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Do kids still identify with Looney Tunes?


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^ I would argue that Peanuts is slightly more identifiable just because of the Holiday specials. With how much they've all been aired over the years and parents showing them to their kids, I'm sure they're a bit more well-known. We'll see what kind of impact this new film has on the children's areas in the Cedar Fair parks.

 

With Looney Tunes, however, the only place I know where I can see the original Merry Melodies and what not are Six Flags parks. I do enjoy watching them while I'm waiting in line. Truthfully, it's the only thing on their queue line TV's that's actually worth watching. There is that new show (which I'm most certainly not a fan of), but I'm not sure how many viewers it pulls in. I suppose enough kids know about it if they're continuing to build new rides themed to it.

 

Another great point was made earlier about the ever-changing modern line-ups of cartoons. The Nickelodeon areas in the old Paramount parks were most certainly off the times when Cedar Fair took charge. Several of those shows were long off the air with their characters forgotten. The same can be said for the Hanna-Barbera areas that stood previously, and even the Fivel themed area in Universal Studios. If parks were to seriously try to keep their kids' areas relevant to what's on TV or in the movies, they'd be unwisely investing their money in retheming more often.

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  • 1 year later...
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Well Cartoon Network is coming out with a New Looney Tunes Show and they air on Boomerang.

 

 

I would argue kids know more about Looney Tunes than Bernstein Bears, Banana Splitz, Funky Phantom, Top Cat, Penelope Pitstop, Wally Gator, Magilla Gorilla, Dudley Do Right, or Fivel.

 

 

You could add Garfield to that list too.

 

What about The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, and The Jetsons?

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I know that if I'm waiting in a line with TVs there is noticeable relief amongst most people when a Looney Tunes cartoon mercifully puts a temporary stop to the otherwise brutal programming of "Six Flags TV". Those music videos are an obvious and clever scheme to steer people towards Flash Pass.

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Looney Tunes as a brand has really struggled to remain relevant as of late. They tried a sitcom-style cartoon several years ago, and now it's just Bugs Bunny with the problem of the day (usually Yosemite Sam).

 

Honestly, the equivalent of Looney Tunes in 2016 is Pixar, specifically their short films. Maybe WB could give Looney Tunes a legitimate shot using the short film format again.

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Does anyone besides me think that it's time that Six Flags dump the Looney Tunes?

Doesn't bother me. There are worse IP's out there to theme park sections and rides to.

 

The only reason why I've mentioned about Six Flags dumping the Looney Tune is because I don't think that kids today would even related to them. But I didn't loose sleep when Six Flags dumped The Wiggles, but as for Six Flags dumping Tony Hawk and Thomas the Tank Engine, I still don't forgive Six Flags dumping those said IP's (except The Wiggles)!

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Does anyone besides me think that it's time that Six Flags dump the Looney Tunes?

I personally love them. For me, nothing Disney has done holds a candle to Looney Tunes*. A Bugs Bunny cartoon I've seen a hundred times over the years can still crack me up. I'm 29 and probably not Six Flags' target audience, though. I'm not going to say I'd stop going to Six Flags parks if they dropped them, because I go for their coasters to begin with; but I'd enjoy it less- and that's even before taking into account that the void would likely be filled be even more of the crap and commercials that are already far too abundant at Six Flags parks.

 

*Disney is massive nowadays, there are things that are Disney that I'm probably not even aware of. I mean the "core", traditional Disney brands.

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Disney is massive nowadays, there are things that are Disney that I'm probably not even aware of. I mean the "core", traditional Disney brands.

Disney currently broadcasts a new series based around Mickey Mouse and friends on Disney Channel, but "episodes" are only four minutes long. They're slotted in between current stalwart shows, and new episodes are very sporadic, though apparently the show is one of the best animated series they've ever produced. It's not my favorite cartoon but it's pretty freaking good. But, you won't see this variation of Mickey in the parks anytime soon...

 

 

Honestly, I think Cartoon Network is the current frontrunner in terms of short-length animation. They have many original shows that appeal to a bunch of demographics (Adventure Time, Clarence, Gumball, Steven Universe, Uncle Grandpa, We Bare Bears) that are constantly cranking out new episodes, plus they have their Adult Swim block specifically targeted at people like us. The rest of Disney's crop of shows are either too good to continue (Gravity Falls), good but still trying to make themselves known (Star vs the Forces of Evil), or a little bit outrageous (Wander Over Yonder).

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...Honestly, I think Cartoon Network is the current frontrunner in terms of short-length animation. They have many original shows that appeal to a bunch of demographics (Adventure Time, Clarence, Gumball, Steven Universe, Uncle Grandpa, We Bare Bears) that are constantly cranking out new episodes, plus they have their Adult Swim block specifically targeted at people like us...

A shoot-em-up dark ride themed to the quad laser, for instance, would be the end-all be-all of interactive dark rides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNYMxgNKIEU

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I feel like Looney Tunes is a Six Flags staple and that they should keep the characters alive and well indefinitely. It's a timeless classic. I do not think they should invest tons of money towards the brand but having the characters in the park and playing the episodes in line really gives the parks more character and I'm all for small investments that keep the brand alive in the park. If they didn't have Looney Tunes the parks would be missing something and lose that slight Disney type vibe they get from having long term characters (I'm not saying Six Flags compares to Disney, but it's still a similar trait).

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  • 4 months later...

I don't think they should ever dump Looney Tunes. It is comparable to the original Disney characters. Essentially timeless. Children will always enjoy meeting giant animal characters and honestly there are many parents who love Looney Tunes and expose their kids to the brand.

 

I am all for keeping Looney Tunes forever, keeping DC forever, and applying other brands for a few years as they are popular.

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It's funny, but my 8 year-old's new favorite show is The Animaniacs (on Netflix). He even said recently that he likes the WB cartoons more than Disney. It's just a phase, and he doesn't get 95% of the jokes. But it's interesting. He just loves Pinky & the Brain.

 

And I turned him on to Bugs and Foghorn and Wile E. a few years ago, so he does enjoy their more adult-ish brand of humor. Of course, I'm a guy who has always loved the WB cartoons.

 

But I also love classic Mickey and Disney shorts too, and I introduced him to those even before WB. So it's all good to us...

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The media can interest kids in anything they want by cramming it down their throats. However, they're not doing it with Looney Tunes. Something "new" is probably better for moving product, and the style is not suitable for being extremely protective or using it for liberal indoctrination (not saying that's entirely bad, but they do it).

 

Of course, like pet food, sometimes they're really marketing to the ones with the wallets, and LT will work for that still.

 

As to the Smurfs, they came along too late for me, and I can't remember if I never rode a Smurf ride because I stayed as far away as possible, or because I didn't go to the parks over that period.

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The media can interest kids in anything they want by cramming it down their throats. However, they're not doing it with Looney Tunes. Something "new" is probably better for moving product...

 

Speaking of cramming it down their throats I'm kind of surprised that Kellogg's didn't jump on the IP bandwagon back in the 70's and 80's. Imagine walking into a theme park to see Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle, Pop, Dig'Em, Trix Rabbit, and Lucky the Leprechaun greeting guests. They are/were just as identifiable as Looney Tunes and Disney thanks to the supermarket shelves and TV commercials and could have lead to a lot of cross promotion.

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^ I always wondered that too, with Kellogg's and other cereal companies like it, not being a part of parks.

They might have, from time to time, but nothing long term, like movie and television characters have been.

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Looney Tunes are iconic in their own right, yes. However, even when kids enter Six Flags, they're not really thinking about Looney Tunes. I doubt that when they see a roller coaster themed to road runner that they even know/care it's themed to that. As for the mascots, unless one looks absolutely creepy, kids usually do like mascots if they're cute and friendly looking. That's all that matters. Unlike Disney where the characters are as much as important as the park, I don't think looney tunes defines Six Flags as much in a way that the park needs to care on if or if not the looney tunes are relevant. I hope i'm making sense.

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Honestly, a lot of kids do still identify with the Looney Tunes. My two little nieces know who Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck,Roadrunner and Coyote, and the others in the Looney Tunes Gang are from watching the newer reincarnations of the Looney Tunes, (Looney Tunes Show), as well as seeing still some merchandising around where I live at.

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Well I personally like it, and it makes me happy to know out of the giant licensing deal cuts a while back, they chose to stick with Warner Brothers and DC. They almost define what Six Flags is as a brand, and even if kids don't know them at first, they probably will by the time they leave (with the cartoons playing in the queues occasionally). It's original and still iconic to the older crowd at least, so in conclusion...

 

Yes, kids still identify with Looney Tunes.

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