Review: Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation

As I type this article up, we've just wrapped up the first week of July and it has been hot as hell to put it mildly. I love summer. I love the lively feel of the season. I don't care for the heat though, but I guess that's something I have to live with. But when I think of summer, I often remember fond memories of summer vacation. Those splendid two months of freedom from school and all the fun you can have. Granted as an adult, that novelty is nowhere as ideal, but it was still the best time ever. There are plenty of summertime movies that bring that nostalgia of the season out. But to me, the one that always stood out was Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation. A direct to video animated movie released in 1992.

Tiny Toon Adventures was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. I knew of Looney Tunes, mainly through The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, so I knew the originals that these new "for the nineties" variations were based on. Tiny Toons was one of the few shows to take the "younger versions of popular animated characters" trend that Muppet Babies started and do it right.  Giving us the wacky adventures of Buster and Babs Bunny (No Relation), Plucky Duck, Hamton J. Pig, Elmyra, Dizzy Devil and the rest of the Acme Acres crew. I think it was my first real exposure to pop culture comedy, as the show was great at parodying much of the media landscape at the time. I may not have gotten every reference, but when I got it, I loved it. And like most great shows, a movie was bound to happen (granted, only shown in one theater on one day, but still a movie) and on March 11th, 1992, How I Spent My Vacation was released.

You know that "Mandela effect" thing? That belief that you remember something completely differently and you swear it somehow changed mysteriously? I think this was my version of it as I swear I remember it being called How I Spent My SUMMER Vacation when I watched it as a kid.

The story of How I Spent My Vacation doesn't focus on one story, or even two, but five stories broken into skits similar to that of the series itself. All focused on the adventures of the Tiny Toons as they deal with the crazy events that can happen during the summer. There are two primary stories though. In one, Plucky accompanies Hamton and his family as they embark to Happy World Land. However, his turns out to be the road trip from hell as Plucky has to endure the insanity of Hamton's family. From their cheapness in using an air conditioner to Hamton puking on his comics to being unable to get water from a restroom fountain...

to straight up picking up a psychotic murderer. I don't think this was a character that scared me, but I always did find him freaky. And the fact that not only are Hamton's family oblivious to all of this, but willing to give the murderer Plucky's address is super dark. But this is Tiny Toons, I shouldn't be shocked. And the payoff to all of this is still amazing. I don't feel like totally spoiling it if you haven't watched this, but to say it's downright cruel what happens when they finally get the park is an understatement.

In the second main plot, after a water fight goes drastically overboard, Buster and Babs (and Byron Basset Hound) get swept away from Acme Acres and deep into the swamp where they have to deal with one series of enemies after another. Be it hungry hillbilly possums to a group of southern gators that are big on bigamy, to an encounter on the good ship Delta Burke which brings back all those villains, to hell, even the psychotic murderer at the end just to remind us that yeah, he's still around. It's definitely the more action heavy stuff of the special. I do say I don't find it as consistently funny as the Plucky plot, but there are a lot of great moments and gags nonetheless. Be it Buster's banjo battle with a young possum to many of Babs' impressions.

Then there are three plots that aren't as integral to the story, but are still given focus. One sees Fifi LaFume vying for the autograph of the arrogant celebrity hunk Johnny Pew. Shirley the Loon has to deal with the annoying Fowlmouth Fowl who takes her to the movies (and never shuts up during), and Elmyra trying to find a new kitty and, in Elmyra fashion, does a ton of animal abuse in the process. There's also a bit with Dizzy being naked and inventing the "box look", but that's never given much focus. Of the three, I think I enjoy Fifi's the most, with Elmyra's being the most annoying, but the big payoff at the movies is a great way to wrap all three plots up in a nice package.


Overall, How I Spent My Vacation's strength is its writing and humor. It has to balance a ton of plots and side stories in one ninety minute package, and barring having to use a literal plot hole to fix everything at the end, it all works out to be a fun ride throughout. The animation comes from Tokyo Movie Shinsha, which provides us with the same great animation we've seen from so many of their other works (case in point my Disney Afternoon reviews). The voice acting is top notch as always and the pop culture parodies are still great, even if they're dated as hell, they still resonate as great representations of that era. For example: Remember when the biggest problem people had with Roseanne Barr was "she did a really crappy rendition of the national anthem?" Boy, I miss when that was the worst thing we had to deal with. Hell, there's even jokes all throughout the credits. they spared no expense.

I rewatched the movie earlier this week, and honestly, I still love it. It's not perfect and it has aged a tad, but it still gives off warm feelings about the summertime. Well, not literal warm feelings, it's hot enough as it is. But warm nonetheless. If you haven't seen it in a while, or haven't seen it before, I'd give it a recommend.