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Perhaps a Warner Brothers executive had an ACME anvil drop on him. How else to explain the long period of time between "Space Jam" and "Looney Tunes- Back in Action"? While the Looney Tunes characters work best in short cartoons (or short stretches), "LTBIA" is surprisingly entertaining and, at its best, recalls the best work of Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson and Bob Clampett. Daffy Duck has been fired by Kate (Jenna Elfman) a Warner executive.

DJ (Brendan Fraiser) the aspiring stuntman/security officer on the lot is assigned to get rid of Daffy and, in the process, manages to get fired himself when Daffy wrecks havoc on the studio lot. Stuck together, the two of them are drawn into a plan for world domination by Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin) the head of ACME Corporation. It seems that Mr. Chairman plans on stealing the Blue Monkey a gem with awesome magical powers that will allow him to bring the world to its knees. Dj's father movie star and real life secret agent Damien (Timothy Dalton in a wonderful spoof of his Bond performances) discovered the plans and has disappeared having been taken prisoner by, who else?, Mr. Chairman. Meanwhile Bugs gets sucked into defending the world when he tries to get Daffy his old job back (at less than his usual salary cut). It seems that the cartoons just don't work without Daffy. Kate gets sucked into helping DJ and the result is romance between the two. While it's inconsistent, "Looney Tunes" manages to occasionally channel the spirit of the old cartoons.

There's a marvelous sequence in the Louvre where Daffy, Bugs, Elmer Fudd and assorted bad guys chase each other through the paintings of Dali, Seurat, Lautrec and others. The action recalls the best moments of the old cartoons with imaginative, witty animation and a couple of marvelous in jokes as well. The live action has its appeal, too. DJ at one point complains about losing his job as a stunt double for actor Brenda Fraiser when Fraiser gets jealous of the work DJ did in "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns". Later, Fraiser playing DJ gets to confront "Brendan Fraiser" about losing his job. It's a clever moment that provides a chuckle for adults familiar with Fraiser's work. Fraiser also provides the voice of the Tazmian Devil in the film doing triple duty.

The film sags a bit in the middle. Steve Martin's over-the-top portrayal of Mr. Chairman is a bit much even for this movie. There are also a number of funny cameos by well known character actors in the film. Although "Looney Tunes" doesn't work quite as well as the shorts, it's a much better movie than the studio's first attempt at a feature length film with the characters. "Space Jam" was an awful mix that missed the target more often than not.