Steven Spielberg's Tiny Toons Looniversity Just Got Some Great News
They're tiny, they're toony, they're all a little loony, and today they just got some incredibly good news. Tiny Toon Adventures, the 1990 animated brain-child of executive producer Steven Spielberg, is returning after a quarter century away from our screens.
In case you forgot, Tiny Toon Adventures has a pretty simple premise: The progeny of all your favorite Looney Tunes characters have their own show focusing on the hard work they're doing as they learn to be as funny as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and all the rest. It's not easy to create a new group of characters in as long-established a universe as Looney Tunes, but from 1990-1995 Babs and Buster Bunny (Tress MacNeille and Charlie Adler), along with their entire crew of Looney Tunes Juniors, thrilled audiences both young and old. They were such a success, in fact, that they helped bust the door wide open for other series like Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakzoid!, and a host of others.
We already knew that Animaniacs was set for a comeback, but at long last we have official word: The Tiny Toons are back and going to college with a little help from HBO Max. In related amazing news, not only are the Tiny Toons back — they're returning with a confirmed two-season order.
What does it mean that Tiny Toons is coming back now?
The new series is called Tiny Toons Looniversity. Spielberg is returning to executive produce the new show along with Sam Register, President of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, and Amblin Television Co-Presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank.
"Tiny Toons Looniversity will capture all the clever, subversive and smart humor that made Tiny Toon Adventures such a standout series," President of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics Tom Ascheim said in an official press release. "Fans old and new will love to laugh at and with these characters all over again."
"These smart, hilarious and cheeky characters have left an indelible impression on the childhoods of so many," echoed both Falvey and Frank. "We're thrilled to be able to continue our relationship with Warner Bros. Animation, HBO Max and Cartoon Network to reimagine the Tiny Toons for new audiences, and we know that fans of the original series will be just as excited to share the show with their children as they will be to revisit a childhood favorite."
This news begs the question: Who, if anyone, will be returning from the original cast to reprise their role on Tiny Toons Looniversity? Charlie Adler and Tress MacNeille as Buster and Babs, especially, were so essential to the original show that it'll be interesting to see if they'll return or not. Sadly, both Joe Alaskey who played Plucky Duck and Don Messick who played Hampton Pig have since passed away, so they'll have to be recast.
There is no set release date yet for the forthcoming HBO Max series, but hopefully we'll find out more details soon.