With Will Ferrell warning that Hollywood could soon wear out the superhero genre, it looks as though tinseltown has turned to another animated ensemble for source material.
Vulture is reporting that another Loony Tune is being prepped for the big screen and that this one is to be voiced by one Mike Myers. Myers has reportedly – or so it is being claimed extensively – joked that “by the end of the day, I was Pepé Le Pew”, in reference to his tenure as Fat Bastard. The actor will follow in the footsteps of Mel Blanc and Maurice LaMarche as the voice of Le Pew.
The film, which is being set up at Warner Brothers, will star the smitten skunk using a combination of live action and CGI. With similar projects in development for fellow Loony Tunes Marvin the Martian and Bugs Bunny, we can only hope Warners can perfect their method in time for production on Myers’ Pepe Le Pew – and ration their adaptations to avoid superhero-esque overexposure.
Myers, who has done his fair share of voice-acting (in a series of accents), certainly seems a good choice for the role. This is particularly true when you take into account the statistics being cited by E-Poll Market Research. The poll notes that even the most prominent Loony Tunes are struggling to connect with a wide audience, with just 66 percent of Americans over the age of 13 capable of recognising Bugs Bunny.
You might have thought that casting a big-name actor for the role might boost the eventual movie’s appeal, however Myers doesn’t fare much better in the same poll – garnering only 68 percent recognition. This extra 2 percent is somewhat undermined by the likeability ratings Myres achieved; a measly 52 percent – compared to the 65 percent of Americans who have a favourable impression of Bugs.
Pepé Le Pew, who starred in the Oscar-winning short For Scent-imental Reasons, was created in 1945 and has since starred in over a dozen short animated features for Warner Bros. in addition to cameoing in Space Jam and Loony Tunes: Back in Action. We can only hope that Myers doesn’t do to Pew what he did previously to Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat.
