Absolutely love 'Animaniacs' and 'Pinky and the Brain', and the original Looney Tunes cartoons even more, so when getting the impression that 'Tiny Toon Adventures' was similar it was hard to resist giving it a watch. Especially considering that the premise was also so good. First seeing it some years back, the show did not disappoint and was every bit as good as the aforementioned shows. On re-watches, it's even better.
'Tiny Toon Adventures' got off to a brilliant start with "The Looney Beginning", a primary example of a show feeling so settled and well established so early on rather than the finding its feet feel a lot of shows have. "A Quack in the Quarks" is far from a "quack" of an episode, actually put it on the same level as the previous episode and it is one of the episodes of the show that got better and better with every viewing with more gotten out of it. It is a loose parody of 'Star Wars' and is an ingenious one, 'Star Wars' parodies in animation don't get much better. It is, like the show overall, clever, creative and hip with something for children and actually especially adults, while containing the original Looney Tunes cartoons' zany wit.
Expectedly, "A Quack in the Quarks" is very well animated. It is crisp, with bright colourful backgrounds, beautiful colours and well drawn characters. One could tell that the animators were having great fun with the visual side of things and the galactic setting is rendered very imaginatively. The music is as good as the old Looney Tunes cartoons (prime-Looney Tunes, not most of the 60s ones) in being characterful and adding to the action, if not quite enhancing it in the same way. It always helps to have a memorable theme tune, and the one for 'Tiny Toon Adventures' is suitably hip and very catchy. Likewise with "Rock a Bye Baby".
Writing here is wonderfully wacky and razor sharp in wit, as well as being smart and spot on in comic timing. There were again some hilarious and knowing inside jokes regarding the entertainment industry (i.e. talking about the garbage script), with lots of laugh out loud dialogue. The references are both inspired and cleverly inserted, none feeling random or misplaced. There is enough for children to get, 'Star Wars' and 'Raiders of the Ark' for instance, though adults are far more likely to get the references to 'Citizen Kane' and 'Alien' with those two films being more oriented towards adults (especially 'Alien').
Plucky is an amusing and endearing lead with some deliciously wacky reactions and facial expressions. Frank and Ollie, named after Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, are fun characters and Duck Vader is a long way from cheesy or bland as a villain. It is Buster and Babs who grab all the best lines though. The voice acting is terrific, Joe Alaskey, Charlie Adler and Tress MacNeille have a lot of fun with Plucky, Buster and Babs and Don Messick is always a pleasure.
All in all, wonderful. 10/10
'Tiny Toon Adventures' got off to a brilliant start with "The Looney Beginning", a primary example of a show feeling so settled and well established so early on rather than the finding its feet feel a lot of shows have. "A Quack in the Quarks" is far from a "quack" of an episode, actually put it on the same level as the previous episode and it is one of the episodes of the show that got better and better with every viewing with more gotten out of it. It is a loose parody of 'Star Wars' and is an ingenious one, 'Star Wars' parodies in animation don't get much better. It is, like the show overall, clever, creative and hip with something for children and actually especially adults, while containing the original Looney Tunes cartoons' zany wit.
Expectedly, "A Quack in the Quarks" is very well animated. It is crisp, with bright colourful backgrounds, beautiful colours and well drawn characters. One could tell that the animators were having great fun with the visual side of things and the galactic setting is rendered very imaginatively. The music is as good as the old Looney Tunes cartoons (prime-Looney Tunes, not most of the 60s ones) in being characterful and adding to the action, if not quite enhancing it in the same way. It always helps to have a memorable theme tune, and the one for 'Tiny Toon Adventures' is suitably hip and very catchy. Likewise with "Rock a Bye Baby".
Writing here is wonderfully wacky and razor sharp in wit, as well as being smart and spot on in comic timing. There were again some hilarious and knowing inside jokes regarding the entertainment industry (i.e. talking about the garbage script), with lots of laugh out loud dialogue. The references are both inspired and cleverly inserted, none feeling random or misplaced. There is enough for children to get, 'Star Wars' and 'Raiders of the Ark' for instance, though adults are far more likely to get the references to 'Citizen Kane' and 'Alien' with those two films being more oriented towards adults (especially 'Alien').
Plucky is an amusing and endearing lead with some deliciously wacky reactions and facial expressions. Frank and Ollie, named after Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, are fun characters and Duck Vader is a long way from cheesy or bland as a villain. It is Buster and Babs who grab all the best lines though. The voice acting is terrific, Joe Alaskey, Charlie Adler and Tress MacNeille have a lot of fun with Plucky, Buster and Babs and Don Messick is always a pleasure.
All in all, wonderful. 10/10
