"TINY TOON ADVENTURES: SEASON 1, VOLUME 2"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Available on DVD April 21 Official Kids WB site Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Back in the 1990s, Steven Spielberg came to Warner Bros. animation studios and cranked out some new, hip shows. One of them was “Tiny Toon Adventures,” which offered a new twist on the traditional younger versions of the Looney Tunes. “Tiny Toon Adventures” follows a young group of kids at the Acme Looniversity, learning to be like their famous adult counterparts. The original Warner Bros. characters show up from time to time in cameos, as the many wacky characters get in all sorts of trouble.
WHAT I LIKED
I have never been a fan of the babyfication of animated characters. Even as far back as the “Lil’ Archie” days in comic books, I have never quite seen the point of having younger versions of characters do the same thing the older versions would do. And when they don’t do everything their older counterparts would do, they are simply too juvenile (even for me when I was a kid). This is why I never liked the “Baby Looney Tunes” cartoon.
“Tiny Toons,” however, was different. What helped me get past all this was the fact that the characters weren’t just younger versions of the classic characters. They were characters among themselves. Sure, Plucky Duck had the same anger management problems as Daffy, and Dizzy Devil was as single-minded as Taz. But there were some differences. Bugs Bunny was given a male and female counterpart – Babs and Buster Bunny – to emulate different parts of his character.
Ultimately, the characters all developed their own personalities outside of their adult counterparts, and that enriched the series. This gave “Tiny Toons” a fresh feel, even today. While it represents a different facet of the babyfication of cartoons, this is possibly the most unique and best quality example of this phenomenon.
“Tiny Toons” first appeared when I was in college, and like other cartoons of its day (e.g., “Freakazoid,” “The Tick” and “Darkwing Duck”), it managed to grab a solid audience of grown up kids. The cartoons in this second volume hold up rather well in this day and age of Flash animation and computers. The stories are clever and take the characters to some exciting places, and my kids simply love the show as well.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Looking back on the series as an adult, I will admit that there are some aspects that wear on me. The theme song, while cute and clever, it a bit much to hear 30 times in a marathon session of “Tiny Toon Adventure” watching.
Oddly enough, my least favorite characters on the show are not the “Tiny Toon” equivalent of my least favorite Looney Tunes (e.g., Foghorn Leghorn and Tweety). Rather, my least favorite Tiny Toons are the human characters of Elmyra and Montana Max, created specifically for this show. However, having seen a few too many girls manhandle kittens, I will say there a terrifying reality behind the character of Elmyra.
“Tiny Toon Adventures” might not be ripe for a marathon session as an adult, but in small doses, it’s a nice way to relive your childhood with your kids... or at least relive a kid-friendly version of your college years.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD set includes 30 cartoons, but no special features.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who watched this show in its original run... and anyone wanting a fresh revamp of the Looney Tunes.
