WBA doing new Looney Tunes series...

[Vin]

BIG GULP...

You guys might not want to read this. You've been warned:

http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17963

[Jack]

You are joking, right? Looney Tunes babies!!!!?????

Maybe if they did it like "The Old Grey Hare" it would be good, but this sounds awful, terrible, and not very good. Looney tunes re-designed in PPG style was a billion times better than this!



Jack :mad:

[chuckamuck43]

Thanx for the warning Vinny, but you know how it is when you pass an accident while driving...ya just gotta look.

We were just joking about this the other day...the whole thing makes me sick!

Also, there goes all the $$$ that COULD have been used to restore the originals for a DVD release.

I'm really beginning to seriously HATE the conglomerate.

[Tintin]

Cool! J'ai hâte de voir ça!!! :cool:

[Thad Komorowski]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How's this for a theme song?

LOONEY TUNES BABIES!
They're short, they're small,
they have no teeth they just got gums,
they have diaper rashes on their bums,
LOONEY TUNES BABIES!
They have big eyes and big eye lashes,
they got their shots for rabies,
LOONEY TUNES BABIES!



-Thad

[Vin]

Guys, I just...can't believe WBA. I was really physched to hear that they were making new Looney Tunes pilot, but "Looney Tunes Babies?" I should have known better. I only report the news. Just the fact that WBA goes to Canada for voice actors to save money is definitely telling you that this is not going to be good. Of course, I could at least *try* to be optimistic, then again...

[Tintin]

Originally posted by Thad K
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How's this for a theme song?

LOONEY TUNES BABIES!
They're short, they're small,
they have no teeth they just got gums,
they have diaper rashes on their bums,
LOONEY TUNES BABIES!
They have big eyes and big eye lashes,
they got their shots for rabies,
LOONEY TUNES BABIES!



-Thad

Hmm... pas mal! :D

[Pilmedium]

This sounds dumb, like a rip-off of the Looney Tunes. They are as babies? That is too stupid to watch! Cheap voices won't help, either.

Why would fans of the real "Looney Tunes" watch this?
To laugh at how bad it is!

Knowing Cartoon Network, they will probably cancel classic airings to show this. :mad:

[Jack]

Originally posted by Pilmedium
Why would fans of the real "Looney Tunes" watch this?
To laugh at how bad it is!
Some people will watch anything, regardless of quality, if their favorite characters are in it. A sad fact, but it's true.

They probably got cheap voices because, since they are babies, they don't really need to sound like the adult versions of the characters.

A series based on nursery decorations, I just can't stand it.


Jack :mad:

[Billy]

What's really worrying is that they will hire new voice actors to do it. The present people do a brilliant job of it,especially the Daffy Duck one.
I suppose it might be slightly ok to watch,although I hope this won't aim for a younger generation-the great thing about the classics were that they had jokes for every generation. Take 'What's Cooking Doc?'

Kids:Slapstick ending.
Adult's:'Stag Reel' gag.
Old people: References to James Cagney and Carmen Miranda.

[Pilmedium]

Some people will watch anything, regardless of quality, if their favorite characters are in it.
I don't think the baby versions count as the real characters.


They probably got cheap voices because, since they are babies, they don't really need to sound like the adult versions of the characters.
That's a good point.


A series based on nursery decorations, I just can't stand it.
Who can?


I suppose it might be slightly ok to watch
I won't even give it a chance.

[Jon Cooke]

Looney Tunes Babies!?? :o

Aah, I can see it all now...

We'll have Baby Bugs, Baby Daffy, Baby Road Runner, Baby Tweety, Baby Sylvester, Baby Taz, Baby Wile E. Coyote, and probably Baby Marvin and Baby Elmer.

Toss in a Baby Lola Bunny so we have a female character in there.

No Baby Porky. We don't want offend any stutterers.
No Baby Speedy. We want to be able to air this on Cartoon Network.
No Baby Foghorn or Baby Pepe. They don't have their own nursery decorations.

No violence. No guns or dynamite or anything like that. These are babies, after all. They'll use their imaginations and go on adventures (like The Muppet Babies did). They can pretend to be astronauts and stuff.

And they'll learn valuable lessons every week! Like don't talk to strangers or learn how to share (like The Flintstone Kids did).

Oh, and I'm sure there will be 17 volumes of Looney Tunes Babies and a direct-to-video Looney Tunes Babies movie released to DVD long before we see any real Looney Tunes DVD releases. "Maybe next year" sez Warner Home Video.

Did I leave anything out? :p


-Jon

[Sogturtle]

Aw come on fellers...!!! We ALL LOVED "Tom And Jerry Kids" sooooooo much!!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Think of it... Some day in the future they can have whole BIG festivals (lasting for hours and hours and hours) of these mixed with the "Tom And Jerry Kids"... Pity poor Ray Patterson isn't still with us to direct it ;)

My real suspicion would be that the misbegotten genesis of this hare-brained notion was a limited edition seri-cel they did ONCE... (Did anybody ever buy that for what they wanted?? Five bucks woulda been plenty!!)

There is a bonafide silver-lining to this incomprehensible series notion... It HAS GOT to make everything else done by Warners from the Seventies until the present seem nearly first-rate (if not in actuality first rate)

[Jack]

Originally posted by Jon Cooke

Did I leave anything out? :p
Well, there is the nanny character. We can't have then running about unsupervised. As I said at the WBC, it will probably be a younger (Canadian voiced, no June Foray here, folks!) Granny. Maybe even a Teenaged Granny.


Jack :rolleyes:

[J Lee]

Jeez, how long has it been since Jim Henson and CBS came up with the "Muppet Babies" idea? I mean, even Hanna-Barbera got over that stage over a decade ago after they "kiddized" Fred, Barney, Scooby, Shaggy, Huck and Yogi.

If you're an executive who comes up with an idea that's so lame they were making fun of on "Animaniacs" back in 1994, it's time to take up turkey farming....

[Matthew Hunter]

Excuse me a second:

AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


-okay. Now, that's all I have to say on the subject. I hope whoever came up with this idea gets a dynamite stick stuffed in their pants.
-Matthew

Edit: The Aughs stretched the page

[Pietro]

NOOOOOOOOO.......:mad:

-Pietro:D

[Tintin]

Originally posted by Jon Cooke
Looney Tunes Babies!?? :o

Aah, I can see it all now...

We'll have Baby Bugs, Baby Daffy, Baby Road Runner, Baby Tweety, Baby Sylvester, Baby Taz, Baby Wile E. Coyote, and probably Baby Marvin and Baby Elmer.

Toss in a Baby Lola Bunny so we have a female character in there.

No Baby Porky. We don't want offend any stutterers.
No Baby Speedy. We want to be able to air this on Cartoon Network.
No Baby Foghorn or Baby Pepe. They don't have their own nursery decorations.

No violence. No guns or dynamite or anything like that. These are babies, after all. They'll use their imaginations and go on adventures (like The Muppet Babies did). They can pretend to be astronauts and stuff.

And they'll learn valuable lessons every week! Like don't talk to strangers or learn how to share (like The Flintstone Kids did).

Oh, and I'm sure there will be 17 volumes of Looney Tunes Babies and a direct-to-video Looney Tunes Babies movie released to DVD long before we see any real Looney Tunes DVD releases. "Maybe next year" sez Warner Home Video.

Did I leave anything out? :p


-Jon

Un film direct pour le vidéo et DVD des bébés Looney Tunes???? Sur???? :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Tintin]

Originally posted by Matthew Hunter
Excuse me a second:

AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHH

-okay. Now, that's all I have to say on the subject. I hope whoever came up with this idea gets a dynamite stick stuffed in their pants.
-Matthew

R'viens-en! Tu dois surement triper sur les Schtroumpfs ou Smurfs quand t'étais petit comme moi?? :D

[Emmanuel Cruz]

I'm going enjoy this. Enjoy laughing at such a stupid show this is gonna be!!!

[Mike]

[At first glance, it sounds like it may be like "Tiny Toons," which wouldn't be bad, as I'm a big "Tiny Toons" fan. But it won't be, and will likely be more like "Muppet Babies."

And Canadian actors to do the voices? Sounds like they're really gonna cheap out here, and the end result will be an awful cartoon show. In 1997 or 98, they cheaped out when it came to new "Pinky and the Brain" episodes. Rumor has it there was a high public demand for new episodes of "Tiny Toons" to be produced (at the time, IIRC, the show was doing very well on Nick), coupled with high demand for new P&TB episodes. So, Warner's went the cheap way out and forced "Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain" on us. It was an idea so bad, the theme song for the show even made fun of it! The show didn't even last half a season, with the remaining episodes burned out on "Big Cartoonie Show" the following season.

I want this show to fail, but at the same time, I don't. If it fails, the knucklehead suits at Warner Home Video may take it to mean there's no public demand for Looney Tunes, and that would be the end of any possible DVDs.....

Mike

[Matt Yorston]

Well, as I am a big fan of Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies too (hence why I visit this board), I should probably give my two cents worth as well.

All I want to say is, I DON'T want this to happen! I have NEVER liked any idea of classic cartoon characters being turned into child versions of themselves. When I first saw Looney Tunes Babies merchandise a few years back, my heart skipped a beat. It's like saying, "Only kids can identify with the Looney Tunes characters... and now that they're babies, they'll identify with them even more". Those stupid execs never realize that there is a high adult percentage of Looney Tunes fans. Now, with this screwball idea, they're ostracizing the adult fans even more!

This is all the execs can come up with, regarding the Looney Tunes characters these days??? That's very sad. I can't help but agree with those who said a Looney Tunes DVD release would be a better way of getting the characters back into the public eye. If I ever choose to actually watch an episode of this putrid series just to see how bad it is(God forbid!!!), I'll have to be sure to get my eyes sterilized first!

I can just hear the late WB directors (Friz Freleng, Bob McKimson, Bob Clampett, etc.) doing 360 degree turns in their graves!

UGGGHHHH!!!

[......]

Pant! Pant!

There! Gasp! I'm through ranting!

[Jack]

I was wondering, how long have there been "Looney Tunes Babies?" When did this merchandising thing start?


Jack :confused:
..and we can't forget the Baby Looney Tunes' pet, Michigan J. Frog.

[John-Paul]

Originally posted by Jon Cooke
Looney Tunes Babies!?? :o

Aah, I can see it all now...

We'll have Baby Bugs, Baby Daffy, Baby Road Runner, Baby Tweety, Baby Sylvester, Baby Taz, Baby Wile E. Coyote, and probably Baby Marvin and Baby Elmer.

Toss in a Baby Lola Bunny so we have a female character in there.

No Baby Porky. We don't want offend any stutterers.
No Baby Speedy. We want to be able to air this on Cartoon Network.
No Baby Foghorn or Baby Pepe. They don't have their own nursery decorations.

No violence. No guns or dynamite or anything like that. These are babies, after all. They'll use their imaginations and go on adventures (like The Muppet Babies did). They can pretend to be astronauts and stuff.

And they'll learn valuable lessons every week! Like don't talk to strangers or learn how to share (like The Flintstone Kids did).

Oh, and I'm sure there will be 17 volumes of Looney Tunes Babies and a direct-to-video Looney Tunes Babies movie released to DVD long before we see any real Looney Tunes DVD releases. "Maybe next year" sez Warner Home Video.

Did I leave anything out? :p


-Jon

I really agree but I think they'll be a few new characters as well.Lola will be in it but Speedy,Pepe and Foghorn won't.I can se Porky there too maybe without the stuttering.I also guess they'll give Bugs a sister (Like MB did with Scooter and Skeeter).I also see Granny as the nanny and no Elmer but Marvin and K-9 (as a pup).I can try to be good and I'm looking forward to it.They might also add minor characters to replace the "Offencive" ones.

[Emmanuel Cruz]

This is a total lame, stupid, absurd b@st@rdiz@tion of the Looney Tunes!! I swear, WBA will do anything just to get a hefty paycheck. Makes me sick!

Oh, sure, old Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies are very boring! Let see them Looney Tunes as babies! Ain't that adorable? No violence at all. Instead of getting hit with a sledgehammer, they share toys!! That's a whole lot better than that violent, dated stuff they show! And hell, we get our wallets stuffed for this!!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

-Emmanuel :mad:

[PorkyandDaffy]

Boy, this sounds terrible.

[Greg Method]

Originally posted by Jack
I was wondering, how long have there been "Looney Tunes Babies?" When did this merchandising thing start?

The original Looney Tunes Luvables line was launched in 1994, and then the line's name and designs were tweaked a little in '98 or '99 as Baby Looney Tunes.

Just be glad it ain't Baby Popeye.

[Thad Komorowski]

Since we're on the topic, when did the Baby Mickey and Friends merchandise start coming out? I believe Disney was the first to make baby versions of their characters.




-Thad

[Pietro]

Originally posted by Emmanuel Cruz
I'm going enjoy this. Enjoy laughing at such a stupid show this is gonna be!!!

Hey I've got a better idea! I'll MST3k the show!:D

-Pietro:D

[The Dork Knight]

:eek: (Does a Jon Stewart Wha, wha, wha?.) I wonder what genius marketing exectutive came up with that idea? (Holds up picture of Baby Kermit) Hmmmm..... I wonder.......

Actually Jon, there is a Baby Pepe. He is on one of the Looney Tunes Baby CDs. Yes... there are CDs.....

- Foley Is Good

[Jack]

Originally posted by Greg Method
Just be glad it ain't Baby Popeye.
SHHHHHH! We don't want to give King Features and WB any ideas!

I guess them starting "Baby Looney Tunes" in 1994 explains why I didn't have any of that stuff when I was a baby. I had to make do with adult Looney Tunes. I feel so deprived now :( .


Jack :rolleyes:

[Tintin]

J'ai des stickers de ceux-là. :)

[David Gerstein]

Unfortunately, Baby Popeye actually exists.
http://www.kingfeatures.com/license/liprop/images/_PROPS/babypop_popeye.gif
You know King Features would never resist the "sure popularity" of an exciting new concept like this. Available now if you want to license it, I guess (the lineup includes Baby Wimpy and Baby Bluto, too... unrecognizable without facial hair). Or produce that 126-episode series. There are just so many... possibilities... in a one-eyed toddler, aren't there?
Has anyone actually seen any merchandise from this line?

David

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by David Gerstein
Has anyone actually seen any merchandise from this line?

No, but I have seen some merchandise featuring BABY BOOP. :o

Seriously.


-Jon

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by Jon Cooke


No, but I have seen some merchandise featuring BABY BOOP. :o

Seriously.

-Jon

Jon~

There was even a very expensive limited edition BABY BOOP cel a few years ago!!! Annnnnd it sold extremely well...!!!

[The Dork Knight]

http://www.bigreds.com/babyb2.gif

*Shudders*

- Foley Is Good

[Sogturtle]

WELLLLLL then how about this for new WB toons... To promote all the "political-correctness" crap that CN loves so much. Why don't they do a child version of Buddy and Bosko , interacting together in mutual respect and harmony with all of the animals and plants and rocks of the field... Kind of a baby Looney Tunes Meets Captain Planet-head ;) :D :rolleyes:

[Joe Tully]

There's also a Baby Felix the Cat out there in development, guys.

http://www.felixthecat.com/IMG/baby2-babyfelix.gif

The apocalypse must be nigh upon us...

[Tintin]

HE CUTE!!!! :p :yakko:

[The Dork Knight]

I agree with Cartoon Man. Baby Felix is cute.

- Foley Is Good

[Greg Method]

Originally posted by David Gerstein
Has anyone actually seen any merchandise from this (Baby Popeye) line?

No, for which I am grateful. :) I don't think any licensees took the bait, either.

I'm not exactly sure when the Disney gang started showing up as babies, but I am fairly certain that the Muppet Babies were the catalysts for the recent ("recent" meaning fifteen years ago) trend of merchandising classic characters as infinks.

Baby Boop I remember seeing in '85 or so, so I don't know if she preceded the lil' Muppets.

I think inarguably the Muppet Babies executed the idea the best, which isn't saying a whole lot. It definitely kept the core Muppet characters alive and marketable in the eyes of kids and parents.

Shows like A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Tiny Toons were interesting concepts in theory, but c'mon, we know what they were trying to do.

I think it goes without saying that Warner Bros. simply doesn't know what to do with their characters and tries to latch them onto some other theme that's already making someone else money. How else do you explain something as dreadful as "Space Jam?"

Whatever happened to Kathleen Helppie-Shipley? Please tell me she's not around approving this baby dreck.

I can list a dozen things off the top of my head that would make a better series. If I may quote Krusty the Klown, "I can pull a better cartoon out of my.....HEY HEY!!!"

[Bobby B]

Originally posted by Greg Method
I'm not exactly sure when the Disney gang started showing up as babies, but I am fairly certain that the Muppet Babies were the catalysts for the recent ("recent" meaning fifteen years ago) trend of merchandising classic characters as infinks.

Baby Boop I remember seeing in '85 or so, so I don't know if she preceded the lil' Muppets.



The Muppet Babies first appeared in a dream sequence in "The Muppets Take Manhattan" in 1984.

[John-Paul]

Yes baby Felix is cute but I want to see a Baby Woody Woodpecker!

[John-Paul]

Here's the baby Felix site:

http://www.felixthecat.com/baby-main-htm.htm

[Tintin]

N'oubliez surtout pas les Disney Babies avec Bébé Mickey, Minnie, Donald et cie.

[Jack]

Originally posted by John-Paul
Here's the baby Felix site:

http://www.felixthecat.com/baby-main-htm.htm

:eek: He has a whole bunch of made up baby friends now. Why didn't they put him with a baby professor and Poindexter? Felix could then use his magic bag to store their diapers.



Jack :D
...I'll bet Mookie is a very good friend of Disney's Pooh.

[Pietro]

Ugh! Baby Felix! That's ALL I need to see!:o
I don't think Otto Messmer would be too proud of that.

-Pietro:D

[Jack]

What about Fox and Crow babies?
http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/preview/su/superrabbit/crowbaby.jpg http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/preview/su/superrabbit/foxbaby.jpg


Jack :eek:

[Greg Method]

Originally posted by Bobby B
The Muppet Babies first appeared in a dream sequence in "The Muppets Take Manhattan" in 1984.

Yes, I know, which is why I wasn't sure if Baby Boop was created before or after, as I don't know if the products I saw of her in '85 were the first to be made.

I think perhaps the most baffling entry in this series of baby characters is (no no, not Popeye...that's too expected to be weird) a short-lived Disney show called "Jungle Cubs," in which the entire animal cast of "The Jungle Book" are tykes.

Here we have a series based on a definitely popular but I wouldn't say remarkably successful movie from the 60's. Disney of course has to try to find a way to suck more mileage off all of its popular movies, but didn't they realize the "Jungle Book" troupe was already used and dried up when they created "Tailspin?" There's only so much of King Louie that I can take.

[Pietro]

Originally posted by Jack
What about Fox and Crow babies?
http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/preview/su/superrabbit/crowbaby.jpg http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/preview/su/superrabbit/foxbaby.jpg

That actually sounds like a very funny idea!:D

-Pietro:D

[Jack]

Originally posted by Pietro Shakarian


That actually sounds like a very funny idea!:D

-Pietro:D
Sony is no doubt doing such a series as we speak.


Jack :D
...join Little Foxie and Crawlin' Crawford on adventures!

[Thad Komorowski]

Aw they're adorable! Especially that baby crow smoking a cigar....:p





-Thad

[Sogturtle]

Originally posted by Greg Method


I think perhaps the most baffling entry in this series of baby characters is (no no, not Popeye...that's too expected to be weird) a short-lived Disney show called "Jungle Cubs," in which the entire animal cast of "The Jungle Book" are tykes.

Here we have a series based on a definitely popular but I wouldn't say remarkably successful movie from the 60's. Disney of course has to try to find a way to suck more mileage off all of its popular movies, but didn't they realize the "Jungle Book" troupe was already used and dried up when they created "Tailspin?" There's only so much of King Louie that I can take.

Awwwww heck fellers... Just think of what the heirs of the kingdom of Walt can come up with now... Use your imagination!!! Just think... Baby Snow White with the infantile Prince , playing happily and merrily with even-more pintsized versions of the Seven Dwarves . AND co-existing peacefully with only mild non-life threatening conflict with the Evil smallfry Princess ... Think of the marketing possiblites!!! Then they could even have a pre-quel to that!!! The long-lost story of how all their parents knew each both as adults and even as... children!!! And then someday the 65 year delayed SEQUEL to Snow White. Boy oh boys, this is endless guys...
:cool: :cool: :bosko: :bosko: ;) :eek:

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by Jack

Sony is no doubt doing such a series as we speak.

Love the baby Fox and Crow. :p

I'm surprised Universal hasn't jumped on the baby bandwagon yet. Baby Woody and Friends... Baby Andy, Baby Wally, etc. I imagine it's only a matter of time before somebody at Universal says: "Holy cow! Think how much $$$ we could make off Baby Chilly Willy merchandise!" :p :p :p



-Jon

[Jack]

Originally posted by Sogturtle
And then someday the 65 year delayed SEQUEL to Snow White. Boy oh boys, this is endless guys...
:cool: :cool: :bosko: :bosko: ;) :eek:
Ya know, they actually are making a sequel to Snow White, I believe.


Jack :D
...I'd love a baby Andy Panda.

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by Jack

Ya know, they actually are making a sequel to Snow White, I believe.



Yes, they are. Info on it was posted at the Anigen board a while ago. It sounds absolutely terrible. :mad: :(

[Vdubdavid]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jack
[B]
Ya know, they actually are making a sequel to Snow White, I believe.


And Dumbo and Peter Pan too! I saw a preview for the Peter Pan sequel when I went to see "Monsters Inc.". My family didn't believe me when I told them about the sequels earlier so when that trailer came on I said "I told you so!"

[Brandon Pierce]

And Dumbo and Peter Pan too! I saw a preview for the Peter Pan sequel when I went to see "Monsters Inc.". My family didn't believe me when I told them about the sequels earlier so when that trailer came on I said "I told you so!"

And, I suppose your parents spanked you because you were right and they were wrong :confused:

BTW, perhaps this whole LT Babies thing won't be so bad. The way I see it, it could just be a compilation of new 6 minute cartoons witht he LT as babies. Maybe we'll finally get to see Little Go Beep!

[Vin]

Originally posted by Brandon Pierce
Maybe we'll finally get to see Little Go Beep!

That would be pretty cool.

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by Greg Method


Yes, I know, which is why I wasn't sure if Baby Boop was created before or after, as I don't know if the products I saw of her in '85 were the first to be made.


To get technical, you could say Baby Boop's first appearance was the scene from Is My Palm Read? that's unfortunately deleted from the PD version.

*ducks onslaught of thrown rotten tomatoes and boots*

[David Gerstein]

Hey, Greg and everyone...

Sometimes commercialism does imitate art. The "Baby Boop" figure does originate from IS MY PALM READ, though the idea to commercialize on her obviously came later.
And a version of Baby Fox and Crow actually do appear (!) in PUNCHY DELEON, a UPA Fox and Crow cartoon. I taped it from Danish TV a couple of years ago. The two are Spanish explorers fighting over who gets to take some water from the Fountain of Youth back to their king. Needless to say, they eventually get a dunking.
Someone asked when Disney Babies first appeared? It was, I believe, in Brazil in the 1970s. There is even a great, long-running comic strip with the Disney Babies done in France by master cartoonist Claude Marin... but it's a case of the artist being too good for the subject matter, I think.
What I dislike about "baby" characters is not the question of whether you can do good stories with them; it's the point that they always seem to originate as the result of a marketing meeting.

[DR. BELCH]

--a baby Popeye appears in "The Ace of Space" when he eats spinach and takes one too many years off after being aged a hundred years by the aliens' chrono-whatchamadoodle. Said baby version looking not unlike Swee'pea. Come to think of it, weren't there infant versions of Popeye and Bluto tussling in another Famous short....?

[Jon Cooke]

Originally posted by DR. BELCH
--a baby Popeye appears in "The Ace of Space" when he eats spinach and takes one too many years off after being aged a hundred years by the aliens' chrono-whatchamadoodle. Said baby version looking not unlike Swee'pea. Come to think of it, weren't there infant versions of Popeye and Bluto tussling in another Famous short....?

Yup, in "Baby Wants a Battle" Popeye tells Olive how he and Bluto used to fight as infants. There's also "Lunch With a Punch" which is a flashback to when Olive, Bluto, and Popeye were in kindergarten.

And before any of those, we can't forget the Flieschers' "The Football Toucher Downer" where Popeye tells Swee'Pea a story about when he was youngster in a football game against Bluto.


-Jon

[Thad Komorowski]

Originally posted by Jack
...I'd love a baby Andy Panda.


Well, to tell you the truth, the early design of Andy had him as a cub. The first one of his pictures where he wasn't was "Andy Panda's Victory Garden".




-Thad

[Pietro]

What's next? A baby version of "Flip the Frog?"

-Pietro:D

[Jack]

Originally posted by Pietro Shakarian
What's next? A baby version of "Flip the Frog?"

-Pietro:D
Awww! I was going to do that (make a picture of Baby Flip, like I did with the Fox and Crow...)!


Jack :D
...NUTS!

[Pietro]

Well, you can still do that!:D

-Pietro:D

[Greg Method]

Originally posted by David Gerstein
What I dislike about "baby" characters is not the question of whether you can do good stories with them; it's the point that they always seem to originate as the result of a marketing meeting.

I agree 100%. Take a look at "The Old Grey Hare" for a perfect example of the baby characters being original and entertaining. And I don't know about anyone else, but I thought the original Muppet Babies segment from "The Muppets Take Manhattan" was adorable.

The problem companies seem to have is that they nowadays (and I use that term loosely, since the trend hit its peak about a decade ago) think that their signature characters, no matter how inappropriate, should be marketable in "baby" form...thus gaining new devoted fans from infancy. How else do you explain something as visually putrid as that proposed Baby Popeye line? "Aww...even Swee'Pea is a baby.....um, wait a minute."

When my cousins were growing up, I got them hooked on Bugs, and Popeye, and Kermit, and not once was it because of a crib mobile or a plush rattler.

About nine years ago I interviewed Bob Camp for an article I was writing. Camp, at the time, was the "Creative Director" of Ren and Stimpy after the Spumco crew was fired. In jest, I asked him at the end of the interview if we'll ever see "Ren and Stimpy Babies."

He laughed and said "No way...not gonna happen." Of course, in one of the episodes in the next season there was a brief shot of the two in cutesy licensing-like "Baby" poses (no, not the one in which they're disguised as babies). It just goes to show that anyone's going to try it.

Nickelodeon, speaking of which, has done the complete inverse and turned the Rugrats characters into "tweens" for a spin-off series. Can the network honestly say that there was a good creative reason to do this?

[Blacklight]

I hope it will turn out to be more like Muppet Babies than Tiny Toons. MB had some of its best episodes by making the most of its parameters (perambulators?), the art episode especially comes to mind. Tiny Toons episodes usually had me up to a point, but the writers couldn't seem to resist lifting elements from the classics whole-cloth when they were stuck for a joke or plot point.

[Bobby B]

Originally posted by Jon Cooke


Yup, in "Baby Wants a Battle" Popeye tells Olive how he and Bluto used to fight as infants. There's also "Lunch With a Punch" which is a flashback to when Olive, Bluto, and Popeye were in kindergarten.

And before any of those, we can't forget the Flieschers' "The Football Toucher Downer" where Popeye tells Swee'Pea a story about when he was youngster in a football game against Bluto.



Younger versions of the Popeye characters turned up in the 1960-61 KFS Popeyes too:


"Psychiatricks" (Seymour Kneitel)-Brutus talks Olive into dragging Popeye to a psychiatrist (Brutus in disguise). Flashbacks show baby Brutus overturning baby Popeye's carriage and school-aged Brutus stealing Popeye's bicycle.

"Kiddie Kapers" (Seymour Kneitel)-Brutus uses a potion from the Sea Hag to make himself younger. Popeye takes too much and turns into a toddler. At the end, Olive takes too much and the two babies play pattycake.

"Childhood Daze" (Larry Harmon)-Brutus uses a scientist's invention to turn Popeye into a baby. Popeye returns to normal after eating his spinach and punches Brutus into the machine, resulting in a bearded baby Brutus who bites Popeye's finger.

"Popeye the Ugly Duckling" (Jack Kinney)-Popeye tells Swee'pea the story of how he was made fun of as a kid for being an "ugly duckling". Little Popeye runs (or more properly, sails) away from home and is raised by the Goons. When adult Popeye returns, Brutus says he's still an "ugly duckling", but at least now Popeye can eat spinach and beat up Brutus.

"Popeye DeLeon" (Jack Kinney)-Brutus falls into the Fountain of Youth and turns into a baby.

[Mibbitmaker]

Baby Popeye also shows up in Pappy's memory in Goonland.

In regards to Baby Boop....sounds too much like "baby poop"!
...Maybe that was the idea :rolleyes:

Anyway, on the main thread subject....

AAAAAAAAAAUGH!!! AA! AA! AAAAAUGH!!!

(like a Ren & Stimpy scream)

I can see it now: FIRST, there was Looney Tunes, THEN Tiny Toons (which was pretty good, to be fair, particularly using characters based on the originals rather than kid versions of the ACTUAL originals), THEN (now), LT Babies...NEXT:

Looney Fetuses!

SEE li'l Bugs heckle an abortion doctor! :eek:

(Yeah, THAT'd sell :rolleyes: )

[Thad Komorowski]

Yeah that would sell to sick minded adults....:rolleyes:




-Thad

[The Dork Knight]

Actually they had something similar to that on TV Funhouse. It was called "Fetal Scooby-Doo".....

- Foley Is Good

[Jon Cooke]

Anybody recall the Cave Kids series from Hanna-Barbera? From around 1996 or so? It ran for a short time on the PBS (!) station here in Maine. It was an animated, educational series for the kiddies featuring more realistic looking versions of baby Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm. Dino (also redesigned) was their babysitter. I never managed to sit through a full episode, but it seemed that Fred, Barney, Wilma, and Betty were never around. :eek:

http://www.rhino.com/coverArt/72/72523.gif


-Jon

[Blacklight]

Shoot, by now they could do a series on Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm's children. Uh... any marketing execs reading, don't take me seriously...