Earlier this week, Warner Bros made known its list of shows and films that would either join their streaming service, Max, or be leaving it behind. While it’s nothing new for streaming services to remove shows and films to make way for new ones, there was one name that got everyone’s attention. One series of shorts and cartoons that caused the Internet to form the equivalent of a digital mob on social media: Looney Tunes. Max would remove the classic Looney Tunes shorts at the end of December 2023.
Except they weren’t. Someone had made a mistake on a scale not seen since the Season Two finale of Amphibia leaked on iTunes. By doing so, though, they showed how much fans are willing to do to support their childhood cartoons. The end results, though, can be just as negative as they are positive.
A False Alarm Leads to Online Rioting
It started on Monday, November 27th, with a Warner Bros press release. The company was announcing its plans regarding the streaming service, Max, for December and what would be coming and going. Some notable works that would be leaving the platform included Elf (Which just turned 20 this November!); the Final Destination films…and the remainder of the classic Looney Tunes shorts.
At the start of 2023, Warner Bros had removed half of the classic Looney Tunes shorts. By removing the remainder, they were depriving subscribers of the ability to see the Looney Tunes in their golden age. So when the news broke that this would be happening, fans of Looney Tunes reacted to the news online in the way one would expect: rioting on Twitter and blaming David Zaslav.
As it turns out, though, this might have been a mistake. In a follow-up later into the night, Warner Bros said the following:
That Was a Mistake
The classic Looney Tunes would not be leaving Max. In fact, the only Looney Tunes content leaving would be the 2003 film Looney Tunes: Back in Action. In other words, the whole thing was a mistake. A simple screw-up that someone made. However, while fans of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck can rest easy, there’s more to say about this incident. To be more specific, what it says about the fans and their current relationship with Warner Bros.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, ever since the merger of Warner Bros and Discovery, the new CEO, David Zaslav, has garnered a lot of hate on the Internet. From pulling the plug on movies to get tax write-offs to pulling shows off of streaming platforms without warning, his leadership has gotten a lot of criticism and hate. Earlier this month, however, fans’ hatred boiled over. After shelving the completed Coyote vs. Acme movie, the sheer backlash WB got online forced it to backpedal, much to the joy of those who wanted the film to see the light of day. It looked like things could calm down a little.
Then, someone at the company made that mistake on the press release mere weeks later, and the storm picked up again. Some on Twitter went so far as to accuse Zaslav of hating the Looney Tunes or calling him a cartoon villain.
While in this instance, the announcement appears to be a genuine mistake on Warner Bros. part, it’s telling to see how fans’ knee-jerk reaction was to grab their digital torches and pitchforks a second time in November. Trust in Warner Bros. Discovery’s leadership has gotten so low that people automatically assumed the worst. Had these events played out in real life, it’s likely that it could’ve led to actual riots taking place. Except this time, they didn’t do the thing they were being accused of doing.
A Fan’s Concerns Over the Reactions
As a casual fan of Looney Tunes and animation in general, I’ve made it clear that David Zaslav is not my favorite person. Under his watch, Warner Bros has done the following:
- Axed movies that were on the verge of completion for tax write-offs.
- Purged streaming of shows without giving the people who made them a heads up or warning.
- Repeated example one after claiming they wouldn’t do it anymore.
Needless to say, my opinion on Zaslav is one shared by several who either work in the entertainment industry or follow/cover it: we don’t like him. And once I saw on Twitter the initial news about Looney Tunes, I reacted the same way many did: I got angry. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, though, and the anger subsided, it got me thinking: was it right to blame him for this?
Do Better, Zaslav!
As CEO of Warner, David Zaslav is ultimately the one in charge, and thus the one responsible for what WB does and doesn’t do. However, just because he’s the leader doesn’t mean that he’s the one who makes the end-all decisions for everything. Warner Bros is a massive conglomerate with countless people working for it and plenty of higher-ups making decisions. If the Looney Tunes was put on the chopping block by accident, then it could be because of a number of factors. Someone could’ve forgotten to double check or put it on by mistake. So while someone did screw up, Zaslav likely had nothing to do with it. Yet people were still quick to blame him. That’s a problem!
Has Warner Bros made bad decisions under Zaslav’s leadership? Yes. Have they done things that, while within their rights to do, is slimy and untrustworthy? Yes. Does that mean Zaslav hates the Looney Tunes or animation? Not likely. This whole incident was likely a slip-up on the part of the people working under him. They wouldn’t do that on purpose right after what happened with Coyote vs. Acme. So, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to blame things on a single person when things are likely more complicated?
Either way, someone’s probably getting fired at Warner Bros for this.
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