Tiny Toon Adventures

Tiny Toon Adventures (a.k.a. Tiny Toons) is an animated series created by the Warner Bros. animation studio. It was the result of the first collaboration between Steven Spielberg and the newly reborn Warner Bros. Animation studio. The first season aired in 1990, the second season in 1991 and the third and final season was aired in 1992.

Characters

The series premiered in 1990, and it was an instant hit. It revolved around a group of young cartoon characters training at Acme Looniversity to be the next generation of Looney Tunes characters. As a result most of the characters were designed to resemble younger versions of classic Warner Bros.' most popular cartoon stars.

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Major characters include:

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• Buster Bunny and Babs Bunny (no relation), modeled after Bugs Bunny
• Plucky Duck, a spiritual descendant of Daffy Duck
• Hamton J. Pig, molded in the image of Porky Pig
• Furrball, a cat based loosely on the luckless Sylvester
• Sweetie Pie, based on Tweety Bird
• Fifi La Fume, a female version of Pepe Le Pew
• Shirley the Loon, a somewhat ditzy character possibly based on Melissa Duck; her name and New Age obsessions are inspired by Shirley MacLaine
• Calamity Coyote, a young Wile E. Coyote-in-training
• Little Beeper, a miniature Road Runner
• Dizzy Devil, a junior Taz
• Montana Max, a rich brat modeled after Yosemite Sam
• Elmyra Duff, a demented young girl who loves animals but unwittingly harms them, based on Elmer Fudd

The original inspiration for two of the characters was somewhat obscure compared to the others: Li'l Sneezer was a revival of Sniffles the mouse, and Gogo Dodo was based on the original Dodo from Porky in Wackyland, a theatrical Looney Tunes release directed by Bob Clampett in 1938.

Related Topics:
Li'l Sneezer - Sniffles - Gogo Dodo - Porky in Wackyland - Bob Clampett - 1938

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Other minor characters based on classic characters were:

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• Barky Marky, a dog based on Marc Anthony from several Chuck Jones-directed short subjects.
• Concord Condor, modeled after Beaky Buzzard .
• Fowlmouth, a perpetually cursing chicken based very loosely on Foghorn Leghorn.
• Witch Sandy, a witch who was based off of Witch Hazel, she had a one-time appearance on the show in a parody of Hansel and Gretel. She lived in a house made out of carrot cake and drew the attention of Buster and Babs. She tried to use the two in a recipe like Hazel, turning Babs into a real rabbit and summoning her cutlery to try and kill Buster. But she got turned into a goldfish. Sandy wears a cute disguise but she is actually as ugly as Hazel.

Additionally, Arnold the pit bull was modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Minor original characters included a family of fleas who lived on Furrball, a trio of singing girl roaches (modelled after The Roches, an actual girl group), Byron Basset, and the two Ralphs. One was a fat security guard who later migrated to Animaniacs, while the other was a slobbish Ralph Bakshi caricature.

Related Topics:
The Roches - Byron Basset - Animaniacs - Ralph Bakshi - Caricature

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Most of the series's original characters attended Acme Looniversity, a high school/university in the fictional city of Acme Acres (where most of the Tiny Toons and Looney Tunes characters lived in this series), whose faculty primarily consisted of the mainstays of the classic Warner cartoons. In the series' internal continuity, the university was founded to teach cartoon characters how to become funny, with graduates receiving a "Diploma of Lunacy", giving them the opportunity to become full-time cartoon characters. Bugs Bunny taught the Outsmarting Antagonists class, Daffy Duck taught Puns and Catchphrases, Yosemite Sam taught both Firearms and Anvilology (the study of falling anvils for comic effect, later referenced in the "Anvilania" episode of Animaniacs), and Elmer Fudd taught Booby Traps. The principal of the Acme Looniversity was a giant floating head like the one in The Wizard of Oz, voiced by Noel Blanc (son of the late Mel Blanc); the principal was later revealed to be Bugs Bunny in disguise. Wile E. Coyote was the dean.

Related Topics:
High school - University - Diploma - Lunacy - Anvil - The Wizard of Oz - Noel Blanc - Mel Blanc - Dean

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The show's characters were developed by Jean MacCurdy, Dan Romanelli, Paul Dini, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, and Wayne Katz; named by Jim Reardon, Tom Minton, Eddie Fitzgerald, and others; and designed by Dan Haskett, Karen Haskett, Ken Boyer and Alfred Gimeno.

Related Topics:
Jean MacCurdy - Dan Romanelli - Paul Dini - Tom Ruegger - Sherri Stoner - Wayne Katz - Jim Reardon - Tom Minton - Eddie Fitzgerald - Dan Haskett - Karen Haskett - Ken Boyer - Alfred Gimeno

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