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STUDIO: Warner Home Video
MSRP: $44.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 767 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“From Looney Tunes to Tiny Toons” featurette
The Pitch
They’re one of several revamps to a classic franchise.
The Humans
Charlie Adler, Tress MacNeille, Frank Welker, Don Messick, Danny Cooksey, Kath Soucie, Maurice LaMarche and Cree Summer
The Nutshell
What can you say about this show that doesn’t automatically trigger fond memories in young Americans aged 21-30? A good chunk of young people grew up with this show as this Weekday Afternoon filler that patched the post G.I. Joe era to the Batman The Animated Series era. You played the NES game and you collected the merchandise from your local Fast Food eatery. But, do you remember the characters? Are there any classic moments that stick out in your mind?
Montana Max in There Will Be Anvils.
The Lowdown
Tiny Toon Adventures comes to DVD with the first volume of its first season. The show ran for five years at the brisk pace of around seventy episodes per yearly entry. It’s an impressive feat and one that puts most modern animated shows to shame. When I finished the first disc, I came to a point of realization. The show might’ve pumped out episodes like a workhorse, but I found only a handful to be memorable. Hell, the only one on the first disc that sported any signs of genius borrowed heavily from Bob Clampett’s work with his Golden Age gremlins.
Duck Season? No. METH SEASON!
What I learned from Tiny Toons is that quantity vs. quality will forever be the rule of the day. I’m not saying that the Golden Age of Termite Terrace didn’t shit the bed a few times. Anyone remember Bosko? It’s just that Tiny Toons feel into the trap of repeating Pop Culture moments for parody and coupling that with the ever-flimsy gender politics of Kids Show in the 1990s. I like Buster and Babs equally. I don’t need to have an insane amount of episodes dedicated to Babs being large and annoying when compared to the laid-back antics of Buster.
I love Star Wars, but Lucas is about two huff of glue away from making this shot a reality.
Hell, this bi-polar dichotomy of how characters were handled on the show makes me wonder if anyone bothered to draft a Series Bible before frame one was drawn. It’s one thing to coast along on fandom’s memories of the Looney Tunes franchise, but there needs to be some meat. But, first seasons are dedicated to introducing characters and setting up a universe. You’re not going to find They Might Be Giants memories or too many Gogo Dodo adventures here. What you will find is the reality that your childhood memories are shaded in coats of sugar from half of the junk you scarfed down as a latch-key kid.
Somebody’s discovered the Elizabeth Smart bondage playkit. Coming in the Fall, Acme is set to introduce the Palin Past-Due Pubic strap. Acme…we make shit, so that America can watch you die.
But, the show did offer Bruce Timm one of his first big directing gigs. This is more of a point for the animation fans rather than the casual viewer. Bruce Timm would later run off this show to go and make the legendary Batman: The Animated Series with Dan Riba and Paul Dini. There’s talent on display from how they choose to introduce characters and set up plot points. Everything has its place, even though all jokes don’t land with surgical precision. Nobody’s perfect and that’s the thing to keep in mind while viewing this set.
I’ve been saying this since I was 10. I knew that I saw secret messages in the credits. Now, I just wish I could find the episode that told me to burn things.
The Package
The DVD arrives with some decent A/V Quality considering the source. It’s straight to tape and mass-market syndication shows off some fading. But, it doesn’t obscure any of the animation. Still, it’s sad that I can watch an animated short from the Warner Brothers Platinum Collection that looks way better. But, you treat the Golden Age shit better than the second-gen throwbacks.
The show is spread across four discs and Warner Brothers goes out of their watch to balance the sole special feature with the thirty-something episodes included in the release. It’s an impressive collection, but Warner Home Video knows how to impress with their animated titles. That’s why I’ve got to give credit where credit is due. I’d recommend it for a rental, only Looney Tunes die-hards should buy it.