WesternAnimation Not Recommended For Longtime Fans of OG Tiny Toon Adventures
I am a longtime fan of the original Tiny Toon Adventures series from 1990, and I have many fond memories associated with it, from watching its show to playing its video games. Having seen Tiny Toons Looniversity on MAX, I'm sorry to say that it's not as good as the original series, due in part to being in a separate continuity from it rather than a direct continuation the way Animaniacs (2020) was to the original 1993 series.
First off, one of the worst changes is that Babs and Buster Bunny are now twin siblings. In the original series, the two rabbits often said "No relation!" whenever they introduced each other and were also depicted as a couple. Making them twin siblings is like if Disney made Mickey and Minnie Mouse twins; it just doesn't work. Also, their personalities appear to have been switched; Babs is now the cool, level-headed one and Buster is the one more prone to comical outbursts.
Another issue I have is the lack of variety. Every episode is set in the same location, ACME Looniversity, and rather than alternate between having three seven-minute shorts focusing on different characters and full 22-minute episodes, every episode is the latter.
Finally, the end credits lack the gag credits and end tags of the original series. Each episode of the original series had a gag credit usually associated with the episode's theme and an end tag featuring one of the show's characters. Here, there are no gag credits, only a select number of episodes have end tags, and even then, they're before the end credits rather than after.
While Tiny Toons Looniversity is far from the worst reboot I've ever seen (there are definitely much worse ones such as Teen Titans Go! and The Powerpuff Girls (2016)), it's also far from the best. I'll still be watching it in the hopes that the original series will be brought to MAX and Konami's Tiny Toons video games will be brought to modern consoles, but I don't see Looniversity lasting beyond the two seasons it has planned. It may be good if this is your first exposure to Tiny Toons, but the original series is so much better.
WesternAnimation Tiny Toons Looniversity. A cynical reboot with potential.
When first hearing about the reboot of Tiny Toons, I was immediately interested in seeing what it had to offer and where it could go. I would be lying if I said where it took me was entirely engrossing, though some of the quality-of-life choices made to it breathe fresh life into the foundation that is Tiny Toon Adventures.
A New-old cast.
The most striking thing about Looniversity was how boring characters immediately became interesting.
I vividly recall watching the original show, and characters like Hamton were often disinteresting to be with (unless it was Hamton/his family with Plucky.) Also, Fifi, as popular as she was to fans, was merely a one-note, boy-crazy skunk without excessive depth—a definite type cast solely based on the sexual harasser known as Pepé she is based on. Hampton is now an empathetic, intelligent, and high-strung person who struggles to be decisive in every aspect of his life. This transformation in character made him far more relatable, and I found his interactions with the new Shirly, particularly endearing and humorous.
While Shirly hasn’t changed much from her previous incarnation, she is now calmer than the original, which provides the perfect counterbalance to Hamton's otherwise tense personality.
Fifi retains some of her "lover" tendencies but has interests that exceed beyond simply getting with every hot guy in sight. My central critique of her is that I wish she would interact more with the main cast than she does. She is someone I want to learn more about, which is a compliment to her and this show.
Unfortunately, Plucky’s character is muddled and doesn't even make sense within the context of its universe. For example, he retains being a failure in most situations, as if the universe hates him and his ego, but we are also expected to believe he has a million first-place trophies and is on par with an overly passionate Buster? I do not know; I am not convinced.
Sweetie Bird, who was barely something I recall in the original, is now a central cast member, even usurping more popular characters like Fifi for this position. While I am not against this, and enjoy many things about her personality. She falls into the same trappings as every other "feminist" character. In which they can beat up all the boys, and destroying the patriarchy is treated as if it is some vital trait about them. What annoys me about this is that it never acknowledges other feminist thought outside of radfem. It is a group that is not a monolith, and as such, draws my ire for being as shallow as a puddle to pander to a self-serving, morally aggrandizing message.
I will now address the elephant in the room, Buster and Babs' controversial change. While I liked how Buster and Babs were in the original show, I was open to changes and seeing a fresh perspective. I was even interested in seeing new shipping, if I am honest. What I find with this change is that it is the most baffling one of the entire show.
Buster and Babs being twins feels like a transparently cynical attempt to take what worked exceptionally well in Gravity Falls and then do nothing exciting or unique with the premise. Outside of that, it alienates the already existing fanbase built in, essentially sabotaging their project before it was to come out. It makes little sense to me from either a business or story perspective.
That said, I do not mind their personality changes, and they work well with the other cast members who had their personalities altered. I particularly like how Buster struggles with change, and it was something relatable about him and being 18.
It's a mixed bag of a season.
The episodes of the show run the gambit, but I found a number of them utterly disinteresting. Particularly ones that rely on the plots of old college movies from the eighties. “Save the X from a rich person,” “Competition with another school/frat.” Just, ugh!
Episodes that revolve around unique or humanizing premises are entertaining and worth watching. Ones such as Fifi starting Babs and Sweetie down a path of Time-Cop level theft, or the one in which Buster is struggling with Hampton possibly leaving his university.
Is this college? No, it is not.
The Looniversity setting is the thing that has the most significant potential, but as it stands, it is one of the weakest elements of the entire show. As stated before, they recycle old college movie plots, which is just lazy, and while the characters are far more interesting as a whole. They do not, under any circumstance, resemble anything other than middle school students.
The episode that exemplifies this is where Babs runs a play and then refuses to accept any input or criticisms from her cast. All the while, Buster has a passive-aggressive tantrum, like that of a thirteen-year-old, because he doesn't get the part he wants. This is a beyond absurd-premise for college students. Even if they didn’t/couldn’t talk things out, inevitably, a professor would be called on to resolve the issue if the students failed to do so.
So, now what?
Ultimately, I am torn. I love most of what they are doing with the characters' personalities, but not what they are doing with the setting. It is derivative, tiring, and barely resembles college outside the tropes of college movies it steals from.
Buster and Babs' retconned relationship completely alienates the base built into the show and adds very little of worth outside of dethatching the two from dating. If that was the sole intention, there was a severe lack of “romantic” relationship building in the entire first season for all others in the show. Dating is even more prevalent in college than it was in high school.
If I am honest, I am convinced this can be far better than it is, and I hope it leans into what works about it while devoting time to being wholly original and more accurate with its choice of setting.
6/10