The Other babies

[dwayne1115]

Life with Louie was awsom!

 

[CensoredAlso]

I do think Tiny Toons paved the way for Animaniacs, though I think the latter ended up being more amusing, at least to me, hehe. But in both cases, it was something fresh and different, the way the characters constantly broke the fourth wall and knew they were on TV.

I think when they try to do these baby shows, it's not enough to basically just make the same show, only with babies, which a lot of companies have. The best ones made a completely different universe out of the original idea and stack their own territory. I think Muppet Babies benefitted from the fact that it was totally unrelated to the Muppet canon, it was free to create on its own without having to be accurate.

 

[Drtooth]

Not to muffin the thread, but there were also a couple shows I remember revolving around the "kid versions" of celebrities. One was "Little Rosie" (no, not O'Donnell, Roseanne Barr). I barely remember even the ad for this one. The Wiki link mentions a "Nanny" and trips to "magical places". Muppet Babies inspiration? Maybe. (shrug).

The other one I remember was "Life With Louie", which I liked a lot. Some of the stories used were from Louie Anderson's old stand-up bits. There was some merchandise for this one. I remember a figurine, canned pasta, and a couple other things.

Convincing John

Those are more likely clones of the Fox series "Bobby's World." The Howie Mandel cartoon series, where the main character's voice was recycled from Baby Skeeter. Though, I don't remember if Rosanne's came out first.

 

[Redsonga]

I liked Tiny Toons better than Animaniacs, but I do think both series aged well as time bottles for life in the early 90's . The same goes for A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which I still love. I think I still like all the 'baby' cartoons of my generation really...

Those are more likely clones of the Fox series "Bobby's World." The Howie Mandel cartoon series, where the main character's voice was recycled from Baby Skeeter.

Recycled or not (Bobby's voice was a little higher IMHO), that show was funny :3! (In an odd sort of way)

Life With Louie was more to me, like an updated animated version of the life in 'A christmas Story'

So much could have been done with Baby Looney Tunes . I watch it sometimes for its cutest but it really is tame, even next to MBs. IMHO, MBs is ten times smarter as a show than BLT overall, but that can be said about nearly every 80's/90's cartoon next to today's tv....*sigh* I miss Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates, and the Beetlejuice cartoon...

 

[Drtooth]

So much could have been done with Baby Looney Tunes . I watch it sometimes for its cutest but it really is tame, even next to MBs. IMHO, MBs is ten times smarter as a show than BLT overall,

Well, that's due in part to writing. Muppet babies had that in spades. They were designed for a preschool audience, but they treated them like an audience on the whole. The babies were, imagined or not, constantly in perilous situations. Mild ones, though, but they still had an adventure quality to them. At no point in Baby looney Tunes did Baby Bugs have to dress up as a woman so that Baby Taz wouldn't eat him (Though, I doubt even Taz would be ready for solids at that point). They didn't even pretend to be in any danger of any kind. it was all moral, and no fun.

Morals work in cartoons ONLY if they're fun. That's why so many people loved Fat Albert. MB had morals, and the occassional science, history, and "How they do it" lessons. But in no way does it come across preachy, or like they're forcing you to laern something. Baby Kermit will always be a pop culture loving satire, be it Indiana Frog (quite a bit, actually), Captain Kirkmet, or the like. Bably Looney Tunes felt like it was nothing more than a marketing ploy they had to turn into a TV E/I series. Even my love of June Foray couldn't get me to watch it on a regular basis. Yuck.

What a lot of copycats don't get out of it is that Muppet Babies appeal wasn't that they were Baby versions of the characters, but the stories, songs, concepts... writing once again. I especially love how the MB writers took the characters' personalities and subtly worked off that (Jeff Scott did this the best). Pup named Scooby Doo made Fred a little dumber (since when is being the straightman, in other words unable to crack jokes a hundred times, a case of stupidity) and Daphne was turned into a vain version of herself. I could almost expect that the Scooby movies were based off this series. There were throw backs to Pup in the Scooby Films, if you want to look for them. But I'm deviating.

I think, as far as child versions of the characters, Tiny Toons did a much better job. As I said, some characters were based off their predicessors and some had slight variations on the same idea. It had nods to Looney Tunes cartoons in every episode, but managed to keep its originality. Enter Babs Bunny, the most underrated female role in cartoon history. There were no recurring young women in LT cartoons, and yet she would fit right in with that group. Similar to Skeeter in Muppet babies. She wasn't with the Muppets, but you could really see her belong up there with them.

 

[Redsonga]

I know . All of those series really gave we girls role models . I didn't like Daphne much to start with and have always been a Velma fan because she was smart, likable and got things done. If that one spin off series had been her and Shaggy and not Daphne things might have gone better (I know, I know I'm a Shaggy/Velma shipper)..but anyway...
Babs Bunny was underrated, but I think Plucky Duck was to. It is a shame they got rid of him and gave his character to the 'new' Daffy (whenever they actually use LTs characters anymore).
I really think the Tiny Toons stand the test of time just as much as the classic Looney Tunes and would do well on tv again, but I guess their 'parents' are having a hard time making ends meet right now

 

[dwayne1115]

Well i know this parent is having trouble making it, and i wish i wasnt. I would show my kids shows i grew up with, and movies as well. I want to get all the old Tom and Jerry cartoons i can, and i know one day i will. They really have a nice colection of cartoon DVD's out there and i would love to get my hands on a lot of them.

Tom and Jerry

Lonny Toons

Yogie Bear and all the other Hanna Barbera cartoon shorts.

 

[Drtooth]

I just picked up Baby Felix (dollar Store had a bunch of them, otherwise I wouldn't have paid cash for it). But I have to say this. It isn't good, but it isn't terrible. The songs they have are ghastly terrible, and just poorly written (the lyrics sound like they took no effort at all). But the show itself wasn't quite as bad as I thought. It still plays more like a Japanese Kid's show than anything else (It was a Japanese production, sponsered by NHK after all). But it had its moments. Especially with The PRofessor, who's still Shellbent to get Felix's magic bag.

Of course, they do something stupid that Muppet babies never did. The characters of Kitty and Felix (the only ones that are baby versions of themselves... Rock Bottom the Dog is Baby-ized... but there's three of him, and they have a different name- Proffessor and Poindexter are the same age) are reffered to as "Baby Felix" (or Baby Kitty) by the characters themselves. Kinda dumb, actually. The Muppet babies were never referred to as "Baby Kermit" or "Baby Piggy" in the show. Though, for merchandising purposes, they were refered to that on different products.

But all and all, a 4 out of 10. Not terrible, had its moments, and Maybe I'll buy another (Since they're a dollar each), but I wouldn't recommend it, unless you wanna give it to a younger sibling, nephew or child.