Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as
Tiny Toon Adventures or simply
Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by
Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
and produced by
Amblin EntertainmentAmblin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1981. Amblin is only a production company, and has never distributed its own movies, nor has it fully financed its...
and
Warner Bros. AnimationWarner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
. It began production as a result of Warner Bros. reinstating its animation studio in 1989 after a decade of dormancy. During the 1980s, the new studio only worked on revivals of the classic characters; meaning that
Tiny Toon Adventures was the first of many original animated series from the studio. The cartoon was the first animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation during the animation renaissance of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The pilot episode titled "The Looney Beginning" aired as a prime-time special on CBS on September 14, 1990; while the series itself was featured in first-run syndication for the first two seasons. In 1992, the show was licensed exclusively to
Fox KidsFox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
. Regular episodes ended production in 1992 in favor of
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, however, two specials were produced in 1994.
Premise
Tiny Toon Adventures was a cartoon set in the fictional town of
Acme Acres, where most of the
Tiny Toons and
Looney Tunes characters live. The characters attended
Acme Looniversity, a school whose faculty primarily consists of the mainstays of the classic Warner Bros. cartoons, such as
Bugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
,
Daffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
,
Porky PigPorky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
, Sylvester the Cat, Wile E. Coyote and
Elmer FuddElmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...
. In the series, the university was founded to teach cartoon characters how to become funny. The school is not featured in every episode, as not all of its storylines are centered around the school.
Like the
Looney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
, the series was derived from cartoon violence (e.g. anvils falling on someone, liberal use of explosives) and
slapstickSlapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
. The series parodied and referenced the current events of the early 1990s and Hollywood culture. Occasionally, episodes would delve into veiled ethical and morality stories of
ecologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
,
self-esteemSelf-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
, and
crimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
.
Characters
The series centers on a group of young cartoon characters who attend a school called
AcmeThe Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons as a running gag featuring outlandish products that fail catastrophically at the worst possible times...
Looniversity to be the next generation of
Looney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
characters. Most of the Tiny Toons characters were designed to resemble younger versions of Warner Bros.' most popular Looney Tunes animal characters by exhibiting similar traits and looks.
The two main characters are both rabbits: Buster Bunny, a blue male rabbit, and Babs Bunny, a pink female rabbit. Other major characters in the cast are generally nonhuman as well. These include
Plucky DuckPlucky Allen Duck is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is also the titular character in Gary A. Lewis's Plucky Duck in the Summer Job. He is arguably the third main character on the show after Buster and Babs. Plucky is voiced by Joe...
, a green male duck;
Hamton J. PigHamton J. Pig is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is arguably the fourth main character on the show. Hamton is voiced by Don Messick. Hamton is a young male pig with blue overalls. He attends Acme Looniversity and lives in Acme...
, a pink male pig; Fifi La Fume, a purple-and-white female skunk; Shirley the Loon, a white female loon; Dizzy Devil, a purple Tasmanian devil;
FurrballFurrball is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is one of the main characters on the show.-Description:Furrball is a young, blue male cat with a hole on his right ear and a bandage on his tail...
, a blue cat;
Calamity CoyoteCalamity Coyote is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is one of the recurring characters from the show.-Description:...
, a bluish-gray coyote; and
Gogo DodoGogo Wackston the Dodo is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is one of the main characters on the show.-Description:...
, a dodo. Two human characters,
Elmyra DuffElmyra Jessica Duff is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. She is one of the main characters from the show. Elmyra is voiced by Cree Summer in all of her appearances...
and
Montana MaxMontana "Monty" Master Max is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is one of the main characters on the show. and also one of the main antagonists of the show. Monty is voiced by Danny Cooksey. Montana Max is a young, brown haired, male...
, also have secondary roles in the series, and are students of Acme Looniversity as well. Supporting characters included Little Beeper, a red-orange roadrunner; Li'l Sneezer, a gray mouse with powerful sneezes; Sweetie Bird, a pink canary; Concord Condor, a purple condor; Byron Basset, a usually sleeping basset hound; Bookworm, a green worm with glasses; Arnold the Pit Bull, a muscular white pit bull; Fowlmouth, a white rooster; Barky Marky, a brown dog, and Mary Melody, a young African American human girl.
Writers
The series and the show's characters were developed by series producer, head writer and cartoonist
Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, division leader
Jean MacCurdyJean MacCurdy is an American-born longtime animation/children's programming professional, best known for having worked at Hanna-Barbara, and for having presided over the Warner Bros...
, associate producer and artist Alfred Gimeno and story editor/writer Wayne Kaatz. Among the first writers on the series were
Jim ReardonJim Reardon is an animation director and storyboard consultant, best known for his work on the animated TV series The Simpsons. He has directed over 30 episodes of the series, and was credited as a supervising director for seasons 9 through 15...
,
Tom MintonTom Minton is an American animation producer, writer, story editor and storyboard artist. He created and wrote the "Toby Danger" episode of Freakazoid!, wrote the lyrics to the song "Brainstem" and served as head model for the Warner Bros character the Brain in Pinky and the Brain...
, and Eddie Fitzgerald. The character and scenery designers included Alfred Gimeno,
Ken BoyerKen D. Boyer is an animator that worked on Tiny Toon Adventures, co-designing the characters and directing some episodes. He also animated on Disney’s Lion King and directed certain episodes of the 101 Dalmatians television cartoon series. He currently works on The Mighty B!.-External links:*...
,
Dan HaskettDan Haskett is a veteran Black animator who designed the character "Belle" for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, as well as "Ariel" for The Little Mermaid and Tod as an adult for The Fox and the Hound....
, Karen Haskett, and many other artists and directors.
One episode was co-written by three then-teenage girls who were fans of the show.
Casting
Voice director Andrea Romano auditioned over 1,200 voices for the series and chose more than a dozen main voice actors. The role of Buster Bunny was given to Charlie Adler, who gave the role, as producer Tom Ruegger said, "a great deal of energy". The role of Babs Bunny was given to
Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
. Writer Paul Dini said that MacNeille was good for the role because she could do both Babs' voice and the voices of her impressions. Voice actors
Joe AlaskeyJoseph "Joe" Alaskey is an American actor, comedian, and voice artist, credited as one of the successors of Mel Blanc in impersonating the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons. He was born in Watervliet, New York.-Other work:Alaskey has also done voices...
and
Don MessickDonald Earl "Don" Messick was an American voice actor best known for his work for Hanna-Barbera. Perhaps his most well-known voice creations include Scooby-Doo, Papa Smurf, and Dr. Benton Quest....
were given the roles of Plucky Duck and Hamton J. Pig, respectively.
Danny CookseyDanny Cooksey is an American singer, actor and voice actor. He has been in show business since he was very young and is best remembered for playing the roles of Sam McKinney on the last years of the TV show Diff'rent Strokes and Robert "Bobby" Budnick on the Nickelodeon program, Salute Your...
played Montana Max and, according to Paul Dini, was good for the role because he could do a "tremendous mean voice." Cooksey was also the only voice actor in the cast who was not an adult.
Cree SummerCree Summer Francks , best known as Cree Summer, is a Canadian actress, musician and voice actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as college student Winifred "Freddie" Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
played the roles of Elmyra Duff and Mary Melody; former
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
cast member
Gail MatthiusGail Matthius is an American actress and voice actress. She was a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live during its critical and ratings low point at the time , and co-anchored the Weekend Update segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.-Recurring characters:*Vicki, a Valley girl who,...
played Shirley the Loon, and
Kath SoucieKatherine Elaine Soucie is an American voice actress. She is sometimes credited as Kath Soucie, Katherine Soucie, Kath Souci, Kath E...
had the roles of Fifi La Fume and Li'l Sneezer. Other actors for the series included
Maurice LaMarcheMaurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
as the voice of Dizzy Devil;
Candi MiloCandi Milo is an American voice actress and singer. She voiced many different animated characters such as the voice of Jacobo on Disney's The Replacements, Coco, Madame Foster and Cheese on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Irma Lair on Disney's W.I.T.C.H., lead character Maya Santos on Maya &...
as the voice of Sweetie,
Frank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as the voice of Gogo Dodo, Furrball, Byron Basset, Calamity Coyote, Little Beeper, Barky Marky, and other voices; and
Rob PaulsenRobert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
as the voice of Fowlmouth, Arnold the Pit Bull, Concord Condor, and other characters.
During production of the series' 3rd season, Adler left the show due to a conflict with the producers. Adler was upset that he had not landed a role in
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
while voice actors with smaller roles in
Tiny Toon Adventures like Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche, and Frank Welker were given starring roles in the new series.
John KassirJohn Kassir is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian who is best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper in HBO's, Tales from the Crypt franchise...
replaced Adler for the remainder of the show's run. Joe Alaskey, the voice of Plucky Duck, also left
Tiny Toons for financial reasons, but returned when an agreement was reached with the studio.
Animation
In order to complete 65 episodes for the 1st season, Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment contracted several different animation houses. These animation studios included Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now known as TMS Entertainment),
Wang Film ProductionsWang Film Productions is one of the oldest and most prolific Taiwanese animation studios...
,
AKOMAKOM Productions is a South Korean animation studio in Songpa-gu, Seoul that has provided much work since its conception in 1985 by Nelson Shin. Its biggest claim to fame is the overseas animation for 200 episodes of The Simpsons, to which that number is consistently rising...
, Freelance Animators New Zealand, Encore Cartoons,
StarToonsStarToons International, LLC was an American animation studio located in the Chicago, Illinois area. It was founded by Jon McClenahan, an animator who had previously worked for other studios like Hanna Barbera...
, and
Kennedy CartoonsKennedy Cartoons was an animation studio based in Toronto, Canada and Manila, Philippines that did work for the following animated series:*Tiny Toon Adventures - Kennedy Cartoons, in its Tiny Toons and Darkwing Duck days, outsourced some scenes of animation to StarToons, located in...
. Tokyo Movie Shinsha also animated the series' opening sequence. Warner Bros. staff disliked working with Kennedy Cartoons due to the studio's inconsistent quality, and episodes that they animated were often subject to multiple re-takes. In other cases, such as the debut episode "The Looney Beginning", portions of Kennedy-animated episodes were re-animated by another studio.
Tiny Toon Adventures was made with a higher production value than standard television animation. It had a
celA cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
count that was more than double that of most television animation. The series had about 25,000 cels per episode instead of the standard 10,000, making it unique in that characters moved more fluidly. Pierre De Celles, an animation producer, described storyboarding for the series as "fun but a big challenge because I always had a short schedule, and it's not always easy to work full blast nonstop".
Music
During the development of the show
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
said that Warner Bros. would use a full orchestra, which some thought too expensive and impossible, but they ended up agreeing. Warner Bros. selected
Bruce BroughtonBruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
to write the theme (for which he would win a Daytime Emmy along with
Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
and Wayne Kaatz, who both worked with Broughton on the lyrics) and serve as music supervisor. In addition to scoring 11 episodes, Broughton chose 26 other composers to score each different episode:
- Julie Bernstein (1 episode)
- Steve Bernstein (2 episodes)
- Steven Bramson
Steven Bramson is a professional composer who has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, and has won one Daytime Emmy Award and three ASCAP Awards. He has written music to George Lucas' Young Indiana Jones and the CBS series JAG. Bramson’s music has been played in New York City and London....
(5 episodes; also a contributor for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
)
- Don Davis
Donald Romain Davis is an American film score composer, conductor, and orchestrator. Best known for his work on The Matrix, he has worked on a variety of films, from horror to comedy.- Early life :...
(5 episodes; also a contributor for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
)
- John Debney
John C. Debney is an American film composer. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ...
(2 episodes)
- Ron Grant (5 episodes)
- Les Hooper
Les Hooper is a composer in Los Angeles, USA. His music ranges from classical to blues and jazz; from commercials to concert commissions. His credits include movies, TV, commercials, live performances, orchestral commissions, and many published pieces of music...
(1 episode)
- Aubrey Graham
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
(3 episodes)
- Carl Johnson (1 episode)
- Elliot Kaplan (1 episode)
- Arthur Kempel (4 episodes)
- Ralph Kessler (1 episode)
- Albert Lloyd Olson (13 episodes; also a contributor for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
)
- Hummie Mann
Hummie Mann is a two-time Emmy award-winning American film score composer. He is best known for his scores to the Mel Brooks films Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It...
(2 episodes)
- Dennis McCarthy
Dennis McCarthy is an ASCAP- and Emmy Award-winning composer, mostly for television programs and films produced in the United States....
(2 episodes)
- Joel McNeely
-Biography:Joel McNeely was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Both of his parents were involved in music and theater, and as a child he played the piano, saxophone, bass, and flute...
(3 episodes)
- Peter Myers (1 episode)
- Laurence Rosenthal
Laurence Rosenthal is an American composer, arranger, and conductor for theater, television, and films.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Rosenthal attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied piano and composition...
(1 episode)
- William Ross
William Ross is an American composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor and music director. He has worked with a large array of artists and musicians, from famous Hollywood composers John Williams, Alan Silvestri, John Powell, Michael Giacchino, Klaus Badelt, or Michael Kamen, to pop music icons...
(9 episodes)
- Arthur B. Rubinstein
Arthur B. Rubinstein is a composer and behind in particular several TV series soundtracks, but also occasional film scores, possibly most notably work such as Video Fever and Edge of the World in the film WarGames. During the making of these soundtracks, he was a member of the band The Beepers...
(3 episodes)
- J. Eric Schmidt (1 episode)
- David Slonaker (1 episode)
- Fred Steiner
Fred Steiner was an American composer, conductor, orchestrator, film historian and arranger for television, radio and film. Steiner wrote the theme music for The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Perry Mason and The Bullwinkle Show...
(7 episodes)
- Morton Stevens
Morton Stevens was an American film score composer from Newark, New Jersey. In 1965 Stevens became director of music for CBS West Coast operations...
(4 episodes)
- Richard Stone
Richard Stone was an American composer. He played an important part in the revival of Warner Bros. animation in the 1990s, composing music and songs for Tiny Toon Adventures, Taz-Mania, SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid!, The Sylvester and Tweety...
(17 episodes; also a contributor for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
)
- Stephen James Taylor
Stephen James Taylor is a Los Angeles based composer best known for his film and TV scores with 4 Emmy nominations , 2 Annie nominations and a DVD-X Award on "Best Original Score to date...
(1 episode; also a contributor for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
)
- Mark Watters
Mark Watters is a five-time Emmy Award winning American composer of music for film and television. He currently lives in Chatsworth with his wife Vanessa.- Biography :...
(8 episodes; also a contributor for Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
)
Films and television specials
A feature-length
movieA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
was released
direct-to-videoDirect-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
in 1992, entitled
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
. This was later re-edited and aired as part of the series. The length of the movie is 73 minutes.
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
aired
It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special in primetime on December 6, 1992. This episode is a parody of
It’s a Wonderful Life.
Tiny Toon Spring Break was aired on Fox during primetime on March 27, 1994. Fox aired
Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery in primetime on May 28, 1995.
Spin-offs
In 1992,
The Plucky Duck ShowSteven Spielberg Presents The Plucky Duck Show, usually referred to as The Plucky Duck Show, was an animated television series created by Warner Bros. It was a short-lived spin-off of Tiny Toon Adventures, the first collaboration between Steven Spielberg and the newly reborn Warner Bros. Animation...
was produced as a spin-off for Fox Kids, based on the character Plucky Duck. Except for the premiere episode
The Return of Batduck, the show was composed of recycled Plucky-centric episodes from the series.
In 1998, a spin-off entitled
Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain debuted on Kids WB. This series featured the Elmyra character as well as Pinky and the Brain, two characters who were originally on
Animaniacs before receiving their own series, also entitled
Pinky and the BrainPinky and the Brain is an American animated television series.The characters Pinky and the Brain first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the show Animaniacs...
.
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain picks up after
Pinky leaves off where Pinky and the Brain become Elmyra's pets after Brain accidentally destroys their original home, ACME Labs, during an experiment.
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain lasted for thirteen episodes.
Awards and nominations
Daytime Emmy Awards:
- Won award for Outstanding Animated Program
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program has been awarded every year since 1985. Up until 1993, the award was just known as the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. Arthur holds the record for most nominations and Arthur and Muppet Babies are tied for most...
(presented to Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, Ken BoyerKen D. Boyer is an animator that worked on Tiny Toon Adventures, co-designing the characters and directing some episodes. He also animated on Disney’s Lion King and directed certain episodes of the 101 Dalmatians television cartoon series. He currently works on The Mighty B!.-External links:*...
, Art Leonardi, Art Vitello, Paul DiniPaul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
, and Sherri StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16, 1965, in Santa Monica, California.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. She is probably best known for Animaniacs, for which...
) (1991-Outstanding Drama Series:All My ChildrenAs the World TurnsGuiding LightThe Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman ...
)
- Won award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition (presented to William Ross
William Ross is an American composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor and music director. He has worked with a large array of artists and musicians, from famous Hollywood composers John Williams, Alan Silvestri, John Powell, Michael Giacchino, Klaus Badelt, or Michael Kamen, to pop music icons...
for “Fields of Honey”) (1991-Outstanding Drama Series:All My ChildrenAs the World TurnsGuiding LightThe Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman ...
)
- Won award for Outstanding Original Song (presented to Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton is a film, video game, and television soundtrack composer who has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career, including American music classics such as "Homeward Bound," "Silverado", "Tombstone," and wonderfully lyric music for "Miracle on 34th...
, Wayne Kaatz, and Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
) (1991-Outstanding Drama Series:All My ChildrenAs the World TurnsGuiding LightThe Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman ...
)
- Nominated for Outstanding Animated Program
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program has been awarded every year since 1985. Up until 1993, the award was just known as the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. Arthur holds the record for most nominations and Arthur and Muppet Babies are tied for most...
(Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, Sherri StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16, 1965, in Santa Monica, California.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. She is probably best known for Animaniacs, for which...
, Rich AronsRich Arons is an American producer, best known for his work on Animaniacs! and Freakazoid!.-External links:...
, and Art Leonardi) (1992-Outstanding Drama Series:*All My Children*As the World Turns*Guiding Light*The Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman ...
)
- Won award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition (presented to Mark Watters
Mark Watters is a five-time Emmy Award winning American composer of music for film and television. He currently lives in Chatsworth with his wife Vanessa.- Biography :...
for “The Love Disconnection”) (1992-Outstanding Drama Series:*All My Children*As the World Turns*Guiding Light*The Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman ...
)
- Won award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program (presented to Nicholas Hollander, Tom Ruegger
Tom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, Paul DiniPaul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
, and Sherri StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16, 1965, in Santa Monica, California.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. She is probably best known for Animaniacs, for which...
) (1992-Outstanding Drama Series:*All My Children*As the World Turns*Guiding Light*The Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman ...
)
- Won award for Outstanding Animated Program
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program has been awarded every year since 1985. Up until 1993, the award was just known as the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. Arthur holds the record for most nominations and Arthur and Muppet Babies are tied for most...
(presented to Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, Sherri StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16, 1965, in Santa Monica, California.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. She is probably best known for Animaniacs, for which...
, Rich AronsRich Arons is an American producer, best known for his work on Animaniacs! and Freakazoid!.-External links:...
, Byron Vaughns, Ken Boyer, Alfred Gimeno, and David West) (1993-Outstanding Drama Series:*All My Children*As the World Turns*Guiding Light*The Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman...
)
- Won award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition (presented to Steven Bramson
Steven Bramson is a professional composer who has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, and has won one Daytime Emmy Award and three ASCAP Awards. He has written music to George Lucas' Young Indiana Jones and the CBS series JAG. Bramson’s music has been played in New York City and London....
for “The Horror of Slumber Party Mountain”) (1993-Outstanding Drama Series:*All My Children*As the World Turns*Guiding Light*The Young and the Restless-Outstanding Lead Actor:*Peter Bergman...
)
Annie Awards:
- Nominated for Best Animated Television Program (1992)
- Nominated for Best Animated Television Program (1993)
Emmy Awards:
- Nominated for Outstanding Animated Program
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
(Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, Tom RueggerTom Ruegger is an American animation writer, producer, and director.-Career:In the 1980s Ruegger worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and producing various animated series, most notably The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.In 1989 he began...
, Paul DiniPaul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...
, Sherri StonerSherri Stoner is an American actress and writer. She was born July 16, 1965, in Santa Monica, California.She has worked extensively in animation. She was a writer and producer for such 1990s animated shows as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. She is probably best known for Animaniacs, for which...
, Dave Marshall, Glen Kennedy, Rich Aarons) (1991The 43rd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on August 25, 1991. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California.-Outstanding Comedy Series:*Cheers**Designing Women**The Golden Girls...
)
Young Artist Awards:
- Won award for Best New Cartoon Series (1989-1990)
- Nominated for Outstanding Young Voice-Over in an Animated Series or Special (Whitby Hertford) (1991-1992)
Environmental Media AwardsThe Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message....
:
- Won EMA Award for Children's Animated series (for the episode Whales Tales) (1991)
In January 2009, IGN named Tiny Toon Adventures as the 41st in the Top 100 Animated TV Shows.
Print
Among the same time that
Tiny Toon Adventures premiered, a quarterly children's magazine based on the series was published for at least seven issues. Also, various storybooks were published by the Little Golden Book company, including a few episode adaptations and some original stories (
Lost in the Fun House and
Happy Birthday, Babs!).
Tiny Toon Adventures did not spin off its own comic book. However, the characters did make occasional cameo appearances in the
Animaniacs and
Pinky and the Brain comic books.
Toys and video games
Since its debut, numerous video games based on
Tiny Toons have been released. There have been no less than nine titles based on the series released after its original television run and as recently as 2002. Many companies have held the development and publishing rights for the games, including
Konamiis a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
(during the 90s),
AtariAtari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
,
NewKidCoNewKidCo International Inc. , was a video game company that released children's videogames based on popular licensed characters, for Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft game consoles. NewKidCo merged with Ubi Soft Entertainment in 2005....
,
Conspiracy GamesConspiracy Entertainment is an American third-party developer video game publisher, publishing games from smaller companies that would face difficulties distributing games themselves...
, Warthog,
Terraglyph Interactive StudiosTerraGlyph Interactive Studios was a multi-platform game development studio located in Schaumburg, IL and was founded in 1994. The company was the game development division of the TerraGlyph group of companies, which also includes a feature animation studio in Dublin Ireland, a web/media services...
, and
Treasureis a Japanese video game developer, founded by former employees of Konami on June 19, 1992. Treasure is best known for classic-style action games that employ innovative gameplay systems...
. Toys for the series included plush dolls and plastic figures.
Home Video
In the early 90s, Warner Bros. had released several videos, including
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My VacationTiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, also referred to as Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation or How I Spent My Vacation, is a 1992 American direct-to-video animated film from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. The film was produced in...
(a direct-to-video release which later aired as a four-part episode),
Best of Buster and Babs,
Two Tone Town,
Tiny Toon Big Adventures,
Tiny Toon: Island Adventures,
Tiny Toon Adventures: Music TV,
Tiny Toon: Fiendishly Funny Adventures,
Tiny Toon: Night Ghoulery and
Tiny Toons: It's a Wonderful Christmas Special.
On July 29, 2008,
Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
released Season 1, Volume 1 of
Tiny Toon Adventures on DVD in Region 1, Much like the DVD releases of
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
&
Pinky and the BrainPinky and the Brain is an American animated television series.The characters Pinky and the Brain first appeared in 1993 as a recurring segment on the show Animaniacs...
, Tiny Toon Adventures was also paired up with another DVD release,
Freakazoid. During the annual Warner Home Video chat on April 5, 2010, representatives announced they currently have no plans to release seasons 2 and 3.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release date | Special Features | Notes |
| Season 1 Volume 1 |
35 |
July 29, 2008 |
From Looney Tunes to Tiny Toons: A Wacky Evolution, featurette |
N/A |
| Season 1 Volume 2 |
30 |
April 21, 2009 |
None, aside from trailers. |
Two episodes are edited on this set: "Tiny Toons Music Television" (a brief bit about a phone number to call during the wraparounds) and "Son of the Wacko World of Sports" (wraparounds and title cards removed). |
Preproduction
According to writer Paul Dini,
Tiny Toons originated as an idea by
Terry SemelTerry Semel is an American corporate executive who was the chairman and CEO of Yahoo! Incorporated. Previously, Semel spent 24 years at Warner Bros., where he served as chairman and co-chief executive officer...
, then the president of Warner Bros., who wanted to "[…] inject new life into the Warner Bros. Animation department," and at the same time create a series with junior versions of Looney Tunes characters. Semel proposed that the new series would be a show based on
Looney Tunes where the characters were either young versions of the original
Looney Tunes and
Merrie MelodiesMerrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
characters or new characters as the offsprings of the original characters. The idea of a series with the basis of younger versions of famous characters was common at the time; the era in which
Tiny Toons was produced had such cartoons as
Muppet BabiesJim Henson's Muppet Babies is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984 to November 2, 1991 on CBS. The show portrayed childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a large nursery in the care of a human woman called Nanny...
,
A Pup Named Scooby-DooA Pup Named Scooby-Doo is the eighth incarnation of the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon Scooby-Doo. This spin-off of the original show was created by Tom Ruegger and premiered on September 10, 1988 and ran for three seasons on ABC as a half-hour program, until August 17, 1991...
,
Tom & Jerry Kids and
The Flintstones Kids. Warner Bros. chose to do the same because Spielberg wanted to make a series similar to
Looney Tunes, as series producer/show-runner Tom Ruegger explained: "Well, I think in Warner Bros. case, they had the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg on a project (...) But he didn't want to just work on characters that Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob McKimson and Bob Clampett made famous and created. He wanted to be involved with the creation of some
new characters." The result was a series similar to
Looney Tunes without the use of the same characters.
In 1987, the Warner Bros. Animation studio approached Steven Spielberg to collaborate with Semel and Warner Bros. head of licensing Dan Romanelli on Semel's ideas. They eventually decided that the new characters would be similar to the
Looney Tunes characters with no direct relation. However,
Tiny Toons did not go into production then, nor was it even planned to be made for television; the series initially was to be a theatrical feature-length film.
In December 1988, Tiny Toons was changed from a film to a television series, with Jean MacCurdy overseeing production of the first 65 episodes. MacCurdy said that
Tiny Toons was changed to a television series to "(...) reach a broader audience". For the series, MacCurdy hired Tom Ruegger, who previously wrote cartoons for
FilmationFilmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
and
Hanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, to be a producer. In January 1989, Ruegger and writer Wayne Kaatz began developing the characters and the setting of "Acme Acres" with Spielberg.
In January 1989, Warner Bros. Animation was choosing its voice actors from over 1,200 auditions and putting together its 100-person production staff. In April 1989, full production of series episodes began with five overseas animation houses and a total budget of 25 million dollars. The first 65 episodes of the series aired in syndication on 135 stations, beginning in September 1990. During that time, Tiny Toons was a huge success and got higher ratings than its
Disney AfternoonThe Disney Afternoon was a created-for-syndication two-hour television programming block which aired from September 10, 1990, until Fall 1999. At that time, it was taken out of syndication, and a new Disney weekday afternoon block was started on UPN. The Disney Afternoon was produced by The Walt...
competitors in some affiliates. After a successful run in syndication, Fox got the rights for season 2 and 3. Production of the series halted in late-1992 to make way for
AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
to air the following year.
Post-series syndication
Tiny Toon Adventures, along with
Animaniacs, continued to rerun in syndication through the 1990s into the early-2000s after production of new episodes ceased. The series re-ran on
NickelodeonNickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
from 1995–2004, also aired on Kids WB from 1997–2000,
Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
from 1999–2001, and finally on
Nicktoons NetworkNicktoons is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by Viacom. It is a sister service of the Nickelodeon cable channel...
and
TeletoonTélétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
from 2003-2005.
External links