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Take Elmyra Please is the thirteenth episode of the second season of Tiny Toon Adventures, and the 78th episode overall. It was written by M.D. Sweeney and John McCann, and directed by Ken Boyer. It is the Season 2 finale and was also the final episode to premiere in syndication.

Summary[]

Buster and Babs welcome the viewers to the show, telling them that they are about to launch Elmyra Duff's new show.

At Elmyra Duff's house, on Hidden Terrace, in his laboratory in the attic, Elmyra's Father MacArthur Duff is working on his latest invention. When he puts an egg yolk into a blue chemical, the chemical explodes and blows a hole in the roof of the house. This explosion also wakes up Brick Duff, whom Emily Duff, Elmyra's mother, is watching over, to make sure he doesn't wake up. As Brick wakes up, he notices a teddy bear outside his crib, and wants to play with it. What's unusual about Brick is that he has super strength, which he uses to get out of the crib, and knock over a coffee table. Emily needs backup, so she calls the rest of the family.

Amanda Duff, Elmyra's teenage older sister, is on the phone, talking to her friend, Stephanie. When Emily calls for her help, Amanda tells Stephanie she is lucky to have a normal family, where her parents are gone all the time, and without brothers, sisters, or pets. Duncan Duff, Elmyra's younger brother, hears Emily calling him, and, pretending he is a superhero, rushes off to help her. On the other side of his closet is Elmyra's room, where Elmyra is practicing for The Elmyra Fun Show, with Furrball as her assistant, Fuzz, and various stuffed animals as her audience. Emily calls for her help as well, and she, along with Duncan and Amanda, rush down the stairs. Amanda gives the phone to Queegee, the Maid, so she can hang it up so Amanda can call Stephanie back later. As Amanda and Emily try to catch Brick, they bump into each other as he crawls under the rug. Elmyra passes by, waving Furrball in the air by his tail, and Brick bumps into her, causing Furrball to cling to the chandelier above. Duncan is on the other side of the rug as Brick crawls out. Emily tosses him a pacifier, and he uses it to calm Brick back to sleep.

Just as the rest of the family is relieved to have Brick back to sleep, MacArthur comes down with a big announcement. The rest of the family shushes him, as they don't want to wake Brick, so he decides to wait until tomorrow. Emily asks Queegee to take Brick up to his room, as indeed she does. As Brick is up in his room, MacArthur announces to his family that he has invented a clean-burning fuel from cholesterol. Emily is ecstatic, as MacArthur's new invention could end up on tonight's news. MacArthur tries to tell her that his new invention is just a prototype, as she dials the phone. Elmyra asks her if her father is going to be on the news, but Amanda insultingly and sarcastically tells her that the camera crew is coming by to give her her own show. Elmyra, unable to understand sarcasm, is more excited than ever. She catches Furrball and takes him up to her room with her to rehearse.

On the Fairly Active News Network, MacArthur's new fuel is announced by Teeny Tonny, who sayss that a full report will be given at 6:00 tonight at the Duff's house. Arthur Jabba, the owner of Happy Sunny Oil, a rival fuel company, has watched the report, and is outraged, as a clean-burning fuel could put Happy Sunny Oil out of business. He sends his two dim-witted minions, George and Leonard, to the Duff's house to capture one of the family members and hold him or her hostage.

Outside the Duff's House, Duncan, as his superhero alter-ego, Ninja Boy, guards the house from enemy intruders. Amanda finds this annoying, and tells him to get a life. Inside the house, Elmyra is rehearsing with Furrball, with her as Paula Abdul, and Furrball as Michael Jackson. As she tosses Furrball, he lands in an umbrella can, and she changes costumes so she can be Madonna. She opens the umbrella, which opens inside Furrball's mouth, and Furrball runs away. Back outside the house, George decides to kidnap one of the family members by putting him or her into a bag. Leonard pulls out a book of matches, and wants to light something on fire, but George tells him that they are going with a kidnapping plan, not an arson plan. Elmyra continues to chase Furrball, and they both go inside the van. She asks George and Leonard if they are two studio employees who are going to film her new show. George cons her into believing that he is he producer and Leonard is the Talent Coordinator. They drive off, but unknown to them, Duncan had been watching everything from inside his treehouse. He rushes back to the house to warn the rest of the family that Elmyra has been kidnapped, but Emily, thinking he is playing one of his games, doesn't believe him.

In the second act, Duncan follows George and Leonard on his bicycle. They take Elmyra to a warehouse. Duncan climbs up the wall using two toilet plungers. Inside the warehouse, George cons Elmyra into thinking she is in a TV studio, with hidden cameras. As George calls MacArthur Duff, Duncan has just finished climbing the wall, and has distracted the guard dog using a bone.

Back at the Duff house, Queegee answers the phone, and is completely oblivious to Elmyra's kidnapping. She hangs up immediately, and Arthur Jabba calls George. He asks if they have the fuel formula yet, and George tells her that he and Leonard have captured Elmyra. Arthur demands they send a ransom note immediately. Elmyra begins her new show, with Furrball as her sidekick, and Leonard (addressed as "Lenny" by her) as her first guest. During the makeover segment, she forcibly smothers lipstick all over Leonard's face.

Outside the warehouse, Duncan has knocked the guard dog out (outsmarting it with the "bone in the cape" trick), and has used its collar as a rope to climb up the warehouse. Back inside the warehouse, George has written the ransom note. Elmyra, thinking George (addressed as "Georgie" by her) is another guest of hers and the ransom note is her contract, signs it. After she signs it, George snatches it from her and sits on the couch (also sitting on Furrball). Leonard thinks if the cops see the note and trace the handwriting, Elmyra will be arrested instead of them. Elmyra tells George to get up, as he is sitting on Furrball. She snatches Furrball to get ready for the cooking segment.

George slips the ransom note under the door of the Duff's house and runs away. Brick snatches the note and eats it. Back at the warehouse, Elmyra is preparing to cook her Eggs Elmyra. She uses gasoline to flambe the eggs. She asks that Leonard light the stove for her, as she is not allowed to play with matches. Leonard, who is happy to oblige, lights the stove, which causes a huge explosion. Duncan hears the explosion, as well as Elmyra screaming, and thinks Elmyra is being tortured. The real reason for Elmyra screaming is because she is making a scream test, which is how Hollywood Hopefuls get their start. Duncan rushes back home, as he needs reinforcements.

In the third act, as Duncan rushes back home, Arthur Jabba calls George and Leonard. Elmyra answers the phone, mistaking him for an actor with a really good scream. Arthur tells Elmyra to tell George and Leonard, "No more Snafus or you're sunk!". George and Leonard have to act fast to get the fuel formula. Elmyra, who has just been reminded that the Itty-Bitty Baby Care segment of her show is next, asks George and Leonard which of them is going to wear the diaper. Leonard runs away, as he has flunked potty training.

Back at the Duff's house, the news crew has arrived to interview MacArthur. As the doorbell rings, Emily asks Queegee to get the door. Queegee brings her the door, and Emily tells her that's not what she meant. Emily is happy to see Teeny Tonny, and invites her into the house for the interview. Back at the warehouse, Arthur Jabba has called again, and George informs him they won't let him down this time. Back at the Duff's house, the news crew is ready to interview MacArthur and his family about the new fuel. Duncan rushes back to warn his family that Elmyra has been kidnapped, but the family shushes him, and Emily demands that he go up to the bathroom to wash his filthy hands. Outside the house, a parade by Arthur Jabba informs the family that Elmyra's been kidnapped, and that the only way to get her back is to surrender the formula. Emily is shocked, and Duncan tells her where Elmyra is. The police follow him to the warehouse, where George has had enough of Elmyra. He calls Arthur, who tells him not to let her go until they have the formula.

Meanwhile, Elmyra is performing the Mr. Skullhead segment for her show, using the skull in the middle of her bow as a character she made up. In her sketch, which is drawn crudely in pencil, with no color, Mr. Skullhead is an actor in the movie Steam Roller From Heck. George and Leonard run out of the warehouse, with Elmyra following them, surrendering to the police. Elmyra mistakes the news crew as the producers for her new show. Her family is so relieved to see her. The police ask them who put them up to the task, but they refuse to talk until Elmyra tells them they have twelve more episodes of her show to film. George and Leonard cave in and tell the police about Arthur Jabba.

Later that night, Elmyra appears on the news with her family, still oblivious to her kidnapping, and thinking about her show. She thanks Georgie and Lenny, as she couldn't have made it on TV without them. Arthur Jabba, George, and Leonard, who have been arrested, watch the news report from inside their cell. Arthur finds it as cruel punishment, and George and Leonard laugh at him.

Allusions[]

  • Arthur Jabba's two minions, George and Leonard, likely were named after the main characters from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
  • In the Mr. Skullhead sketch, Mr. Skullhead is in a large crowd of people, similar to Waldo in the Where's Waldo? book series. The gag credit even pokes fun at this.

Trivia[]

  • This episode, along with the Season 3 episode "Grandma's Dead", was a test to see if Elmyra Duff could star in her own series. In 1998, she eventually got her own show, along with former Animaniacs stars Pinky and the Brain, entitled Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, which received mostly negative reception from fans of both Pinky and the Brain and Tiny Toon Adventures alike. The people who worked on the show were not very receptive to it either, as evidenced by the theme song's lyrics, So Pinky and the Brain / Share a new domain. / It's what the network wants, / Why bother to complain? and Brain's comment, "I deeply resent this."
  • This is the debut of Mr. Skullhead, a character imagined by Elmyra from the skull she wears in the middle of her bow. Mr. Skullhead would later become a recurring character in Animaniacs, notably in the "Good Idea, Bad Idea" sketches, where he and his family would be horribly maimed. Mr. Skullhead was designed by Tiny Toons writer Sherri Stoner.
  • Redubbed stock footage from "K-Acme TV" is used in the opening.
  • Elmyra's end tag, "Let the Show Begin!" is used as an opening tag.
  • Soleil Moon Frye provided the voice of Amanda Duff, Elmyra's teenage older sister. An interesting connection is that Frank Welker and Soleil Moon Frye previously worked together in the 1980s television series Punky Brewster; Welker provided the voice of Glomer, Punky's magical friend,using his Gogo Dodo voice.
  • The Elmyra fun time show returned in the Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain episode "Fun, Time and Space".

Cast[]

Voice Actors: Character(s):
Cree Summer Elmyra Duff
Tress MacNeille Queegee, Emily Duff, Brick Duff, Teeny Tonny, Babs Bunny
Soleil Moon Frye Amanda Duff
Whitby Hertford Duncan Duff
Matt Frewer MacArthur Duff
Frank Welker Furrball, Arthur Jabba, Leonard, Mr. Skullhead's Director
Rob Paulsen George
Stephen Bishop Mailman

Uncredited[]

Quotes[]

  • Buster: "Well, it looks like Babs and I are going to remain on the planet Earth, while you take a thirty-minute flight into the wonderfully brainless world of Elmyra, where we'll find out anything can happen. Except this..." (pies Babs in the face)
Babs: "And this!" (pies Buster in the face)
  • Emily: "Are you all right? You're smoking."
MacArthur: "Smoking? I gave up smoking years ago. Nasty Habit. Oh, you mean my clothes."
  • Arthur Jabba: "A clean burning fuel could put Happy Sunny Oil out of business."
Leonard: "You want George and I to make this stuff not exist no more?"
Arthur Jabba: "No, Leonard. For two reasons; First, I hate ideas phrased in a double negative, and second, I have a better plan. And you clowns better not foul it up, or I'll have your butts!"
Leonard: "Then he'll have three!" (Flinches when George is about to swat him)
  • Duncan: "One small climb for Ninja Boy, one new use for toilet plungers."
  • George: "What am I gonna do? We've got to get the formula!"
Elmyra: "Speaking of Formula, the Itty-Bitty Baby Care segment is next. Which one of you is gonna wear the diaper?"
Leonard: "Aaah! No way! George will wear the diaper, not me! No way, uh-uh, uh-uh!" (runs away) "I flunked potty training!"
  • Emily: "Queegee, could you get the door, please?"
Queegee: "Okay, thank you." (Takes the entire door and brings it to Emily)
Emily: "Oh, my goodness, no, Queegee, that's not what I meant!"
  • Police Chief: "All right, you bums. Who put you up to this? Huh? Who's behind it?"
George: "Now wait a second. You can't make us talk."
Leonard: "Yeah, we're not squealers."
Elmyra: "Hey, you guys, where are you going? We still got 12 more episodes to tape!"
(George and Leonard cave in)
George: "His name is Arthur Jabba. His address is 11234 Bloated Way."
Leonard: "His fax number is 555-3216!"

Transcript[]

  • To read the transcript of this episode, click here.

Gallery[]

  • Main article: Take Elmyra Please

Home Video Releases[]



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