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Recap / Tiny Toon Adventures S 3 E 20 Its A Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special

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The twentieth episode of the third season of Tiny Toon Adventures, the ninety-eighth overall, and the series finale.

It's Christmas Eve in ACME Acres, and Babs, Sneezer, and Hamton are all praying for God to help Buster. Plucky seems to be the one exception, but then he prays for God to help Buster, because without him, Tiny Toons will be cancelled and he will have to seek employment on a show about chipmunks. God is talking to Harvey, a white rabbit, telling him about Buster, who is considering quitting his job, and shows him a flashback from earlier that day.

Buster and Babs were in the Acme Looniversity rehearsal hall, rehearsing the opening number for the Tiny Toons prime-time holiday spectacular for Fran and Edward, the two network executives who greenlit the idea. Their rehearsal was interrupted by Montana Max, who had broken his leg skiing in Aspen with Morgan Fairchild, and was bound to a wheelchair. Due to Monty being late for rehearsals, Buster didn't think he was going to show up, and had to cut him out of the special. As retribution, Monty vowed to sabotage the special.

Plucky was about to begin his sketch, "Plucky the Red-Beaked Reinduck", only for Buster to cut it and tell him he was reading an old script. The new script, "Urkel the Red-Nosed Reindude", was written on yellow pages, and Plucky's part would come later. Buster then prepared for the "Ebenezer Sneezer" sketch, with Bob Hope as the Ghost of Christmas Past. As Bob Hope and Sneezer rehearsed their lines, Monty snuck upstage and poured pepper all over Sneezer, causing him to sneeze and destroy the set.

After Buster cut the sketch, Fran ordered him to get things together. Plucky then appeared in a fruitcake costume, ready to begin his sketch, "Plucky the Lonely Fruitcake Nobody Wanted for Christmas". An upset Buster then informed him that the new script, "Urkel the Lonely Fruitcake", has been written on pink pages. Plucky was upset, and as a result, unprepared for any future rewrites.

As Babs and Cher prepared for the "Cher and Cher Alike" sketch, Buster sent Babs on the ice so he could talk to Cher privately. Monty then tried to convince Babs that Buster is flirting with Cher. Babs didn't want to believe Monty, but she wasn't so sure. As Babs and Cher sang their song, Babs sang altered lyrics describing her feelings toward Cher about Buster. Monty then cut a hole in the ice, leading to a tank of piranhas, forcing Buster to cut the sketch.

Buster was then more upset than before, and asked if anybody wanted to move on. Plucky, who was then dressed as the Little Drummer Boy, asked Buster if there were any new rewrites he should know about, and Buster, knowing how much Plucky wanted a part in the special, allowed him to do his "Little Drummer Duck" sketch, much to Plucky's relief. Monty then sabotaged the microphones by putting sticks of dynamite in their places. As William Shatner sang, the dynamite exploded, forcing Buster to cut the sketch. All of Buster's friends pinned the blame on him, as did the celebrity guest stars. Fran, who was then surrounded by piles of Montana Max's money, announced that Monty would be the new director of the Tiny Toons prime-time holiday spectacular. Buster apologized to his friends for letting them down, and left sadly. Buster's friends then realized that maybe they were too hard on him, and under the advice of Shirley the Loon, they decided to pray for him. As the flashback ends, Buster reaches a sign that says, DANGER! ONE MORE STEP AND YOU ARE OUT OF THE PICTURE, and God, realizing that Buster is literally about to throw himself out of the picture, sends Harvey to set things right.

In the second act, Harvey lands near Buster and tells him that he's his guardian toon angel. Buster tells Harvey that he wishes he was never born, and Harvey grants him his wish. He then shows Buster what ACME Acres would be like if he had never been born. In this alternate timeline, Montana Max had bought out ACME Acres and renamed it Montyville. Harvey then shows Buster that without him, Plucky became the star of Tiny Toon Adventures and Babs became his helpless patsy, forced to endure many anvils falling on her head while Plucky played the major parts. This outrages Buster, who storms the set and tells Plucky off. Plucky doesn't remember Buster in this timeline, and mistakes him for a riffraff fanboy. He then sends Arnold and Sneezer (the latter of whom is renamed Sleazer) to evict Buster from the studio.

Buster comes to ACME Looniversity, and hopes that somebody will remember him in the timeline. Unfortunately, without him, Montana Max bought out ACME Looniversity and renamed it Montana Max's Business Looniversity. Inside, Monty announced to his students that they will be working shorter days on Christmas, eighteen hours, to be precise, while he goes skiing in Aspen with Morgan Fairchild. Inside Buster's homeroom, none of the Looney Tunes were present, and instead, the Tiny Toons were being taught to be sexy rather than funny.

Buster is still puzzled as to all these changes, so Harvey tells him that he doesn't exist anymore, since he was never born to alter the timeline. Buster, having caught on now, asks to see what Babs is like if he were never born. Harvey tells him Babs is in the viewing library, so he goes there. Inside, Babs is watching Looney Tunes cartoons, but not finding them funny. She is sad, because she doesn't have a best friend, specifically a co-star who cares about her. Buster meets Babs for the first time (in this alternate timeline, at least), and their catchphrase, "No relation!" suddenly makes sense. Buster finally thinks that someone remembers him in this timeline, only for Babs to tell him that Plucky is the star of Tiny Toons, not him. She thinks he is a stalker, and runs away. Buster decides to take back his wish, as he wants to be on Tiny Toons after all. Harvey grants his wish, but tells him he'll have to wait a few minutes for it to work, because of the commercial break.

In the third act, Buster's wish is granted and everything is back to normal. Buster eagerly greets everyone and everything he meets, until Babs stops him and takes him back to ACME Looniversity, where the Tiny Toons prime-time holiday spectacular is a disaster thanks to Monty's new sketches, including one where Elmyra is dressed like Leona Helmsley. Everyone, including Fran and Edward, agree that Montana Max is a terrible director and they want Buster back. They cheer when Buster returns, and Fran fires Monty and re-hires Buster. Even after all the trouble Monty put him through, Buster decides to put him in the special after all, as the star. Buster is ready to perform the closing number, when Babs interrupts to ask him why he was whispering to Cher. Cher tells Babs that Buster wanted to know what to get her for Christmas, and to prove it, Buster gives Babs a kiss that causes her to melt into a puddle.The toons perform the closing number and it is a success, but Monty is now the star on top of the Christmas tree. He doesn't want to be the star anymore, as he is unable to escape form Elmyra. Babs tells Buster that if he ever feels like a loser again, he should remember that, "No Toon is a Failure Who Has Friends." Harvey then reveals himself as Bugs Bunny in disguise, having taught Buster a lesson, and leaves the studio.

This episode provides examples of:

  • 10-Minute Retirement: Buster, in a state of self-loathing, decided that perhaps the series would be better off without him. He's stopped by Harvey, who shows him exactly what the series would've been like if he were never born, and it wasn't pretty. It doesn’t take Buster long to recant his wish.
  • Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: In the alternate timeline, Sneezer's counterpart is named "Sleazer" and is an aggressive security guard.
  • And I'm the Queen of Sheba:
    Harvey: I’m your guardian toon angel!
    Buster: Yeah, and I’m Frank Capra. See ya around.
  • Anvil on Head: Babs suffers many anvils getting dropped on her head in the alternate timeline. Plucky also suffers one himself in the closing number, and then there's this gem from the opening credits:
    "Deck the halls and guess what falls? An anvil, naturally!"
  • Balloon Belly: Byron Basset suffers this in the closing song when he eats Elmyra's turkey whole.
  • Big "WHAT?!": Montana Max’s reaction to finding out that Buster wrote him out of the Christmas special.
  • Biting-the-Hand Humor: Upon being told Fran and Edward are from the network, Monty gives them some cash and suggests they go buy a real network.
  • Born in the Theatre: At the end of the first act, Buster reaches the end of the film reel, contemplating suicide a la George Bailey. He later does jump out... in joy, and lands right back in the film after being granted a second chance at life.
  • Brutal Honesty: Buster had Monty written out of the special, due to thinking he'd be away during the production. When Monty shows up, Buster tries to break the news gently, but Plucky rather bluntly tells him what happened.
  • Call-Back:
    • Fran and Edward, the two network executives from "Thirteensomething" re-appear in this episode.
    • The viewing room from "Fields of Honey" is shown again in this episode.
  • Cast as a Mask: Harvey is voiced by Dan Castellaneta (doing an imitation of Jimmy Stewart), but at the end of the episode he unmasks to reveal he's actually Bugs Bunny in disguise, voiced by Noel Blanc (the son of Mel Blanc, no less!).
  • Christmas Episode
  • Christmas Special: The reason Buster wants to quit Tiny Toon Adventures is because the Christmas special he tried to put on goes horribly wrong and Monty is put in charge due to Buster’s failure.
  • Clothes for Christmas Cringe: Sneezers’ line in “No Toon Is a Loser Who Has Friends” is “And all you got for Christmas is socks and underpants!”
  • Clothing Damage: Cher’s Christmas dress gets torn up by a bunch of piranhas, but she ends up loving the new look.
    Cher: Hey, I love this! Eat your heart out, Bob Mackie!
  • Comically Missing the Point: Harvey does this a couple times throughout the episode, much to God’s frustration.
    'God: So, Harvey, this is where we came in. Any questions?
    'Harvey: Uh, yeah, uh how come [Buster]’s not wearing any pants?
    • Monty's first act of sabotage is to make Sneezer sneeze, so God asks Harvey if he's understanding the situation now. Harvey thinks so, saying someone should give Sneezer a tissue already.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Subverted with Fran and Edward. Monty bribes them with money so they will hire him as the new director, but they fire him and re-hire Buster when they see just how awful his ideas are. Edward even takes the money Monty paid him and donates it to charity.
  • Credits Gag: Stop watching these credits - And go buy us a really nice gift!
  • Driven to Suicide: Buster, in keeping with the It's a Wonderful Life plot. Instead of a bridge, however, he tries to jump from the filmstrip the show is filmed on.
    Buster: Goodbye, cruel series.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Monty had originally bribed Fran and Edward with money so they could hire him as the new director of the Christmas special. Once they saw how awful Monty's ideas were, there was no amount of money he could bribe them with to make them think otherwise.
  • Everyone Hates Fruitcakes: One of Plucky's proposed sketches is "Plucky the Lonely Fruitcake Nobody Wanted For Christmas". Buster ends up cutting the sketch and having it rewritten as "Urkel the Lonely Fruitcake".
  • Exact Words: In the end, Buster assures Monty that he will be the star of the special. He just didn't say what kind of star, leaving Monty stuck on the top of a Christmas tree as a literal star.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Inverted; A joyous Buster proceeds to kiss everyone after learning he exists again, including the viewer.
  • Full-Body Disguise / Latex Perfection: At the end of the episode after the Tiny Toons leave the auditorium, Harvey tugs off his rubber mask and unzips his body to reveal he was actually Bugs Bunny in disguise all along.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Babs gets jealous when she sees Buster whispering to Cher, which leads her to push the singer through a hole in the ice filled with piranhas.. At the end, she learns that Buster just wanted to ask Cher what he should get Babs for Christmas.
  • Guardian Angel: Just like in "It’s a Wonderful Life", God sends down a guardian angel to show a character what life would really be like without them in it.
  • "Hell, Yes!" Moment: Buster upon seeing his wish to be back on the show was granted.
  • I Kiss Your Foot: Plucky kisses Buster’s feet when he finally lets him do a sketch in the Christmas special.
  • Informed Judaism: In Hamton's house, a menorah can be seen in his window, implying that his family is Jewish. (Ironic, since pork is not considered kosher.)
    • Buster pulls in Steven Spielberg to wish him a happy Hanukkah. (Yes, Spielberg is Jewish in real life.)
  • Injured Limb Episode: Montana Max injures his leg skiing in Aspen with Morgan Fairchild, and spends the entirety of the episode in a wheelchair. As a result of his injury, he was late to attend rehearsals for the special, and Buster had to cut him from it.
  • Instantly Proven Wrong: When told his wish of never being on the show has been granted, Buster pulls out his contract and says Warner Bros. would never just release him from it. A bolt of lightning immediately fries the contract.
  • It's a Wonderful Plot: The general plot involves a bad day rehearsing for a Christmas special getting Buster depressed and wishing that he was never on Tiny Toon Adventures. Buster is then shown that, among other things, without him...:
    • Montana Max would have taken over ACME Acres and renamed it Montyville, including turning the beloved ACME Looniversity into Montana Max's Business Looniversity where the other toons are being taught to be suck-up actors/actresses...
    • Tiny Toon Adventures itself would be nothing more than a vanity project for a primma-dona Plucky who mistreats his co-stars...
    • And poor Babs would be a lonely depressed wreck who serves as Plucky's personal Chew Toy on this world's version of Tiny Toons.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Plucky. Early in the episode, he prays for God to help Buster after claiming not to care about him, but it's only because he doesn't want Buster's departure to end the show and leave him having to find work elsewhere.
  • Karma Houdini: Downplayed: Although he doesn't get out of the episode without a comeuppance, it's never revealed that everything that went wrong during the first act was because Montana Max was deliberately sabotaging Buster's show. Getting out of the show with only mild humiliation was frankly a slap on the wrist compared to what he put Buster through, though it's still more than Potter ever got.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The final line of the last episode is "Not bad for amateurs."
  • Lustful Melt: Babs melts into a puddle after Buster kisses her.
  • Mirthless Laughter: Babs has this reaction, after learning Buster was only whispering to Cher to ask for advice about what to get her (Babs) for Christmas.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: Caricatures of many popular current actors (including folks like Cher, William Shatner, Whoopi Goldberg, and others) run rampant in this episode.
    Shirley: How can I become a successful actress?
    Madonna: Just wear your underwear on the outside and Warners will give you a multi-million-dollar deal!
  • Not-So-Innocent Whistle: Monty does this after he replaces the microphones with lit dynamite for Plucky’s “Little Drummer Duck” sketch.
  • The Other Darrin: This is the first episode where John Kassir voices Buster.
  • Pepper Sneeze: Invoked; Monty sneaks upstage and sabotages the "Ebenezer Sneezer" sketch by pouring pepper all over Sneezer, causing him to sneeze and destroy the set.
    Sneezer: God bless me, everyone!
  • Piranha Problem: As part of his plan to sabotage the "Cher and Cher Alike" sketch, Monty cuts a hole in the ice, leading to a tank of Acme Piranhas.
  • The Reveal: It turns out that Buster's guardian angel Harvey was, in fact, Bugs Bunny all along and helping Buster while in disguise.
  • Rule of Three: Monty sabotages three sketches. He sabotages the "Ebenezer Sneezer" sketch by pouring pepper all over Sneezer, causing him to sneeze and destroy the set, then he sabotages the "Cher and Cher Alike" sketch by convincing Babs that Buster is flirting with Cher, and cutting a hole in the ice, causing Cher to land in a tank of piranhas. Finally, he sabotages the "Little Drummer Duck" sketch by replacing Plucky and William Shatner's microphones with sticks of dynamite.
  • Self-Deprecation: In the opening credits, the characters make fun of the writers.
    "Our writers aren't gifted, the story has been lifted."
  • Sexy Santa Dress: Babs and Cher wear skimpy dresses while rehearsing for the "Cher and Cher Alike" sketch. Babs even wears a wig matching Cher's hair.
  • Ship Tease: Once again for Buster and Babs. Babs explicitly calls Buster her boyfriend during the "Cher and Cher Alike" sketch, when she's jealous over Buster seemingly flirting with her. And at the end of the episode Buster reveals he was only asking Cher what to get Babs for Christmas: A kiss that makes Babs literally melt.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In the beginning, Babs and Buster are riding a Rosebud sled.
    • Not only is the whole plot a reference to "It's a Wonderful Life", Buster's guardian angel is named Harvey.
    • The episode also takes pot shots at famous Christmas specials, like How the Grinch Stole Christmas! ("All the Shmagoos down in Shmagoo-ville!") and A Charlie Brown Christmas.
    • During the Ebenezer Sneezer sketch, Bob Hope, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, mentions Sneezer is "Cuter than those twins on that Saget show”.
    • When Buster keeps changing the color of the script pages, Plucky asks “What’s next? The Color Purple?”
    • As he gets kicked around in the alternate world, Buster remarks that he feels like he's in "a bad episode of Quantum Leap."
  • Suddenly Shouting: Buster keeps insisting that he can find someone who knows him in a world where he was never on the show. After a few go arounds, Buster is still confused.
    Buster: I don't get it.
    Harvey: Oh, brother. L-l-let me spell it out nice and plain. [leans in close] YOU WERE NEVER ON TINY TOONS! YOU NEVER EXISTED AND EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT NOW! Get it?
    Buster: Got it.
    Harvey: Good.
  • Take That!: In the beginning of the episode, Plucky fears that he'll have to go work on "some Chipmunk show" if something winds up happening to Buster.
    • Later on when Buster is shown a world without him, Plucky accuses Buster of being a "spy from Disney."
    • In a Freeze-Frame Bonus, in the bad timeline where Buster was never on Tiny Toons Harvey is looking at a newspaper with an article that says Encino Man won Best Picture at the Oscars.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: While Plucky has been a jerk on many occasions, here it is taken up to eleven in an alternate world since he's now the star of Tiny Toon Adventures, he abuses the other toons as his Butt Monkeys, but he abuses Babs the most by having endless anvils drop on her and has his lackeys throw Buster out when he doesn't recognize him.
  • Twisted Echo Cut:
    Babs: Let’s go, laughing boy. Monty’s special really -
    [cut to Plucky on stage rehearsing for the special]
    Plucky: Stinks! It stinks! This stinks!
  • Under the Mistletoe: Elmyra tries to use this move to get Monty to kiss her.
    Elmyra: Don’t you want to kiss me under the mistletoe Monty-wonty cute cuddly boyfriend head?
  • Variations on a Theme Song: In this episode, the characters sing a Christmas-themed version of the show's theme song. Also, in the alternate timeline, Plucky is the star of Tiny Toon Adventures and sings his own lyrics describing him as the star.
  • Visual Pun:
    • Gogo Dodo opens a can that says “Canned Laughter” on the front.
    • At the end of the episode, Buster decides to include Monty in the Christmas special after all, as the star. Too bad Monty didn't count on being cast as the star on the top of the Christmas tree.
  • Vocal Dissonance: Besides Buster's voice being recast, Monty's voice is noticeably digitally pitched up, since Danny Cooksey by this point no longer sounded as youthful as he did in the beginning.
  • Was Too Hard on Him: Buster's friends angrily snap at him when rehearsals for the Christmas special go wrong, only to immediately regret doing so when he sadly leaves.
  • Yet Another Christmas Carol: One of the sketches that Monty sabotages is the "Ebenezer Sneezer" sketch, with Sneezer as Ebenezer Sneezer, and Bob Hope as the Ghost of Christmas Past.
  • You're Insane!: In the movie theater, Babs has this reaction to Buster claiming they're on the show together.

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