Tiny Toons Looniversity (2024)

"'They're tiny! They're toony! They're back for a reboot-y!'"

—Tagline

Tiny Toons Looniversity is a reboot series of Tiny Toon Adventures that follows the Tiny Toons characters as older versions of themselves (though they still have the same size and height) in their college years at Acme Looniversity (now featured as a university dorm instead of a high school). It was released on Max (after HBO Max was rebranded) on September 8, 2023 with the entire first season available before their actual tv airings and the first two premiered on Cartoon Network on the day after, with one each being aired every Saturday, excluding the first tv airing which featured two. The series is currently making two seasons. Unlike the Animaniacs revival, series but very similarly to the DuckTales reboot series, Tiny Toons Looniversity is set in a separate continuity and timeline from the original Tiny Toon Adventures series (due to the new surroundings and backgrounds of the characters), and features different voice cast for the Tiny Toons characters while the original cast of the Looney Tunes reprises their roles from the previous shows.

Cast and characters[]

Main cast[]

Recurring/Supporting cast[]

Looney Tunes cast[]

Episode List[]

Main article: Tiny Toons Looniversity Episode Guide

Theme song[]

Main article: Tiny Toon Adventures Theme Song

Development[]

A reboot of Tiny Toon Adventures was announced on October 25, 2020 through the Amblin Entertainment website. The series was ordered for two seasons and 28 episodes each (accordingly), with each episode being a half-hour in length. As with the original series, Steven Spielberg returns to his role as executive producer. Sam Register, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey also be serving as executive producers, while Erin Gibson is showrunner and co-executive producer. The series is premiere on Cartoon Network and will be available on Max (formerly HBO Max) the next day.

The reboot's first piece of concept art was revealed the same day, showing Buster Bunny and Babs Bunny, redesigned with different clothes and a new art style.

Tom Ascheim, the then-current president of Cartoon Network, was quoted saying, "Tiny Toons Looniversity has captured 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."

Tom Ruegger, the creator of the original series, was not invited to participate.

Shortly after the revival's announcement, it was reported that some 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 from the series. Additionally, Charlie Adler was not approached to reprise the role of Buster Bunny, nor was Maurice LaMarche as Dizzy Devil. Some voice actors from the original series had also passed away before the reboot's announcement, including Don Messick in 1997, Joe Alaskey in 2016, and June Foray in 2017.

However, during an interview on July 12, 2021, Candi Milo confirmed that she would be returning to voice Granny in the series. She later revealed she would not be reprising her main role, Sweetie Bird, through an Instagram comment. 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 for the series had begun by then.

On June 27, 2022, it was announced that Tiny Toons Looniversity would be part of the Looney Tunes panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 the following month. It was revealed on July 22 that Ashleigh Crystal Hairston would be voicing Babs Bunny in the series, instead of Tress MacNeille.

Numerous pieces of concept art for the series were shown at the panel, showing a revamped Acme Looniversity and its interiors. This also confirmed many of the original series' major characters would be returning, some with updated appearances. This included Plucky Duck, Hamton J. Pig, Dizzy Devil, Furrball, Shirley the Loon, Gogo Dodo, Fifi La Fume, Calamity Coyote, Little Beeper, Montana Max, Sweetie Bird, and Li'l Sneezer. Most notably, Elmyra Duff was included in one of these pictures, disproving the claims that she was removed. Some have suggested this meant Elmyra was added back into the series at some point or was always intended to appear in the series, and Summer likely misinterpreted the information. Joey and Nathan Letson of the Animanicast podcast also described another piece of concept art, mirroring the first group shot of the original theme song, which contained many side characters of the original show, such as Marcia the Martian, Fowlmouth, Sheepdog, Concord Condor, Bookworm, and Barky Marky. A possibly new character, a raccoon with a pierced ear and wearing shades, was also included in the opening. There are also some other characters that are going to appear in the show such as Fox, Penguin (resembling Playboy Penguin's counterpart), Chillest Cat, Blue Wolf (slightly resembling Ralph Wolf's counterpart), Roderick Rat (as an Acme Loo student instead of a Perfecto Prep one), The Scottish Flea, Blue Squirrel, Winnie Pig, and Sheep. Steven Spielberg referred to the series as "the best iteration of Tiny Toons he'd ever seen."

New voice actors include Eric Bauza as Buster Bunny, Tessa Netting as Sweetie Bird, and David Errigo Jr. as Plucky Duck and Hamton J. Pig. Additionally, Sweetie would be promoted to a main character in the reboot, despite being a recurring character in the original series. This was likely done in response to the popularity of her mentor, Tweety Bird.

It was confirmed by Len Kiraly that Buster and Babs would be presented as twin siblings in the reboot, as opposed to close friends (later romantic pair). This decision was heavily criticized by fans of the original series and Tom Ruegger, as this contradicted their original relationship as being a couple, and would mean the series would lack their catchphrase/running gag "No relation."

On July 28, 2022, Gizmodo posted an interview between io9 and the series' crew members, who gave out more details about the series. They revealed the series was going to bring back every character from the original show, "down to Arnold the Pit Bull". However, there is still no information regarding such ACME Loo students from the original show as Mary Melody, Byron Basset, Lightning Rodriguez, Egghead Jr., C.L.I.D.E., and Banjo Possum. They also hinted at creating an episode which takes place in outer space. Erin 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." 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."

This revealed the series would be more in-line with animated series of the 2010s and 2020s, taking a more serialized approach, with established continuity, adding depth to the characters, and a recurring theme of self-empowerment, as opposed to the original series, which was episodic and built around comedy and satire of the 1990s.

On August 3, 2022, the first season of the series was found through Entertainment Identifier Registry's website, confirming the following episodes. ^[1] Early test animation for the series was leaked online on August 15, 2022. This clip consisted of Babs and Buster giving a brief explanation of the reboot, akin to many of the wraparounds from the original series. It shows noticeably different voices for Buster and Babs, a rougher animation style closer to the promo art from 2020, and uses backgrounds recycled from the Animaniacs revival.

On September 5, 2022, Snipple Animation posted an image on their Instagram showing that Season 2 of Tiny Toons Looniversity is one of the series they are providing animation for.

On November 3, 2022, storyboard director Rose Feduk tweeted that she would be wrapping up on storyboard directing for Tiny Toons Looniversity at the end of the month.

On November 30, 2022, Ashleigh Crystal Hairston posted an image of herself that may hint production of the second season is underway.

On January 5, 2023, Len Kiraly made a Twitter post addressing those still questioning him about Buster and Babs' relationship in the series, explaining he did not have any control over the decision and is only handling character designs. Furthermore, he ends the Tweet insisting askers to "direct your Tweets about bunnies dating elsewhere."

In a Q&A session regarding the series, Kiraly went into detail about what inspired his takes on the series' characters. He stated two characters would have design elements related to their mentors, and he was most concerned about honoring the original series. The character designs were inspired by that of later Looney Tunes productions and Disney design principles, but also by episodes of the original series animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha.

On January 11, 2023, Bobby Sims confirmed via Twitter that he has wrapped up board revisions for the series.

On January 17, 2023, Warner Bros Animation confirmed through an interview with Animation Magazine and later confirmed by a Warner Bros Discovery press release that Tiny Toons Looniversity will be coming out later that year.

On January 30, 2023, an unfinished cut of "Save the Loo Bru" was leaked online, alongside an episode of the upcoming Clone High revival, which will also premiere on HBO Max.

On March 1, 2023, background designer Patrick Pedroza confirmed on Twitter that he finished work on Tiny Toons Looniversity.

On March 10, 2023, Brooke Regalado announced on Twitter that she has officially wrapped up work on Tiny Toons Looniversity.

On March 23, 2023, Ashleigh Crystal Hairston posted on her Instagram another image that possibly suggests voice work has resumed on Tiny Toons Looniversity's second season.

On March 31, 2023, a Cartoon Network advertisem*nt included footage of Tiny Toons Looniversity. This is the first officially released footage of the series.

On April 12, 2023, during the Max press event, it was announced that Tiny Toons Looniversity will be released in fall 2023.

On April 19, 2023, a teaser trailer for the series was revealed by the Comicbook website.

It was also revealed that Danny Cooksey wiould voice acting in the series, reprising his role as Montana Max. However, he was eventually replaced by Candi Milo as the voice actor for Montana Max for unknown reasons.

On April 20, 2023, Cartoon Network officially released the teaser trailer on their social media pages and YouTube channel. This trailer shows most of the original series' major animal characters, as well as several popular Looney Tunes characters. Additionally, several new characters are seen in the trailer, such as proteges for obscure Looney Tunes characters, including Gabby Goat, Minah Bird, and Cool Cat; also seen in the trailer are Merlin the Magic Mouse (making his first appearance in a Looney Tunes production since the cancellation of the original theatrical shorts in 1969) and Orson (a pink prototype of Tweety Bird).

On June 15, 2023, The opening titles to Tiny Toons Looniversity were revealed during the combined Cartoon Network/Warner Bros Animation/Hanna Barbera panel at Annecy. It was also announced that the series will premiere on Cartoon Network and Max in September 2023 (coincidentally, the 33rd anniversary of the original show).

On June 22, 2023, Animation Magazine released a new article with new first looks at the show's main characters and their descriptions. The article confirms that Eric Bauza will be the voice of Buster Bunny in the series. Additionally, it was revealed Cree Summer was voice acting for the series as well, returning to voice Elmyra Duff, officially confirming her return.

On July 6, 2023, Warner Bros Discovery announced via a press release that Tiny Toons Looniversity are going have a panel along with a screening of the first two episodes at San Diego Comic Con on July 21.

On July 21, 2023, During the SDCC screening Cartoon Network released the show's opening online.

On August 5, 2023, the Latin American tv news site TVLaint revealed that Tiny Toons Looniversity premiered on Cartoon Network on September 9 in the US with the series premiering on Cartoon Network LA on September 10.

On August 9, 2023, the website TV Passport revealed titles and descriptions of the first four episodes along with airdates confirming that the series premiered with two episodes on September 9, 2023.

On August 18. 2023, a new trailer for Tiny Toons Looniversity was released by ScreenRant. It was also revealed the first season had been cut down from 13 episodes to 10 with the remaining three episodes being held over for the second season.

On August 30, 2023, Cartoon Network uploaded a clip from the series onto their social media pages.

On September 5, 2023, the Latin America site AnimTV released an article confirming that Tiny Toons Looniversity will now premiere in Latin America in October. The series was originally planned to premiere on both Cartoon Network LA and HBO Max LA one day after the US premiere on Cartoon Network but due to them needing more time to finish episode dubbing the series premiere was delayed.

On September 7, 2023, Cartoon Network made General Hogspital available to watch for free on their site and app. The episode was also uploaded to their Youtube channel.

On September 8, 2023, the show officially aired on HBO Max, now simply called by Max, meaning people can now watch the series digitally. The series aired its entire first season before their tv production airings begun on September 9, 2023 and onward.

On February 26. 2024, a press release for March programming on Max has confirmed that the first bit of Season 2 of Tiny Toons Looniversity aired on March 8, 2024. The channel airing began on April 6, 2024.

On March 5, 2024, the website ComicBook released a clip from the episode "Whatever Happened to Babsy Bunny" which was see the return of Elmyra, who is voiced once again by Cree Summer.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

• When the series was first announced, it was stated and rumored (even hoped) to be a sequel to the original series. It was changed to a reboot midway through production as Buster and Babs are portrayed as twin siblings rather than being friends turned romantic couple. This would, however, receive complaints about the original series and its characters not making an official return and gained mixed reviews from people and critics, including the creators, due to approving the romantic relationship between the two bunnies.
• As shown in the teaser trailer, Lola Bunny and many other characters from the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts era appear in the series.
• In this series, Buster and Babs have their personalities swapped while the rest of the Tiny Toons have different (and possibly opposite) personalities. The new personalities of the bunnies was not well revived like their relationship.
• Plucky’s full/real name is revealed in this series.
• Cool Cat's son Chillest Cat can be seen with Hamton and Plucky in the teaser trailer.
• In this series, Sweetie Pie has been promoted from supporting character to main character for undisclosed reasons (thought the possibility of her joining would mirror the team from the Bugs Bunny Builders). She also received a better personality.
• Fifi La Fume is revealed to be French-Canadian instead of French in this series.
• It has been speculated by fans that Kath Soucie would reprise her roles as Fifi La Fume and Lola Bunny, but was instead replaced with Marieve Herington (Fifi) and Kari Wahlgren (Lola).
• During development, Pepé Le Pew was planned to be the ACME Looniversity chef putting his passion into food instead of women. Due to the character falling under controversy following in his removal from Space Jam: A New Legacy, he was replaced by Lola Bunny.
• Shirley McLoon has a different accent and personality.
• Marvin the Martian is revealed to be from Detroit.
• Dizzy is revealed to be able to spin only counter-clockwise.
• Granny serves as the Dean of the Looniversity instead of Bugs.
• This shows a much more cleaner act compared to the original series.
• Most of the Looney Tunes besides Pepe and Speedy are currently absent.
• The main characters appear in every episode instead a few of them being absent from them.
• Instead of having the episodes in separate segments like in the original series, the episodes are full ones and the episodes are featured in timeline that seems to be able to show in chronological order.
• The series, like the original, features new characters that are recurring in the series.
• In the original series, the Tiny Toons were teenagers. In the reboot series, they’re now young adults despite being the same size like the original series.
• Ironically, the reboot series aired on the same month as the original series which was also a few days before the anniversary of the original series' airing.

References[]

1. https://ui.eidr.org/view/content?id=10.5240/0854-D5C0-121A-5792-5D2D-P

2. https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/06/annecy-new-animated-offerings-from-warner-bros-animation-cartoon-network-hanna-barbera-studios-europe/

3. https://www.animationmagazine.net/2023/06/eric-bauza-jeff-berman-bob-bergen-candi-milo-revealed-as-voice-cast-for-tiny-toons-looniveristy/

4. https://sdccblog.com/2023/07/adult-swim-cartoon-network-announce-panels-for-san-diego-comic-con-2023/

5. https://www.tvlaint.com/2023/08/tiny-toons-looniversity-ya-tiene-fecha.html