This upload entered in conversation (just now, actually), and I wondered whether I'd uploaded it to InkBunny (as I didn't recall moving it into my ACO pool).
I hadn't, so here it is!
WRITTEN 11/02/2017:
Ah! Feels so good to have a day off work. It’s been a stressful week, so today I’m just gonna chill here, watching cartoons in my floppy flannel shirt and worn-out Diesels. Now this is what I call living! …But what cartoons should I watch?
Hm… Well, how about Tiny Toons? Boy, I haven’t watched that in a while; let’s see which TT episodes there are on YT.
…Oh? What’s this? A banned TT episode? Really? ‘One Beer’… All right! Seems fitting, as I’ve just now drained a bottle of Stillwater Premium—may as well watch a PSA cartoon telling me how I’ve just destroyed what’s rest of my life because of it (not that I could care less right now)!
The 1990’s were replete with anti-substance PSAs and PSA episodes from popular series cartoons aimed at kids.
Per my experiences as a TV-watching 90’s kid, these PSAs tended to be preachy, angry or otherwise extreme in some other uncool way.
Often, too, the casts of these PSA episodes had to act out of character to make such episodes possible (but not necessarily believable).
My favorite for this has to be the ‘crystal twist’ episode of ‘Cyber COPS’, and should serve as an example of my point. Here’s a quote:
BIG BOSS (when offered to partake in a drug-selling operation): “In my time I’ve committed many crimes—I wanna make money in the worst way. But drugs are where I draw the line, creep! Drugs kill!”
…Big Boss is (essentially) a kingpin in the mafia. Let that sink in.
But were these PSAs effective? Hard to say. Speaking for myself, I’ve never once smoked or tried any illegal drugs, albeit I’m unsure how much credit I could give that to television (more objectively, a dearth of both peer pressure and money was certainly a factor).
I could say if anti-substance animation is at all responsible for my decision not to be a junkie, it natheless failed to keep me away from alcohol. Granted, I’ve never been alcohol-dependent, but I am a social drinker. That is, I imbibe now and then, but I cannot relate to those who have problems with alcohol—in fact the bottle I’ve just finished is my first since February …although with two major holidays forthcoming (Thanksgiving and Christmas) there will be others! XD
But I digress.
For this review, I want to take a look at ‘One Beer’, an anti-alcohol PSA short from ’Tiny Toon Adventures’.
Why this short? Well, it’s something of an anomaly among 90’s animated PSAs in that it was banned for many years soon after its original airing. …That and reviewing this gives me an excuse to draw a tipsy Buster Bunny! XD
Let’s begin!
***SPOILERS!!!***SPOILERS!!!***SPOILERS!!***SPOILERS!!!***
‘One Beer’ is one among three segments comprising the ‘Elephant Issues’ episode. The other two shorts were about bigotry and illiteracy respectively.
Popular belief is ‘Elephant Issues’ was banned solely for the content of ‘One Beer’ and not due in any part to that of the other two.
From what I can tell, this episode was banned only by Fox Kids. Other networks, like Nickelodeon, continued to air it. Additionally, there’s at least one *Tiny Toons DVD release that includes this episode. If all this is so, ‘One Beer’ was only ever somewhat banned and could now be thought of as formerly banned.
*Tiny Toon Adventures Vol. 3: Crazy Crew Rescues
At the time of this writing, there does not seem to be a link to the full ‘Elephant Issues’ episode on YT, but there is an upload of ‘One Beer’ …in two parts.
Part one (pt. 2 follows on autoplay): www.youtube.com/watch?v=saOCOR…
As for the picture quality… “This video was uploaded from an Android phone”. Enjoy! XD :P
Link tested 11/02/2017
The short begins in what I presume to be Buster’s kitchen whereat he, Hampton and Plucky are pausing for drinks.
BUSTER: “What’ll it be, boys: juice? Milk? Soda?”
What, no purple stuff? No Sunny D? What kind of world is this!?
BUSTER: “…or a cold one?”
OMG! Buster has a beer! …Well, actually two if you look hard enough.
PLUCKY: “You mean…”
HAMPTON: “That’s beer!”
Thank you for making that clear, Hampton—not as if many could read the bottle’s large ‘BEER’ label for themselves …then again, if Dizzy Devil’s in the audience, he might appreciate the courtesy.
Hm… I can’t really blame Buster for looking so hard at that beer—his fridge is practically barren. Poor bunny must be suffering from vitamin deficiency …Go for that brew, Buster: beer is at least a fair source of vitamin B, if nothing else (and hops--bunnies like hops)!
Buster takes the beer, intent on enjoying it with his friends. Hampton and Plucky are a bit apprehensive.
HAMPTON: “But Buster, this isn’t like you!”
BUSTER: “I know. But in this episode, we’re showing the evils of alcohol”
Buster’s line is meant to be funny (and it is!), but it’s also important to understanding this short’s ending. We’ll return to it then.
The kids decide to take their beer to the public park to drink it—after all, why break only one law when you can break two!
Once at the park, the trio take seat on a bench. Buster pops open the bottle and offers the first swig to Plucky.
Plucky hesitates, offering the first turn to Hampton. Hampton passes the first go back to Buster, who accepts (drinking it was Buster’s idea, after all).
The bottle is passed among the friends, each taking a sip. Howsomewhy, this single bottle sinks its three tasters into a heavy intoxication …it must’ve been a Belgium beer—or perhaps a weissbier, considering only a few sips sufficed to give the kids enough gas to belch over twenty times in fifteen seconds (to music)! XD
The short cuts to Buster, Hampton and Plucky (dressed as ’Newhart’ characters) ascending the steps of the Looniversity—each sharing a beer and drunk as a fish.
BUSTER: “Are we wasted or what!? HA!!”
XD …Truthfully, I’d say you’re exaggerating (but I must say that line was amusing, coming from Buster)!
The three are quite amused with themselves, but are soon distracted…
BUSTER (pointing): “Look! Babes!”
We then see Fifi, Babs and Shirley walking in a line down the steps.
…I call dibs on Fifi! *shot*
What!? I’m a furry! And Fifi’s a skunk with, uh… a nice tail! *shot, drawn and quartered*
…As my watcher count climbs down to zero, the stupefied boys attempt to appeal to the girls.
HAMPTON: “You babes wanna hang?”
The girls are disgusted, and more than a little aware of the boys' habit.
BABS: “Barf-o-rama, they’ve been drinking!”
The girls take their leave.
The drunks decide to get their kicks elsewhere. They stumble down the road and into an alley, whereat they come to a rest under a battered lamppost.
BUSTER: “This is so weird! One beer and the whole world looks *hic* screwy!”
…So, they’ve literally been sharing one, single beer? Has the vessel no bottom? I thought the title was implying ‘addiction begins with one beer’ or that ‘one beer leads to another’, but no… It’s really only one beer! XD
As Buster and Hampton continue sipping the beer that doesn’t end, Plucky meanders over to an empty, parked police car. He reaches through the car’s open window and takes its key.
That easy, huh? I need to watch Terminator 2 again—that movie was on to something!
PLUCKY (admiring his prize): “Well lookie here! How’s about we go for a lit- *hic* little ride?”
The three enter the police car, Plucky at its wheel. The gag extends just over two minutes, the crux being ‘Plucky can’t drive, esp. while inebriated’.
It all comes crashing to an end (literally!) when the three drive themsevles over a mountainside. Only the beer survives.
We see the haloed ghosts of Buster, Hampton and Plucky ascend gracefully to glory. …I’m unsure if there’s any beer up above, but I know someone there who can turn water into wine! :9
The short ends in the Warner Studio, with Buster and friends removing their ghost costumes.
BUSTER: “ I hope the kids got the message”
PLUCKY: “Yeah—drinking’s uncool!”
BUSTER: “…So do we get to do a funny episode tomorrow?”
HAMPTON: “I hope so!”
That’s all folks!
…But wait! Why was this episode banned by Fox Kids? And what about Buster’s line from earlier? To repeat:
BUSTER: “…in this episode, we’re showing the evils of alcohol”
This line indicates the characters are aware they’re in a cartoon—they are performing (as it were) for the entertainment of an audience. This shouldn’t be surprising to fans of the show, who know the kids are in Looniversity studying to be cartoon characters. :P
Moreover, we see Buster’s line proven true at the end of the short, just after the characters’ ‘death scene’. The cast removes their ghost costumes, hopeful that their silly skit was beneficial to its audience.
My point?
That the audience was told ‘One Beer’ would be about the dangers of alcohol and that the characters were only acting—the kids weren’t really drinking and they didn’t die. These facts are (again) reaffirmed at the short’s end, with the sober characters commenting on their performance.
In other words, I see no reason why this episode was banned.
Tiny Toons is known for cartoony violence, slapstick, etc—very much like their Looney-Toon counterparts who frequently take bullets to the face and absorb dynamite explosions! Does anyone really think the Toons would die in a car crash? A car crash kill Buster, Hampton and Plucky? It’s an outrage! A scandal! XD *shot*
There’s only two things I can think of that would result in the episode being banned.
1. ‘One Beer’ was the scapegoat—the episode was banned for some other content (there were two other shorts in addition to segues).
2. The episode was too lighthearted. Bear in mind, there were many PSAs out at this time—some were pretty serious!
Those are my only guesses.
As for the overall quality of this short… it’s fine, but as this wasn’t a ‘regular’ episode of TT, I don’t want to critique it as such.
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4 years, 8 months ago
25 Sep 2020 10:27 CEST
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