Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (a.k.a. Tiny Toons) was an American animated television series created by the Warner Bros. Animation studio. It was the result of the first collaboration between Steven Spielberg and the newly reborn Warner Bros. Animation studio. The first season aired in 1990, the second season was aired in 1991, and the third and final season was aired in 1993.

The idea for the show was that of Terry Semel, then president of Warner Bros. In the mid-1980s, he saw how successful and popular younger versions of famous characters like Ultraman Kids, Muppet Babies and Flintstones Kids were, and thought of doing a kids version of Looney Tunes. Originally, the characters were going to be the offspring of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies gang or Bugs Bunny and co. themselves as children (an idea which perhaps ended up becoming Baby Looney Tunes). It wasn't until Steven Spielberg and his hugely successful production company Amblin Entertainment (makers of hits like Gremlins and The New Batch, the Back to the Future Trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and more) got involved that characters became spiritual, not literal, descendents of Warner's famous cartoon stars and that the kid characters would be the protegés of the Golden Age WB animated cartoon film stars. Early on, the characters were intended to be used in its theatrical feature-length film, but in December of 1988, it was officially decided that the Tiny Toons would instead be used in its television series.

The animation studio was reinstated by Warner Bros. following the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which featured appearances by many of the classic Warner Bros. cartoon stars including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and many others. The Warner Bros. animation studio, led by Jean MacCurdy and Tom Ruegger, worked with Steven Spielberg to produce a new generation of cartoon stars for the 1990s, influenced by the classic Warner Bros. cartoons of old, which Spielberg had long considered a major influence on his own career.

More on [ Tiny Toon Adventures ]

NPR Topics: Arts & Entertainment

'Rent' Takes Final Bow On Broadway
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0400
The curtain comes down on Rent for the last time Sunday night, after 12 years on Broadway. Although critics call the musical dated, it will live on in a touring production and countless high school drama classes.
'Bangkok Dangerous': A Hit Man Adrift In Thailand
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:03:00 -0400
The Pang Brothers' partially sanitized remake of their own 1999 thriller is hardly philosophical. Its style and its soul are more Asian than American — and it leaves some space for contemplation between shootouts.
'The Fly' Stirs New Buzz — On The Operatic Stage
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:36:00 -0400
Science fiction isn't typical source material for opera. Which is why Placido Domingo was a little surprised when The Fly landed on his desk. But David Cronenberg and Howard Shore's opera opens Sept. 7 in Los Angeles.

NYT > Arts

The Risky Leap From Screen to Stage
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:35:06 -0000
Broadway, it seems, has eclipsed Playboy as the place to make Hollywood pay attention.
The New Season | Dance: ‘On the Town’ and Out of Town
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:37:15 -0000
New York doesn’t do justice to the choreographers who live and work here, but it remains the best place to see the spectrum of those who don’t.
The New Season | Video Games: Creative Ferment in Worlds That Never Were
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:40:52 -0000
Video games are enjoying a moment of creative possibility not seen since the early 1980s. Here are some products to watch.

Arts & Culture

Joan Acocella: A festival for everyone.
Joan Acocella Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
For anyone who doesn’t know about it by now, the Fall for Dance Festival is a two-week series that takes place every September, at City Center, and has a notable entry fee: ten dollars a seat, every seat. City Center was once a Shriners auditorium. After our municipality bought . . .
Goings on About Town: Movies
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
OPENING AUGUST EVENING A drama, directed by Chris Eska, about several generations of Latino migrant workers in Texas. Opening Sept. 5. (Village East Cinemas.) BANGKOK DANGEROUS Reviewed this week in The Current Cinema. Opening Sept. 5. (In wide release.) EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE ITALIAN Jason Todd Ipson directed this romantic . . .
Goings on About Town: Art
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES METROPOLITAN MUSEUM Fifth Ave. at 82nd St. (212-535-7710)--“J. M. W. Turner.” Through Sept. 21. | “Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632-1717).” Opens Sept. 9. | “Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe.” Through Sept. 21. | “Jeff Koons . . .

Christian Science Monitor | Arts & Entertainment

Review: 'Trouble the Water'
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Documentary follows the human drama of hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a young married couple from the Lower Ninth Ward.
Review: 'Ping Pong Playa'
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Comedy about a basketball star who gets roped into the family table tennis business is fitfully amusing.
Review: 'I Served the King of England'
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Chaplinesque fable has an airiness that masks its tragic undertow.

Subscribe to Arts RSS feed