The Acme Home Shopping Show is the 53rd episode of Tiny Toon Adventures.
Wraparounds
The opening wraparound begins with Buster and Babs, who are running the Acme Home Shopping Show, to try to sell their latest merchandise to the viewers at home. Babs gets a call from Plucky, who is a first-time caller. He tells that he wants to buy the Acme Jackson Pollock paint-by-numbers kit. Babs instead, gives him a whack with a mallet, which she calls a "honk".
For the second act, Buster is seen with the 'Acme Home Shopping Fly-Boy Beanie. When he tries to explain how to operate the remote, he gets injured while doing so.
For the final act, Buster (who is covered in bandages, thanks to the beanie) and Babs explaining the last of their merchandise; a nice, safe book. Suddenly, they get a call from Elmyra, who is a repeater. She says that she wants the "cute bandaged bunny" (obviously referring to Buster), but Buster yells, "I'M NOT FOR SALE!!!!" at her and tries to get her to buy the book instead. Somehow, Elmyra makes it to the studio and begins chasing Buster. Babs then introduces the last cartoon.
Episode Segments
Oh, For Art's Sake
The cartoon begins at the Acme School Of Art, where we see Elmer Fudd as the Teacher, who is telling the class that if they want to study art, they need to know the types of "Isms"; romanticism (a painting of Elmyra tying to kiss Buster), Surrealism (a painting of either Hamton or Porky's empty head with a train going through it), and realism (which is really Plucky posing). Plucky tells Elmer that he can't decide which "Ism" he should choose, and Elmer tells him he has until tomorrow to come up with something for the school art exhibition.
Later, at Plucky's apartment (which is strange since he lives in a house in other episodes), Plucky has a hard time trying to think of an art project, and decides to watch TV, so it can help inspire him. While trying to watch TV (with merchandise of him next to him), he hears a dog and cat fighting outside. He tries to break the fight up, but only to get caught into the fight and get kicked out afterwards. Having a strange idea, Plucky uses his remote and pauses the fight, making the Cat and Dog freeze while in mid-battle. Plucky then comes up with a idea. He cuts out the frozen cat and dog, pastes it on a frame, and passes it off as a painting.
The next day at the exhibtion, Plucky wiins first place with his art project called, "Plucky Duck's Brilliant Art Project". While everyone claps for Plucky's project, Buster and Babs can't believe that he has talent. Just then, an Art Critic comes out of nowhere and begins kissing Plucky's feet. He says that he, and the magazine he works for, would love to host a gallery of his painting, and also says the paintings would sell. Plucky, being the greedy duck he is, agrees to sell his paintings.
At the gallery, Plucky (or "Pluck", as he prefers to be called), appears wearing an artist's shirt with white gloves and a oversized jacket on his back while 2 gorgeous ladies carry him to the gallery. After a rich old lady gives Plucky money for one of his paintings, Buster and Babs appear and see Plucky dropping all the money he just made. Suddenly, his remote appears out of his jacket and Buster picks it up, noticing the "Pause" button was still on. As he tells Plucky that he shouldn't leave the remote's Pause button on, as it will drain the remote's batteries, he pushes it, causing the Cat and Dog from Plucky's original painting to unfreeze and land on Plucky, who then resume fighting. Buster then pushes the Pause button on the rest of Plucky's paintings, revealing that Plucky froze all the fighting Cats and Dogs in them as well as the original Cat and Dog with his remote. All the Cats and Dogs begin fighting, causing all of the people to run out of the gallery in fear. During the riot, Plucky manages to escape from all the Cats and Dogs, only to bump into the Art Critic and the people from the gallery, who are about to beat him up. The cartoon ends with Plucky in a picture frame, getting beaten up by the Cat and Dog he froze earlier, as Babs remarks, "Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase, 'Tortured Artist', doesn't it?" and Buster replies with, "You got that right." Plucky then says, "The price of stardom is high!" while getting beaten up by the Cat and Dog.
Teddy Bear's Picnic
The episode begins with Elmyra Duff (wearing a Sunday dress hat, a fake bear head, and is shown to be barefoot) singing and telling a story of The Three Bears going to "The Annual Bear Company Picnic". Junior is also singing the song happily while walking. Ma is carrying a small basket and Pa is carrying a large one. As Elmyra spies on the bears from a tree, a beaver appears and chews the bottom roots, causing Elmyra to fall off the tree. While Junior jumps on a tree brunch and dances on it, he grabs the large basket, with Pa still holding on to it, and swings it back and forth until he lets it go and Pa is smashed by the large basket. While Ma is singing, she lays down the blanket and Junior finishes the song. After getting the large basket from Pa, we see him covered in some of the food. As Junior accuses Pa of being greedy, Pa takes out a newspaper and make Junior bend over to be spanked, but just as he is about to, Ma stops him.
Later, at the company picnic, while the other bears are having fun, the Three Bears can't find a table, so Pa tells Junior to find one. Junior then find a table, but unfortunately, he takes it from The Angry Bear and his family while they are eating their food. After Junior takes their table and ruins their picnic, The Angry Bear lifts the fur on his left arm that shows tattoos of how angry he gets (Oh Bother, Slightly Peeved, Ticked Off, Really Mad, Seeing Red, and Call 911). He reveals his temper to be at Slightly Peeved and then approaches Junior, and is about to beat him up, but Junior tells him that Pa told him to find a table. The Angry Bears beat Pa up instead off-screen, while Elmyra, in a bush and seeing what happens, puts a bunch of feathers, a mattress, and three pillows in a garbage can to soften his landing.
In the next scene, when the Father/Son sack race is announced, Pa says he doesn't want to be in the sack race but Ma tells him if he doesn't do it, then he'll break Junior's heart, so Pa reluctantly agrees to do it, but tells Ma to find him a small sack, since the one he's in is too big. Just as Ma goes to find a smaller sack, Junior jumps in the sack, wondering where Pa is, oblivious that he is in the sack. When the race starts, Junior jumps ahead of the other bears and takes the lead, eventually jumping through obstacles like a briar patch and bags filled with glass bottles. Junior wins the race and the trophy, wishing that Pa could be there to see him. He suddenly hears a muffled voice, and wonders why a furry pudding is in his sack. He then empties the sack, revealing a flattened Pa, which he thinks is play clay. He molds Pa back together, and Pa is about to smack him with the newspaper, but Ma snatches it from him and hits him on the head instead.
The next event is the three-legged race, and as the other bears take their positions at the starting line, Junior realizes he only has two legs. He searches for Pa while carrying an axe. Pa sets up his hammock in between two trees, and is about to relax when Junior tells him to hold still. As Junior tries to chop Pa's leg off with the axe, Pa flinches and Junior cuts the hammock instead, launching Pa out of the picture and onto the animator's pencil. A frightened Pa then lets go of the pencil and falls back down into the picture, landing near two teams of bears playing tug-of-war. He crashes into one of the teams and pushes them into the mud. One of the bears pushed into the mud is the Angry Bear, who's temper is now at Ticked Off and beats him up offscreen. Pa returns to Junior and is about to smack him with the newspaper, but Ma snatches it from him again. To save her the trouble of doing so, Pa snatches the newspaper from her and hits himself on the head this time.
As the Bear Family finally settles down to have their lunch, Pa says that he hates picnics. As he goes to get more food from the Picnic basket, Elmyra sings the rest of the Teddy Bears Picnic song and snatches Pa's sandwich. Pa accuses Junior of stealing it and chases him with the newspaper, causing Junior to bump into various bears, including the Angry Bear, whose head is now trapped in his barbecue grill. Ma rolls up the picnic blanket as Pa continues to chase Junior. She then pulls out a frying pan and hits Pa on the head with it. The Angry Bear, with his head still in his barbecue grill and his temper is now at Really Mad and Seeing Red, stops behind Pa and breathes heavily. Pa then climbs up into Junior's arms and begs for him to save him. Junior assures Pa that he will not let anyone harm him. He then slips on a soda can, causing them both to tumble downhill. Elmyra then emerges from a picnic basket and continues singing as Junior and Pa continue tumbling downhill, eventually running into The Angry Bear, who is lighting a barbecue grill for two bear scouts. The two bear scouts run away as Junior and Pa tumble and push The Angry Bear into the barbecue grill, causing his temper to be at Call 911 and the grill to explode. The explosion launches all three of them into the air and Ma catches Pa into a wheelbarrow. After Elmyra finishes singing, Junior lands on her and says, "Oh boy, oh boy! Next week, Pa is taking me hang-gliding!". The Angry Bear lands on him as the cartoon irises out.
I Was a Teenage Bunnysitter
The cartoons begin with Babs, who is talking to her unseen friend, Harriet on the phone, that she has to babysit tonight because her mother wants her to earn her money instead of having her ask for it. After checking herself in the mirror and rearranging her magazines, Babs begins to hop all the way to the Potters' home, which is revealed to the viewer to be next door to Babs' Burrow.
As she arrives at the Potters' home, she meets Mr. And Mrs. Potter, who tell her that their son, Duncan is in his room and that they are going to the movies. As soon as they leaves, Babs rushes into the kitchen, raids the fridge and makes a tall sandwich. After making her sandwich, she gets on the phone and begins to talk to Harriet. Just then, we see Duncan, who at first, seems to be a tall rabbit, but then is revealed to be a small purple rabbit with big glasses and a green striped shirt. He then greets Babs, who greets him back. Duncan then asks her what's she doing, and Babs sarcastically says she's doing brain surgery.
As Babs continues talking to Harriet on the phone, Duncan then stretches out one of her toes and says he's hungry. Babs gives Duncan half of her sandwich, but Duncan tells her he wants mashed potatoes (which he calls "Mashed topatoes") instead, and Babs tells him she's still on the phone, causing Duncan to begin to cry. Having seen this, Babs feels bad and reluctantly decides to take him to the kitchen and make his mashed potatoes.
In the next scene, we see Babs making mashed potatoes while Duncan is seen in his high chair, asking for his mashed potatoes. Babs then gives Duncan his mashed potatoes and Duncan asks her to make it in the shape of a person. At first, Babs says she can't do that, then Duncan sadly tells her that his mother always makes his mashed potatoes look like a person, then she makes the mashed potato man. Duncan then tells Babs that his mashed potato man is bald, to which Babs replies, "It's a Sinead O'connor Mashed Potato Man". Duncan then tells Babs his mother would also give his mashed Potato Man Spaghetti hair, so Babs makes spaghetti and places it on the Mashed Potato Man's head. After Babs tells him to eat the Mashed Potato Pan, Duncan says that if he eats the Mashed Potato Man, he'll die. Furious to hear that, Babs tells Duncan to excuse her for a minute, so she runs out of the Potters' burrow and runs to the top of a cliff and screams very loud. When she gets back, she is angry at Duncan at first and tries to contain herself, then asks him what his favorite type of dinosaur is, to which he tells her is the T-Rex, and Babs asks what a T-Rex would do to a mashed potato man, and Duncan repiles by acting like one and eats the Mashed Potato Man. After seeing him eat the Mashed Potato Man, Babs' watch says it is 8:00 P.M.. Babs asks Duncan what it time it is, and Duncan asks, "Time to go down in the basement and play with the power tools?" but Babs says it's time for him to go to bed, much to Duncan's disappointment.
We then see Babs putting Duncan to bed, as Duncan asks Babs to tell him a scary story. Babs then tells a story (while dressed like a vampire) about a little boy bunny walking through a cemetery at midnight. Duncan then adds a Headless Mutant Monster to the story, and Babs says that the monster loves Bunnies and Duncan says the little bunny ran away while hiding under his blanket. Babs tell him that the Bunny ran and ran, while she goes under his blanket, then says the Headless monster popped up and began to do crazy things, like flying, and says the monster would eat the Bunny if he goes to sleep, which scares Duncan. After the story ends, Babs changes back into her normal attire and tells Duncan good night. But as Babs closes the door, she hears Duncan scream and finds him in his closet. He tells her that the story was too scary for him. Babs apologize for scaring him and carries him to the living room.
The cartoon ends with Babs and Duncan in the living room. As Duncan's Parents come home and wonder if Duncan wasn't any trouble for Babs, we then see Duncan talking on the phone to Harriet while eating a sandwich, while Babs is asleep on the couch.
Cast
| Voice Actors: | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Charlie Adler | Buster Bunny, Angry Bear |
| Tress MacNeille | Babs Bunny, Mama Bear, Patron |
| Joe Alaskey | Plucky Duck, Dan Dogma |
| Cree Summer | Elmyra Duff, Mrs. Potter |
| Frank Welker | Papa Bear |
| Ben Ryan Ganger | Duncan Potter |
| Stan Freberg | Junior Bear |
| Greg Burson | Elmer Fudd |
Quotes
- Babs: "Hey, Plucky..."
- Plucky: "Call me 'Pluck'. It's more artistic, if you know what I mean, and how could you?"
- Junyer Bear: "Gosh, what's this furry pudding doing in my sack?"
- Junyer Bear: "Oh, boy, oh, boy! Next week, Pa is taking me hang-gliding!"
- Babs: "There you go, one mashed potato man."
- Duncan: "He's bald."
- Babs: "It's a Sinead O'Connor mashed potato man, all right?"
- Babs: "There, now eat."
- Duncan: "If I eat him, he'll die!"
- Babs: "Excuse me a minute." (Runs out of the Potter's burrow to the top of a hill and screams)
Allusions
- In the segment Oh, For Art's Sake, the blue dog resembles Hanna-Barbera's Huckleberry Hound.
- Before Teddy Bear's Picnic, Babs says, "And now for something completely different", which was the opening line of the second series of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
- The episode segment, Teddy Bear's Picnic, is set entirely to the tune of the classic song of the same name composed by John Walter Bratton in 1907 and written by Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. The segment is also a parody of Yogi Bear, yet another fellow Hanna-Barbera character, and a friend of Huck Hound.
- The pose Plucky freezes the fighting dog and cat in is the same pose the two cats from the Tweety cartoon "A Gruesome Twosome" when the two cats stop fighting to listen to the female cat they are trying to woo.
- One of the Angry Bear's tattoos reads, "Oh, Bother" which is also Winnie the Pooh's catchphrase when something goes wrong.
Trivia
- In the episode segment, I Was a Teenage Bunnysitter, when Duncan sat next to Babs to ask what she was doing, Babs' left foot was purple, the same color as Duncan's, instead of pink, but when she told him she was doing brain surgery, her foot became pink again.
- Pete Puma is listed in this episode's end credits, although he does not appear in this episode. Stan Freberg, however, did voice Junior Bear.
- Although the episode is credited to being animated by Kennedy Cartoons, this appears to be an erroneous miscredit, as the episode appears to have actually been animated by AKOM.
Gallery
Home Video Releases
