#Animal Jam Legacy

[jammin-animal]

A Long Study of Greely's Character

(This Post contains HEAVY Spoilers for Animal Jam Classic's Adventures, and spoilers for current AJPW events. Read at your own risk.

For those of you who don't know, in Animal Jam - Play Wild (AJPW), Greely done something drastic after the Lines of Power Event. The action he's taken has led to people assuming that he's gone evil.

In this post, I attempt to debunk and defend the often mischaracterized Greely, using a lengthy review of his appearances in-lore to help you, the reader, understand his character, and why he would do something like this.

This may not be the only time I analyze him, but it will certainly be the longest!

Before I get into it, I need to clarify what the LoP event is.

Part 1: The Lines of Power Event

In Jamaa, a duality based leyline of magic appeared, with lines running underground, with one under the Alpha Headquarters. These lines had two distinct types of energy; Darkside, and Lightside, both of which are derived from certain traits.

Lightside is derived from Peace, Imagination, and Clarity.

Darkside is derived from Power, Emotion, and Initiative.

Notice that these are Amoral traits (except Peace, which is undoubtedly Good), as one can use Clarity and Imagination to devise an evil scheme, and use Power and Initiative to defend someone.

Despite neither Lightside or Darkside having any inherently "evil" traits, many Jammers took the usual approach, and assumed that Light = Good and Dark = Bad. Heck, even the Alphas (save for Greely and Liza) took this view.

Due to the discovery of the lines, in order to seperate and potentially prevent the Phantoms from harnessing these powers, Graham built a machine that could channel either energy, but only use one.

In the LoP event, Jammers could use the machine to channel either Lightside or Darkside energy. Darkside energy, could be used to discover the intentions of the Phantoms, but was more unstable, and would risk destroying the Alpha HQ building. Lightside was more stable, as it was frequently used in attempts to keep Phantoms at bay, but would only do that, keep them at bay temporarily.

Alphas Peck, Cosmo, and Sir Gilbert, all advocated for the exclusive use of Lightside Energy, with only Greely advocating for Darkside, as it was not a tactic utilized at that time. Graham and Liza's viewpoints are largely unknown, but Graham says he was already planning out a new HQ during the event, implying that he didn't really care which side won. ("It's silly, but I'd been drafting scematics for a new Headquarters. No need for them now!" -Graham, Post-LoP)

Speaking of Post-Lines of Power, Lightside Won. Prior to this, the Alpha HQ was visibly under threat of sinking into the leylines. This was attributed to be caused by the utilization of Darkside Energy; this visual of the HQ sinking led to Jammers switching and using Lightside, under the assumption that Darkside really was bad.

So, Lightside won. Directly after this? Greely, the longtime Representative of Wolves, the stoic Alpha of Jamaa, resigned.

((WARNING! BELOW THIS CUT IS AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE WALL OF TEXT))

Part 2: Greely's Reputation

Due to Greely's Resignation, many Jammers developed a theory that Greely had betrayed Jamaa and the other Alphas, as a result of his advocation for Darkside energy. They considered his resignation an "admission of guilt", a sign that he really did become traitorous in favor of joining the Phantoms.

That said, I don't fault anyone for believing him to be secretly evil, considering his personality.

Greely is incredibly secretive, he's stoic, quiet, and often behaves rudely to others, commanding instead of asking. He has a deep fascination with Phantoms, coming off as questionable. It's no wonder he's considered to be both super cool, but also super sketchy.

However, if you consider the chronological order of the following events, you'll notice that the timing of his resignation debunks this "He joined the Phantoms" theory entirely.

The timeline is as follows:

Night of Phantoms Event begins, Lines of Power Event Begins

Phantoms become Playable

Lightside Wins

Greely Resigns and disappears

Phantoms were already able to become Jamaaian Citizens by the time Greely Resigned. If he wanted to study or be near Phantoms, he wouldn't have had to leave, only communicate with the Phantoms that moved to Jamaa.

That, however, doesn't explain why he left, why he took his belongings from the HQ, or why he resigned.

I cannot explain exactly why he left, or what he's doing.

But I KNOW that whatever the reason is, it is not to betray or hurt Jamaa in any way.

Part 3: Greely in Adventures

(SPOILERS FOR LEGACY ADVENTURES)

To better understand Greely, we need to take a look at his appearances in the Mainline Legacy Adventures.

The Hive: His first appearance. Greely tells the Player to stay out of the conflict between Jamaa and the Phantoms.

The Great Escape: Greely is at the top of the Phantom Prisons, and he berates the player for even being there, and sends you on your way out of there. Note: The Alpha that sends you, some rando, in to be captured on purpose, is COSMO.

Greely's Inferno: Cosmo sends the Player up the volcano, Graham sends you IN the Volcano to get his stuff back for him. Inside, there's a secret entrance to Greely's little hideout, full of Phantom related items and his research. The player encounters Greely at the heart of the volcano, where he, as usual, berates the player for being there. It's also revealed that the Phantoms were going to use the volcano to destroy Jamaa, a plot that Greely stops with his magic, even though doing so would A) Make him unable to leave an active volcano while it erupts, and B) go against the Phantom's perfect little plot, which would mean he's absolutely not in the kahoots with them. Greely asks the player to please evacuate the volcano, and he is then able to halt the eruption of the volcano while it's mid-eruption, where it is presumed that he's died. The first request Greely asks of the player is to get themselves to safety.

The Search for Greely: Despite Greely sacrificing himself to save Jamaa, his innocence proven by his actions, Graham still considers Greely suspicious due to his personal notes saying things like "The other Alphas don't suspect a thing" and for having a fixation on Phantoms. In this adventure, the Player finds a machine Greely uses to temporarily become a Phantom as a means to use a portal into their dimension, which is considered extremely sketchy of him. When you find him though, he's been caged by the Phantoms, further proving his innocence, as the Phantoms wouldn't be so keen to lock up Greely if he were working with them, after all, Greely proves himself to be really intelligent. When he's freed, he breaks from pattern, and compliments you for your skills, remarking how the player is full of surprises. For a brief moment, he worries that you're both trapped since you need to be a phantom to use the portal. Plot says Cosmo overrides the portal and Alphas Liza, Graham, and Cosmo appear, with Graham questioning Greely's intent, with Cosmo DEMANDING Greely explains himself. Greely states that he infiltrated the Phantom Dimension as a means to obtain the Phantom Beacon, which would lead them to the Phantom's fortress, said to be where Phantoms replicate and make more Phantoms. Note that none of the Alphas present believe him until he shows proof, showing the Phantom Beacon. Greely thanks you for the help, but still dislikes your presence, since it means you put yourself in danger.

The Phantom Fortress: Greely is shown to be disguised as a sheep to get himself captured as a means to set other captured sheep free. Apparently he's been doing this for months, disguising himself as different animals to set them free. He states that he's been planning this for months, and, as usual, scolds the player for so nonchalantly ruining his careful planning, though not as harshly as before.

Storming the Fortress: Sir Gilbert calls you ordinary, then takes it back, and then sends you into the Phantom Fortress, by yourself. Granted, he does so because he can't be in two places at once, and needs to defend Jamaa from an ongoing attack, but still, consider that he's the head of Jamaa's Military forces, and has a tiger army. Also that there's more than one Alpha. By the way, Peck is missing. When the player encounters Greely in the heart of the Fortress, he just sighs in defeat, asking himself why he bothers planning at all anymore. He then, for the first time, asks the Player for help. Greely assigns himself to keep the Phantoms at bay, while the Player destroys the engine responsible for powering the Phantom Fortress. After this task is completed, Peck shows up, and Greely says that moment she disappeared, he went looking for her (yet when Greely disappears, it's assumed he's up to no good). Greely knew for certain where Peck would be, he knows that she's the brave, rambunctious type to go off and storm the fortress. This proves that he does know about the other Alphas well enough to guess what they'll do. He's ready to put himself in danger, but not willing to let the other's sacrifice themselves, not when he could do so in their stead. Peck caused enough damage to the Fortress by herself that it begins to break down, leading to an (offscreen) escape. Afterward? Peck is the one to get the credit, with Graham stating that it was all thanks to her. Peck denies it, and says it was thanks to all of their hard work, saying that she believes that the other Alphas would have done the same if they were present. She especially thanks Greely, saying he deserves credit and a giant hug. Greely seems a little surprised and even uncomfortable about being praised, and it seems he isn't used to being appreciated. He then deflects and gives credit to the player, leading Peck to chime in and tell the player that they saved Jamaa.

The River's Heart: Greely is trying to return a magic stone to where it belongs. He also, for the second time, asks for the Player to help, however, the task at hand is far, far less dangerous. He only asks that you accompany the Stone as it floats on a boat down a river, to where it belongs. Here, he says that the Player has proven themselves to be trustworthy. Greely has begun trusting the Player enough to handle themselves, and only after having proved themself to be capable, does he feel comfortable giving them tasks, and even then, the tasks are extremely simple in comparison to what the other Alphas ask of you. Peck appears, and expresses worry that the Phantoms are going to ambush Greely and the Stone. ("I'll bet you anything the Phantoms are on their way to ambush us, now that Greely isn't with us. He tried to stop me from following him, but I just knew something like this would happen!" -Peck) She's right, there's an ambush. After they're stopped, Greely appears, remarking that he was attacked by FOUR PHANTOM KINGS. He is then surprised that Peck is here, and assumes she's here because the other Alphas sent her here to stop him from returning the Stone to it's rightful place. Greely doesn't trust the other Alphas to allow him to give the Stone back to nature. Peck instantly denies this, saying she agrees with him, leading him to question why she sounds so upset. Peck reveals that she's upset with Greely for always trying to handle things by himself, and berates him for never asking her or the others for help. He then apologizes for his, admitting one of his biggest faults, and promising to be less secretive, and to be more open about his plans. Peck is happy and in turn, promises to hold him responsible to this promise. The two return the Stone to it's place in nature, and head on back, where they're greeted with,,, hostility by the other Alphas. Sir Gilbert, right away, berates Greely for taking the Stone, Liza scolds Greely for not being a team player and says "Don't you trust anyone?", Graham doesn't say anything of substance. Greely then scolds the other Alphas for not realizing that the Stone doesn't belong to them, it belongs to nature. Sir Gilbert says, "Why would we [realize that], there's nothing here but rocks!", he then yells at Peck for going along with Greely's "nonsense". Her reply is to defend Greely, but still reprimand him for not being clear about his intent, reprimanding for stealing the Stone, which, now in it's place, activates, revealing it to be a Heartstone, one of the biggest, most ancient they've seen. Greely says that it can only activate when it's in its proper place. AGAIN, Greely has to prove his innocence with an outside force, and only then is he forgiven and treated with respect.

Part 4: Greely's Character

So now let's unpack All That!

Do you notice the patterns?

The game, in the beginning, continually points at Greely and tries to convince the player he's evil, yet in the face of danger, Greely, time and time again, proves that he isn't.

Greely is the only Alpha to consistently scold the player for following the Alphas into danger. Heck, he dislikes when the other Alphas follow him into the literal inferno that is the volcano. Greely is the only one to express remorse for putting the player into a position of action, and only begins to trust you after you continually prove yourself to be able to handle fighting Phantoms.

Greely keeps his most dangerous missions to himself, even away from the other Alphas. He even gets a little upset at them for trying to help.

The other Alphas, excluding Peck, are constantly mistrusting him, even after he continually proves himself to be on the side of good. They only listen to him AFTER he displays physical evidence of his innocence. He's surprised when Peck compliments him, displaying that he is rarely appreciated by his colleagues, let alone trusted by them.

Greely has a tendency to isolate from the Alphas, as he doesn't fully believe in their capacity to understand him, which is completely justified due to their treatment of him. He doesn't trust them to handle situations with the appropriate level of caution, so whenever he goes on a particularly important mission, he keeps it from them.

Greely's secrecy is a means to ensure the safety of Jamaa, to ensure that the other Alphas don't get caught up in danger. Greely continually goes off on easily the most dangerous missions to protect Jamaa. Yet even his own colleagues distrust him, unaware that he hides his work to keep them from doing anything rash, and potentially dangerous. He doesn't want anyone doing something reckless and accidentally harming Jamaa.

This is why I find it utterly impossible for his resignation in the Play Wild edition to be a sign of villainy. Every appearance he makes, every action he does, all of it points to him being the most caring of the Alphas.

Bringing the conversation back to Play Wild's Lines of Power Event.

Greely advocates for the utilization of Darkside energy. which, by all means, encapsulates Greely perfectly!

Emotion, Greely cares deeply for Jamaa and all it's creatures, his actions display this emotion clearly.

Power, the magic he uses to defend Jamaa, even stopping a volcano, nearly dying in the process.

Initiative, Greely does the jobs nobody else even considers, he carefully plans, then walks directly into the heart of danger, which even Sir Gilbert doesn't do, as he primarily tends to borders and takes the defensive. Greely takes the offensive, delving into the inferno of the Phantom's lands.

His resignation in Play Wild is not a sign of villainy, it's a sign that Jamaa is in danger, and he is going to try and fix it the way he usually does. By himself. Alone.

This is not the first time he's gone on his own to try and solve a problem, to try and delve into danger all alone for the sake of Jamaa, but it's certainly the first time he's done something so drastic as resign from his position. He didn't even tell Peck, who he made a promise to, meaning he cannot risk anyone, not even her, who he trusts, following him.

Now remember points 3 and 5?

Greely isolates himself from the Alphas whenever he begins a dangerous task.

Yet again, Greely is going to try and sacrifice himself for the sake of all Jamaa, for the sake of the colleagues who do not trust him, for the sake of his friend, Peck...

I wholeheartedly believe that Greely's resignation is a push to the Alphas to appoint a new Alpha in his stead, as he considers his latest mission so dangerous, that he thinks that he will either never be able to return to Jamaa, or that he will die.

[skullislandproductions]

Reaction shot of Daffy, Lola, Bugs and Sylvester who are shocked and delighted by Porky Pig’s rap skills - Notorious P.I.G. Postvis sketches from Space Jam 2.

[murdersuicidematinee]

Space Jam: A New Legacy

Welcome to the world of Tiny Don Cheadle, where only scoring a million points in super-basketball can facilitate his master plan to put LeBron James in Game of Thrones. Or Something. We watched Space Jam: A New Legacy and came away knowing less about the plot than before we went in. It's a lot like The Emoji Movie, but infinitely more embarrassing on pretty much every level. 

Featuring: the Star Wars memory hole, Andrei Tarkovski's CATS, cami's casketball, live subtitles for American listeners, podcast therapy, and LeBron's special move that kills Bugs Bunny.

Movie: Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) Director: Malcolm D. Lee Rating: ah shit lads, just remembered I don't care at all

Follow our Patreon for show updates, episode notes, stills and more!

intro and outro music: "Everyone in Town Wants You Dead" by Singing Sadie

[insaneplane]

me and my web games against the world

[katdsbsblog-multifandom]

Hello, 👋

I need your support and help. I have been displaced several times and we suffer from malnutrition and diseases. Our tent was burned.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-family-evacuate-from-gazah

Please donate and share for me 🙏💔

I can't unfortunately, so everyone PLEASE help these people. May God bless you all. 😔

[whynot-movies]

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

[paulsebert]

Loony Toons Tiny Toon Adventures, I Love Lucy, and Night Court exist in the DC Multiverse: Prove Me Wrong!

Wile E. Coyote appears in the 1990 episode "Still Another Day In the Life." Night Court is fairly unique among televised sitcoms of it's era in that it does not take place in any known sitcom universe (Nickelodeon Cinematic Universe, TGIF Universe, Snow Globe Universe, Hurricane Saturday Universe, etc.) However I Love Lucy did meet Superman in the 1957 episode "Lucy and Superman." This was Pre-Crisis but it may suggest that Night Court is connected to it in the Post-Crisis continuity. In 1992 Superman would appear in the direct-to-video animated film "How I Spent My Vacation." The timing of the Night Court appearance and How I Spent My Vacation occur during the post-Crisis/Pre-Zero Hour period suggesting that Night Court and Loony Toons/Tiny Toon Adventures all took place in the mainline DCU. Somewhat confusingly pre-crisis cartoons like "Super-Rabbit" and "Stupor Duck" take place on a world where the DC Superheroes are all fictional (not unlike Earth Prime) however The Plucky Duck Show pilot "Batduck" appears to take place in a world where Batman exists but is apathetic to Plucky's efforts to get cast in "Batman Returns" a film that perhaps Bruce Wayne is financing. Batman does however make a cameo in the "Dance of Doom" pilot of Freakazoid adding evidence the existence that these shows shared an earth. Some will argue that this is proves that the Warner Brothers series and Night Court exist on Earth-12 however remember this appearance is post Zero-Hour. Also Earth-12 wasn't officially introduced until after Flashpoint.

In the 2000 comic mini-series Superman & Bugs Bunny (written by the great Mark Evanier) the Loony Toons are brought to earth by Mr Mxyzptlk. In this comic the Loony Toons are from a parallel world. Given that this book was published after both Zero Hour and The Kingdom we must assume that Hypertime is involved.

DC Meets Loony Toons comics suggest that there in fact multiple Warner Brothers Cartoon worlds some of which the The Loony Toons and the DC Superheros co-inhabit and some don't. My theory is that these worlds were split after the events of Flashpoint and the various Loony Toons (as well as Night Court and I Love Lucy) were taken dome worlds by Braniac. Somewhat confusingly this was published post Rebirth but clearly takes place during the prior Convergence event. This would also also account for the Hanna-Barbera Beyond event as well as the Flintstones and Snagglepuss comics from the era.

The Loony Toons would once again meet the DC Superheroes in 2021's Space Jam: A New Legacy the Loony Toons (and many other cartoons) exist on one single earth. Somewhat confusingly they encounter superheroes twice while Bugs is rounding up the gang. I believe this means that Daffy was playing Superhero on Earth 12 while Lola was training with the Post-Rebirth Wonder Woman. Something confirmed by the fact that the Loony Toons jump into a literal comic to recruit Lola. The Loony Toons continue to have a mostly shared earth but 2022's Jellystone and the upcoming Tiny Toons Looniversity exist in their own parallel pocket dimensions.

As for Night Court despite John Larroquette returning to the 2022 reboot we have overt references to Dan Fielding's successful prosecution of Wile E. Coyote however the fact that the charges in the episode were dropped from attempted murder to harassment in the 1990 episode reflect Fielding's personal growth and softening of a character. It appears to once again be on it's own pocket universe separate from all superhero, cartoon, and sitcom universes unless it is confirmed to be the future of I Love Lucy.

[faeriefrolic]

Tabby visited the library to read some baby books. The library has an adventurous parrot flying around the shelves!

[malusienki]

i need someone to sit down and explain animal jam play wild economics to me.

[ethaneldritch]

i signed up for an Animal Jam account so my little brother would have someone to play with, and

what pitiful form is this that i have come to inhabit

[joethetoonfanandoutcast]

DreamWorks Serververse Stampede

If there were a stampede of DreamWorks characters racing/heading to some big event, here's the lineup I would have in mind.

Miguel, Tulio, and Chel riding Altivo

The chickens, Nick and Fetcher flying their crate plane

Shrek and his family and friends riding Dragon with the Dronkeys flying beside

Kitty Softpaws, Humpty Alexander Dumpty, and Perrito riding the Great Terror

Goldilocks and the three bears charging

Spirit and his herd galloping

The zoosters, the lemur trio, Gia, Vitaly, Stefano, Zuba and Florrie in the chimp-powered plane

The North Wind in their jet

Wallace and Gromit in their Anti-Pesto van

RJ and the gang in the Verminator's van

Po, the Furious Five, Ox, Croc, Mei Ling, Luthera/Wandering Blade, and Zhen rushing on foot

Butterflyosaurus carrying Ginormica/Susan Murphy, Missing Link, B.O.B., and Dr. Cockroach

The Berkians on their dragons

Megamind in his battle suit, carrying Minion and Roxanne on its shoulders

Metro Man flying alongside Megamind's brainbots

North's reindeer-drawn sleigh carrying the Guardians

The Croods and Bettermans riding Chunky and the other hybrid animals

Theo/Turbo speeding his way

Mr. Peabody, Sherman and Penny (not pictured) in the WABAC

Oh, Tip and Pig in their flying car with the other Boov in their floating pods

A de-aged Boss Baby and Tim Templeton riding Precious

Captain Underpants flying with George and Harold clinging to his cape

Everest carrying those three kids (whose names escape me) on his back

Rhonda the creature vehicle carrying the Trolls

The Bad Guys, Diane Foxington and the kitten (both not pictured) in their car

Orion, the Dark and his friends Not pictured: King Gristle Jr. and Bridget on their motorbike Sun (from Orion and the Dark) the Stone Jaguar Statue controlled by Tzekel-Kan pouncing through

[tymime]

Lola Bunny in the comic books

I’ve discussed at length my views and opinions about Lola Bunny before (https://tymime.tumblr.com/post/174484746321/lola-bunny-is-one-of-animations-more), but something I’ve been wanting to really dive into was her sporadic appearances in DC’s Looney Tunes comic book series in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

I think these are the most overlooked and underrated depictions of Lola ever, and actually very much key to understanding her personality, history, and potential. The trouble is, I’ve been waiting many years for someone to scan all the issues with her in it. But back in the day, I had issue #92, and when I read the Lola story within, I didn’t even blink. The basic premise of most of her stories is a weird one, but it somehow works. Her job is to deliver pizza. But she delivers pizza to gods, monsters, and other supernatural beings, traversing dangerous landscapes, fighting off viscious wild animals, and generally taking care of business. So like, when I was 13, it didn’t even occur to me that this was at all unusual. Of course she’s a kick-butt action girl. Why wouldn’t she be? What else would she be? I had seen Xena. I watched cartoons with strong female leads. I didn’t even have to think about it. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that Lola could be more than a sports-obsessed, one-dimensional teen fantasy. It actually baffles me when I see anyone suggest otherwise, like the director for Space Jam: A New Legacy did. As if she wasn’t always the tough, proactive, heroic type. Of course Lola is an Amazonian warrior.

But let’s actually look at her first appearance in the comics, after the Space Jam graphic novel, in issue #60, 1999 (why it took three years for this to happen I can’t guess).

Right off the bat, we see Lola fighting off a jaguar with a machete and a board with a nail in it. The narration implies that a woman would do a better job at exploring and surviving the South American rainforest than a man could. I’m all here for it. It’s also an obvious parody of Tomb Raider and Lara Croft- probably because of the similarity between their figures, which for some reason people wouldn’t stop talking about for about two decades. While I haven’t played those games myself, I’m sure there’s much more to it than that, and it’s kind of a relief that we’re finally over it.

Something that these comics do well is give Lola additional quirks and traits. This first story does it straight away:

Apparently Lola has no sympathy for panhandlers. I’m not sure how I feel about that, since that sort of attitude often extends into dismissing homeless people who can’t get jobs for one reason or another, but hopefully Lola isn’t as black-and-white about the issue as she seems here.

At first it seems like a straightforward parody of temple-raiding adventures, à la Indiana Jones and even Ray Harryhausen movies, but then comes the twist:

Nearly all these stories follow a similar format- Lola has to deal with nasty aggressive demons and beasts to deliver a pizza from Machu Pizza (get it?), and she doesn’t break a sweat. I’m not sure how the writers (kudos to Sean Carolan and Jennifer Moore) came up with the idea, but it’s incredibly original and inspired and I’m glad they ran away with it.

Her next appearance in issue #71 is unfortunately a bit of a step backward, seen here portraying a parody of Daphne from Scooby-Doo, but I suppose there wasn’t anybody else available.

Luckily she goes right back to pizza delivery soon afterward in issue #76 (albeit nearly two years after the first time).

Apparently Lola’s mother was a fan of a ‘70s soul/disco singer named Vicki Sue Robinson. It’s weird randomness like this that makes these comics special, I think.

Another aspect about this depiction of Lola is that she shows just as much sharp wit, quick thinking, and cleverness that any good trickster should have- just like Bugs. And yet, she’s not just a carbon copy of Bugs, as it should be.

We also get a glimpse of Lola’s past in issue #80:

Apparently she’s a Beatles fan, which is always cool.

As I said, I had issue #92, completely out of context, but I caught on to the premise immediately nonetheless.

Here we learn that Lola is actually part of some legendary lineage, which prevents the gods from starting a war with each other. Sounds like a pretty big deal. Lola is fed up with all this nonsense, so she quits her job and starts working at a clothing store. I think this exchange speaks for itself:

Eventually, however, she gets bored of nothing happening, and nobody else can deal with the mythical creatures like she can, so she returns to Machu Pizza with newfound confidence.

I think this is great stuff. She doesn’t put up with any guff.

Unfortunately, that’s the last of the pizza delivery stories, and it’s a shame there are so few of them, because it’s quite possibly the best material Lola ever had. I think more than anything it represents Lola at her fullest, and shows how much potential she has to be a regular character, instead of someone who just shows up every now and then, only to be reinterpreted once again.

Lola also wouldn’t make another proper appearance until 2011 in issue #203, only making background cameos in the meantime. This story- which is all about roller derby- is a bit underwhelming in comparison to her older comics. Sure, her sportiness comes into play for the first time since Space Jam (weirdly enough, considering that’s what she’s best known for), but she doesn’t get to do very much. There are good moments, though:

I’m into it. (The first panel implies Bugs and Lola knew each other in junior high/middle school, which is an interesting tidbit. It contradicts how they’ve never seen each other before in Space Jam, but Looney Tunes has never been much for continuity anyway.)

And that’s it for stories focused on Lola. From then on, her appearances are brief and insubstantial. In issue #220, she’s only in a few panels as an angry police chief.

In 2017, she appears in a Star Trek parody in issue #239, playing the Lt. Uhura part, and is essentially just as limited.

In 2019, she returns as a basketball player, and still doesn’t do much. They’re obviously trying to make her look more like she does in Space Jam, but no attempt is made to make her a main character.

Her most recent cameo is in 2023’s issue #269, which suggests that she won an award for journalism of all things.

And that’s it. Outside of Space Jam: A New Legacy and its graphic novel adaptation, there really hasn’t been very much OG Lola Bunny media at all.

In fact, the largest amount of screentime Lola ever gets is in Baby Looney Tunes of all things. That’ll be another blog for another time, when I finally finish watching that series, and it probably won’t be very long.

Other than that, Lola appears in three video games: Bugs Bunny & Lola Bunny: Operation Carrot Patch (the only time her name was in the title), Looney Tunes Racing (where they actually ramp up the whole “girl power” thing to Nth degree), and Looney Tunes: Space Race. She has minor roles in the webtoon Dating Do’s and Don’ts, and in Tweety's High-Flying Adventure. She has one cameo, and two featured episodes in New Looney Tunes- and only one of ‘em portrays her as smart trickster. She’s a main character in Bugs Bunny Builders, but her personality’s been reduced to a generic perky girl, although they at least refrain from making her stupid again. I actually like this show, though.

So why is this? Why do people struggle with writing for Lola anyway? It doesn’t seem so hard. The whole trouble is almost everybody seems to have a different perspective of the character, and I can’t figure out why. It seems pretty straightforward to me- she’s good at sports, she’s smart, she’s strong-willed, and doesn’t like being pushed around or not taken seriously. This is a personality type that’s been done before, in every genre. So what’s the deal with Lola? Why do people think she’s terrible or needs “fixing”? It doesn’t help that most of these comics are long out of print, hard to collect, and they’re not given much attention in the first place. They seem to be best known for starting Dave Alvarez’s career in Looney Tunes projects.

I suspect there’s not only a big wad of sexism involved, but also a general resentment towards Space Jam in general. The whole “how do you do fellow kids” aspect of that movie has dated it, I’ll admit, and I never took the whole hip-hop Looney Tunes thing that was going in the late ‘90s very seriously, even when I was a kid.

But that shouldn’t mean Lola should be dragged into it. Sure, the way they handle the character isn’t flawless- she literally comes out of nowhere, with hardly any proper introduction at all. We have no idea who she is or where she came from in the movie, and we probably never will. Her independent, self-reliant traits are a bit undermined when Bugs has to come to her rescue, briefly turning her into a damsel-in-distress. It’s not perfect, but then again, I’m not sure how else Bugs was going to become her boyfriend in the screen time available.

Why this makes people hate her or even see her as sexist, I can’t imagine.

She’s also one of the newest Looney Tunes characters. There hadn’t been a new character groomed for stardom since Cool Cat and his ilk, in the late ‘60s. I’m sure to some people she seemed like an intrusive wannabe. Why she gets picked on instead of even newer characters like Claudette Dupri from New Looney Tunes, or even the Nerdlucks from the same movie (who are even more underused), I can’t guess. So maybe it’s just sexism after all.

Opinions about Lola vary wildly. So what’s the deal? Well, let’s examine the most negative views of her: Is she a oversexualized pin-up? While there’s obviously some degree of sexualization in the way the artists designed her curvy, semi-hourglass figure, this is just falling into the “fictional women aren’t allowed to be sexy” trap that men who pretend to be feminists often do. On the other hand, it’s understandable that you wouldn’t want to make ALL female cartoon characters bombshells and eye candy. But hey, why not use Petunia Pig, Granny, Miss Prissy, or even the She-Devil to balance things out? Why not come up with solutions instead of complaining about it?

Is she a stereotypical “girl power” sporty type? Is this even a thing? Why would anyone want to undermine positive female role models? There’s a disturbing trend recently of people wanting to criticize the whole “action princess” thing, and I can’t understand why. Seems dangerous to me. Sounds like more fake feminism if you ask me. (I’m a guy though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.)

Is the ditzy, dumb blonde version an improvement? Why is this even a question?? I don’t know how making her a complete airhead is supposed to be “less sexist”. It’s like opposite-day logic. And no, we shouldn’t mix in the “wackiness” of the LTS version with her original version. She doesn’t need it. God no.

So there you have it. If it were up to me, I’d be making cartoons starring Lola with this exact same premise. Hopefully this blog will spread some awareness of Lola’s best work. If you wanna track down these comics, here’s a list of all the best ones: #60, #76, #80, #84, #88, #92, #117, and #203.

[skullislandproductions]

Wile E. Coyote from the “Mad Max” sequence of “Space Jam 2.” This is one of the layout drawings I did before the scene was issued into animation. This was done to help guide the animators, as well as to help visualize the scene for the edit, for preview audiences.

[murdersuicidematinee]

Notes and bonus clips for our episodes on The Emoji Movie and Space Jam: A New Legacy are now up for Patreon supporters (sorry that took so long).

That aside, I just think it's really important that everyone is exposed to this ^ who knew Drake had a cameo in Space Jam amirite

[shiggitysims]

There he is

[coles-chaotic-eyebrows]

The Roria × Jamaa crossover only some nobody-ass nearly-28-year-old could mentally brew up

Cooies is resting his hindquarters in my little garden on the side of my Castle Den