I have long been a fan of Joe Dante. I was a huge fan of Piranha, The Howling, Gremlins, Gremlins 2, Matinee, Explorers, and particularly Innerspace, which I maintain is one of the most underrated popcorn classics of the 80's. I've also become quite fond of The Burbs' through the years and even have a soft spot for Small Soldiers, a picture that met with a severe lack of enthusiasm. Given Mr. Dante's directing techniques, it seemed only fitting that he would be the perfect candidate to tackle Looney Tunes: Back in Action, a movie that features a cast comprised of many of Warner Brothers classic cartoon characters.

Not surprisingly, Back in Action is pretty thin on plot. Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman play the live action leads, an ex-Warner Brothers security guard and a reporter engaged in a zany adventure with Bugs and Daffy, which leads them face to face with the evil head of the Acme Corporation (played with fiendish glee by an energetic Steve Martin).

Dante is perfect for this material since it was the Looney Tunes cartoons that were a big inspiration for his film making career (watch Gremlins and you'll see what I mean). Back in Action does have a Looney Tunes sensibility, and it's overflowing with characters, scenarios and inside jokes that will mostly appeal to fans of WBs classic animated shorts. Dante also pays homage to the numerous films that made an impression on him when he was young. There's a brief sequence featuring veteran actor Kevin McCarthy holding an alien pod from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and while Back in Action is in full vibrant color, McCarthy and his pod are in black and white. It's a terrific moment, and there are other great moments in Back in Action as well.

Performance and plot aren't particularly important here as this movie is more of an excuse to get all of these beloved characters on screen together (something Space Jam did less successfully back in the mid 90's). And some gags are side splittingly funny (including one featuring Scooby and Shaggy critically lashing out at Matthew Lillard), unfortunately just as many fall flat.

Bendan Fraser is perfectly suited for this kind of thing (remember him in George of the Jungle?). Quite often, he's compared to a toon himself because of his zany, on-screen demeanor. Jenna Elfman (of Dharma and Greg fame) is Fraser's human accomplice and while she's fine, there really isn't much to her in this picture. Steve Martin makes the best of the live action element, as the evil leader of the Acme Corporation. Dante lets him go off, and his work here reminded me of some of the stuff he did in Dirty Rotton Scoundrels and The Jerk. Bugs and Daffy are, of course in top form as always. Also, watch for cameos by Joan Cusack, Heather Locker, and iconic lowbudget film maker Roger Corman, as well as bit parts provided by Dante collaborating veterans Robert Picardo and Dick Miller.

There are some beautifully drawn sequences in Back in Action including one in which Bugs and Daffy jump from one painting to another while being chased by an old enemy. What makes the sequence so unique is the way the characters' animation style changes, so that they actually blend into each painting they occupy as they make good their escape.

Sadly, Back in Action never really finds a comfortable rhythm. It's all over the map (literally). The cartoons which spawned it had the luxury of being shorts. Even though Back in Action clocks in under ninety minutes, it feels longer. I also never got the sense that these animated and live action characters co-exist. In Robert Zemekis' wildly inventive Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the proceedings were much more seamless.

This isn't to say that Looney Tunes: Back in Action is an absolute waste of time. Dante does some terrific things here. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough for a full recommendation.