Editing Looney Tunes (section)

=== 1970–1999: Syndication and return to television and film ===
[[File:Looney Tunes logo.svg|thumb|Looney Tunes franchise logo used from 1985 to 2024, based on the wordmark used in the original shorts from 1939 to 1964]]
The ''Looney Tunes'' series' popularity was further strengthened when it began airing on network and [[syndicated television]] in the 1950s under various titles and formats. The ''Looney Tunes'' shorts were broadcast with edits to remove scenes of violence (particularly suicidal gags and scenes of characters performing dangerous stunts that impressionable viewers could easily imitate), stereotypes, and alcohol consumption.

Production of theatrical animated shorts was dormant from 1969 until 1979, when new shorts were made to introduce the ''Looney Tunes'' to a new generation of audiences. [[Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1970–present)|New shorts]] have been produced and released sporadically for theaters since then, though usually as promotional tie-ins with various family movies produced by Warner Bros. While many have been released in limited releases theatrically for Academy Award consideration, only a few have gained theatrical releases with movies.

In the 1970s through the early 1990s, several feature-film compilations and [[television special]]s were produced, mostly centering on Bugs Bunny and/or Daffy Duck, with a mixture of new and old footage. These releases include ''[[The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie]]'' (1979), ''[[The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie]]'' (1981), ''[[Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales]]'' (1982), ''[[Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island]]'' (1983), and ''[[Daffy Duck's Quackbusters]]'' (1988).

In 1976, the ''Looney Tunes'' characters made their way into the amusement park business when they became the mascots for Marriott's two Great America theme parks in Gurnee, Illinois, and Santa Clara, California. After the [[Six Flags Great America|Gurnee park]] was sold to [[Six Flags (1961–2024)|Six Flags]] in 1984, they also claimed the rights to use the characters at the other Six Flags parks, which continues to the present. (Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner would own the Six Flags chain in whole or part form most of the 1990s.)

In 1988, several ''Looney Tunes'' characters appeared in cameo roles in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] film ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]''. The more significant cameos featured Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Tweety, and Yosemite Sam. It is the only time in which ''Looney Tunes'' characters have shared screen time with their rivals at Disney (producers of the film)—particularly in the scenes where Bugs and [[Mickey Mouse]] are [[skydiving]], and when Daffy and [[Donald Duck]] are performing their "Dueling Pianos" sequence.

On July 10, 1989, after a battle with heart problems, [[Mel Blanc]] died at the [[Cedars-Sinai Medical Center]] of [[cardiovascular disease]]. A picture depicting the ''Looney Tunes'' characters entitled "Speechless" was released shortly after his death.

Viacom-owned [[Nickelodeon]] aired ''Looney Tunes'' cartoons in a show called ''Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon'' between 1988 and 1999. Initially, the Nickelodeon package included cartoons that were typically omitted from the higher-profile Saturday morning network and syndicated weekday packages, including black-and-white Bosko cartoons that had not aired in many years and cartoons from the late DePattie–Freling and Seven Arts eras. In January 1999, it was reported that the cartoons shown on Nickelodeon would move to [[Cartoon Network]] in the fall of that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amidi |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |date=January 20, 1999 |title=More Original Cartoons and Looney Tunes Arrive at Cartoon Network |url=https://www.awn.com/news/more-original-cartoons-and-looney-tunes-arrive-cartoon-network |access-date=March 22, 2021 |publisher=[[Animation World Network]] |quote=Fall 1999 will also see Cartoon Network adding 214 classic Warner Bros. shorts previously licensed by Nickelodeon to its existing library for a total of 680 Warner Bros. titles. |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415040854/https://www.awn.com/news/more-original-cartoons-and-looney-tunes-arrive-cartoon-network |url-status=live }}</ref> To date, ''Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon'' is the longest-airing [[animated series]] on the network that was not a [[Nicktoons|Nicktoon]].

In 1991, the Looney Tunes characters made their appearance at [[Warner Bros. Movie World]] on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] in [[Australia]]. It marked the launch of "Looney Tunes Land," the park's inaugural themed area.

In 1996, ''[[Space Jam]]'', a [[live-action animated film]], was released to theaters starring Bugs Bunny and basketball player [[Michael Jordan]]. Despite a mixed critical reception,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Movie Reviews: Space Jam |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/space_jam/ |access-date=January 23, 2008 |archive-date=January 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113201726/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/space_jam/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the film was a major box-office success, grossing nearly $100&nbsp;million in the U.S. alone, almost becoming the first non-Disney animated film to achieve that feat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Space Jam (1996) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3849356801/weekend/ |access-date=December 2, 2011 |publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]] |archive-date=July 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728113841/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spacejam.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> For a two-year period, it was the highest grossing non-Disney animated film ever.<ref name="JerryBeck">{{Cite book |last=Beck |first=Jerry |url=https://archive.org/details/animatedmoviegui0000beck |title=The Animated Movie Guide |publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]] |year=2005 |location=Chicago, Illinois |author-link=Jerry Beck |url-access=registration}}</ref> The film also introduced the character [[Lola Bunny]], who subsequently became another recurring member of the ''Looney Tunes'' cast, usually as a love interest for Bugs.

In 1997, Bugs Bunny was featured on a U.S. 32 cent postage stamp, the first of five ''Looney Tunes'' themed stamps to be issued.<ref>[https://postalmuseum.si.edu/artofthestamp/SubPage%20table%20images/artwork/rarities/Bug%20Bunny/bugsbunny.htm ''Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny stamp''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610134746/http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/artofthestamp/subpage%20table%20images/artwork/rarities/Bug%20Bunny/bugsbunny.htm |date=June 10, 2010}} [[National Postal Museum]] [[Smithsonian]].</ref>

The ''Looney Tunes'' also achieved success in the area of television during this era, with appearances in several originally produced series, including ''[[Taz-Mania]]'' (1991, starring Taz) and ''[[The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries]]'' (1995, starring Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny). The gang also made frequent cameos in the 1990 spinoff series ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', from executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]], where they played teachers and mentors to a younger generation of cartoon characters ([[Plucky Duck]], [[Hamton J. Pig]], [[Babs and Buster Bunny]], etc.), plus occasional cameos in the later Warner Bros. shows such as ''[[Animaniacs]]'' (also from Spielberg) and ''[[Histeria!]]''. [[Traditional cel animation]] was used to animate the characters for ''Looney Tunes''' cartoons until 1999 when it was replaced with [[digital ink and paint animation]].

In 1979, ''[[Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol]]'' premiered. After ''[[The Chocolate Chase]]'', there would not be another short released for seven years. In 1990, it was made so there would be about one short per year until 1998. In 2003, there would be seven shorts produced to promote ''[[Looney Tunes: Back in Action]]''. The first of these to be released was ''[[The Whizzard of Ow]]'', which appeared on a DVD release of ''Back in Action'' that was sold exclusively at [[Walmart|Wal-Mart]] stores. Only about half of the shorts were shown in theaters; the rest would not be made available until 2004, when all seven shorts were included on the general home video release of the film. In 2010, five computer-animated shorts would be released and directed by [[Matthew O'Callaghan]], who would also direct another short, ''[[Flash in the Pain]]'', in 2014.