September is here, and everyone knows what that means: back-to-school shopping, the end of summer, sweater weather, the dreadful resurrection of the pumpkin spice latte cult, and the reemergence of fall television shows. One new animated show that recently caught my attention is the “Tiny Toons Looniversity” reboot on MAX, formerly known as HBO MAX.
Brought to us by Steven Spielberg, this show features Buster and Babs Bunny and their companions Hamton J Pig, Sweety, and Plucky in their academic journey to become the best toon. With themes such as having to learn who they are beyond their comfort zones, dealing with family pressure to be the best, and even handling the occasional quarrel between friends, “Tiny Toons Looniversity” follows the characters’ college experiences, some of which many of our own students could relate to. But these toons are not alone to navigate their college experiences — throughout the show, they receive help from familiar faces such as Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, and even Daffy Duck.
“Tiny Toons Looniversity” does some re-imaging to the original 1990 Tiny Toons Adventures material, providing a new and modern background for many characters. Sweety, for example, mentions that she has two mothers, and Buster and Babs are now siblings. Tiny Toons does its best to provide comedy for today’s era.
Two of my favorite episodes were “Extra, So Extra” and “Tooney Ball Lights.” “Extra so Extra” revolves around Babs Bunny trying to restart the university’s newspaper. Throughout the episode, she encounters many problems with her newspaper, from getting her readers’ attention to dealing with misinformation in order to keep the newspaper alive.
The plot of “Tooney Ball Lights” surrounds choosing electives, in addition to Hamton’s experience with dealing with indecisiveness. As a college student, it can become frustrating at times to plan academic and professional successes, such as deciding whether one should take an internship or allowing oneself to grow by becoming more active in campus clubs. The key takeaway from the episode is that we should trust ourselves and have confidence that we are choosing the right path to our success.
Only time will tell whether this show will continue to be hilarious and relatable, but for those who are looking for an extra elective, try joining Buster and Babs at Tiny Toons Looniversity to earn your Toon Degree!
