In recent years, there has been some doubt regarding a pilot that was created 10 years ago which gave new light to Hanna-Barbera's Wacky Races franchise, titled "Wacky Races Forever". But, combined with Warner Bros. Animation's "milking" of the company's "Big 3" franchises, Scooby-Doo , Tom & Jerry, and Looney Tunes, there's been minimal hope of an older HB franchise to step into the children's media market, hence why the aforementioned Wacky Races reboot pilot was not picked up. However, as of this post, there was a new video that surfaced promoting the Australian Cartoon Network and Boomerang feeds. It showcases the 2016 lineup of new programming. You'd miss it in the blink of an eye, but at 1:11 a certain, unfamiliar title
card appears. With some new clips for yet-to-air CN
Originals (Powerpuff Girls reboot) and acquired series (Grizzy and the Lemmings ) the authenticity of this video is likely confirmed. Boomerang rebranded earlier this year, and about a year ago this month, some new, original programming has been promised for the international feeds that represent the brand. But is rebooting Wacky Races a smart choice for Turner and WBA? What are your thoughts?
I think it's bound of be fun project, but there are somethings I feel the need to address. The first being that it seems some people have jumped one starting gun very quickly. With only a logo and one report using the word reboot, people have assumed this is for a whole series. Something I'm not sure is accurate.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has been following all the news, Hanna Barbera finally broke through a ceiling in 2015. A year it by and large dominated back catalog releases, with double digit releases when every other section of the animated library got one or none. And perhaps even more endearing they made new productions with Jonny Quest and Flintstones characters. (Not to mention the murmurs of theatrical plans)
Among the people who usually talk about this stuff. It seems there's mild reason to believe these dtv movies start off in development about two years before release. Social media and press bits in relation to both WWE movies, the Kiss movie and Beach Beastie all fit within that theory.
Working with that i had personally speculated there would be a chance we'd see a movie greenlit for 2016 that was not yet on the palate. With them having attempted the Flintstones and Jonny Quest last year. A Jetsons one looming for 2017, there is one of the first wave of dvd releases missing from that slate.....Wacky Races.
I will also caution that in the video when they show footage of Be Cool, they use the regular Scooby logo. Probably because Boomerang plans to debut the other dtv Scooby stuff that will arrive this year.
While I would love to be wrong on this, and see them order a whole new Wacky Races series out of trust. My gut tells me there's a good chance this is one of our five HB dtv productions for the year that will get a promotional airing on Boomerang. It will "reboot" the franchise regardless of whether it's a whole series or a movie.