Tiny Toon Adventures

    Please check out my last review here! http://that90sguyreviews.blogspot.ca/2016/02/the-lion-king.html

    Sorry that I missed the last two weeks and I'm super late this week but I've been really busy with people's birthdays and the like. Anyways, we're back today taking a look at Tiny Toon Adventures!

    This series aired 3 seasons from 1990 to 1992 and is honestly the first thing I think of when I think of a "90s Cartoon" (after Animaniacs, of course). It aired a total of ninety-eight 22-minute episodes, the vast majority of which were one story each. On top of this, it released a 1 hour and 20 minute long direct-to-home video film in between seasons 2 and 3, and 2-3 years after the series ended it would air two 44 minute long TV specials (one of which was Halloween themed). Thus it ended in 1995 with 100 episodes and a movie. 

    The premise is simple. You remember all those Looney Tunes characters that you love? Well, here they are but they're kids. Enjoy. Interestingly enough, this actually worked really well but only because of a couple things. First of all, these are not simply the usual characters as kids (like the later Baby Looney Tunes would try to do) nor is it the usual character's children or grandchildren. Instead this show tries a far less cliched route and introduces us to totally original characters who serve as the OG Looney Tunes' apprentices. Sometimes they're similar to their mentors, and sometimes they're not. That was the beauty of it, they were their own characters.

    If you check out the picture at the top you can see some of the most important Tiny Toons kids (how old were they anyways? Apparently 13-14 and they act like it but they sure do not look it to me). These include: Buster and Babs Bunny: Bugs' students and the hosts of the show. The male Buster reflects Bugs' clever side while female Babs' reflects his zany side, they're the hosts of the show. Fifi la Fume (Pepe's apprentice). Calamity Coyote (Wile E.'s genius successor), and the Tasmanian Devil's heir Dizzy most notably. However, just like with the actual Looney Tunes the cast is VERY large, too large to list quickly. But a few key toons you don't see in the bus picture would include Hampton J. Pig (Porky Pig's analogue), Plucky the Duck (Daffy Duck's counterpart), and the "villains" (if you can call them that) Montana Max and Elmyra Duff. 

   The villains were probably the least like their predecessors, with Max being a lot less gunhappy than Yosemite Sam and Elmyra actually loving animals (too much) compared to Elmer Duff who hunted them. 

    This series led to Warner Bros. expanding a lot in the area of animated, televised comedy and can be credited for making one of my favourite shows of all time (Animaniacs) possible. It also led to Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain but that's another issue for another time. And if you look at it completely by it's own merits, it's a honestly very funny show that managed to be entertaining for the kids and also sneak in some very adult themes. *Cough* episode where Buster, Plucky, and Hampton get drunk *Cough*. Point is, if you haven't seen this yet, go see it right now. Peace be upon you. 

The Lion King

 
 

   Sorry for the late post, I actually did this yesterday but my internet went out. Check out the last review here! http://that90sguyreviews.blogspot.ca/2016/01/gi-joe-real-american-hero.html

     Today, I'll be doing something a little different: I'll be looking at a movie, as a matter of fact, my all-time favorite movie, The Lion King.

    The Lion King debuted in theatres in 1994 and told the life story of Simba, the Prince of the Pridelands: A lush sahara teeming with a variety of animals that live in peace and harmony, and the guardians of this balance are the lions. Simba's father, Mufasa, is the king, and is a pretty much flawless character. He's selfless,  he's brave, and he's wise. Simba is no Mufasa. Simba's a good kid with good intentions, yes. He's well-meaning and adorably energetic, yes. But Simba is not his father. He's a flawed main character who makes a lot of mistakes, lacks confidence in himself, often fails to see the big picture, and can be just a little bit selfish at times. But he's the hero of our story and we get to see him grow from a scared little kid to a big strong lion who ultimately saves the day.

    For all his great qualities, Mufasa is loved by all but one, his jealous younger brother, Scar (who........has a Scar on his face. Wow). Scar plots with the hyena clan (the mortal enemies of the lions) to get Mufasa killed. And when he succeeds (in one of the most heartbreaking animated scenes of my childhood). He convinces impressionable young Simba that it was HIS fault and gets Simba to run away (from his problems). Simba is taken in by a bromantic odd couple: Timon the Meerkat and Pumbaa the Warthog. Simba grows up and after a run-in with his childhood friend Nala, he returns to reclaim his rightful throne and defeats his evil uncle and the hyenas.

    The Lion King is a fast-paced, blink and you miss it, kind of story and it is fricking amazing. Honestly, it's a movie everyone should see at least once in their lives. It sounds like it's basically Hamlet with lions, and it is, but it's also so much more than it. It's one of the rare musicals I've watched where the songs haven't annoyed me but are actually very catchy, and it has grade-A animation. Perhaps it's nostalgia, perhaps it's the musical numbers that actually manage to be entertaining, plot-relavant, and not distracting, perhaps it's the compelling characters, or perhaps it's a combination of all, but the point is: it's pretty good.

    This movie was (at the time of its' initial release) the highest-grossing animated film of all time, a title it kept for over 20 years. It was famous for being the first Disney film to tell an original story (though i'd argue the story was a blatant ripoff of Kimba the White Lion. However, that's not what we're talking about today) and it was, interestingly enough, dethroned just a couple years ago by Frozen, another Disney animated movie that told an original story. Do I think Frozen was good? Yes. Do I think it was on the same level as this movie? No, but that's not the point. The point i'm trying to make is that this movie is a beloved part of a lot of childhoods, and if you haven't checked it out yet, you need to. My review honestly can't do it justice. If you happen to like it, there's some other material in the franchise you can read too including a direct-to-video sequel (The Lion King II: Simba's Pride), a direct-to-video retelling of this movie, showing it from the perspective of  Timon and Pumbaa (The Lion King 1 1/2: Hakuna Matata) and "Timon and Pumbaa" and "The Lion Guard" two spinoff TV series (the latter of which is still ongoing at the time I'm writing this). I'll probably get to reviewing those all later but for now, watch this movie. Even if you've seen it once before, it's honestly the type of movie that's worth a rewatch.