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After numerous chops in the world of animated shows, fans have been dealt a huge blow with the removal of Looney Tunes from HBO Max. The Flinstones, another popular cartoon, has also been removed from the streaming giant. The removal consisted of 256 shorts from the cartoon series.
This has sparked massive outrage amongst fans, especially those who grew up watching the show on television. This comes after HBO scrapped much of its content with a vision of building something bigger. The vintage animated shorts numbered 511, but now only 255 remain.
This resulted in fans taking to social media platforms like Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the streaming giant. One of the fans commented:
"So much for their 100th Anniversary"
This effectively sums up the mood that is quite prevalent across the internet. Read on to learn more about how fans reacted to the news.
How are fans reacting to the removal of Looney Tunes from HBO Max?
Warner Bros. Discovery has recently tried to reinstate its content to suit the growing needs of the OTT industry, which has seen a severe boom since the pandemic. One of the worst affected areas in this regard has been the cartoon industry, with multiple cancelations from not only HBO but also other streaming sites.
Looney Tunes, Infinity Train, Close Enough, Aquaman: King of Atlantis, OK K.O! Let’s Be Heroes, Victor and Valentino, Uncle Grandpa, and Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs are among the shows that have been pulled out from HBO Max. This is bound to make cartoon show fans furious, especially when many audiences relate nostalgia to these shows.
Looney Tunes dates back nearly 100 years, to 1930, when Warner Brothers launched the animated series. The short films were categorized into seasons, with the first fifteen seasons coming between 1930 and 1949. These shorts are still available, but everything after 1950 has been removed from the site.
The short film series is so prevalent that many of its characters have become pop culture icons over the past few years, like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. It was originally created by Leon Schlesinger and animators Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising.
The huge uproar about the show's partial removal is a direct nod to the popularity it still enjoys around the world. It is also noteworthy that the animated series from the 1930s is still so relevant in 2023.
The media franchise also gave birth to numerous spinoffs, films, and other media, making their popularity long-lasting. Looney Tunes is still available in other formats, such as digital DVDs and other paid streaming services, but HBO Max was the best way to watch the show.
Some sources reported that Looney Tunes and other cartoon shows were removed due to maintenance issues and would be back soon. But a source from The A.V. Club confirmed that this was not the case and that the network purposefully removed the show.
As long as this happens, it will continue to generate uproar amongst fans. Hopefully, the viewers will get a solution soon enough. Stay tuned for more updates.
