Mini-DVD Review: Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 1

Friday, August 08, 2008

Mini-DVD Review: Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 1

Welcome to a special Friday edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we look at Warner Home Video's Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 1. Tiny Toon Adventures was created and produced as a collaborative effort between Steven Spielberg's company Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered in as a syndicated cartoon in 1990. See Seth's mini-DVD review of Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 1:

Tiny Toon Adventures - Season 1, Volume 1 (Warner Home Video, $44.98) is finally on DVD. I love this show. I really do. I watched this show when I was young and absolutely loved it. Loved it in reruns as I got older. It’s a great show that’s enjoyable no matter what your age. It’s time to finally join Babs and Buster Bunny (no relation), Plucky Duck, Hamton Pig, and all of the other residents of Acme Acres on DVD. Contained on this set are the first *35* episodes of the first season. I know many of you may have cringed when you saw “Volume 1”, but for a cartoon who had 65 episodes it’s first season splitting it was a must. There are some absolutely great cartoons in here, and some fairly good ones. Sometimes one cartoon in an episode may be weaker than the others, but this is to be expected.

This DVD set contains the first 35 episodes, which means the episodes included start at the series premiere, “A Looney Beginning” and run through “A Ditch in Time”. A full episode list is (at least as of the time of this writing) available on Wikipedia for your reference. Because of the number of episodes in the release, Warner was faced with a tough choice – either deal with a large number of discs, use double-sided discs entirely, or place quite a few episodes per disc. The end result is 4 discs, the first three of which are single-sided, the final disc being double-sided. The first three discs and the first side of the fourth all contain 8 episodes each, while the reverse side of the final disc contains the last three episodes and the disc’s special feature. I’m not sure if this was the ideal or optimal layout, but it works well enough. Packaging is a clear-plastic case with two swinging plastic panels in the center containing the discs. The discs themselves feature a variation on the orange colors used on the cover art, with a central cast member on each of the first three discs.

I really wanted to just launch into an overly positive stream of consciousness, as I got to do with Freakazoid’s DVD set, but that’s not entirely possible here. Placing 8 episodes per disc *has* led to some compression issues, which are particularly evident against solid colors. The colors themselves appear duller and less vivid than they should be, though it could just be a result of the age of the episodes. The audio, however, IS spectacular – 5.1 is available! This is great considering the orchestral bits used as background music, scene transitions, everything. It’s great. Chapter stops are placed at the end of each individual cartoon. Runtime for the pilot is just over 23 minutes; average for the rest is around 21:45 – for a cartoon series from the early 90s this IS normal.

There IS a great special feature in the set: Looney Tunes to Tiny Toons, a Wacky Evolution: Features an outright plethora – yes, a plethora – of interviews, clips, etc. that detail the origin of the series and how the show launched off the shoulders of the classic Looney Tunes franchise. Runs a bit over 23 minutes, and is a great extra feature. It’s great to see well-done sets like these for shows I enjoy.

Of course, *my* favorite episode of the series isn’t on the DVD set as it’s the 51st episode of the season – Tiny Toons Music Television. It features re-done videos for several songs using the Tiny Toons cast, including TWO songs by They Might Be Giants, a take on Respect by Aretha Franklin, and more. It’s great stuff, and I can’t wait for the next volume for this very reason. Ultimately, though, future sales depend on the success of the initial release. It’s a great cartoon, and recommended not just for cartoon fans but fans of comedy as well. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher

(4.5/5 stars)

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Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Tiny Toons Adventures TV.com Page

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, December 23

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Vote" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dave gathers everyone for a lengthy ballot-palooza party to discuss the merits of every candidate and prop on each of their election ballots. Also, Gemma is determined to run a tight ship as their local precinct captain when polls open at Walcott Academy.

Poppa's House - "Sleepover" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Dr. Ivy Reed joins Poppa’s family for dinner, she begins scrutinizing Nina and Junior’s relationship for potential catastrophe. Junior spends the night at his dad’s house while Nina and Ivy devise a plan over a bottle of wine.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Black Ice" (The CW, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
On Valentine's Day, when it comes to showing affection, Bob and Abishola have to find a way to meet each other in the middle.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Where's Your Other Wives, Tunde?" (The CW, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dottie, Auntie Olu and Uncle Tunde must find a way to reconcile when they're forced to eat dinner together; Bob and Abishola have differing opinions on the progress of their relationship.

The Conners - "Rage Against the Machine" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Dan gets injured while covering D.J.'s vending machine route, the decision to sue the company could cost D.J. his job; Jackie is appalled when Becky seeks life coaching from her nemesis.

The Conners - "Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan is disappointed when everyone but Becky forgets about his birthday; Darlene faces another issue; Dan excludes Jackie from the family Christmas Santa photo for mistreating Louise.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 23)

Monday, December 23

John Mulaney (Mulaney) - Watch John on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Linda Cardellini (No Good Deed/Dead to Me/Guys Like Us) - Linda is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Sabrina Carpenter (Girl Meets World) - Sabrina appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Nathan Lane (Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Rosemarie DeWitt (United States of Tara) - Rosemarie appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Brandon Kyle Goodman (Human Resources) - Brandon is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Megan Hilty (Sean Saves the World) - Megan appears on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Van Der Beek (Friends with Better Lives/Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) - James chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - NBC's Today has The 70 Club with Tony in the 9am hour.
Jennifer Love Hewitt (Shaky Ground) - Jennifer talks about Lifetime's The Holiday Junkie on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Alexa PenaVega (Ruby & the Rockits) - Alexa talks about Great American Family's Love at the Kettle on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.