Babs and Buster Bunny
Babs and Buster Bunny are
cartoon characters from the
Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. They were the stars of the show—they both appear in the
Tiny Toons logo, and the show usually begins and ends with gags performed by them.
Their names merely reflect an old naming convention in cartoons; as frequently mentioned during their introduction, they have "no relation" to each other nor their mentor
Bugs Bunny. Babs and Buster are about 14 years old, since Babs gives this as her age in "The Looney Beginning." Like the other
Tiny Toons characters, they attend Acme Looniversity where the instructors include
Bugs Bunny,
Daffy Duck and
Porky Pig, as well as many other classic
Warner Bros. cartoon stars. Their best friends are
Plucky Duck,
Hamton J. Pig,
Shirley the Loon,
Dizzy Devil,
Fifi Le Fume,
Fowlmouth,
Gogo Dodo, and
Furrball.
They were like Bugs Bunny in their theatrical mannerisms, their general confidence in themselves, and in their ability to work well with other headline characters. They were unlike him in their naïveté, due to their young age. Also, they tend to seek adventure, rather than wait for it to be thrust upon them, and they
seem to be aware that an audience is watching.
Buster and Babs, together, had two end tags:
1. Buster: "Say good night, Babs.": Babs: "Good night, Babs!" (This is an
homage to a famous bit by
George Burns and
Gracie Allen.)
2. Both: "ALOOOOOHA!"
Babs Bunny (voiced by
Tress MacNeille in the English version and by
Miina Tominaga in the Japanese version), a female performer who will do nearly anything for a laugh. She is good at
improvisational comedy, and is a comedic impressionist in the vein of
Robin Williams. Her full name is
Barbara Ann Bunny, but she hates being called that. Her mother (also voiced by
Tress MacNeille), was heard but only shown from the waist down (similar to the appearances of Nanny in the
animated series Muppet Babies and all adults in
Peanuts comic strips and
animated cartoons). She has a father (also seen only from the waist down), who appeared in one episode as a monsterously large fellow who intimidated Buster when he dated Babs. However, in another episode where he drops Babs and her friends off at a party, Babs' father is portrayed differently as a goofy and clueless man who appears way out of touch with his daughter.
In "Fields of Honey," Babs went
insane looking for a female
mentor, as nearly all prominent classic Looney Toons characters are male. She eventually found one:
Honey, a forgotten actress from the old
Bosko cartoons. Babs herself does reflect several surreal aspects common to very old cartoon characters, as well as the more manic personality given to Bugs Bunny early in his career. Her official outfit includes a yellow blouse and purple skirt. In some episodes, Babs can be seen upskirt, wearing white
panties, and sometimes
without any. This could be a nod to Buster, who just wears a red shirt and no pants, or maybe an animation goof.
Like some characters in the series, Babs has melted into a puddle from time to time.In fact in the epsiode
Europe in 30 Minutes she melted into a pink puddle that her friends ran though, she reformed and followed after them afterwards.(
It is believed to be the first time she melted in the series.)
Another time was in the
Tiny Toons Christmas special, towards the end when Buster gave her a kiss on the lips as his Christmas gift to her, she melted though her clothes into another pink puddle with white trimming and nothing but clothes and eyes left on her puddle form.
Babs did not have an end tag alone without Buster.
Buster J. Bunny (voiced by
Charlie Adler and
John Kassir in the English version and by
Ryûsei Nakao in the Japanese version), is the leader of the Tiny Toons gang, a street-smart
anthropomorphic blue
rabbit who had to deal with the challenges of a tough school curriculum, the machinations of former friend, present-day rich kid and local bully
Montana Max and the advances of crazed and dippy animal lover
Elmyra Duff. Like Babs, he will do anything for a laugh, though he is marginally more sane and calm than his female counterpart.
Buster has an extreme fondness for Bugs to the point of often imitating his mentor, such as using Bug's
slap dance technique from
Bully For Bugs (though with considerably less success).
Buster's outfit is just a red shirt and gloves, which brings up the question when he asked his creator in the pilot episode for some clothes "for the censors" even though he's completely
pantless.
Buster's sole end tag alone without Babs was "And that's a wrap!"
*
Tiny Toon Adventures*
Animaniacs*
Bosko and Honey*
Bugs Bunny*
*
Tiny Toon Adventures at the
Big Cartoon DataBase*
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
