Cartoon Corner- Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation

Originally posted at the DL May 2016

I knew I'd seen this at the point after they cut it up for syndication, but only really remembered one of the plot threads.  This was only partially true: a couple of the smaller stories I remembered just fine, but thought they were independent episodes.



For example, this is where we get the marvelous THUD audio test.

The Audience is Now Deaf.

There's also an above average Elmyra sketch (for whatever that's worth to you) and one of the rare Fifi-centric parts of the series, which is a damn shame really because spending the whole movie building up to her apocalyptic telling off is great.

The Buster and Babs end I... legitimately did not remember like any of.  I couldn't tell you why!  It's... okay.  The initial gag to kick off the soaking contest is actually quite good, but the escalation is just kinda there and the downriver trip... there's a few episodes along those lines and it's pretty average among them?  There's just a sort of disconnect for some of it.  Are possums particularly carnivorous?  Why do the bellegators have to marry Buster to devour him?  They go on some long walks to set up Babs' gags and it doesn't quite work.

I do wish I had a little counter that could tick at the corner of the screen for "Better Superman than DCEU Superman" though.

So naturally the highlight of the whole feature is Plucky's trip to HAPPY WORLD LAND (Happy World Land!).  Hamton is unusually low-key in this one, but I don't think the show did better sight gags than in this plotline.  Like... okay, we just have to quote the movie here.
"Could crank up the AC?"
"Can't do that, burns gas.  I'll just crack the window"
"Don't you dare!  People will think we can't afford air conditioning"
Plucky stares deliriously out the window.  We zoom out or the car to see the road is between volcanoes and lava flows.  As they drive out of view, a new crater opens up in the middle of the road.  Another car drives up and tries to stop, fails, flips over, and lands in the open lava pool therein.

I don't think I've cracked up for purposes of these reviews like that in months.

Plucky suffers so beautifully.

Rating- 7/10.  Still, while the trip to Happy World Land is absolutely a cut above, a lot of the rest is pretty average as Tiny Toons go so I don't want to go too much higher than the norm.