Bye Bye Bunny

Bye Bye Bunny
Directed by	Brandon Jeffords
Produced by	Brandon Jeffords
Written by	Ariel Dumas
Based on	Looney Tunes by Warner Bros.
Starring	Eric Bauza
Music by	Tom Kitt
Production company	Warner Bros. Animation
Country	United States
Language	English

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Bye Bye Bunny is a canceled animated musical comedy film directed and produced by Brandon Jeffords and written by Ariel Dumas. Planned to be the first Looney Tunes musical film, it would have followed Bugs Bunny retiring from performing while Daffy Duck gets kidnapped by a fan. This was among the last Looney Tunes projects Eric Bauza provided voice work for before his death on October 25, 2026.

Premise

After a long-running Broadway production, Bugs Bunny decides to retire from performing and go live life as a regular rabbit. Daffy Duck attempts to take on the leading role, but is kidnapped by an avid fan who has sinister plans for him. It is up to Bugs to save Daffy with the help of the other Looney Tunes and, possibly, rediscover his joy in performing.

Voice cast

• Eric Bauza as Daffy Duck

Production

Bye Bye Bunny was first revealed by Warner Bros. Animation during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival of June 15, 2022. It was stated to be the first Looney Tunes musical film that would combine both original songs and dance numbers as well as new orchestrations of music from the Warner Bros. library of classic musicals. Warner Bros. head of kids and family programming Amy Friedman said, "This musical gives off old Hollywood and Broadway vibes while offering a new, modern way to sing along to this one-of-a-kind Looney Tunes movie with the whole family." Then-Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios president Sam Register, who was also an executive producer on the film, added, "Mayhem and music have helped define the comedic genius of the Looney Tunes for decades. It is a pairing that has created some of the greatest cartoons of our time, and it’s going to be a thrill to add our own musical stamp to these characters." The creative team behind Bye Bye Bunny included Ariel Dumas on screenplay and song lyrics; Tom Kitt on music and orchestrations; and Brandon Jeffords as director and supervising producer.

Bye Bye Bunny was initially planned to release on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. However, it was reported on August 22, 2022, that the film would not move forward at Max and was shipped to another network. It was among six other animated projects that were also pulled off from Max, along with The Day the Earth Blew Up, another Looney Tunes film.

On September 17, it was reported that a lot of the staff working on Bye Bye Bunny had been laid off by Warner Bros. Discovery, but the film was still "very much alive" at the studio. It was explained that producers were so happy with Kitt's music that they decided to rework Bye Bye Bunny into a full-fleshed musical. Because of this, production was paused in order to write new original songs and let the core team rework the concept for the new format.

Cancellation

Bye Bye Bunny was quietly canceled during pre-production in 2024 following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. Many artists who worked on the film talked about its cancelation on X using the hashtag #StandWithAnimation, including Eric Bauza, who had shared his singing audition for Bugs Bunny. On January 14, 2026, TheWrap reported that Bye Bye Bunny remains "not in active development, but [Warner Bros. Animation] may choose to revisit at a later time." Bye Bye Bunny was one the last projects Bauza worked on before his death, having provided the voice for Daffy Duck.

References

This article "Bye Bye Bunny" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Bye Bye Bunny. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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