Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation

Name: Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation
Item: Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation
Rating: 3
Author: Renee Schonfeld

Movie review by

Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media

Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation Movie Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 7+

(i)

Wild cartoon action and potty humor in funny 'toon.

NR
2012
80 minutes

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Kids say

age 13+

Based on 5 reviews

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Educational Value

Meant to entertain rather than educate.

Positive Messages

Good guys generally win; bad guys generally lose.

Positive Role Models & Representations

The only adult/parental figures seem well-meaning but irresponsibly clueless. The younger characters are always getting up to mayhem, though they're generally good-hearted.

Violence & Scariness

Continuous cartoon/slapstick violence in the tradition of Warner Brothers Looney Tune adventures. Characters are shot out of a volcano, flattened by a variety of vehicles and machinery, struck by lightning, and chased and threatened by a madman and a woman with an axe. They also plunge over a waterfall, plummet to the ground from vast distances, are engulfed by a tidal wave, and are in danger of becoming the main entree in a tasty meal. Enemies include wild possums, alligators, and a lunatic killer with a chainsaw.

Sexy Stuff

Several busty cartoon females. Girl characters are smitten by and flirt with some of the boys. It's all silly, exaggerated, and meant as humor.

Language

One character is called "Uncle Stinky" and lives up to the name. An amusement park ride is called "Happy Go Pukey." A character is called "Fowlmouth," but his only epithet is "Dad Gum."

Consumerism

Plenty of Looney Tunes merchandise exists.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Movie PA announcement: "No smoking cigarettes in the theater," after which a lit cartoon cigarette gets up from his seat and leaves.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there's exaggerated, comic cartoon action throughout Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation. Characters are flattened (often), chased by villains with treacherous weapons, struck by lightning, involved in head-on collisions, overpowered by a tidal wave, and put through many other absurd physical catastrophes. Though there are no injuries that aren't immediately overcome, the movie isn't recommended for kids who don't yet understand the difference between real and fictional violence. A bit of flirtatiousness and some buxom females add some mild sexuality to the story, and there's some bodily function humor (belching, barfing) in several scenes. This film was released direct-to-video when it was made in 1992 and now is available on DVD.

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Teen, 16 years old Written byButterflyIsCute27 April 12, 2021

age 2+

So Funny

Recommend for 2 yr olds

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Kid, 8 years old November 3, 2020

age 7+

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What's the story?

School's out at Acme Looniversity! The Tiny Toon characters head out for a summer of adventure and fun. A series of separate, intercut episodes find Plucky Duck (voiced by Joe Alaskey) and Hamton Pig (Don Messick) on their way to "Happy World Land" (a Disneyland spoof); Fifi Skunk (Kath Soucie) trying to meet her celebrity crush, Johnny Pew; Buster (Charles Adler) and Babs Bunny (Tress MacNeille) on a raging river romp; Elmyra (Cree Summer) perilously making her way through "Wild Animal Safari Land" (an amusement park); and Shirley (Gail Matthius) and Fowlmouth (Rob Paulsen) in a movie theater with the deafening THUD Sound System (look out, George Lucas!). On their travels, the Tiny Toons meet up with a variety of bad guys and oddballs, including a family of hillbilly possums, a scary slasher, and some very hungry alligators.

Is it any good?

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION is fast, funny, and fearless. Everything moves quickly; you're never with one story long enough to get tired of it or worry about the logic. There's no character development, messages, or thoughtful resolution; it's simply an onslaught of sight gags, satire, and hilarious cultural references from the early 1990s (Deliverance and "Dueling Banjos," Disneyland, late-night television, Tina Turner, Delta Burke, and more).

Old Looney Tunes characters make appearances (i.e., the Road Runner, Tasmanian Devil), along with Superman, Marilyn Monroe, and Hannibal Lecter. Does it have the wit, genius, and rich characterizations of Bugs Bunny, et al, the original Warner Brothers crew? Not really, but there's a little something for everyone: kids who like farcical cartoon action and parents who appreciate spoofs and inside jokes.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about cartoon violence. When do you think you were able to understand the differences between what's meant to seem real and what's meant as playful, pretend violence? Do you ever think it's confusing?
If you've seen the original Looney Tunes characters (Bugs, Daffy, Sylvester, etc.), how are the Tiny Toons different? Which characters do you think are most memorable? Why?
Why do people enjoy watching films or programs that "spoof" (lightly make fun of) certain people, places, books, movies, etc.? What's spoofed in this movie?