Night Ghoulery
Who would not want to go over to ACME Acres and celebrate Halloween there? You’d be crazy not to even think about the prospect. I know I would that’s for sure. “Tiny Toon Adventures” was one of my favorite shows while growing up and it remains so to this day. I would feel bad if I did not include this special on my blog with its spot on parodies of horror films and shows like "The Twilight Zone", "Night Gallery", "Frankenstein", and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" to name some. And believe me I feel bad for picking and choosing which ones can go and which ones I have to leave out on my blog this year. This special actually would not have been made since the series officially ended production with 98 episodes in the can by 1992. But a few years later Warner Brothers decided to make two more episodes in the form of holiday specials, one of which is this one hour long Halloween episode. It would air on FOX for the last time as well with the epsiode. After airing on FOX for its entire run the studio chose to move the reruns of the show to their then fledgling WB network in the summer of 1995. The purpose of this move was to help launch the Kids WB animation block that same year too.
The great animation was made by the fine folks at the Japanese animation studio TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha). They love to try things that American animation studios typically shy away from such as animating the camera in perspective. They continually provide fluid, detailed, and expressive character animation that captures the personality of the subject. And they create effective dramatic lighting which enhances the visual quality of their shows. The special contains the type of insider humor we have come to expect from the Warner Brothers cartoons of the 90’s like the take down of the ill-fated “The Chevy Chase Show”, to them making fun of Beavis and Butthead, and the adult Tiny Toons fan who points out a goof up or homage whenever he sees one. We also see the reemergence of Witch Hazel, the Gremlins, and Gossamer the monster as well as characters from sister series “Animaniacs” like the Brain from Acme Labs. This special would mark the show's 100th production when all episodes and specials are accounted for. It would also be the final episode of the entire series as well. The milestone of passing the century mark gets taken for granted these days, but any series making or surpassing 100 episodes is a big deal. It is even rarer among non-prime time cartoons because studios typically make more or less 65 episodes to sell for syndication. Anything above is considered bonus and not necessary for the bottom line. So for “Tiny Toons Adventures” to join the exclusive club with “Ducktales” with 100 episodes under their belt is an enormous achievement that needs to be acknowledged as it speaks to the enduring goodwill and popularity of the characters.
