Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Who the ***k is Lola Bunny?

This question has probably been raised before in regions of cyberspace more devoted to Warner Brothers and its Looney Toons franchise, but I've decided to take issue with Lola Bunny. If you're asking the question in this post's title, Lola Bunny is a yellow-furred anthrophomorphic rabbit first introduced in the movie Space Jam as Bugs Bunny's love interest. I had no animosity towards her then, and I continue to possess none now, but I find myself wondering why variants of her have been created.

As far as I know, the Lola Bunny character, in her original form, has not appeared in any Warner Brothers project since Space Jam. However, the powers that be somehow declared her suitable for bastardization and created a toddler version of her in the series Baby Looney Toons. I won't comment on the series since I have made a point of not watching it because I thought the concept was both ludicrous and outdated. Wasn't Tiny Toons "baby" enough for them? But I digress.

After making up for not having a counter part in Tiny Toons (Babs Bunny doesn't count since she existed first), they went ahead and made the "extreme" version of her in the form of Lunatics Unleashed's Lexi Bunny. Granted, I could also complain that Road Runner's scion, Rev Runner, can talk (as does Tech E. Coyote, but I've seen Wile E. Coyote talk when he was trying to eat Bugs Bunny in one cartoon) or that Slam Tasmanian (Devil) utters a word of English now and then, but I'm not really a purist. I'm just curious.

What I'm curious about is whether or not Lola Bunny is so amazingingly popular. I don't follow the Looney Tunes community at all, so I don't know. Perhaps find one and ask them. Meanwhile, I have to wonder. Did Space Jam fill the Warner Bros. offices to the brim with Lola Bunny fanmail? Did she slowly gain popularity by starring in cartoons I was not previously aware of? Or does she merely fill a quota that Disney satisfied for years with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck? I think its the last one.

For the longest time, Warner Brothers's roster of classic cartoon heroes has been a total sausage fest. How many classic female Warner Bros. cartoon characters can you name? Here's what I came up with:
1. Witch Hazel
2. That cat that Pepe le Pew falls in love with in every cartoon except the one with the panther
3. The old hen in Foghorn Leghorn cartoons
4. Granny

That's four characters, and they're not even designed to be attractive. The cat isn't even anthropomorphic enough for a decent figure. The only other female characters I can think of aren't even characters. They're just set dressing for the male characters to ogle at. If Lola Bunny isn't the best female character to appear alongside classics, then she's at least the most modern. Well, I assume. I haven't really seen Space Jam.

Okay, ducks and bunnies, let's see if we can't start a discussion up in here. Who's the better bunny, Lola or Babs? I'm going to say Babs. She was first, she was in more cartoons, and she wasn't designed to be eye candy as far as I know. Think I'm wrong? Click the comment link and prove it!

Xander
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