Tiny Toon Adventures

We’re tiny, we’re toonie, we’re all a little looney,
and in this cartoony we’re invading your tv!
We’re comic dispensers, we crack up all the censors,
On tiny toon adventures get a dose of comedy

So here’s Acme Acres it’s a whole wide word apart
Our home sweet home it stands alone, a cartoon work of art
The scripts were rejected, expect the unexpected
our tiny toon adventures is about to start

They’re furry, they’re funny, they’re Babs and Buster Bunny
Montana Max has money, Elmira is a pain,
Here’s Hampton, and Plucky, Dizzy Devil’s yucky
Furrball’s unlucky, and Go-Go is insane!

At Acme University we learn our toon degree,
The teaching staff’s been getting laughs since 1933
We’re tiny, we’re toonie, we’re all a little looney,
It’s tiny toon adventures come and join the fun-

And now our song is done.

Ah, I can’t think about Looney Toons without thinking about the glorious comedic exploits of Steven Spielberg’s Tiny Toon Adventures. When I was in the 8^th grade, my friends and I would rush home for the most wonderful hour of tv which began with Tiny Toons at 4:00, followed by The Animaniacs at 4:30. Spielberg’s cartoons were absolutely hilarious. Though aired at times when children would view them, I do believe these cartoons were aimed at an older audience. Topics irreverent, subversively sexual, and over the top were skillfully married with the slapstick humor of classic Looney Toons. With Tiny Toons, Spielberg created an homage to classic cartoons while providing viewers both young and old with a half hour of pure entertainment.

The main characters of Tiny Toons are tongue-in-cheek parodies of their older, more Looney selves. You have Babs and Buster Bunny (no relation), the stars of the show, who exhibit the wit and humor of Bugs Bunny. There is Plucky Duck, who, as his name implies, is full of pluck and vinegar, just like his predecessor, Daffy Duck. Elmira, the creepy girl who likes to hug, and squeeze, and love animals to death (literally), is a play off of simple minded Gossamer. Of course, Hampton Pig, though not a stutterer like Porky, is as timid and shy as the classic pig. Dizzy Devil is, of course, based on Taz, but as he is an adolescent devil, his temper is much shorter. A new arrival is Go-Go, the Do-Do, who lives beyond Acme Acres and is the last of his kind. More zany than the rest of them, Go-Go spends much of his time harming himself and others. Completing the cast are Fifi La Fume (Pepe Le Pew), Calamity Coyote (Wile E. Coyote), Little Beeper (Roadrunner), Furrball (Sylvester), Sweetie Bird (Tweetie), and Montana Max (Yosemite Sam).

Though a popular cartoon at the time, Tiny Toon Adventures soon fell by the wayside when Spielberg’s new show about three insane children, The Animaniacs, premiered. Where Tiny Toons was purely entertaining, The Animaniacs was mildly educational and more adult themed. Teenagers and young adults craved more of the zany humor from Spielberg, and so other shows were spawned, such as The Tick, and Pinky and the Brain, which led to the demise of Tiny Toons. Though only available in DVD boxed sets and on youtube, I am still a fan of Tiny Toon Adventures and The Animaniacs; I’ve even used clips of the shows in my class.