Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
BABY LOONEY TUNES (Syndication, Cartoon
Network, September 16, 2002-April 30, 2005) Warner Bros.
Animation
A late
entry in the babyfication trend started by 1984’s Muppet
Babies, Baby Looney Tunes was Warner Bros.
Animation’s first preschool animated series. The concept originated back
in the 90s when companies released merchandise featuring the Looney
Tunes characters as babies called Looney
Tunes Lovables. Kathleen
Helppie-Shipley, head of Warner Bros. Classic Animation, had wanted to do a
series of educational videos that never moved forward. When Warner Bros.
Consumer Products wanted to promote the Baby Looney Tunes licensees, they
decided to do a feature-length,
direct-to-video collection of shorts in the traditional slapstick Looney
Tunes fashion. Earl Kress
wrote the shorts with Spike
Brandt, Gary Hartle and Kirk Tingblad set to direct
each one. However, funding for the project suddenly disappeared. Brandt loved
his short so much that on his own time and expense he cobbled together a full
presentation. The higher-ups were impressed by it, and after a little
convincing and negotiation, funding was found to produce “Little Go Beep”, which
featured baby versions of Wile E. Coyote
and the Road Runner.
Additionally, Warner Bros. decided to
make the Looney
Tunes and Merrie Melodies
libraries exclusive to Time
Warner networks, making it easier to produce a series for release on Warner
channels.
Babies Tweety, Taz, Bugs, Sylvester, Lola and Daffy.
For the
actual series, Warner had to follow more strict guidelines to achieve a TV-Y
rating. That meant Baby Looney Tunes couldn’t rely on the slapstick and
visual gags the franchise was known for. The show instead dealt with real world
problems and morals that children would encounter and could relate to;
including sharing, emotions, playing with others, inclusion, dealing with
change, baking and more. Despite not being designed as educational, an expert was
retained to examine the series. The main babies included Baby Bugs (Sam Vincent), just barely the
oldest of the bunch that made him the leader; Baby Daffy
(Vincent), who tended to be self-centered; Baby Lola (Britt McKillip), a fiercely
independent tomboy that tended to take charge; Baby Sylvester
(Terry Klassen), who was shy
and anxious and tended to be manipulated by Daffy; Baby Tweety
(Vincent), the youngest and smallest with an insecurity about his size, a deep
curiosity, and a very logical brain; and Baby Taz (Ian James Corlett), who often
mistook things for food and tended to break things with his spinning. They were
eventually joined by Baby Petunia (Chiara Zanni), the most
intelligent of the group with an adventurous streak, and Baby Melissa (Janyse Jaud), an easy-going
girl with a highly logical and practical mentality. Caring for the babies was Granny (June Foray, the only American
in the otherwise Canadian cast), sometimes with the help of her nephew, Floyd Minton (Brain Drummond). Other baby
characters made appearances either in cameos during song numbers or as guest
stars.
Granny taking care of the kids.
Baby
Looney Tunes debuted on September 16, 2002, initially syndicated to Warner
affiliates before finding a permanent home on Cartoon Network. The
series was developed by Sander
Schwartz and featured music by Steve
and Julie Bernstein, with a theme composed by Lisa Silver and Patty Way. The series ran for
4 seasons and one direct-to-video
film. Additionally, two direct-to-video films utilizing puppets were
released in 2003. Neither were released outside of VHS, but Musical
Adventures was made available to stream on HBO
Max and Tubi
and Backyard
Adventures on Binge in
Australia. As for the series itself, it aired in reruns on both Cartoon Network
and Boomerang
until 2020. It became one of the first shows broadcast on the American version
of the preschool programming block Cartoonio
on Cartoon Network in 2021 and aired until 2023. The Warner
Bros./Discovery merger saw the series air on Discovery Family,
and then on retro animation network MeTV
Toons.
Author Rudyard Kipling
published several stories in magazines between 1893 and 1894 taking place in
his native country of India. The stories were fables using anthropomorphic
animals, but the most well-known of them included the boy Mowgli who was raised
by wolves in the Indian jungle. The stories were collected into book form and
published as The Jungle Bookand
The Second Jungle
Book in 1894 and 1895, respectively.
Kipling's The Jungle Book.
In 1963, Bill Peet
convinced Walt Disney
that an adaptation of The Jungle Book would
be worth pursuing as Disney’s next animated feature as they could do
interesting animal characters. Approved, Peet began to pen the treatment for
the movie which would focus on the stories featuring Mowgli. However, after his
last film The Sword in the Stone
received poor reactions, Disney decided to become actively involved in the making
of The Jungle Book; the last film he
would do so before his death in 1966.
Art from The Jungle Book by Kipling's father.
Peet’s treatment adhered closely to the dramatic dark
and sinister tone of the book, highlighting the struggles between human and
man. Peet did deviate slightly. At the urging of the film’s writers, the
narrative was going to be more straightforward than Kipling’s, which was more episodic.
Also, Peet eliminated the concept of Mowgli commuting back and forth to the
human village, saving his return for the ending. He accomplished that by
creating a new character: a girl for Mowgli to fall in love with as a more
plausible reason for him to leave the jungle and rejoin the world of man.
Another new character was the monkey king Louie who would enslave Mowgli in
order for him to teach Louie how to make fire.
The characters of Disney's The Jungle Book.
Disney was unhappy with Peet’s treatment, insisting
it was too dark for a family feature. Following a long argument over changes,
Peet left the studio in 1964 and was replaced by Larry Clemmons, who discarded
most of Peet’s work. The resulting story was simplified and straightforward
when compared to Kipling’s disjointed narrative. Peet’s personalities for the
characters were retained and also infused with the personalities of the actors
portraying them. Ken Anderson served as the lead character designer, using
rough artistic edges for the characters in contrast to the usual Disney rounded
animals. The animal movements were based on stock footage and two Disney
productions: A Tiger Walksand the “Jungle
Cat” episode of True-Life Adventures. Director
Wolfgang Reitherman also
reused some animation from his previous Disney
productions.
The resulting story saw man-cub Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) found in a
basket in the jungle by serious panther Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), who took him
to a wolf mother to raise him with her cubs. When the sinister Shere Khan (George Sanders, whom Khan was
modeled after), a sophisticated man-hating Bengal tiger, returned to the jungle
all thought it best Mowlgi returned to the human world—except Mowgli, and the
free-spirited bear named Baloo (Phil
Harris). After confrontations with King Louie (Louis Prima, whose
performances inspired the monkeys’ dance sequence and led to his casting by
Disney), Kaa (Sterling Holloway)
the python, and Khan himself, Bagheera and Baloo take Mowgli to the Man-Village
where Mowgli is hesitant to go until he sees a beautiful girl (Darleen Carr).
Louie and Baloo on TaleSpin.
The film received positive reviews upon its release
in 1967 and made $205.8 million at the box office against its $4 million budget.
It was highly regarded for years to come in both its animation and story. Disneyland Records released an
unofficial sequel in 1968 called More
Jungle Bookwritten by Larry Simmons, with Prima and Harris reprising
their roles. From 1990-91, Disney recycled some of the characters from the film
and placed them in a new setting for the Disney
Afternoon series TaleSpin. The series
followed Baloo (Ed Gilbert)
as a cargo pilot in a 1930’s-esque fictional city called Cape Suzette. Shere
Khan (Tony Jay) was the
ruthless head of Khan Industries, and Louie (Jim Cummings) was the fun-loving
owner of a remote island nightclub and motel called Louie’s Place.
Promotional art for season 1 of Jungle Cubs.
In 1996, Mark
S. Bernthal brought the characters back to their jungle setting in Disney’s Jungle Cubs. A later example of
the babyfication fad, the series saw the characters of the film (minus Mowgli)
as young kids who hung out and played together, while also learning lessons
about life and friendship. Their primary hangout was their fort, the Cub House,
which would later serve as King Louie’s palace in the film. Several episodes
took inspiration from the Kipling stories not used in the film, with the cubs
sometimes replacing Mowgli in the plot.
The series’ theme was a hip-hop version of “The Bare
Necessities” from the film, which was written by Terry
Gilkyson and performed by Lou Rawls. The intro’s
animation, while using the same character models, was rendered with a bit more
theatrical-level flair: the characters all having shading and lighting effects rendered
on their bodies. Stephen
James Taylor composed the rest of the series’ music.
Cecil and Arthur.
In order to keep some continuity with the film, the
cubs all exhibited traits reminiscent of their adult personalities. Baloo
(Pamela Adlon) was a free-spirit who loved to play tricks on his friends,
particularly Bagheera (minus his accent from the film and voiced by Elizabeth
Daily & Dee Bradley Baker) in order to get him to loosen up from his normal
uptight and serious attitude. Louie (Jason Marsden & Cree Summer) was Baloo’s
best friend (a departure from the film) and was very energetic, although preferring
to spend his time in trees eating bananas. Kaa (Cummings) desired nothing more
than to be able to master his hypnotic powers, but the results were always
spotty at best. Hathi (Rob Paulsen & Stephen Furst) was an elephant who
always attempted to infuse military discipline into his friends, but always
collapsed under pressure. The film’s villain Shere Khan (also lacking his
accent by Marsden) retained his proud arrogance, but sometimes suffered from
confidence problems. Cecil and Arthur (Michael McKean and David Lander,
reminiscent of their roles as Lenny and Squiggy from Laverne and
Shirley), were a pair of vultures created specifically for the show that were always waiting for the cubs to die so they could eat them. However, their ineptitude made them non-threats to the cubs.
The characters' new looks.
The series underwent some changes for its second
season. The characters were all portrayed as a bit older, several gaining new
voice actors or performances in the process as well as slightly modified
character models. Adlon, while still portraying Baloo, slowed down her speaking
to further emphasize his laid-back nature while also deepening her voice. Blaoo
was also rendered slightly taller and darker. Summer replaced Marsden as Louie,
who lost his tall hair and gained a lighter stomach patch. Baker replaced Daily
as Bagheera, whose coat became a lighter shade of black while he was shown as
even more serious and obsessive about cleanliness. Furst replaced Paulsen as
Hathi, who grew taller, gained a lighter skin tone, and began spending more
time with his future wife Winifred (Kath Soucie). Kaa became longer
and his spots magenta-colored. Khan received the fewest physical changes, his
fur only becoming lighter and his body sleeker, but personality-wise he grew
more distant and intolerant of his fellow cubs; preferring to spend his time hunting
than dealing with them. To showcase these physical changes, the intro was
altered using the series’ standard animation rather than the enhanced style
from the original.
One of the Jungle Cubs books.
The show was broadcast on ABC for its two seasons beginning on October 5,
1996, alternating between one and two segments per episode. Reruns aired on The Disney Channel, Toon Disney, Disney Junior and Disney Cinemagic
in the years following. The rebroadcasts differed slightly from the original
run in that several episodes featured segments that weren’t original paired
together. Several season two episodes were also rerun with season 1’s opening
titles. In 1996 and 1997, the series was released on two VHS tapes with
three episodes each in the United States, while internationally four additional
episodes were released between three VHS collections from 1997-98. In 2003, to
coincide with the release of The Jungle Book 2, the
first international collection was transferred to DVD
in both the US and internationally. Little Golden
Books produced books
based on the show for Disney’s
Wonderful World of Reading series.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“A Night in the Wasteland” (10/5/96) – Khan proves his courage by
journeying to Pinnacle Rock, where Mahra and her cubs have set up shop.
“How the Panther Lost His Roar / The Humans Must Be Crazy” (10/12/96)
– Bagheera loses his voice. / Bagheera uses an old watch to make him a better
hunter.
“Hathi Meets His Match / Buffaloed” (10/19/96) – A fire drives young
elephant Winifred to meet Hathi. / Cecil and Arthur trick Khan into fighting a
water buffalo.
“Mondo Mungo / Bare Necessities” (10/26/96) – Kaa befriends a
mongoose. / Lazy Baloo becomes the cubs’ only hope as they end up trapped at
the start of the monsoon season.
“Who Wants to be A Baboon?” (11/2/96) – Tired of the jokes, Louie
leaves his friends to become Mahra’s assistant.
“Red Dogs” (11/9/96) – Kaa goes after Baloo when Louie makes him think
his hypnosis led Baloo to sleepwalk as the Red Dogs return to the jungle.
“The Great Kaadini” (11/16/96) – Kaa accidentally hypnotizes Cecil and
Arthur, turning them into competent hunters.
“Hulla Baloo / Shere Bliss” (11/23/96) – Louie becomes jealous of
Baloo’s new friend. / A bump on the head makes Khan more fun.
“Treasure of the Middle Jungle” (11/30/96) – Most of the cubs embark
on a treasure hunt that leads them to the giant cobra Whitehood.
“Feather Brains / Benny & Clyde” (12/7/96) – Arthur tries to make
friends with Khan after Cecil kicks him out over a female vulture. / Louie
babysits his cousins.
“Splendor in the Mud” (12/14/96) – Winifred’s uncle forbids the cubs
from seeing her again, but the cubs come to his rescue when he needs a specific
cure for an illness.
“Trouble on the Waterfront / Fool Me Once…” (12/21/96) – A drought
pits the cubs against each other. / Bagheera fakes his death to get even with
Baloo and Louie.
“The Coming of the Wolves” (12/28/96) – The cubs have to help two
wolves escape their pack led by the evil alpha wolf Cain.
Season 2:
“The Ape Who Would Be King” (10/11/97) – Louie is destined to be king
of the jungle, but not of Khan can help it.
“Trunks for the Memories / Kasaba Ball” (10/18/97) – The herd is
breaking over a food shortage, meaning Hathi may lose his best friend. / The
cubs split into teams for a game of Kasaba Ball.
“Hathi’s Makeover / Curse of the Magnificent Melon” (10/25/97) – Hathi
no longer wants to be an elephant. / Frogs follow Baloo around, reminding him
of stealing Hathi’s prized melon.
“The Five Bananas / Birthday Snake” (11/1/97) – The cubs form a band
for a talent show, but split over competing egos. / The cubs try to make up for
forgetting Kaa’s birthday by playing hypnotized.
“Old Green Teeth / The Elephant Who Couldn’t Say No” (11/8/97) – When the
band is invited to play for his idol, Louie loses his confidence. / A game
leads Hathi to taking care of a basket full of crazy woodpeckers.
“Hair Ball / A Tail of Two Tails” (11/15/97) – Coughing up a hairball
in front of everyone causes Bagheera to run away in embarrassment. / Khan and
Kaa take advantage of Louie after they get hurt rescuing him.
“Waiting for Baloo / Tree for Two” (11/22/97) – Baloo has to make a
banana delivery. / A storm forces Bagheera and Louie to live together.
“Nice Tiger / Sleepless in the Jungle” (1/10/98) – Khan tries to
convince the others he’s not nice. / A water shortage gives Baloo sleepless
nights.
