Have you seen the playful world of Looney Tunes has started taking to the streets of Manchester over the last week?
Well, your eyes weren’t deceiving you.
11 of the most-beloved characters from the Looney Tunes series – including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzales, Tasmanian Devil and more – have all been spray-painted at various locations across the city centre as part of an exploratory street art trail that’s aiming to welcome people back to the city post lockdown.
There’s also a family-friendly walking tour taking place, too, so you can see all the colourful characters popping up around the city.
In partnership with Warner Bros UK, CityCo and Manchester BID enlisted the talents of street artist Captain Kris to create artwork of the iconic Looney Tunes characters across 12 of the city centre’s most popular hubs.
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With the art trail hoping to appeal to both families and nostalgia-hunting adults alike, the mischievous artwork sees Daffy Duck waiting for a tram at Exchange Square, Speedy Gonzalez sprinting through Spinningfields, Bugs Bunny bursting out of Primark, Porky Pig popping a pipe at Pen and Pencil, Wile E. Coyote chasing Road Runner around Symphony Park, and the Looney Tunes gang skateboarding through Deansgate Square.
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But how exactly does the tour work?
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Using the latest technology, QR codes have been hidden within each piece of character art revealing a virtual map and the opportunity to discover what else is new from the Looney Tunes – including the chance to watch a trailer for the new Space Jam: A New Legacy film, which is hitting screens this year.
The map shows each location on the trail, and allows people to discover them all as they make their way through central Manchester.
The trail locations are:
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Spinningfields
Deansgate Square
First Street
Circle Square
Canal Street
111 Piccadilly
The Pen and Pencil
Common x2
Primark
Exchange Square tram stop
Printworks
Street artist Captain Kris was able to bring the characters to life through imaginative design / Credit: CityCo & Manchester BID
Captain Kris and street art collective Blank Walls designed the artwork with the aim to make the trail vibrant and interactive.
“Like most people, I’ve loved Looney Tunes since I was a child,” Captain Kris said.
“It’s been a lot of fun creating these cheeky, adventurous poses, with the Looney Tunes characters wreaking havoc across Manchester.”
Speaking on the arrival of the new art trail, Vaughan Allen, Chief Executive of CityCo & Manchester BID, said: “Manchester is renowned for its street art which is well-loved by residents, workers and visitors [so] we’re delighted to be partnering with the legendary Warner Bros company to bring its iconic Looney Tunes characters to the city centre for this fun, family-friendly, outdoor art trail.
“This is a great way of continuing to animate the city this summer in support of our business community.”
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You can explore Manchester’s Looney Tunes trail from now until the end of July.
The Manc has been following the Looney Tunes characters as they’ve been popping up around the city this past week, so head on over to our Instagram (@the.manc) and TikTok (@the.manc) to see them all in action.
Featured Image – CityCo & Manchester BID
City Centre
A horror film festival screening sun-soaked slashers is coming to Manchester this summer
Emily Sergeant
A horror film festival screening sun-soaked slashers is coming to Manchester this summer.
Popular Manchester indie cinema Cultplex is turning up the temperature with Summerween: Hot Summer Frights this month.
Taking place on the last weekend of July, while horror films may make you think of the colder months at first, the festivalwill be swapping frosty scares for sun-soaked slashers – with movies guaranteed to make audiences sweat.
Opening the weekend is Tobe Hooper’s landmark masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a film that famously transformed the sweltering Texas landscape into one of cinema’s most terrifying settings, with its relentless atmosphere and raw brutality continuing to leave audiences shaken.
The programme then shifts to Guillermo del Toro’s haunting gothic ghost story, The Devil’s Backbone, set during the final days of the Spanish Civil War, before Saturday evening brings a change of pace with Joel Schumacher’s beloved 80s cult classic, The Lost Boys, where California sunshine meets stylish vampire thrills.
The weekend continues with Kim Jee-woon’s acclaimed psychological horror, A Tale of Two Sisters, a beautifully unsettling tale of grief, family trauma, and supernatural terror.
And what better way to close out the festival than with a modern-day summer horror classic? Ari Aster’s Midsommar is a modern folk horror epic that transforms perpetual daylight into a source of overwhelming dread.
Summerween: Hot Summer Frights is taking over Cultplex on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July, and tickets are on sale now here.
Featured Image – A24 (via Netflix)
City Centre
JD to host exclusive Josh Baker set at massive World Cup watch party in Manchester
Danny Jones
JD x JB: The well-known British and Manchester-founded sports fashion brand is teaming up with local artist Josh Baker for an exclusive pop-up set at a massive World Cup screening in the city centre tonight.
The two Manchester icons are teaming up at an otherwise sold-out Castlefield Bowl, getting the matchday vibes going ahead of the England vs Argentina game this evening.
With all eyes on the semi-final, keeping nerves steady will be a tall task, but Baker will be helping play his part in getting the energy up ahead of kick-off.
No matter what happens with the scoreline, it’s set to be a proper party atmosphere beforehand.
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Fresh off the plane from his White Isle residency over in Ibiza, the 30-year-old Manc musician will be taking to the stage from 6:15pm at none other than Castlefield Bowl, where nearly 9,000 people will be watching the big game.
In case you missed it, after wrapping up Sounds of the City ’26, the Bowl is now being taken over for Road to Victory’s outdoor fan zone.
Doors will be open from 5:30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off, and you’ll want to get down there with plenty of time to make sure you get a good view of the action – and by that, we mean both the game and Josh’s exciting set.
Better still, not only are those at the venue in for a night of amazing music and incredible vibes, but they’ll be cheering on Thomas Tuchel’s men straight after, in a crucial clash that could see England reach a second consecutive final in the last two major tournaments.
There’ll be plenty of entertainment before, during and after the breaks.
We will, of course, be keeping our fingers crossed for you and the boys tonight; the only thing we’re certain of is that the man himself will deliver on the night.
We had the honour of chatting with JB ahead of the BRITs back in February, and he’s only looking to bigger and better things this year.
For those looking to go along for this special one-off, once again, tickets to the event are already sold out, so your only chance is to sign up for the waiting list HERE. Fingers crossed for you and a result at full-time!
Last but not least, keep your eyes peeled on the JD Sports Instagram page and their other socials for all other updates ahead of the huge night. We can feel it: it’s coming home…
Emily Sergeant -
16th June 2021 
