Hollywood heartthrobBrendan Fraseris making waves yet again, experiencing something of a career renaissance thanks to his upcoming movie,The Whale. The film follows Fraser’s overweight recluse Charlie as he attempts to reconnect with his daughter (Sadie Sink). Many thought of Fraser himself as a recluse until recently, having seemingly disappeared from our screens over the last decade. After 17 years of eagerly appeasing producers and audiences by putting his body through the wringer for the sake of his movies, Fraser required multiple surgeries including a laminectomy and vocal cord repair, finding himself in and out of hospitals for seven years. In 2003, Fraser was alsothe victim of sexual assaultby the leader of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, leading to Fraser’s depression. Many have branded Fraser’s return to A-list fame in 2022’sThe Whaleas a comeback,but as Fraser himself states, “I was never that far away.” The actor has worked consistently in that time, appearing in a new release every year, with some highlights includingSteven Soderbergh’sNo Sudden Moveand theDanny Boyle-produced miniseriesTrust. However, there is a case to be made that the single greatest showcase of Fraser’s talent is none other than 2003’sLooney Tunes: Back in Action.
The story ofLooney Tunes: Back in ActionseesWarner Bros.making a questionable sequence of firings (life imitates art), firstly withDaffy Duckand then with Fraser’s stuntman-cum-security guard D.J. Drake. Daffy and D.J. soon discover that D.J.’s father Damien (Timothy Dalton) not only plays a spy in the movies, but is one in real life, and he needs their help. AsBugs Bunnyand Warner Bros' “V.P. of Comedy” Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman) seek to track down and re-hire Daffy, the four become tangled in an international adventure to save Damien Drake from the clutches of the evil ACME corporation (led bySteve Martin). Despite cleverly orchestrated off-camera and sound FX-driven gags, the film cost Warner Bros. $80 million and only made $68 million worldwide, making it a commercial failure. This was largely due to the decision to release the film against theMike Myers-starringCat in the Hatand theWill FerrellChristmas mega-hitElf. One thing this globetrotting adventure cannot be faulted for, however, is the performances, particularly that of Brendan Fraser, who masterfully balances his raw emotional performance with the heightened comedy required to match Bugs and Daffy.
What Makes a Cartoon-Live Action Hybrid Movie Work
We’re all familiar with the abundance of milestone accomplishments achieved by 1988’sWho Framed Roger Rabbit. It was the movie that mastered the live-action cartoon crossover so effectively that audiences have taken its complexities for granted to this day. Movies likeSonic the Hedgehogor anyMarvelinstallment featuring a character that was not on set during filming are direct descendants of this groundbreaking film. ButRoger Rabbitdidn’t invent this idea. Even in 1988, this was nothing new, with filmmakers such asJ. Stuart Blacktonmelding the worlds of live-action and animation together since 1900’sThe Enchanted Drawing. What we heraldRoger Rabbitfor is its ability to convincingly portray the realism that an entirely 3D world and an entirely 2D world can exist and interact on the same plane.
This is a feat in which any single factor can topple its credibility, and thanks in part toBob Hoskins' brilliant performance as the hard-boiled yet cartoonish P.I., audiences bought into this idea that wouldn’t have otherwise worked. AsBrad Pittshowed us inCool Worldfour years later, without the perfect balance of down-to-earth expression and heightened cartoon gestures, a performance can stunt the viewer’s belief that real people can exist in the animated world and vice versa. By the timeLooney Tunes: Back in Actiongraced the silver screen, theTuneshad already mastered the technical side of this world-merging animation challenge withSpace JamstarringMichael Jordan. When Jordanrefused to return for the follow-up, picking an actor to match the wacky characters, however, was a challenge all of its own.
Brendan Fraser is an actor with talent and charisma, possibly best known for more heightened comedic performances like 1992’sEncino Man, 1997’sGeorge of the Jungle,and 1999’sDudley Do-Right.In the ’90s, Fraser was often typecast as the wide-eyed fish out of water, experiencing our world from an alien perspective. It’s no surprise, when considering these roles, that Fraser would be the perfect fit for the live-action lead of aLooney Tunesmovie. The 1992 dramaSchool Tieshelped simultaneously establish Fraser as a dramatic talent, cementing him as a versatile force, showing off his equally impressive deeper side. Without this, Fraser would have nothing to offer the cartoon world that it doesn’t already provide. The trick is in the balance.
“How do you act with a cartoon character?” Brendan Fraser recently asked himselfin a GQ video. “I think you have to make him a person. You have to have him have hopes and aspirations.” He citesBuster KeatonandBill Irwinas inspirations for his performances, understandable when you watch him throw his body in wacky ways for the sake of hilarious stunts. He added that the last thing one needs to bring to a comedic performance is comedy. “I just think you have to believe in everything you’re doing because if you don’t, your audience won’t.” In so doing, Fraser managed to validate the hyperactivity of his frequent scene partner, Daffy, while also offering an earnestness that the cartoon fowl cannot.
Fraser’s Comedic Timing Is Key
Fraser’s performance balance is tried and tested after other such comedic yet emotionally invested turns as Rick O’Connell inThe Mummyseries. His experience on these productions also readied him forLooney Tunes: Back in Actionas a globe-trotting romance-comedy-adventure hybrid. Fraser is convincing as a character in each of these genres, proving that his versatility stems from a deep understanding of the characters and their interpersonal relationships. He can play the funny friend, a lovable buffoon, a romantic suitor and a caring son, respectively. It seemed the perfect fit for Fraser to not only lead the film as an action hero but specifically as the son of James Bond actor Timothy Dalton (again, in a James Bond-type role).
Since then, while working onTrust,Danny Boyle said of Fraser, “I always notice with comic actors, when they can do that stuff really well, you don’t notice this great integrity in the way they’re doing it, because obviously you notice the cartoon effect of what they’re doing, and it’s very pleasurable. But in order for it to work, it actually has to have integrity. It is in some way based on truth and honesty.”
Fraser is no stranger to using comedy for the purpose of telling stories of deep interpersonal relationships. An underrated credit is his three-episode stint as Ben inScrubs. The character is fun-loving and accepting, even in the face of a terminal diagnosis. Through his thoughtful and specific decisions, Fraser is able to convincingly display an underlying story of love in the face of danger in the cartoonish live-action world ofScrubs,just as he does in his romantic subplot with Jenna Elfman inBack in Action. And to be able to do so in the same movie as a wacky Bugs Bunny and an even wackier Steve Martin is a truly impressive feat.
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Spoofing on Himself
Looney Tunes: Back in Actionwas released in 2003, the same year as Fraser’s life-changing assault experience, approaching the peak of the physical toll taken on his body due to his action work. This project saw Fraser immerse himself in the world of larger-than-life cartoons, which allowed him to hold a funhouse mirror up to himself and examine some of the things about himself that haunted him. In the film, Fraser’s D.J. Drake jokes that his stunt credits include doubling for Brendan Fraser in theMummymovies. This fun quip is seemingly nothing more than a joke about his character’s likeness to the actor until later when a jealous D.J. runs into the fictional version of Hollywood superstar Brendan Fraser and knocks him out. Fans appreciated Fraser’s willingness to make fun of himself in the movie, but according to Fraser himself, this came from a much deeper place. He admitted that one reason he wanted to do this film was that at that time he wanted to knock himself out. “I wanted to take the piss out of myself before someone else would, ‘cause I had it in my head that I had it coming.”He told GQ’s Zach Baronthat when it came time to shoot the scene where he punches the real Brendan Fraser, “it was my vision of the worst version of myself. And I get to deck me.” The film was something more than just a Bugs Bunny comedy for Fraser, becoming a form of therapy.
During press forDarren Aronofsky’sThe Whale,Fraser insists he is not experiencing a comeback, but rather a reintroduction. How then should one showcase the many talents of such a versatile success? Fraser himself suggests his current film,The Whale, an emotional father-child drama. Some will suggest his more exciting adventures inThe Mummyseries, and others will insist you experience him in his iconic comedic roles such as theAdam SandlermovieAirheads.However, if this is indeed the time to reintroduce Brendan Fraser to the world, and showcase his many aptitudes with one all-encompassing performance, a very strong case should be made for the exciting father-son comedy adventure that isLooney Tunes: Back in Action, where Fraser and all his many talents shine.
