Loonatics Unleashed

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Loonatics Unleashed is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Entertainment that debuted on September 17, 2005 on The WB Television network's Kids' WB programing block and currently airs on The CW Television Network in the United States, Teletoon in Canada, Kids Central in Singapore, Cartoon Network's Boomerang in Australia, Cartoon Network in the UK, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

The series is loosely based on the Looney Tunes cartoon characters, with the series described by Warner Bros. as an "action-comedy." Loonatics Unleashed is meant to be a mixture of the Looney Tunes shorts' irreverent style of humor and a modern action animated series, with the characters designed in a different style.

The series has thus far run for two seasons. The show does not appear on The CW's Kids WB Fall 2007 lineup but it still has not been officially cancelled.

Pre-debut issues

Loonatics Unleashed generated some criticism among various animation fans for its assumed reinterpretation of the classic Looney Tunes characters. Some original Looney Tunes fans found the concept, style and tone of Loonatics distasteful. Specifically, detractors believed the idea to be a cheap "extreme" marketing ploy to appeal to a demographic at the expense of the classic Warner Bros. characters. Others felt that Loonatics Unleashed is simply part of the Looney Tunes characters' continuing evolution in contemporary pop culture.

Another issue arose with "Buzz Bunny," the original name of Ace Bunny. Dutch freelance designer and illustrator Metin Seven had copyrighted a character of the same name. The name was also used for an erotic vibrator.

After complaints about the original preproduction character models' appearances, including an Internet petition of protest that was started by 11-year-old Thomas Adams, the producers of the series revised and softened the characters' appearances to make them appear less menacing.

All of these responses came before the program had aired.

Story

The first five episodes of Loonatics Unleashed take place in 2772, the year that a meteor strikes the fictional city-planet of Acmetropolis, knocking it completely off its original axis. However, instead of destroying the planet, the impact of the meteor and its resultant shockwave gives off supernatural cosmic energies that give some inhabitants superpowers while incapacitating others in its wake. A mysterious and powerful woman called Zadavia calls upon six of the affected residents that live in Acmetropolis to form a team of superheroes. She becomes their supervisor, dispatching them for the purpose of combating any and all threats to Acmetropolis and its citizens. The newly formed team is known as the Loonatics and reside on the 125th floor of a large tower, according to the episode "The World is My Circus." These characters are the descendants of the classic Looney Tunes characters, according to multiple press releases and official sources. Descendants of other Looney Tunes are unverified, though implied.

Later, in the episode "The Comet Cometh," the city's citizens are celebrating the first anniversary of the Loonatics' debut, which means that it can be assumed that the episode and all future episodes take place in the year 2773 (unless indicated otherwise). Additionally, a mysterious character, now known as Optimatus, debuts in the final moments of the episode. He states that the meteor's striking Acmetropolis in 2772 was not an incidental event but actually a deliberate attempt to destroy Acmetropolis. Despite his attempts to destroy the planet ending in failure--the first having caused the energy release that gave the Loonatics and others their powers, and the Loonatics stopping a second attempt with a larger space rock in the episode--he states that he plans to attack the planet a third time. Later, in the two-part season-ending episode, "Acmegeddon," Optimatus returns and is revealed to be Zadavia's brother. He targets the Loonatics, Zadavia and all of Acmetropolis, hoping to destroy them all. They successfully save the world and send Optimatus to an unknown location in the galaxy via wormhole.

Season 2 introduces many new characters and possible Looney Tunes characters' descendants (ex. Ophiucus Sam, Sylth Vester, Royal Tweetums, Queen Granicus, Pinkster Pig, Melvin the Martian, Electro J. Fudd, Gorlop, Stoney and Bugsy, Sagittarius Stomper and his Mom). The animation style for the Loonatics has changed slightly, and the characters all gain new powers and new gadgets. A second overall story arc is now introduced; Optimatus is back, and he wants Tweetums. As old villains reunite, Zadavia and the Loonatics, now joined by Sylth Vester and Tweetums, must save the galaxy once more. Before the season finale ends, Optimatus decides to use his powers for good.

Characters

Episodes

Season 1: 2005-2006

Season 1
01 "Loonatics on Ice"
02 "Attack of the Fuzz Balls"
03 "Cloak of Black Velvet"
04 "Weathering Heights"
05 "Going Underground"
06 "The Comet Cometh"
07 "The World is My Circus"
08 "Stop the World I Want to Get Off"
09 "Sypher"
10 "The Menace of Mastermind"
11 "Time After Time"
12 "Acmegeddon - Part I"
13 "Acmegeddon - Part II"

Season 2: 2006-2007

Season 2
14 "Secrets of the Guardian Strike Sword"
15 "A Creep in the Deep"
16 "I am Slamacus"
17 "The Heir Up There"
18 "The Family Business"
19 "Cape Duck"
20 "The Hunter"
21 "It Came from Outer Space"
22 "Apocalypso"
23 "In the Pinkster"
24 "The Music Villain"
25 "The Fall of Blanc (Part 1)"
26 "In Search of Tweetums (Part 2)"

Equipment

Weapons and gear used by the Loonatics and usually made by Tech E. Coyote. They are referred to as "the toys" by Ace, despite Tech's insistence that they are "hand-crafted precision alloy instruments."

Retrofire Master Blaster (First Used: "Loonatics on Ice") The Retrofire Master Blasters were used to melt the giant iceberg that appeared in Acmetropolis. They were specially equipped with a 'Thaw' mode to melt it, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

Zoomatrixes (First Used: "Loonatics on Ice") The Zoomatrixes are a series of motorcycles developed by Tech for urban transport. They are capable of changing into an alternate mode which give the vehicles flight capabilities. They are also able to join together to form a flying platform capable of launching missiles and disruptor discs.

Exo-Vac 2400X (First Used: "Attack of the Fuzz Balls") The Exo-Vac 2400X was constructed by Tech to suck up all the Fuz-Zs in Acmetropolis when the Loonatics learn that the Fuz-Zs transform into monsters whenever they eat chocolate. When Lexi and Danger are caught by Professor Zane, the rest of the Loonatics drop off the Fuz-Zs at HQ and initiate the "Turbo Vac-Jet Mode" of the vehicle to speed to Zane's lair to rescue their captured comrades. Tech has also called the Exo-Vac the "Ultimate Urban Vacuum."

Ninjizer 500 (First Used: "Cloak of Black Velvet") When the Loonatics head into the zeppelin to rescue Tech, who is now brainwashed by Black Velvet, Ace brings along the Ninjizer 500, which is powerful enough to cut through steel walls with its "Beam Mode." It also shoots nunchakus and shurikens, which somehow reflects the martial-arts expertise of Ace Bunny.

Supersonic Transport (First Used: "Cloak of Black Velvet") The Loonatics use this ship to get into Black Velvet's zeppelin. It can travel at a remarkably high speed and has amazing maneuverability. This high-altitude aircraft is also used in "Apocalypso".

Grapple Gun (First Used: "Weathering Heights") All that is know about the Grapple Gun is that it was used by Ace and Tech to pull themselves and their comrades out of Weathervane's tornadoes.

Port-a-lab (First Used: "Weathering Heights") A ship Tech just built which he flew to the biggest and hottest volcano on the planet to defeat the Storm Dragon. However, he had to leave it as it was destroyed by lava.

Mobile Magma Mover (First Used: "Going Underground") A big drilling machine Tech built to drill through solid rock. It was used by the Loonatics to search for Dr. Dare. However, a sudden stop short circuited the engines. Luckily, Tech was able to divert reserve power to the front thrusters but since he didn't have a long extension cord, he used himself as a conductor, which jump started the engines. The vehicle is cylindrical shaped with three drills at the front and protected by titanium double shielding.

The Tech E. Coyote Space Stream 8000 (First Used: "The Comet Cometh") The Space Stream was built by Tech to get to Optimatus' second meteor. On the way to the big chunk of rock, a wave of cosmic energy strikes the ship and sends it tumbling back down to Acmetropolis. Rev quickly downloads a copy of the piloting software from HQ and gets the ship moving again. The ship has a built-in Laser Amplifier that increases Ace's laser vision power to a 'googol' times.(A googol is a one followed by a hundred zeros). However, when it was used, it only peeled off a layer of atmospheric dust. Duck has often called the Space Stream a "flying dinner plate" because it is based off a flying saucer.

Gluco-Gel 9000 (First Used: "The World is My Circus") The Gluco-Gel 9000 was designed by Tech to encase targets in a cube of gel. He first used it when he was being transformed into a Galactic Oddity by shooting the DNA Scrambler, thus destroying it. He next used it after the battle with an Oddity version of the Ringmaster by encasing the Ringmaster and Otto in gel cubes.This invention was used again in "The Music Villain".

DNA De-Scrambler (First Used: "The World is My Circus") The DNA De-Scrambler counteracts the effect of Otto's DNA Scrambler, returning anything that was affected by the latter to normal form. Normally it would take at least two weeks before one could be made, but Tech said he could make one in five minutes with Rev's super-speed. Tech first used it on the transformed children, then himself and the other Loonatics, and finally Zadavia. In the battle with the Ringmaster Oddity, it was destroyed when one of its tentacles smashed it.

Gravity Stabilizer Gyro (First Used: "Stop the World I Want to Get Off") Built to nullify the effects of Massive's powers, the Gravity Stabilizer Gyro restores anything that it is pointed at to normal gravity. Tech was able to make a handcuff version to prevent Massive from using his powers. Tech also used it on a robot Massive in "The Hunter".

Nano Bionic Armor (First Used: "Sypher" Redesigned: "Acmegeddon - Part II" Redesigned: "The Fall of Blank" and "Searching for Tweetums") When all the Loonatic's powers have been stolen by Sypher, Tech constructs six unique exosuits that are designed to replicate and deflect their individual powers. Ace's Exosuit has Laser Goggles. Lexi's Exosuit has a Supersonic Scream to mess up Sypher's ultra-sensitive hearing. Tech's suit has Electromagnetic Palms. Rev's suit has Speed Accelerator Technology. And Slam's suit has Circular Jets, so he can once again spin into a Tasmanian Tornado. Danger's Exosuit has "jellybeans" that randomly change constantly (when one hit Sypher's face, it turned into tar). Danger was rather put off by this, and Tech explained that he had come up with all of it in five minutes. All the Exosuits are colored blue. Later, the Exosuit design is recolored red to serve as the space suits that the Loonatics get from Zadavia. In "The Fall of Blank" and "Searching for Tweetums", the suits' color is changed once more to black, with some parts color-coded according to which Loonatic it belongs to. The suits are also bulkier in the Season 2 finale.

Guardian Strike Sword: (First used: "Loonatics on Ice") This is Ace Bunny's collapsible weapon of choice. It was given to him by Zadavia when he first joined the Loonatics. Its name was revealed in the second season, along with the fact that it has hidden powers of its own.

Atomic Phase Departiculator (First Used: "Cape Duck") Tech made this to take down Stomper, it can phase-shift solid to liquid and liquid to gas, a random beam from this device released Dr. Dare from his petrified state allowing him to terrorize the city once more.

X3000 Weapons System (First Used: "It Came From Outer Space") Tech designed this system so it looks like a video game. Rev and Lexi inadvertently use it to destroy Melvin's space station. This system also makes a cameo in "Apocalypso".

Molecular Reconstructor (First Used: "It Came From Outer Space") Tech used this device to grow shrunken parts of Acmetropolis back to normal size.

Trojan Horse (First Used: "It Came From Outer Space") The only information shown about this spaceship so far was that it transported Ace, Duck, Rev and Slam to Melvin's battleship and it distracted Melvin long enough for Ace and Duck to rescue Lexi.

Tech-Nabber 7000 (First Used: "In The Pinkster") Tech designed this platform to catch Stoney and Bugsy. It can capture any solid object via a net or a robot arm. Pinkster "accidentally" caught Rev and Tech with it.

Acme Alert 8000 (First Used: "In The Pinkster") This advanced security system was created by Tech to guard the Curium 2.7 that Stoney and Bugsy were trying to steal. (Actually, the Curium was fake. It was used to lure Stoney and Bugsy.) When Pinkster chased his can into the system's detecting range, it fired weapons, therefore the Acme Alert 8000 must had been based on the X3000 Weapons System.

DVD Release

DVD Name	Release Date	Ep #	Additional Information
The Complete First Season	March 13 2007	13	Featurette: Loonatics Unleashed: Villain Invasion.
The Complete Second Season	August 14 2007	13	No Additional Features.

References

External links

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Last updated on Friday March 07, 2008 at 12:52:14 PST (GMT -0800)
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