The Charge

That's all, folks! (It's naptime.)

The Case

I guess I missed this one on television. Baby Looney Tunes tells the story of the big dogs of Warner Brothers animation before they were grown up and dropping anvils on each other's heads or kissing hunters on the lips. The series, obviously geared toward the very young, finds six pals—Daffy Duck, Baby Taz, Sylvester, Bugs Bunny, Tweety, and Baby Lola (Bugs's female counterpart)—engaging in simple misadventures in their nursery, which is lorded over by the benevolent Granny. This disc contains four 12-minute episodes:

• "Taz in Toyland"
(featuring the song "Born to Sing")
Baby Taz has the unfortunate, but understandable, habit of obliterating the nursery and ruining all of his toys. Because Ritalin doesn't exist for Tasmanian Devils, Taz must cope with his hyperactive tornado-spinning without the assistance of prescription medication. Granny, upset at Taz for breaking all of his stuff, challenges him to keep one toy—a clown—protected. Taz is inspired by the challenge, and secludes himself with his new toy, taking extra care not to harm it, despite the shifty goings-on of his cohorts. But when the toy appears to be broken, he is shocked to find out it's one of those "spring-back" clowns and not broken at all. Apparently this blatant bit of emotional manipulation by Granny doesn't seem to faze him. I'd be pissed, though.

• "Comfort Level"
(featuring the song "Twinkle Baby Looney Star")
Sylvester has a blanket and he loves it. He brings it with him wherever he goes and requires its presence during a nap. One day, after a rousing dose of fun on the playground, he gets back inside and realizes he is without his precious blanket. Bugs puts together a posse to retrieve the blanket, but their attention deficit disorders hamper the investigative effort. Not to worry—Sylvester learns that he doesn't need to rely on the blanket for security and ends up sleeping fine on his own. Way to go champ!

• "A Secret Tweet"
Tweety senses something's amiss in the nursery. Granny has brought the other babies together to tell them a secret, but Tweety was not invited. And then, for the rest of the day, Tweety's friends are doing suspicious activities, and refusing to tell him what they're up to. Paranoid conspiracy theorist that he is, Tweety begins cooking up feverish scenarios where his friends have abandoned him. His fantasies are cut short when he realizes that—surprise!—everyone was just planning a birthday party for him.

• "Like a Duck to Water"
When Granny tells the babies that they'll be going swimming, Daffy starts bragging about how awesome he's going to be. He points to his prowess in the bathtub and his natural duck-intuitive skills as reasons why he will dominate the pool. But when the sees how big the pool is, he panics, and refuses to swim. Forgiving as they are, the babies concoct a way to get Daffy in the pool—by ruining it with bubble bath mix.

Like I said, this show is for little, little kids. Plotlines are simple and predictable, and the humor is goofy slapstick and squeaky voices. Will kids like it? Sure, once they get past the weird set-up of a single, elderly woman raising half a dozen talking animals in diapers. An interactive trivia game accompanies the episodes.

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