Buster and the Wolverine

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Season	1
Episode	Buster and the Wolverine
Broadcast Information
Airdate	October 19, 1990
Credits
Written by	Tom Ruegger, Paul Dini
Directed by	Art Leonardi
Episode Guide
Previous	Wake Up Call of the Wild
Next	You Asked For It, Part II

Buster and the Wolverine is the 24th broadcast episode and seventh production episode of Tiny Toon Adventures. It was written by Tom Ruegger and Paul Dini, and directed by Art Leonardi.

Plot

The episode begins in a proscenium theatre, with a silhouette of what looks like a lovely young lady walking up, who is revealed to be Elmyra Duff when she reaches the top. Elmyra welcomes the viewers to the Acme Acres Cereal Bowl, where she will present today's musical adventure, Buster and the Wolverine. As Elmyra strikes up the band, some horns blow at her, blowing her hair off her head and knocking her off the stage. Elmyra gets back up and puts her wig back on, saying, "Lovely, isn't it?". She then tells the viewers that each of the characters in this episode is represented by a different instrument. She introduces Buster Bunny, playing the trumpet, Babs Bunny, playing the harp, who would much rather play an electric guitar, Furrball, playing a sad song on the violin, and Sweetie, playing the flute. As Furrball tries to catch Sweetie, she snatches his violin from him and hits him on the head with it, also using it as a golf club and yelling, "Fore!" as she whacks him from behind. Elmyra then introduces Hamton, who is playing the tuba. As Hamton plays his tuba, Furrball lands in it, which Sweetie declares as "a hole in one!". Finally, Elmyra introduces Plucky, who is last and debatably least, and will be playing the bicycle horn. Plucky is outraged, and demands a better instrument. He kicks the horn, which bounces against a tree and lands in his mouth as he rants. He accidentally swallows the horn, and the horn honks inside him as he dances. The audience dislikes his dancing and tosses a tomato at him. Plucky, frustrated, decides to begin the episode.

Elmyra tells the viewers that, one winter at Acme Looniversity, Buster and his friends were practicing their instruments for their marching band, when suddenly, in came the drums, representing the terror of Acme Acres, The Wolverine. The Wolverine emerges from his cave and chases after Buster and his friends. As Buster and his friends run to take cover inside Acme Looniversity, the Wolverine pauses to play his drum set. He then continues to chase Buster and his friends, who are now inside Acme Looniversity. They run screaming past Shirley, Gogo, and Montana Max, who silently wonder why they ran and screamed. The Wolverine then shows up and scares them. He swats Gogo, who slits into several miniature clones of himself, and continues to chase after Buster and his friends. He corners them at a dead-end in the school halls, where the Mynah Bird exits a locker and walks between them, who Buster mentions is a "transfer student." Sweetie walks up to The Wolverine, batting her flute at him, which at first, he merely laughs at. Sweetie then pulls out a sword from her piccolo and pokes it at The Wolverine, giving Buster and his friends enough time to escape. The Wolverine opens a door with a sign on it that says, Cartoon Props, and pulls out a giant magnet, which tries to pull Hamton's tuba in its path. Buster and his friends grab Hamton by the feet, and Hamton warns them to be careful, as his parents are still making payments on his tuba. Hamton lets go of the tuba, which hits The Wolverine, and Hamton runs back to get it. Buster leads Hamton to the exit, where they narrowly escape The Wolverine by hitting him with the door. The Wolverine swats at the door and chases them outside, where they take shelter in Buster's burrow. The Wolverine is about to catch them inside, but Buster hits him in the head with two cymbals. Buster tells his friends that they need to do something about The Wolverine, but none know what. Plucky suggests drawing straws, with the loser having to go out and catch The Wolverine. Hamton gets the longest straw, and thus, is chosen. Hamton reluctantly goes, and Buster, Babs, and Plucky congratulate him while Furrball and Sweetie play a sad song on their violin and flute, respectively. Buster and Babs burst into tears and break out a large amount of tissues, worrying that they will miss Hamton once The Wolverine is through with him. Plucky then asks Hamton if he can have his stereo.

Hamton, now outside with his tuba and a net, is on the lookout for The Wolverine. He is so worried, that his heart is pounding like a jackhammer, but The Wolverine is now right behind him, and he is worried he might startle him. The Wolverine puts an apple in Hamton's mouth, and hamton tries to run away, but he appears to be running on a plate that The Wolverine is spinning. The Wolverine takes Hamton to his cave, ready to eat him.

In the second act, Elmyra makes shadow puppets of The Wolverine and Hamton, saying, "Exciting, isn't it?" to the viewers. She welcomes the viewers back and tells them that Hamton is now in danger. The Wolverine corners Hamton in his cave, as Hamton backs into a broom. Hamton offers to clean The Wolverine's cave if The Wolverine doesn't eat him. The Wolverine growls at Hamton, and Hamton sweeps faster, sending dust into the air and causing The Wolverine to sneeze. Outside the cave, The Wolverine hears music. He pulls out a pair of binoculars and sees Buster and his friends playing their instruments on their way to rescue Hamton. The Wolverine then turns back to Hamton, who tells him his friends are outside, looking for him. He tries to leave, but The Wolverine grabs him, then thinks about eating Hamton plus Buster and the rest of his friends. He chains Hamton to a heavy lead ball, and runs outside to try to catch Buster and his friends. Hamton decides to clean up The Wolverine's cave while he's gone.

Buster tells his friends to sing out if they see Hamton. Sweetie flies to the top of a tree and calls for Hamton inside a hole. She then flies down to a bush, to see if he's there. She then sings, having found something. Buster and his friends rush over, and Buster and Babs find Hamton's tuba instruction book, with several pages ripped out. Babs, now dressed in a mourning gown, thinks The Wolverine ate Hamton. Buster vows that The Wolverine's crime will not go unpunished. He tells his friends that they will capture The Wolverine and make him pay. He asks his friends if they're with him, and they reluctantly say yes. Buster and his friends continue playing their instruments, and accidentally stray off a cliff, falling into an icy pond below.

Meanwhile, The Wolverine is making tracks in several different directions to confuse Buster and his friends. Buster decides he and his friends should split up, and whoever finds The Wolverine should give the signal by playing their instrument. Plucky, having swallowed his bike horn earlier, demands a better instrument. He says he will take anything, but then a pipe organ falls on him, also squeezing the bike horn out of his belly, and Plucky demands something else. He is given a set of bagpipes, and Buster asks him, "Happy now?". Plucky is satisfied, and begins to play the bagpipes and sing, attracting The Wolverine. Plucky runs away, then suddenly has an idea, to play his bagpipes to calm The Wolverine, since "music soothes the savage beast." Plucky is about to play his bagpipes, when The Wolverine snatches it from him and eats it.

Babs reads a book about disgusting animals, which tells her that the only two things that attract a wolverine are food and a female wolverine. Obviously not wanting to be his dinner, Babs decides to disguise herself as a female wolverine to catch The Wolverine. The Wolverine is attracted to her, and he gives her a chocolate box with captive mice inside. She then tells The Wolverine that she has something for him, and as he puckers up to kiss her, she whacks him with her electric guitar. Unfortunately, this has no effect on him, because, as Babs tells the viewers, "He's all numbskull". She then tries to sneak away, only for The Wolverine to kiss her and cause her to lose her disguise, revealing herself underneath. The Wolverine snatches Babs and goes after Furrball and Sweetie.

As Furrball and Sweetie are on the lookout for The Wolverine, Sweetie taunts Furrball by telling him bout how ferocious The Wolverine is. Furrball, who is now annoyed, thinks about eating Sweetie. He pounces at her, only to miss, and Sweetie flies away, telling the viewers that she must have snapped Furrball's tiny mind. She then returns, whacking Furrball in the head with his violin. She then flies away, only to find out she is being chased by The Wolverine. She manages to trap him in a hollow tree stump, but he angrily tosses the stump at her, and catches her while she's knocked out. Furrball, now in a rare speaking appearance, whines that Sweetie is gone forever, and that he wanted to eat her. The Wolverine then snatches Furrball.

Inside The Wolverine's cave, Babs and Plucky are now being held prisoner. Plucky is angry that Hamton hasn't been eaten yet, and that all this time, he was cleaning The Wolverine's cave. Hamton tells Plucky that he finds cleaning very calming in stressful situations. As The Wolverine returns to his cave, caring Furrball and Sweetie, Hamton tells The Wolverine to wipe his feet. Babs asks Furrball where Buster is, as Buster is the only one who hasn't been caught. Babs is sure that Buster will come to their rescue as she speaks, but Buster is following the Mynah Bird, trying to learn his dance step. He hears Babs yell, and rushes off to The Wolverine's cave to rescue her. The Wolverine has Buster's friends cornered and is about to eat them.

In the third act, on his way to The Wolverine's cave, Buster tells the viewers there's no time for a plot recap. When Buster arrives at The Wolverine's cave, he is too late, as The Wolverine has already eaten his friends. Buster is saddened, and decides to play a sad song on his trumpet for his friends. To Buster's surprise, his friends are alive and undigested, as they are playing their instruments as well, inside the Wolverine's stomach. Buster, now dressed as a doctor, tells The Wolverine to open wide. He asks his friends if they're okay, to which Babs tells them that, aside from being a little cramped, they're fine. Buster leads his friends, still inside The Wolverine's stomach, to march and play their instruments. Buster then tells The Wolverine that he has the cure, and whacks The Wolverine from behind with a hammer. This sends his friends out of The Wolverine's stomach and flying out of his cave, landing in a pile of snow. The Mynah Bird walks out, and Plucky says, "So that's what was jabbing me in the back!" Buster tells The Wolverine to stay off meat and sleep until April, and leaves him with the bill. The Wolverine wakes up, eats the bill, and chases after Buster. Buster's friends, who are now in a tree, have left their instruments behind and are unable to help Buster. Plucky asks the animators for a better instrument, and his wish is granted, as he now has an Acme Charged Music Synthesizer with Digital Sound and Laser effects. He turns on the machine, and the lasers zap The Wolverine, who has captured Buster and is about to eat him. The Wolverine runs away as Plucky continues to play. Unfortunately, the machine stops, and Plucky is frustrated as to why it's not working. Buster then points to The Wolverine, who has destroyed the wire leading to the outlet. The Wolverine chases Buster and his friends as Elmyra tells the viewers that the chase lead into the city, right into the Acme Acres Cereal Bowl. Buster and his friends pass by the audience as The Wolverine chases them. They then go onstage, and pass Elmyra, blowing her hair off her head, and knocking her over. Buster pulls a switch, which opens the curtains, revealing a circus background behind it. Babs, dressed as a clown, plays a bass drum and hits The Wolverine on the head with it. The Wolverine runs past Elmyra, blowing her hair off her head and knocking her over again, as he chases Babs. Furrball and Hamton hold a rope, tripping The Wolverine, who lands in a tuba. The tuba launches him into a cannon, and Buster pulls the fuse, firing The Wolverine out of it, and into Plucky's cannon. Plucky pulls the fuse and fires The Wolverine out of his cannon and back into Buster's. The Wolverine surrenders, holding up a white flag, as Hamton brings in a pipe organ. The Wolverine's impact breaks it to pieces and the pieces land around him, forming a cage. Elmyra tells the viewers that Buster and his friends have captured The Wolverine and saved Acme Acres. She then tells the viewers that they hoped they enjoyed the cartoon, as a cane goes onstage and pulls her away. Buster and his friends, plus the Mynah Bird, end the cartoon by playing their instruments and dancing. After the screen fades to black, Elmyra shows up again, saying, "So… good evening, friends!", then the screen fades to black again.

Cast

Voice Actors:	Character(s):
Charlie Adler	Buster Bunny
Tress MacNeille	Babs Bunny
Cree Summer	Elmyra Duff
Joe Alaskey	Plucky Duck
Don Messick	Hamton J. Pig
Frank Welker	The Wolverine, Furrball, Gogo Dodo
Candi Milo	Sweetie Bird

Quotes

• Plucky: "One toot on this musical vacuum cleaner, and Wolvie will be eating out of my hands!"

(The Wolverine snatches Plucky's bagpipes and eats them)

"Somehow, that's not quite what I meant."

• Furrball: "Oh, poor little Sweetie, gone, gone forever! It's not fair!" (cries) "I wanted to eat her!"

• Buster: "Don't worry, this procedure is completely painless; I won't feel a thing!"

Gag Credit

Wolverine Trainer

The Tazmanian Devil

Allusions

• This episode is a parody of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
• The human mouse appears to be a caricature of actor Kirk Douglas.

Trivia

• Before Babs puts on her disguise to fool The Wolverine, her ear ribbons are missing.

• When Babs is about to whack The Wolverine with her electric guitar while dressed as a female wolverine, she has a pointy tail (like Buster's), instead of her usual cotton tail.

• Furrball has a rare speaking appearance in this episode when The Wolverine catches Sweetie.

Home Video Releases

• Tiny Toon Adventures: Season 1, Vol. 1 DVD