Tiny Toons Looniversity
Also known asSteven Spielberg presents Tiny Toons Looniversity
Genre
Based onTiny Toon Adventures
by Tom Ruegger, Amblin Entertainment, & Warner Bros.
Looney Tunes
by Warner Bros.
Developed byErin Gibson & Nate Cash
Starring
  • Eric Bauza
  • Ashleigh Crystal Hairston
  • David Errigo Jr.
  • Tessa Netting
Theme music composerBruce Broughton
Opening theme"Tiny Toons Looniversity Theme" by Eric Bauza, Ashleigh Crystal Hairston, David Errigo Jr. and Tessa Netting
ComposerMatthew Janszen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
ProducerAdam Middleton
EditorBrant Duncan
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO Max
ReleaseSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08) –
present (present)

Tiny Toons Looniversity is an American animated slapstick comedy television series developed by Erin Gibson and Nate Cash for HBO Max. It serves as a reboot of Tiny Toon Adventures and features older versions of the characters in a new continuity. Two seasons were ordered to be produced by Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation. The first season was released on September 8, 2023 on HBO Max, followed by a televised premiere on Cartoon Network on September 9th.[1][2]

Premise

Buster, Babs and the rest of the gang follow their comedic ambitions all the way to Acme Looniversity, the esteemed institution of higher hijinx learning, where young dreamers become professional toons. Here, they form long-lasting friendships with one another and perfect their cartoony craft while studying under the greatest cartoon characters in history, the Looney Tunes.

Voice cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateCartoon Network airdate [4]Prod.
code [4]		U.S. viewers
(millions)
1"Freshman Orientoontion"Andrew DickmanErin GibsonSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)September 9, 20231010.13[5]
Fraternal twins Buster and Babs arrive at ACME Loo and make friends with Sweetie Bird, Hamton, Plucky and among many others, reminding them living separately is not such a big deal.
2"Give Pizza a Chance"Lauren AndrewsColleen EvansonSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)September 9, 20231020.11[6]
Buster and Plucky celebrate their new friendship with a pizza party, but their competitiveness threatens to ruin it. Meanwhile, Babs and Sweetie have their first fight when their hygienic standards clash.
3"Extra, So Extra"Traci HondaBenjamin SiemonSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)September 16, 20231030.10[5]
Babs plan to revive the school newspaper with wonderful stories of the ACME Loo students, but not before exposing the source of toon scandals in the one published by Plucky.
4"Tooney Ball Lights"Andrew DickmanJoan FordSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)September 23, 20231040.13[5]
The group face different struggles in their elective courses, in which Buster learns the importance of having fun in the sports game he long admired from Foghorn Leghorn.
5"Save the Loo Bru"Lauren AndrewsPhillip WalkerSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)September 30, 20231050.11[5]
Buster, Plucky and Hamton decided to put their disguise knowledge from Bugs Bunny in application to save Dizzy Devil's shop from the newly admitted rival Montana Max, and prevent Dizzy's further destructions to the room of Babs and Sweetie.
6"Prank You Very Much"Traci HondaStory by : Colleen Evanson
Teleplay by : Alison Becker & Colleen Evanson		September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)October 7, 20231060.23[5]
ACME Loo has its friendly rivalry with Aqua Loo in a prank war and the group soon learns value of teamwork and key to surprises.
7"General HOGspital"Andrew DickmanErin GibsonSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)[lower-alpha 1]October 14, 20231070.22[5]
Hamton gets accepted into a toon medical school so can presume his doctor dream, despite it is not what he hoped for. Meanwhile, Buster could not get over with losing his best roommate, and Wile E. Coyote caused an epidemic in ACME Loo with a new biological weapon.
8"Soufflé, Girl Hey"Traci HondaBenjamin SiemonSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)October 21, 20231080.11[5]
Babs and Buster are excited to get college jobs to earn some home money, but can they stand the heat cooking for the school chef Lola Bunny? Granny decides to put Plucky and Hamton in charge of showing Cool Cat around the ACME Loo campus. Unexpectedly, they have to secure the school reputation under new standards.
9"Tears of a Clone"Megan FisherJoan FordSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)October 28, 20231090.17[5]
Through a machine from Wile E.’s yard sale, Buster makes a clone of himself to have fun with but the clone soon goes out of control after not de-cloned in time. Meanwhile, Babs and Sweetie open a clothing store with a time machine bought, but accidentally brings things from the past to the present that alters the future for the worst.
10"The Show Must Hop On"Lauren AndrewsBenjamin SiemonSeptember 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)November 4, 20231100.12[5]
The play for Wabbit Season (that celebrates the start of the Looney Tunes) is coming and Babs offers to direct it. She soon realizes that being a director is a lot harder that she thought, especially with the groundbreaking roles she gives to the toons and not sharing her vision with her friends.

Production

Development

Tiny Toons Looniversity was announced on October 28, 2020 through the Amblin Entertainment website. It was ordered for two seasons, with each episode running 30 minutes.[8][9] As with the original series, Steven Spielberg will return to his role as executive producer. Sam Register, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey will also be serving as executive producers, while Erin Gibson will be the showrunner and co-executive producer. The series was set to premiere on HBO Max, and simulcast on Cartoon Network in September 8, 2023.[1]

The reboot's first piece of concept art showed Buster Bunny and Babs Bunny, redesigned with different clothes and a new art style.

Tom Ascheim, then-current president of Cartoon Network, was quoted saying. "Tiny Toons Looniversity will capture all the clever, subversive and smart humor that made Tiny Toon Adventures such a standout series. Fans old and new will love to laugh at and with these characters all over again."[10]

Shortly after the reboot's announcement, it was reported that several of the original voice actors were not going to be involved in the series. Cree Summer had revealed she was informed that Elmyra Duff was excluded.[11] Additionally, Charlie Adler was not approached to reprise his role as Buster, nor was Maurice LaMarche as Dizzy Devil.[12] It would eventually be revealed that Summer would be reprising her role when the full cast was announced in June 2023.[13]

During an interview on July 12, 2021, Candi Milo said she would be returning to voice Granny but it currently remains uncertain if she will be reprising Sweetie Bird. A few days later, on July 15, Jeff Bergman confirmed that he would be returning to the series as well, voicing Bugs Bunny, Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn. He went into detail on the characters' roles in the series, explaining Foghorn would occupy as Acme Looniversity's coach, while Bugs would take on a "Dumbledore-like" personality. He also confirmed recording sessions had begun.[14]

On July 9, 2022, it was announced that Tiny Toons Looniversity would be part of the Looney Tunes panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.[15] On July 22, it was revealed that Ashleigh Crystal Hairston would be voicing Babs instead of Tress MacNeille. Numerous pieces of concept art were shown, revealing a revamped Acme Looniversity and its interiors. This also confirmed many of the original series' major characters would be returning, some with updated appearances. Most notably, Elmyra was included in one of these pictures, disproving the claims of her removal. Some have suggested this meant Elmyra was added back at some point or was always intended to appear, but will be recast with a different voice actress, instead of Summer. Spielberg referred to the series as "the best iteration of Tiny Toons he'd ever seen".[16]

Showrunner Erin Gibson and character design supervisor Leonard Lee confirmed that Buster and Babs would be presented as twin siblings in the reboot, as opposed to best friends. This decision was criticized by fans of the original series.[17][18] A July 2022 interview had crew members giving more details. They revealed the series was going to bring back all of the characters from the original show, "down to Arnold the Pit Bull".[16] They also hinted at an episode which takes place in outer space. Gibson provided an explanation behind the choice to make Buster and Babs related, saying, "They’re fraternal twins, which was not an original plot point. I wanted to dive into a brother/sister relationship that looked really symbiotic and collaborative and supportive, not antagonistic. Seeing two people who are really on the same page, and then how do people who are so close make new friends? You know, find out who they are by these new relationships — these new college experiences while still having fun and doing the dumbest stuff you’ll ever see on TV, but having story and plot points and character development."[16] Showrunner Nate Cash added, "And they look up to the faculty, they’re established Tunes who are like their gods, but then they’re like, 'Who am I?' and 'What’s my voice?' — which is a cool place to develop them as their own characters and not just mini versions of their counterparts."[16]

In an interview with The New York Times, Nate Cash said that Spielberg set a high bar for the series. Although he primarily intended for children 6 to 11 to watch the series, he also hoped that the series would appeal "to their parents, or just adults who grew up on the original show that are looking for a nostalgia fix".[19]

Release

The series premiered on Max, on September 8, 2023 and simulcast on Cartoon Network the next day.[1][2]

Reception

Jesse Hassenger of IGN ranked the series 6/10, writing that the series "has plenty of laughs, clever in-jokes, and endearing characters". However, he criticized the series for it being an average revival of a childhood series, "rather than something as concise and fresh as the all-ages Looney Tunes shorts that inspired the original".[20] Nick Valdez of ComicBook.com gave the series a 3.5/5, writing that "there's new life breathed into this franchise with Tiny Toons Looniversity, but it never loses that nostalgic allure".[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ This episode was uploaded on YouTube on September 7, 2023.[7] However, it was later privated.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Zahed, Ramin (January 17, 2023). "Warner Bros. Animation to Launch 'Tiny Toons Looniversity' This Year". Animation Magazine. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Tiny Toons Looniversity Trailer Offers Looney Tunes-Style Hijinks & Iconic Characters [EXCLUSIVE]". Screen Rant. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Zahed, Ramin (June 22, 2023). "Eric Bauza, Jeff Berman, Bob Bergen, Candi Milo Will Provide Voices for Warner Bros.' 'Tiny Toons Looniversity'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Tiny Toons Looniversity". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Tiny Toons Looniversity". USTVDB. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ Cartoon Network Ratings Report (September 4–10, 2023). Nielsen Media Research (Report). September 12, 2023.
  7. ↑ "FULL EPISODE: General HOGspital - Tiny Toons Looniversity - Cartoon Network". Cartoon Network. YouTube. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  8. ↑ Otterson, Joe (October 28, 2020). "'Tiny Toon Adventures' Reboot, Genndy Tartakovsky Series Ordered at HBO Max and Cartoon Network". Variety. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. ↑ "WarnerMedia Expands Kids & Family Offerings on Cartoon Network and HBO Max Under New Tagline Redraw Your World" (Press release). WarnerMedia. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Scoop - Where the Magic of Collecting Comes Alive! - Tiny Toons Reboot on HBO Max, Cartoon Network". Scoop.previewsworld.com. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  11. ↑ Summer, Cree [@IAmCreeSummer] (October 28, 2020). "I just got the word that ELMYRA will NOT be included in the Tiny Toons reboot 💔" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Adler, Charlie. "Charlie Adler on Twitter: "I have not been invited to participate so I don't have any idea about the production but I wish it great success!"". Twitter. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Eric Bauza, Jeff Berman, Bob Bergen, Candi Milo Will Provide Voices for Warner Bros.' 'Tiny Toons Looniversity'". www.animationmagazine.net. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  14. ↑ Weiss, Josh (July 15, 2021). "'Tiny Toons' Reboot on HBO MAX will feature a 'Dumbledore'-esque Bugs Bunny, Return to Looniversity". Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Hipes, Patrick (July 9, 2022). "Comic-Con 2022 Panel Schedule For Film & TV Serves Up MCU, 'Black Adam', 'Shazam! Fury Of The Gods', 'House Of The Dragon' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Graves, Sabrina (July 27, 2022). "Tiny Toons Looniversity, Bugs Bunny Builders, and a Halloween Special Join a New Looney Tunes Era". Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  17. ↑ The Animanicast post
  18. ↑ Tiny Toons' Controversial Babs Bunny Retcon Is All Sorts Of Weird
  19. ↑ Graeber, Laurel (September 7, 2023). "They're Tiny, They're Toony, They're Packing Off to Uni". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  20. ↑ Hassenger, Jesse (September 4, 2023). "Tiny Toons Looniversity Review". IGN. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  21. ↑ Valdez, Nick (September 4, 2023). "Tiny Toons Looniversity Review: Still Tiny, Still Toony, Still All a Little Looney". ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
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