A slightly older friend in parochial school was in his third or fourth year of Latin when the curriculum switched from teaching ecclesiastical pronunciation (basically Italian) to classical pronunciation.
He mulled it all over, raised his hand and said, "Sister, I REFUSE TO BELIEVE that Julius Caesar said 'WANEY-WEEDY-WEEKY!'"
maybe julius caesar was pronounced hoolio kaizer?
ah-reev-ah-dair-chee and sigh-a-nar-a
Yep, that emasculated pronunciation killed Latin for me as well.
I cannot picture Elmer Fudd conquering anything.
One of my names begins with "V". It is surprising how few linguistic groups can pronounce that sound...