The sixteenth episode of Tiny Toon Adventures, but the ninth in production order.
The episode begins with Buster playing a game of soccer with Babs, Hamton, and Shirley, when suddenly, their game is interrupted by Montana Max, who is driving a monster truck. Monty orders Buster and his friends to leave the soccer field so he can practice his figure eights, but Buster refuses to move, so Monty sprays him with a fire hose, and the force pushes him through several trees and onto a rock. Buster's soccer ball passes by him, and Buster follows it into a hole. Inside the hole are many things that look like Buster's soccer ball. As Babs calls for Buster, Buster climbs out of the whole with what appears to be his soccer ball.
That night, Buster reads from his book of ancient ACME history while spinning what looks like his soccer ball on his ears. Suddenly, a hatching sound is heard as what looks like his soccer ball rolls under his bed. It rolls out, and is revealed to be an egg that hatches into a purple dinosaur, who calls Buster "Mama". Buster is amazed that he has his own pet dinosaur now, and decides to name him "Rover", which the dinosaur dislikes. Rover tells Buster that he is hungry, so Buster takes him into the kitchen to feed him.
Buster tries to bottle-feed Rover, but Rover dislikes the milk he is fed and spits it out. Buster then attempts to feed Rover a carrot and cauliflower milkshake, but Rover dislikes it and spits it out as well. Buster is then hit on the head with his ACME Prehistoric History book and reads it over. He finds out that Rover is a Tyrannosaurus rex that eats mostly small mammals. Rover chases Buster, with intent to eat him, but Buster makes his way to his pantry, only to find it empty. Realizing there's no way out of it, Buster decides not to let Rover go hungry and to let him eat him. He says, "Good night, Son." and Rover suddenly has a change of heart. He realizes he can't eat his "Mama", and kisses him instead.The next morning, Rover agrees to let Buster feed him large amounts of vegetables. Buster is amazed that he now has the world's first vegetarian T. rex, and the more Rover eats, the bigger he gets.
In the second act, Buster is about to leave his burrow to go to ACME Looniversity, when Rover wants to come with him. Buster tells Rover that he can't go to school with him, and has to stay home. Rover is sad to be away from Buster, but Buster promises he'll feed him again when he gets back. Buster leaves, and Rover tries to make sure that Buster doesn't see him follow him to school.
At Babs' burrow, Babs is watering her flowers, including Matilda, when Matilda gets stomped on by Rover, who tells her he's hungry. Babs runs away in fear. Later, at Plucky's house, Rover drinks all the water from Plucky's swamp, and when Plucky takes his morning dive, he ends up landing in a pile of muck. He then sees Rover, and runs away in fear.
Buster arrives at ACME Looniversity, when a frightened Babs and Plucky pass by him. Rover knocks down trees as he chases after Babs and Plucky. Buster stops them and tells them that Rover isn't a monster, rather, he's his pet, who just wants to play with them. He asks Rover if he agrees, and Rover dances in approval. Rover's dancing causes the ground to rumble, and Plucky asks Buster where he found Rover. Buster tells Plucky that Rover hatched from his soccer ball. Rover licks Babs, who is disgusted, and asks Buster if he's really planning on keeping him as a pet. Rover licks Babs again, this time putting her in his mouth, much to her ire.
Meanwhile, Montana Max is in his monster truck, planning to scare Buster. Buster and Babs see him, and Rover smashes Monty and his monster truck with his foot. Monty is outraged, but then sees Rover, who roars at him. Monty runs away, then is jealous of Buster for having a pet dinosaur before him. He decides that he has to have Rover, and suddenly gets an idea on how he can take him from Buster.
As Buster tells Babs and Plucky about how loyal Rover is, Babs tries to tell Buster that he can't keep Rover as a pet. Buster asks her why not, and she shows him the damage Rover did to ACME Acres. Plucky tells Buster that he has to teach Rover how to behave, and Buster decides to take Rover to an obedience school.
At Foghorn Leghorn's Obedience School, Foghorn looks over the dogs he is teaching, and notices how shrimpy they look. He thinks that dogs aren't as tough as they used to be, and suddenly runs into Rover. Buster introduces Foghorn to Rover, and Rover roars Foghorn's feathers off. Foghorn then pulls out a spare suit of feathers and puts it on, saying he keeps it for just such an occasion. Foghorn ten asks Buster what kind of dog Rover is, and Buster tells him that Rover is a dinosaur. Foghorn figures that a dinosaur is a mixed breed, and tells Buster to give Rover a dog biscuit after he does a trick. He holds a dog biscuit in his hand and Rover snatches it from him with his mouth. Buster tells Rover to sit so he can give him a biscuit, but Rover would rather have the biscuit first. Foghorn then snatches the biscuit from Buster and tells him to show Rover who's the master. Foghorn then tells Rover to sit, and Rover sits on top of him.
Later, Foghorn, who is now on crutches, decides to teach Rover how to play dead. He decides to view it from afar, and Buster tells Rover to play dead. Rover does so, and backs into Foghorn, flattening him. Buster praises Rover and gives him a biscuit, then tells Foghorn that he's also good at playing dead. Foghorn climbs out wearily and tells Buster that he isn't playing.
Meanwhile, in the city, Monty sets a trap for Rover, thinking about the money he'd make off charging people to see it. Buster, Babs, and Plucky lead Rover to Buster's burrow, when Rover follows a trail of cakes to Monty's trap and gets caught in it.
In the third act, Monty insults Rover, angering Rover and causing him to break free of the trap. Rover calls for Buster, and is now sad that he is lost from him. Rover looks for Buster, and Monty, who is now in a trash can, decides to sue the ACME Corporation for a faulty trap.
When Buster, Babs, and Plucky arrive at Buster's burrow, when they find out that Rover has gone missing. Babs assures Buster that Rover can't be far, and tells him to listen. Buster listens, and hears Rover saying, "Mama!". Buster runs after Rover, and Babs and Plucky follow behind him.
Back in the city, Rover looks for Buster in a flower shop, scaring the owner. He then overhears Buster, and the two reunite with each other. Buster and Rover are happy to see each other again, when Babs interrupts to tell Buster that Rover doesn't belong in ACME Acres. Plucky agrees with her, but Buster tells them that Rover doesn't have an enemy in the world. Unfortunately, Monty shows up in a small plane to prove Buster wrong. Monty is determined to get Rover this time, and as he fires at Rover, Rover runs away, carrying Buster, Babs, and Plucky with him.
Monty chases Rover to the soccer field, when suddenly, his plane runs out of gas. Buster, Babs, Plucky, and Rover hide in the very hole where Buster found Rover's egg just in time, and Rover's massive size hurls Monty and his plane into a rock. Inside the hole, Buster, Babs, and Plucky find many hatched eggs, and come to the conclusion that many dinosaurs hatched from them. Buster tells Rover that his brothers and sisters have to be in the hole, and Babs wonders where. Rover roars, and his roar opens a door that leads to a prehistoric paradise. Buster, who never did believe that dinosaurs went extinct, tells Rover that the prehistoric paradise is where he belongs. Rover doesn't want to go there, as he wants to stay with Buster. As he sadly hugs Buster, Buster tells him that he needs to stay with his family and friends, which Babs and Plucky find sad. Buster tells Rover that if he stays with him, Monty will hunt him for the rest of his life, which is a very long time. As the door closes, Buster and Rover say good-bye to each other, and Buster reminds Rover to eat his vegetables. The door closes, and while Buster is sad to have said good-bye to his new pet, he is relieved that Rover is now safe from Monty. Babs then asks Buster whatever happened to his soccer ball, and Buster comes to the conclusion that Rover and his new friends are now playing with it. Sure enough, they are, and are having a good time as the episode ends.
This episode provides examples of:
- The Ace: Buster is so good at soccer, he is able to spin a soccer ball on his ears, his tongue, his eyelash, and his tail.Buster (to the viewers): Trust me, I only make the soccer stuff look easy.
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: This episode was adapted into a Golden Look-Look Book with a slightly different ending; Buster tries to get his soccer ball back to prove to Montana Max that there was no dinosaur, but instead picks up a dinosaur egg that hatches into a baby girl dinosaur.
- Credits Gag: Today's Lesson, Kids - Eat your vegetables!
- Domesticated Dinosaurs: When Buster tries to get his soccer ball back from a hole, he instead picks up an egg that hatches into a dinosaur. He tries keeping him as a pet, naming him "Rover", and even raising him to be a vegetarian, but Rover's massive size makes a mess of Acme Acres and Monty tries to trap him. At the end, Buster returns Rover to the cave where he found his egg.
- Empty Swimming Pool Dive: Happens to Plucky after Rover drinks the water from his swamp.Plucky: Hey! My water's gone! Oh, the ACME Water Authority is going to hear about this!
- Everyone Has Standards: Rover, realizing he can't eat his "Mama", agrees to let Buster feed him large amount of vegetables.
- Face Death with Dignity: When he doesn't have any food to feed Rover, Buster willingly lets Rover eat him. Fortunately for him, Rover has a change of heart and can't bear to eat his "Mama".
- Fur Is Clothing: When Rover first meets Foghorn, he roars Foghorn's feathers off, revealing boxer shorts underneath. Foghorn then pulls out a spare suit of feathers, saying he keeps it for just such an occasion.
- I Want My Mommy!: As Montana Max's jet goes into a tailspin while crashing, he lets out a quivering "Mommy".
- Impact Silhouette: The force of Monty's fire hose leaves Buster-shaped holes in several trees.
- Living Dinosaurs: Rover, the baby T. rex Buster adopts when he finds his egg in an underground cave.Buster: I never did buy that extinction theory.
- Meadow Run: Happens when Buster and Rover reunite with each other. It ends with Rover inadvertently stepping on Buster.
- Shoo the Dog: In order protect him from Max, Buster tells Rover he needs to be with his own kind in the prehistoric paradise, leading the two to have a tearful good-bye.
- Shout-Out:
- Squashed Flat: Happens to Buster, Foghorn, and Monty when Rover sits or steps on them.
- Thick-Line Animation: Typical for an early Wang Film Productions -animated Tiny Toons episode, it's often present here, and looks rather weird as a result.
- Vegetarian Carnivore: Buster tries raising Rover to eat vegetables, since he has no meat byproducts. This doesn't work at first, and Buster is willing to sacrifice himself to keep Rover from going hungry, but Rover can't eat his own surrogate parent, so he agrees to let Buster feed him large amounts of vegetables.
