As a guy who grew up in the 1990s, I can say that this was the time when cartoons had a lot of freedom behind them. Tiny Toon Adventures, an animated TV series produced by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, was one of those shows. It's basically a modern day take on the Looney Tunes featuring characters that are supposed to be their successors. It was quite the success, running for three seasons within a time span of five years, and its spiritual follow-up Animaniacs, also produced by Spielberg, would follow in its footsteps. So in 1992, a direct-to-video feature film was made, and it's just as funny as the show is.
The movie is a series of side-stories mixed into one feature film starring the main cast of the television show. In one story, Buster and Babs Bunny (no relation) get into a water gun fight that turns into a white water rafting trip. Then there's the story of Plucky Duck and Hampton Pig traveling to an amusement park on the road trip from Hell (in the spirit of National Lampoon's Vacation, the original, not the terrible remake they made last year). There's also Fifi Le Fume's quest to get an autograph from a skunk movie star, why you should never go see a movie with Fowlmouth...ever, and finally, Elmyra finding another pet to hug and squeeze to the point where it would be considered torture. Oh, and did I mention that some of our main characters come across a murdering psychopath with a chainsaw?
Originally, the film was going to be released in movie theatres, but in a last minute decision, Warner Brothers decided to make it a home video release, which is a shame, really. The show was at its peak when it was released, because it appealed to both kids and especially adults who get the more mature references and crude humor riddled within. Plus, having the label "direct-to-video" usually has a bad connotation attached to it, because most movies that were released directly to home media usually suck. Thankfully, this is one of those that doesn't suck. In fact, this is probably one of the best DTV films ever put out, period. The entire film is hilarious from beginning to end, with great, fast- paced animation and great writing. Perhaps the most memorable moments, for me, included the entire story arc of the aforementioned Hellish road trip with Plucky and Hampton, and Buster and Babs encountering a family of back-country possums who want them for dinner, a la John Boorman's 1972 thriller Deliverance.
For a while, the film did not see a re-release on DVD when VHS bit the dust, but as of 2012, Warner Brothers did re-release the film on DVD, and though the picture quality is nowhere near up to HD standards, you can still watch it just fine. If you can deal with that, I highly recommend giving this movie a watch, and if you can manage to get every single pop culture reference this thing throws at you, then either you'll fit right at home or someone should be concerned.
The movie is a series of side-stories mixed into one feature film starring the main cast of the television show. In one story, Buster and Babs Bunny (no relation) get into a water gun fight that turns into a white water rafting trip. Then there's the story of Plucky Duck and Hampton Pig traveling to an amusement park on the road trip from Hell (in the spirit of National Lampoon's Vacation, the original, not the terrible remake they made last year). There's also Fifi Le Fume's quest to get an autograph from a skunk movie star, why you should never go see a movie with Fowlmouth...ever, and finally, Elmyra finding another pet to hug and squeeze to the point where it would be considered torture. Oh, and did I mention that some of our main characters come across a murdering psychopath with a chainsaw?
Originally, the film was going to be released in movie theatres, but in a last minute decision, Warner Brothers decided to make it a home video release, which is a shame, really. The show was at its peak when it was released, because it appealed to both kids and especially adults who get the more mature references and crude humor riddled within. Plus, having the label "direct-to-video" usually has a bad connotation attached to it, because most movies that were released directly to home media usually suck. Thankfully, this is one of those that doesn't suck. In fact, this is probably one of the best DTV films ever put out, period. The entire film is hilarious from beginning to end, with great, fast- paced animation and great writing. Perhaps the most memorable moments, for me, included the entire story arc of the aforementioned Hellish road trip with Plucky and Hampton, and Buster and Babs encountering a family of back-country possums who want them for dinner, a la John Boorman's 1972 thriller Deliverance.
For a while, the film did not see a re-release on DVD when VHS bit the dust, but as of 2012, Warner Brothers did re-release the film on DVD, and though the picture quality is nowhere near up to HD standards, you can still watch it just fine. If you can deal with that, I highly recommend giving this movie a watch, and if you can manage to get every single pop culture reference this thing throws at you, then either you'll fit right at home or someone should be concerned.