Eric Bauza is the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, and Marvin the Martian for Looney Tunes. Originating all the way back in 1930, Looney Tunes is a staple of the animated genre, with Bugs, Daffy, Tweety, Marvin, and more becoming animation icons over the last several decades. The Looney Tunes’ most recent high-profile appearance was in last year’s Space Jam: A New Legacy, but the series has been revived for HBO Max with a Valentine’s Day special slated to hit the streamer this month.
Screen Rant has an exclusive clip from Looney Tunes Cartoons Valentine’s Extwavaganza! featuring Porky and Daffy. We also sat down with Eric Bauza to talk all things Looney Tunes, including how it feels to join such a vast legacy, his favorite character to voice, and what it was like working with LeBron James on Space Jam 2. Check out the clip and interview below:
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Screen Rant: You’ve been providing the voices for these characters for quite some time now – how does it feel to be making your mark on such a historic franchise?
Eric Bauza: It is an honor truly, truly an honor. I say that with the utmost respect for the people that came before me. Most significantly, Mel Blanc, who of course created the personalities and voices behind these characters. If it wasn’t for him, I would be back at plumbing school. And, of course, all the amazing animation directors like Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Friz Feleng, Tex Avery, Bob McKimson, and so many great, talented people working before any of us were alive in here, and here we are 80 years later talking about their legacies.
Can you talk a little bit about how you landed this gig? Do you audition for one character and then slowly accrue the roster?
Eric Bauza: Like, almost every voiceover gig in town you get that email from your agents, you open it up. And there it is, an invitation to a for a chance to audition for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, you know, Tweety Bird, any one of these classic characters, and you kind of just sit there and you start with the feeling of being overjoyed, then the feeling of being very stressed, going back to overjoyed again. It’s not an easy audition to land and they don’t often audition these characters. So I’d have to say in about 10 to 12 years, I auditioned for Bugs Bunny twice. It’s very rare. It’s just one of those things where you’re kind of like, you know, pinch me, I’m dreaming. I’ve been voicing Marvin The Martian almost 12 years now. Oh, wow.
You’re embodying so many different characters with distinct voices and personalities. How do you find the right mode for each one?
Eric Bauza: It starts with the script. And, again, with these particular shorts, Looney Tunes cartoons, they kind of went back to the drawing board, literally, with the way of storytelling. They’re very short, seven minutes, kind of like the original Golden Age shorts. And they’re very gag-driven, very simple setups. They’re very easy to digest, they’re very easy to watch. And what’s best about that is, it’s just like, getting right back on the saddle. You’re kind of like, wow, like the people that are making this are true fans of the original as well. So you have the script and then you have the directors – usually there’s the writer, the producer, the voice director, so we had the guidance of the people that are telling the story, as well as, again, 80 years of watching Looney Tunes. So, although we are a new crew, there’s a new performer. It’s almost like, you know, we’re remixing old songs. It’s kind of familiar, that’s what makes it easy. But again, what makes it difficult are the true diehard fans that are watching that also have the same kind of passion with these characters.
There’s always a physicality to these characters, especially with Looney Tunes and the crazy movement on-screen. When you’re recording, do you find yourself getting into that physical mode as well?
Eric Bauza: Oh, absolutely. I feel like it’s a good thing we’re now isolated because no one can be hit by my arms that swing all the time. Daffy Duck, Bugs is a little bit more reserved. But there are some times where he does fly off the handle, and he does scream. But it’s kind of funny you ask that question, especially when it comes down to voice matching and voice mimicry. You kind of do things without even knowing that you’re doing them.
For instance, when I do Bugs Bunny’s voice, most of the time, I’m holding my breath, like pushing all the air out of my lungs. And what’s funny is that when I was doing that voice, you do that for four hours in a session, you’re kind of exhausted. And I was with Fred Tatsciore – he’s the current voice of Yosemite Sam. And I asked Fred, do you hold your breath when you do that? He’s like, Yeah, that’s kind of weird. I kind of do. It’s kind of like I don’t have to go to the gym after I do a Looney Tunes session.
Speaking of the gym – you also got to work on Space Jam 2 last year and I heard you’re a big fan of the original. Was that just a full-circle moment for you?
Eric Bauza: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, almost anytime I get to join the cast of a big reimagining or a reboot of the show that helped raise me I always feel very thankful that I am getting to give back and say thanks to something that really helped shape my career and my life really. So yeah, getting to work on something like Space Jam, aside from it starring LeBron James, one of the greatest basketball players of all time. It was just one of those moments in my life that I will never forget.
Do you have a favorite Looney Tunes character to voice? And if so, who and why?
Eric Bauza: Man oh, man. I mean, that’s like asking me to pick who my favorite kid is. It’s definitely – I gotta say, I love Marvin the Martian. For whatever reason, Marvin the Martian has always been my favorite. So getting to voice Marvin was pretty, pretty crazy, especially in a Jordan Brand commercial. I voiced Marvin the Martian for a Blake Griffin Superfly for Air Jordan basketball commercial. So the shoes and kind of like the predecessor for Space Jam where these two Bugs Bunny, Michael Jordan Superbowl ads. And then there’s one where Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny battle Marvin the Martian So Marvin the Martian for me would have to be one of my favorites.
Now you’ve got the Valentine’s Day Looney Tunes special coming up. Did you have a favorite sequence from that? I saw two.
Eric Bauza: You know, it’s so hard to pick between the two but you know, Bugs Bunny aside, anytime I get to voice this guy, but Daffy for whatever reason. I know we’ve all grown to know Daffy to be sarcastic, mean, and greedy. But I love how the throwback that they’ve given Daffy to be the screwball Daffy. And anytime I get to play Daffy he’s just insane. And he puts Porky through hell, which is just so funny to me. Poor Porky. But anytime I get to play Daffy in something I am just having a blast because he,’s just so unhinged and he’s so manic and so wild and it’s so unlike myself.
Looney Tunes Cartoons Valentine’s Extwavaganza! is the new special streaming Feb. 3 on HBO Max.
