Tiny Toon Adventures

I remember when I was a kid, I always fancied an endless series of cartons, ranging since the dawning of television. The Flintstones, The Jetsons, the Smurfs, The Chipmunks (old and new), Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (as it was called in the UK and in Europe), Batman, Tom and Jerry (both versions) and, of course, Tiny Toons.

Every time I arrived home from school (my father could afford American channels),I would watch the various cartoons aired (remember that London is 5 hours ahead of NY), re-airing of previous episodes appeared on WGN at 1030 PM UK time (but I usually watched them on Saturday afternoons) and was impressed by all their antics and jokes. The Tune theme, like those of the classics and TMHT, really influenced me and I would always sing and play it at music class. Tiny Toons was one of the shows that brought me to the world of the film industry and changed My whole life. Unlike most of today's cartoon's and even its succesor series Animaniacs and Tazmania, this one has a sense of charm and originality that stands the test of time, just all classic cartoon shows. One of the best shows of the early '90s and of all time!

Even know, living on my own flat at and in my final year at Cambridge, I would embrace many of those childhood moments and would still feel like as if time didn't truly pass. I enjoy the show now at the age of 20 every Inch as much as when I was between 7 and 9 years old!

This was one of my favorite series. I used to come home from school and turn it on instantly, I couldn't stop watching it.

The plot was pretty simple: The original Looney Tunes characters have now become professors at the Acme Looniversity, a school for younger toons. What I really liked about this show was that they had so many different types of humor that applied to such a broad audience. From Buster's quick wit, Babs's endless amount of props and imitations, Plucky's wild takes, GoGo's wackiness, or Elmyra and Max's slapstick: it always brought a smile to my face.

Though some of the humor did seem a bit "mature" for such a young audience, it never stopped me from watching it. I just wish that they had kept making more shows.

It's now 2005 and 15+ years since this cartoon first aired. I haven't actually watched it seriously or closely in about 10 years. Now that I'm an adult in my 30s I can look back with a serious eye as I watch the episodes again.

In concept, the cartoon is partly an homage to the classic Looney Tunes but also its own original show. There are a few episodes that are structured like the old cartoons. For example, there is a singer that attacks Buster and so he exacts revenge on this singer's concert -exactly like the old Bugs Bunny cartoon. The ensuing cartoon is similar to Looney Tunes, just in a different era. If you look at the old Looney Tunes, they did an awful lot of stuff exactly like Tiny Toons did. The old Looney Tunes made a lot of social commentary and parody. There were celebrity impersonations. There were a lot of corny period jokes, slang, and dialog. The comedy was surreal and wacky. You can say this exactly for Tiny Toons as well. The comedy styling is 'spiritually' the same. Most definitely a throwback to the classics which hadn't been done well (if at all) in cartoons in the decades prior to this show. We recognize the cultural references in Tiny Toons and we can roll our eyes when something we don't like comes up. But the reason we don't think Looney Tunes are corny is because we weren't alive back in the 40s. Also, Looney Tunes was original back in those days but today cartoons are rehashed over and over. So it's easy to perceive Tiny Toons in an unfair light due to our exposure to current events and our overexposure to cartoons in general.

There certainly are differences in many respects - the timing, the delivery, and obviously the duration of the shows. They are two different styles from two different periods, being done under two very different circumstances - Looney Tunes being made for adults in theaters and Tiny Toons being made for kids watching TV. Even so, they did a good job making an original show with original gags AND still paying homage to and patterning after the comedy stylings of the old Looney Tunes.

Since Tiny Toons had a lot more time to play with, they had some genuine moments of great animated inspiration. You only have to look at episodes like 1 minute to 3, the baby Plucky toilet episode.. there are so many more. For example, one of the best comedy dialog exchanges ever animated is in ThirteenSomething when Babs and Buster are on the phone in a split screen, hoping each misses the other. The miscommunication is spectacular. Notably, the character development in this episode and in several others (usually the ones penned by Deanna Oliver or Sherri Stoner) is rather good. The female characters were taken seriously as personalities and developed, unusual considering the opposite is usually true for cartoons of that period.

This was the first modern cartoon that had lots of both pop culture-referential and self-referential humor. This was way ahead of its time. Tiny Toons really opened up a door for writers to take comic liberties that are so common in the cartoons today, instead of doing the boring old crap we endured as 80s kids. Yes, I loved Transformers and Thundercats, but Tiny Toons totally jumped away from all that. It was a breath of fresh air. Bakshi's New Adventures of Mighty Mouse may have been a precursor, but Tiny Toons made this surreal style of comedy cartoon writing a real success.

As a kid I totally overlooked some jokes. For example, one episode is an homage to the Marx Brothers that I completely ignored as a teen. Now I have a newfound respect for it. There are so many inspired gags that I never noticed that are genuinely brilliant. It's that kind of comedy that makes me think of Looney Tunes and Family Guy. I NEVER noticed that kind of comedy as a kid. I've been thinking this for most episodes I watched recently.

You'd notice these kinds of things if you actually WATCHED the show. Unlike some other reviewers here who I know are unfairly judging it, I've seen all the episodes and have thought about them thoroughly, exposed both as a kid and as an adult.

You can tell there was an awful lot of care taken with the voice acting too. I'm not talking about just the main characters, but the side characters were done really well and creatively too. But back to the main characters, some of the main characters were brilliant. Tress MacNeille had, in my opinion, her best performances in this cartoon. She hasn't been the same since. Rob Paulsen also did some incredible stuff here, too.

This is all not to say the show didn't have some bad episodes. It had plenty. It had a lot of mediocre ones, too. But by far it certainly had a lot of genuinely funny episodes. Especially back when it first aired it was actually funny to watch.

Out of 10 I give the show an 8.5 - and kudos for pushing the envelope and breaking down the doors leading to a new era of cartoons.

Tiny Toon Adventures is one of the cutest shows I ever watched. I grew up watching them and I still watch them when I get a chance to on Nicktoons. The Tiny Toons were always there to give me give me good laughs and the characters are so cute! My favorites are Babs and Buster bunny, they are so funny and so cute. I also like Furball and I feel so bad for him. The Tiny Toons is a classic like Bugs Bunny and the Looney Toons. The Tiny Toons deserve a full:10/10 stars. P.S. Thank you Steven Spielberg for all the good laughs and thank you all cast members for your excellent voice talents on this classical show.

C'mon, people, this show wasn't THAT bad. I know it got a little preachy, had a lightweight premise and Kennedy cartoons (established by shuffling feet, cigar chewing mouths, and excessive stretching/bouncing), but past all that, "Tiny Toon Adventures" is a good cartoon. I watched it from it's premiere in 1990 until they stopped it in 1992. "Tiny Toons" was an attempt to return to making more respectable cartoons for young 'uns, and I congratulate Steven Spielberg and Warner Brothers on that.

About the characters: The guys in this cartoon fare nicely. Buster Bunny is neutral; not great, but not aggravating, either. There's nothing wrong with him. Plucky Duck is the funny man, and his straight man Hamton is always his friend/target (as in Batduck, where Hammy became Decoy, the Pig Hostage). Montana Max was definitely one of the better characters/stronger villains. Plus, Dizzy Devil probably got Taz some more recognition, too.

As for the females, well...most of them need a little work. Babs Bunny kinda sorta got annoying. She doesn't seem to have much personality (more than Lola Bunny of Space Jam, I'll give her that), just a whirlwind of impressions and voices. Sweetie Bird is no Tweety, actually, she's quite loud and tough! Shirley the Loon is a character with a valley girl voice and attitude, but she doesn't really seem to have a Looney Tune counterpart. Is she Foghorn Leghorn's, or maybe Miss Prissy's? Political correctness, I tell 'ya. Elmyra? *shudder* ...Let's just say that SOME Elmyra is okay, too much Elmyra is bad. That leaves me to believe Fifi La Fume is probably the best leading female character (still, she's no Pepe Le Pew, my ultimate fave Looney Tune). Take her away from the 'Pepe chase' scenario (trust me, they show Pepe just can't be duplicated) and put her in a 'Babs, Shirley 'n me' episode and she's getting my vote as 'Best Female Tiny Toon'. (good example: The Amazing Three)

Overall, I say give it a shot. You might just like it. After all these years, "Tiny Toons" still has a large fanbase. And hey, this cartoon more than likely needed to get the success it's had, otherwise we'd probably never have gotten other shows like "Animaniacs" and the like.

In-joke: (also listed as a gag credit) On the "Tiny Toons Music Television" tape they picture on this page, they have Elmyra lead in the 'Name Game' and all the Tiny Toons' names get rhymed except Plucky. (Don't ask why!)