One Thousand Minutes: A Return to Cartoonist-Driven Animation, or Another Dud?

The title is quasi-clickbait, as we cannot be certain. But I am nonetheless surprised by the news; it kind of came out of nowhere.

Here's the rundown: it's advertised as a completely cartoonist-driven deal, with everything being run and done by the artists at Warner Bros. (except for the animation, most likely). It's being overseen by Sam Register and Peter Browngardt, who would supposedly play the role Leon Schlesinger, and later  Edward Selzer, did with the original Looney Tunes films. Warner has also boasted high production values for these shorts, and they apparently time in anywhere between one and six minutes. They are also slated to be available on cable and streaming services sometime next year.

How do I feel? Well, I don't know. I love Looney Tunes and the original artist and direction crews behind the original theatrical shorts, and I love the philosophy behind this. But Warner Bros. Animation doesn't have the cleanest slate when dealing with its own properties (see: Teen Titans GO!, Powerpuff Girls (2016), and Wabbit!). There's also something to be said of a dignified passing, something that Looney Tunes has long passed the chance of. Of course, this is mostly personal conjecture and prejudice, so take it with a grain of salt.

The intentions are good, so I propose that we see where this goes. Perhaps this will blow us all away and hopefully have enough momentum to spring up more creator-and-artist driven animation programs here in the States, but this is early-stage stuff. I'll update accordingly.