This morning I awakened to some bad news from Deadline that the classic Warner Bros. theatrical cartoons, collectively called "Looney Tunes" by most people, have been removed by Warner Discovery's streaming service Max. Now I have been subscribed to Max for years without interruption for three reasons: first, classic movies; second, the DC Comics content; and third, the classic Warner Bros. cartoons. To say I am not happy would be an understatement.
Indeed, I am not the only one who is angry. According to the Independent, many Looney Tunes fans have complained about Max's decision to remove the cartoons from the service. I know this to be true myself scrolling through Bluesky, where the posts can be summed up by one person in particular who said, "I hate Max for removing Looney Tunes." Quite a few people have pointed out that this is yet another argument for buying physical media. Jeremy Smith on Slash Film went so far as to declare in an editorial, "Max Removing The Original Looney Tunes Shorts Is An Act Of Cultural Vandalism."
According to Deadline, the removal of the classic Looney Tunes from Max is part of a plan whereby the streaming service is focusing more on adult and family programming than children's programming. If that is indeed the case, then Max's decision to pull Looney Tunes from the streaming service is, to put it bluntly, stupid. The classic Warner Bros. theatrical shorts, whether they were part of the Looney Tunes series or the Merrie Melodies series, were made for general audiences. In fact, cartoons often contain jokes, innuendos, pop culture references, and even situations that probably go over the heads of many children even today. I daresay that the Looney Tunes probably appeal more to most adults and general audiences than much of the content that remains on Max.
Now it is true that there are Looney Tunes available on Prime Video, but it appears one has to rent them by cartoon, and some can be found on YouTube, but that is not the same as having several hundred Warner Bros cartoons on Max itself. Indeed, it is one of the reasons I have subscribed to Max all these years and I know it is one of the reasons that others have as well. I don't think it would be unreasonable for the average person to expect Warner Bros.' own classic cartoons to be on their own streaming service. In not having Looney Tunes, Max is then falling short of what many people expect of the service and failing its users. Of course, here I must point out that if it were up to me not only would Max have all the Looney Tunes cartoons, but the many classic TV shows Warner produced as well, from Maverick to F Troop.
I think it's safe to say that as far as the general public is concerned, Warner Bros. is best known for their classic cartoons. Bugs Bunny is probably more famous than the studio's biggest stars. I have to think that much of the reason Warner Bros. has survived over the years is in part because of those cartoons. I have to think that in removing the Looney Tunes from Max they will see an enormous drop in subscriptions, one that could endanger the streaming service's survival. It is then wise for them to restore the classic Warner Bros. shorts as soon as possible. I know I might not continue to subscribe if they don't.
(Postscript: If you want to complain to Max about removing Looney Tunes from the service, the fastest way to do so may be to simply type "Max feedback" on Google or another search engine. The very first result (at least on Google) should be the Max Feedback page. Once there you either choose for your topic Programming Feedback or Programming Request. Programming Feedback actually lets you type in your own comments, so you can complain about Looney Tunes missing from the service there (please do be polite though). On Programming Request you'll want to choose Additional shows/movies, then for the title type in "Looney Tunes" or "Merrie Melodies. Anyway, I urge my fellow Max subscribers to leave feedback. If they get enough of it, it's possible they could return Looney Tunes to the service.
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