past. It's the past for a reason do better for the future.

 

[gimmepie]

I highly doubt that Looney Toons wielding guns is likely to have any significant impact on actual violence if video game violence doesn't, and we know for a fact video game violence doesn't. Personally, I think it's either a dumb decision made by the ill-informed or a tactical choice to attract attention. Either way, it's kind of silly. That being said, so are the people losing their minds over it.

 

[moon]

It would be different to edit old clips, like making the agents in E.T. hold walkie talkies instead of guns; that kind of editing I think is a bit unnecessary. All animations and media are products of their time. It can be good to remember how things used to be and how far we've come.

But this is a completely new take on the show. There is no obligation to do everything 100% like before, and ending any glorification of gun violence is only good. From what limited information I get from reading VoM's post without clicking the sources, I think it was a very wise decision that brings a more modern take on a belowed show without changing the originals.

 

[Meganium]

With today's age of gun violence, I honestly think it's probably for the best. It may be funny in the past, but not so much now. It's gonna take a lot of time to get used to though, what would Elmer Fudd use for Duck season? xD

 

[moon]

With today's age of gun violence, I honestly think it's probably for the best. It may be funny in the past, but not so much now. It's gonna take a lot of time to get used to though, what would Elmer Fudd use for Duck season? xD

Ok that is... true... in real life, guns are necessary tools for hunting. Not just for humans harming humans.

I still think it's fine to remove them alltogether from a kids cartoon in today's climate, because it's a character with human-like personality that's being hunted here, not an animal-like animal (I do not mean to upset vegetarians here). Guns are not the main point of the show anyways.

 

[Adam Levine]

I mean, even without the guns, the new Looney Tunes is pretty violent, so I don't think it's that big a change.

 

[LucarioBread]

Given that possession of these weapons is an integral part of the character, it feels... weird. I believe this change accomplishes next to nothing - as if the kid isn't going to see a gun somewhere else. The modern way of parenting also seems to be in favor of shielding your child from everything instead of ingraining some sense of morals in them so they can tell good and bad on their own.
That being said, I'm very against the possession of firearms. But this to me seems like trying to cut the violence problem at its root, but it's the wrong root you're cutting.

 

[VisionofMilotic]

There are some jokes about committing suicide in Looney Tunes that I would not advise recreating today where the cartoons take out pistols and shoot themselves in the head. But just the appearance of a gun in the cartoon is not something I would personally bother restricting. The context that Elmer Fudd carries a gun in would be acceptable in even many countries with strict gun laws that the US doesn't have. He is a hunter, so he has a rifle to shoot game just like he has the deer hunter hat. If you put your knife next to a fork and spoon it looks innocuous. It's what he does. A barber would have a razor. I kinda doubt showing a blade in this context would reinforce violence.

Not to mention that Elmer's gun has been animated very surrealistically at times, spinning and being turned at impossible angles, the two barrels of the shot gun getting bent and tied up into a bow, or wilting like a flower. The object itself is almost like a character.

If this was Marvin the Martian's disintegration ray gun, which was also a fantastical and relatively harmless image in my view, l think it would be a somewhat easier to phase out since it wasn't featured as frequently on the show as a detail of his character to begin with, and with him being an alien on another planet I think it would feel more natural and probably even more fun to watch him employ other types of technology that our world has never seen before to catch Bugs or Daffy. But Seeing Elmer Fudd running around with a scythe seems like a more forced joke, and I think potentially more disturbing than it would be if they just went ahead and recycled the gun.

 

[Maedar]

Maybe it was for Elmer's own safety. I mean, the guy shoots himself by accident far more often than he hits what he's aiming at.