I donāt wanna give it all away in case I actually commit to the Tiny Toons podcast idea Iāve finally decided to try and rewatch some episodes proper, and I genuinely have to say. Plucky being in an episode is not a guarantor that it will be good, but a full episode without him suffers greatly. But I guess Iām also watching it randomly throughā¦.certain means since I am tired of waiting around for Tubi. So Iām landing in that middle slog of episodes Tom Ruegger and Spielberg intentionally buried even though they were produced early because they were so-so.
āBrave Tales of Real Rabbitsā starts out pretty fun but I canāt help but think of a certain beloved Chuck Jones short about a certain duck and pig playing Holmes and Watson. And how you could easily slot the Tiny versions of the duck and the pig into this and it would be the same. Tress and Charlie give it their best shot though and I like the latterās stuffy English gentleman voice.
Elmyra as the Queen of England is a cute idea. This is a great little drawing of her. Freelance Animation is quite odd but you can tell they were trying their best. Eddie Fitzgeraldās influence as the writer/storyboard artist for this episode shines through.
But the next short-the only wholly positive thing I can say is I like Babsā jester outfit. Itās really cute. But thereās this Woody Allen dragon and they play this Manhattan-style riff every time heās on screen and uuuughhhhhff. Like we get it. Just a reference for the sake of it. This is the stuff that they go overboard with in Animaniacs that I hate. KNIGHTY KNIGHT Bugs this aināt. This isnāt even KNIGHTS MUST FALL. AND NO PLUCKY!!!!
Then the next episode is an all Sweetie and you know. Iāve just never liked her. I can remember trying to watch this when it aired on the Hub and bailing even as a ten year old.
No one talks about how Vincent Price guest stars and reads the Raven becauseā¦..well, it isnāt very good. Sweetie butting in is grating and itās a little sad they wasted such a big get on an episode centered around a D-tier character.
THEN THE NEXT EPISODE IS THE ONE WITH PLUCK TWACY and sweet sassy molassy. Man. Like it recreates THE GREAT PIGGYBANK ROBBERY almost line for line at points and other times itās just meandering? And odd? And Eddie Fitzgerald wanted to shoehorn in Clampett characters like Sloppy Moe and Kennedy Cartoons is flailing and out of their element and man. Finally I get my Plucky fix and itās one of the worst cartoons from the whole show. Itās like watching a Bugs and Friends block on MeTV Toons and the only Daffy being a Depatie-Freleng with him and Speedy.
I donāt just want to snark on one of my favorite shows but I mean, itās no secret itās a mixed bag. But I will say that there is a level of ambition and artistry, even when the cartoon itself doesnāt look the best, that isnāt apparent in Animaniacs. Like any sort of absurdism or subtlety in a non-mice cartoon isnāt allowed. I think everyone had something to prove on Tiny Toons and by Animaniacs they were more high off their own supply
