Warner Bros to demolish Looney Tunes building after scrubbing classic cartoons
The single-story Warner Bros building where Looney Tunes was once housed is being demolished.
According to Deadline, Building 131 will be torn down to create space for several HBO shows that are shooting on the 62-acre studio lot in Burbank, California. The building will reportedly not be replaced.
Sources told the publication that works began some time ago and that staff are being told not to park in the vicinity. The Independent has contacted the studio for comment.
It follows news that HBO Max scrubbed the iconic cartoon's original shorts from the streaming site.
The streaming site, which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery, has removed the remaining 255 original Looney Tunes shorts, leaving fans to call for the franchise to be made publicly accessible.
According to Deadline, the decision is part of a new plan for the streamer to prioritise adult and family programming over children's programming, which is no longer considered popular by the streamer.
One unimpressed fan wrote on Reddit of the bulldozed building: 'There couldn't possibly be a better metaphor for the state and trajectory of WB than this.'
Another commenter branded Warner Bros as having a 'vendetta' against the Looney Tunes franchise.
One fan added: 'Warner Bros was built on the Looney Tunes. A shame how they're treated.'
Another commented on the episodes being removed from Max, saying: ' Looney Tunes should be a nationalised public utility, freely available and easily accessible. I realise there are other, more pressing issues right now and this will need to be a longer-term political goal, but I think it should be put on the agenda.'
Other spinoff versions of Looney Tunes remain on Max, including six seasons of 2020's Looney Tunes Cartoons, two seasons of 2015's New Looney Tunes, two seasons of 2002's Baby Looney Tunes and two seasons of 2023's Tiny Toons Looniversity.
The Warner Bros -owned franchise began as a series of animated shorts, which were released during the golden age of American animation between 1930 to 1969, and more than 1,000 episodes were released under Looney Tunes and spin-off banner Merrie Melodies.
The cartoon became known for popular characters including Bugs Bunny, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig – who delivered the catchphrase 'That's all, folks', which eventually became a Looney Tunes trademark.
The news coincides with the release of the feature-length Looney Tunes animated movie, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Story, which was released on 14 March. It stars Daffy Duck and Porky Pig and has received a score of 87 per cent on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes so far.
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