It happened quietly, then all at once. If you logged into Max (the artist formerly known as HBO Max) lately hoping to find the 1950s golden-age shorts of Bugs Bunny or the high-strung antics of Daffy Duck, you probably noticed a gaping, rabbit-sized hole. People are genuinely confused. One day the library was a treasure trove of animation history, and the next, it felt like someone had literally erased the drawing board.
Honestly, the situation with HBO Max Looney Tunes is a mess of corporate strategy, tax write-offs, and licensing musical chairs. It isn’t just about "cleaning up the app." It’s about a fundamental shift in how Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) views its own legacy.
The Great Animation Purge of 2025
Early in 2025, the hammer finally dropped. Warner Bros. Discovery pulled hundreds of classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from the platform. We aren't just talking about a few obscure titles. These were the heavy hitters—the shorts directed by Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Tex Avery that defined 20th-century comedy.
Why?
The official line from a Max spokesperson was that the streamer is "prioritizing adult and family programming." If that sounds like corporate gibberish, that’s because it mostly is. These cartoons were originally made for general cinema audiences, not just toddlers. The reality is much more about the "Zaslav Doctrine," named after WBD CEO David Zaslav.
Basically, the company realized that keeping these shorts on the service wasn't bringing in new subscribers. If people aren't signing up specifically for What's Opera, Doc?, the bean counters figure they can make more money by licensing those shorts to other people. It’s the "inventory" mindset. Why keep the family jewels in a vault when you can rent them out to Tubi or Amazon and get a fat check?
What’s Actually Left on the Service?
Don't panic entirely. You haven't lost everything yet. While the 1930–1969 library has been mostly gutted, some "newer" versions and specific spinoffs are still hanging on for dear life.
Currently, as of early 2026, you can still find:
- Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020): The Pete Browngardt-led series that felt like a love letter to the originals.
- Tiny Toons Looniversity: The reboot of the 90s classic.
- Bugs Bunny Builders: This one is strictly for the preschoolers.
- The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries: A 90s staple that somehow survived the culling.
But the "Complete Series" of Looney Tunes Cartoons (the Max Original) is now being marketed as finished. A physical DVD box set of all six seasons is slated for release in May 2026. This is a clear signal that the era of Max-exclusive Looney Tunes content is winding down.
The Tubi Takeover and the Death of Coyote vs. Acme
Here is the weird part. While WBD was deleting the classics from their own premium service, they were selling the rights to Tubi. In late 2025, Tubi picked up nearly 800 of those removed shorts. Since then, the classic HBO Max Looney Tunes library has become a massive hit on the free, ad-supported platform.
It’s a bizarre world where you have to watch ads for insurance to see Wile E. Coyote fall off a cliff because the company that owns him doesn't think he’s "premium" enough for their own app.
✨ Don't miss: The Wayans Brothers Family Tree: How One NYC Apartment Birthed a Comedy Empire
Then there is the Coyote vs. Acme saga. This movie was finished. It featured John Cena. It reportedly tested through the roof with audiences. Yet, WBD tried to delete it for a $70 million tax write-off. The public outcry was so loud that they eventually backtracked—sorta. The film was eventually sold to Ketchup Entertainment for a theatrical run in late 2025 and 2026, completely bypassing the "exclusive" streaming home it was built for.
Why This Matters for Fans
The era of "everything in one place" is dead. We used to think HBO Max would be the permanent home for the Warner library. We were wrong. The removal of the shorts is a warning. If a multi-billion dollar company is willing to hide its own Academy Award-winning history to save on licensing fees, nothing is safe.
Even The Looney Tunes Show (the 2011 suburban sitcom version) has been flickering in and out of availability. Licensing deals expire, and WBD has shown zero hesitation in letting them lapse.
✨ Don't miss: Why The Sun and Her Flowers Still Hits Hard Years Later
Where to Watch Now
If you are tired of the streaming games, your best bet is shifting back to physical media or digital purchases.
- Tubi: It’s free. It has the bulk of the classic shorts now.
- Digital Stores: You can buy the "Golden Collections" on Apple TV or Amazon, which protects you from the next time a CEO needs to balance the books.
- Physical Media: The Looney Tunes Platinum Collection on Blu-ray is the gold standard for quality.
Moving Forward With the Gang
The takeaway here is simple: don't trust the cloud with your childhood. The HBO Max Looney Tunes situation proves that streaming services are no longer libraries; they are rotating storefronts. If you truly love a specific era of these characters, start looking for those Collector's Choice Blu-ray volumes. They’ve released four volumes so far, and they are the only way to ensure you actually own the cartoons.
Check your local listings for MeTV as well. They still run "Toon In With Me" and "Saturday Morning Cartoons," which often feature the very shorts Max decided were no longer "priority."
Keep an eye on the release dates for The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. It’s a Porky and Daffy sci-fi adventure that hit theaters via Ketchup Entertainment and is expected to land on digital platforms by mid-2026. It's excellent, but it's a miracle it was released at all. Grab the physical copies of the classic shorts while they are still in print, because the streaming landscape isn't getting any more stable.