The Looney Beginning

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The Looney Beginning
Bugs inducts.png
Premiere date September 14, 1990
Run time 23:09
Starring Charlie Adler
Tress MacNeille
Jeff Bergman
Joe Alaskey
Don Messick
Frank Welker
Cree Summer
Danny Cooksey
Maurice LaMarche
Music composed by Mort Stevens
Writer(s) Paul Dini
Sherri Stoner
Storyboard artist(s) Byron Vaughns
Barry Caldwell
Director(s) Glen Kennedy
Dave Marshall
Ken Boyer
Rich Arons
Andrea Romano (voices)
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Title card
TTA 101 title card.png

"The Looney Beginning" is the first episode of Tiny Toon Adventures season one. It aired on September 14, 1990 on CBS. It was written by Paul Dini and Sherri Stoner, directed by Glen Kennedy, Dave Marshall, Ken Boyer, and Rich Arons, and voice directed by Andrea Romano.

In order to help the newly animated Buster and Babs defeat Montana and other would-be villains, Bugs Bunny creates a school for aspiring young comic entertainers of the next generation.

Detailed summary

Memorable quotes

Buster: A star is drawn!


Buster: Say, how about drawing me a best friend, a buddy, a compadre. Someone I can talk to, rabbit to rabbit.
(artist draws Babs)
Buster: A girl?!
Babs: Welcome to the nineties.


Bugs: Welcome to Acme Looniversity, institute of higher learning and lower comedy.

Characters

Legend
Character debut Speaking debut Ep. debut No lines Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character Actor
Professor Daffy Duck Jeff Bergman
Professor Bugs Bunny Jeff Bergman
The Boss Jeff Bergman
Cartoonist Frank Welker
Baby bunny Kath Souci
Tough bunny Charlie Adler
Buster Bunny Charlie Adler
Ted Turner
Babs Bunny Tress MacNeille
Rembrandt
Little Beeper N/A
Fifi La Fume N/A
Hamton J. Pig Don Messick
Sweetie Candi Milo
Furrball Frank Welker
Bookworm N/A
Li'l Sneezer N/A
Calamity Coyote N/A
Bryon Basset N/A
Shirley the Loon N/A
Fifi La Fume N/A
Little Beeper N/A
Concord Condor N/A
Dizzy Devil Maurice LaMarche
Montana Max Danny Cooksey
Plucky Duck Joe Alaskey
Devil N/A
Elmyra Cree Summer
Arnold the Pit Bull N/A
Pepe Le Pew N/A
Foghorn Leghorn N/A
Porky Pig N/A
Yosemite Sam N/A
Sylvester N/A
Elmer Fudd Jeff Bergman
Wile E. Coyote N/A
Tweety Jeff Bergman


Locations

Objects

Vehicles

  • None

Production

Development

Filming

It was copyrighted in 1990.

Music

The theme song was composed by Bruce Broughton, while the rest of the episode's music was composed by Mort Stevens.

Crew credits

Release

Dates are in order of release:

  • United States: September 8, 1990 at 8:30 pm on CBS

Behind the scenes

  • Daffy's pitch of Honey, I Shrunk the Laundry is a reference to the 1989 film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
  • When the cartoonist fights off the flames created by tough bunny, "Ride of the Valkyries" plays.
  • The tough bunny is a parody of John Rambo from the 1980s Rambo film series.
  • When the cartoonist paints Buster with green, orange, and pink, he quips, "Who are you? Ted Turner?" In the 1980s, Turner used his company Turner Entertainment to make the controversial decision to colorise several black and white movies he had brought from MGM and RKO, including Casablanca.
  • Babs dresses up like country singer Dolly Parton.
  • Babs dresses up as Jessica Rabbit from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Then there is a more direct reference to Roger Rabbit after Buster says, "Roger, rabbit." Roger Rabbit was actually co-created by Steven Spielberg's Amblin and Disney, Warner Bros.' rival.
  • While wearing a pencil eraser on her head, Babs says, "La la la, I'm Eraserhead" in the voice of the character Pee Wee Herman.
  • Babs question of "Is it a good voice or a bad voice?" refers to what Glinda the Good Witch asked in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.
  • Babs says she is 14 years old.
  • Buster's original name for Acme Acres is Green Acres, a reference to the 1960s sitcom of the same name.
  • Sweetie is three and a half minutes old.
  • When Gogo says the line, "That is the question," from the play Macbeth, he is dressed as the Riddler from the 1960s Batman TV series.
  • When Plucky is dressed like a superhero who can fly, he says, "Up, up and up some more," which is a paraphrase of "Up, up, and away," which is what was said by Superman in his 1940s radio series of the same name.
  • When Gogo is temporarily thrown out of Acme Acres, he repeatedly says, "Redrum," which is "Murder" backwards and a reference to Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining, and its 1980 film adaptation.
  • Buster and Babs appear out of the logo at the end of the closing credits, dressing in flowery shirts and saying, "Aloha!"
  • In reruns and certain online streaming sites, several scenes are cut:
    • The animator drew a sombrero and tutu onto Buster.
    • Sweetie and Furrball's auditions and their individual scenes after.
    • Gogo appears at the end of Bugs's song to announce Buster and Babs don't have much time left.
    • Buster's reiteration of Bugs's line that villains always fall for cheesy disguises before entering Montana's mansion.
  • Buster and Babs escape from Montana's mansion is reminiscent of Indiana Jones's escape from the cave in the film 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg.
  • Kath Souci isn't credited for voicing the two proto Busters.

Errors

  • Buster's original name for Acme Acres is Green Acres, which is contradicted by the drawing already referring to it as the former.
  • When the audition line is first seen, there are lookalikes of Little Beeper and Fifi.
  • Hamton is first to be seen even though he wasn't first in line.
  • Hamton, Sweetie, and Furrball are all standing back in the audition line again after they had already passed.
  • Dizzy and Montana rush into Acme Acres after Babs says, "You're all in," despite both of them being immediately found by Buster in the villain box a couple of scenes later.
  • Wile E. is in Calamity's grey colors.
  • Kath Souci is credited for voicing Li'l Sneezer, even though he doesn't talk in this episode.
  • Frank Welker isn't credited for voicing Furrball.

Everlasting influence

Critical reception

In other languages

Language Name Meaning

Home availability

References