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New Character Day is the 61st episode of Tiny Toon Adventures.

Wraparounds

The episode begins with Roger Rabbit auditioning to be on Tiny Toon Adventures. Buster and Babs reject him, then tell the viewers that they're holding auditions to have new characters on the show. The next characters auditioning are so small, that Buster can't see them from afar. After walking up to the stage and holding a magnifying glass, he finds out that the next characters auditioning are The Roches, Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy. They want to perform a song for Buster. Buster, who likes this idea, says, "Step on it!", scaring Terre and Suzzy. Maggie tells Buster, "Never say, 'Step on it!' to a roach!"

In the second act, Buster and Babs tell the viewers that they're looking for bright, new cartoon talent for their show. The next toon auditioning is Duck Twacy, who is none other than Daffy Duck. Buster begins to suspect that he and Babs have seen him before, and asks Daffy if he's sure he's a new character. Daffy tries to prove that he is a new character by showing them a videotape of his performance.

Episode Segments

The Roches

The cartoon begins with Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy singing about themselves while driving a wind-up toy bus. Shortly after their song ends, Suzzy wants to drive, but Terre argues, as she thinks she is a terrible driver. Their argument ends after the bus winds down to a stop. As the three roaches wind up the bus, they talk about what they are going to do for their next concert. Suzzy suggests that they start their next concert with her being lowered down from the ceiling in a huge emerald-studded throne, and carried around the stage by Anubian Grasshoppers in gold togas while she sang. Maggie disapproves Suzzy's idea, and suggests that they do their concerts the same way they always do, which Suzzy is okay with. After the bus is fully wound up again, Terre asks Maggie where tonight's concert will be. Maggie tells her, "Hamton's House."

That night, at Hamton's house, Hamton, dressed in his pajamas, is relaxing in his chair, reading a magazine and eating cookies. After all his cookies are finished, he goes to the kitchen to clean the plate. He makes sure the plate is 100% clean and germ-free. After he cleans the plate, he sees what looks like bugs in the kitchen. He puts on an anti-germ suit and prepares to clean the kitchen, because, as a neat freak, he hates bugs. To Hamton's relief, the supposed bugs are just cookie crumbs. After he cleans the kitchen, he heads back to his room to go to bed.

As Hamton goes to bed, the Roches sneak into his house through a mouse hole, caring their musical equipment. They set up their concert in the breadbox in Hamton's kitchen. Bugs from all over Acme Acres gather round to see the concert. Unfortunately, the loud music and the sound of insects cheering wake Hamton up. He goes to the kitchen to see what's causing the noise. To his horror, insects from all over Acme Acres have invaded his kitchen, even going as far to raid his fridge and eat his food! Hamton will not stand for this, so he puts on his anti-germ suit, and the insect audience members flee in terror as he tries to spray them with bug spray. The Roches are terrified, but just as Hamton is about to spray them, Maggie stops Hamton and tells him that she's sick of being treated like the lowest life form just because she and her sisters are roaches. She and her sisters sing a song about how important Roaches are. Hamton is convinced, and decides that bugs have every right to be on the world just as he does. The rest of the bugs return and cheer. Hamton is even convinced by the Roches to join them in making music, and to their horror, he returns with an accordion. All the bugs flee, and Hamton asks, "Was that a yes or a no?" as the cartoon blacks out."

The Return of Pluck Twacy

A double-length episode segment. At Acme Looniversity, Daffy is telling the students about one of his adventures as Duck Twacy, the world-famous detective. Plucky is happy to hear that Daffy had once again, solved another case. As he goes up the classroom to get Daffy's autograph, Shirley the Loon eats a banana and carelessly tosses the peel on the floor. Plucky slips on the peel and is knocked out. As Shirley apologizes to Plucky and pleads for him to be okay, Plucky is dreaming that he is Pluck Twacy. In his dream, he, as Pluck Twacky, is in his office, which is flooded by Shirley the Loon's tears, as she is upset over her aura going missing. Shirley tells Plucky that her aura (who closely resembles The Pigeon from the Daffy Duck cartoon, Plane Daffy), has run away with a gang of vicious criminals and cutthroats, and she needs his help to get her back so that she can reform her. At first, Plucky turns the case down, but the only thing that can convince him to change his mind is if Shirley stops flooding his office with her tears. Shirley opens the door for Plucky, and her tears wash Plucky out of his office and carry him across the streets of Acme Acres. Plucky begins his case, and spots two mysterious figures outside a huge mansion. Those two mysterious figures are Shirley's aura and one of the criminals. They quickie go inside the mansion, and arm the cannons, ready to shoot at Plucky. Plucky goes inside the mansion, and sees a clock, surrounded by the words, DEAD OVER in flashing neon lights. He charges into the mansion, and tells Shirley's Aura that she's coming with him. Shirley's Aura is about to hit him with a safe, but fortunately, he has anticipated this move. He tells Shirley's Aura, who has now dropped the safe behind her, that he is taking her with him, and that resistance is futile. Shirley's Aura attempts to seduce Plucky, pretending she has been captured by the criminals, and could use his help to escape. She leads Plucky to a revolving wall and tricks him to stand near it. After she pulls the lever, Plucky is on the other side of the wall. When he opens his eyes, he is surrounded by various criminals, including Ticklepuss, Soupy Man, Jack the Zipper, The Boston Dangler, Flatbottom, Boxcars, the Generic Thugs, and Wolvertoon, but also the child counterparts of Ironman, Rubberhead, Wolfman, Pumpkinhead, Hammerhead, Pikclepuss and Mouse Man. He tells the criminals they're all under arrest, and they attempt to attack him. He sneaks away, and runs into a room. However, Ticklepuss has followed him and manages to slip into the room. Ticklepuss tells Plucky that he knows where he's ticklish; he's ticklish in the ear. Plucky laughs, as ducks don't have ears, so Ticklepuss' trick won't work on him. Ticklepuss insists, "They do now!" and puts a pair of Acme Rubber Ears on Plucky, then tickling them, which leaves Plucky unable to contain himself from laughing. After he manages to stop laughing, he asks what his hero, Duck Twacy, would do in a situation like this. Daffy appears in a circle and tells the viewers, "Remember, crime-swatters, what goes around, comes around!" Plucky decides that if he inflicts excruciating, agonizing pain on himself, he won't sense the tickle sensation. He bangs his head with a hammer repeatedly, and Ticklepuss tries to tickle him, but with no success. Ticklepuss gives up, shrinks, and runs away. Plucky, dazed, gets taken away by Shirley's Aura, who puts him on a guillotine and attempts to behead him. Fortunately, Plucky has regained consciousness and destroys the guillotine's blades with a steel helmet. He then tells Shirley's Aura that he's taking her back to Shirley and she can't stop him. Shirley's Aura once again, seduces Plucky and opens a trap door, sending him sliding down a chute.

In the third act, Plucky continues to slide the chute, eventually ending at a set of stairs, which he bounces down. He then slithers down a set of flat squares, and holds on to peeling wallpaper. He eventually lands on a small neon train. Chasing after him is Boxcars with an oil can. He hides in one of the coaches, and Boxcars sits down and asks, "Why did he run away like that? It makes me want to do terrible, horrible things to him!" He ducks into the coach, where he sees Plucky hiding. Plucky tries to escape, but he is stuck. With him unable to escape, he decides to thumb-wrestle Boxcars. Boxcars wins the first round, but Plucky isn't one to give up so easily. For the second round, Plucky sneaks his hand on top of the coach. Boxcars sneaks his hand up there as well. This time, their entire hands battle. Plucky's hand has neared the end of the coach, and is holding on by a single finger, which Boxcars tries to stomp off. Just as it looks as if Boxcars is about to win round 2, Plucky uses his other hand to pull a request stop rope inside the coach. This stops the train, and sends Boxcars flying outside and into a trap. Plucky, having won the second round, finds Shirley's Aura about to attack him with a mallet. He has anticipated this move, and at first, he laughs, but then he sees Millipede Pete with many mallets, as well as the Chorus Line Men, also holding mallets. He is unable to escape, and the sound of mallets whacking are heard as in the real world, Plucky is still on the floor, Plucky begs for them to stop. Shirley wakes up Plucky and tells him he had a nightmare. Plucky tells them all about his nightmare, about how he was Pluck Twacy, the famous detective, trying to rescue a beautiful villainess. He decides he would rather relive that nightmare again, and knocks himself out with a mallet.

Cast

Voice Actors: Character(s):
Charlie Adler Buster Bunny, Mosquito Emcee, Ticklepuss
Tress MacNeille Babs Bunny, Hata Mari
Joe Alaskey Plucky Duck
Don Messick Hamton J. Pig
Gail Matthius Shirley the Loon
Jeff Bergman Daffy Duck
Frank Welker Boxcars
Terre Roche Terre
Maggie Roche Maggie
Suzzy Roche Suzzy
Steven Spielberg Roger Rabbit

Allusions

  • Roger Rabbit, the star of the 1988 Disney/Spielberg film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, appears at the auditions at the beginning of the episode, voiced by Steven Spielberg, who co-produced Tiny Toon Adventures.
  • In the episode segment, The Roches, an ad on the back of a passing bus advertises an Arnold Schwarzenegger caricature called "The Exterminator", an obvious parody of The Terminator from the 1984 film of the same name. The advertisement also parodies The Terminator's line, "I'll be back!", with the slogan, "They won't be back!
  • The double-length episode segment, The Return of Pluck Twacy, is a parody of both the Daffy Duck cartoon, The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, and the 1990 film, Dick Tracy. In the cold open, Daffy even says, "Honest to Warren Beatty..." who was the star writer and director of the film.

Trivia

  • In the episode segment, The Roches, the door to the breadbox in Hamton's kitchen is being held up by cans of Acme Sufferin' Succotash, an obvious reference to Sylvester the Cat's catchphrase.
  • The Flea Family makes a cameo appearance in the episode segment, The Roches.
  • The Lone Ant, from the You Asked For It Again episode segment, Hold The Sugar, makes a cameo appearance in the episode segment, The Roches.
  • In the episode segment, The Roches, Terre and Suzzy are surprised when Maggie begins yelling at Hamton. This is an in-joke for fans of the Roches, because in their live performances, Maggie hardly ever spoke, leaving the stage chatter to Terre and Suzzy.
  • In the episode segment, The Roches, after all the bugs return, Hamton is dressed in his overalls instead of his anti-germ suit. The very next scene, he's wearing his anti-germ suit again.
  • Gogo Dodo is listed in this episode's end credits, although he does not appear in this episode.
  • In the double-length episode segment, The Return of Pluck Twacy, the villain Wolvertoon, whom resembles a deformed Bob Clampett-style Bugs Bunny with a huge overbite and crooked teeth is a reference to artist Basil Wolverton whom was known for his deformed and disgusting artwork.
  • Not only does Daffy shows up in his "Dick Tracy"-inspired disguise from "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery", but Ticklepuss is played by Sloppy Moe from the classic short "Wagon Heels", and Hata Mari from "Plane Daffy" is Shirley's aura. Although, possibly due to political correctness, Hata Mari does not speak in a German accent like she did in the original cartoon. And Boxcars is the often used Peter Lorre caricature used in cartoons such as Hair-Raising Hare.
  • At the end of the double-length episode segment, The Return of Pluck Twacy, when Shirley awakens Plucky from his nightmare and the students gather round him to see if he's okay, Dizzy Devil is wearing sneakers.
  • In the credits, possibly to avoid copyright fees from Disney, Roger Rabbit is referred to simply as "White Rabbit".
  • In production order, this is the final episode animated by Kennedy Cartoons.

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