Have always found 'Tiny Toon Adventures' to be a very funny, well made and clever show, with very memorable characters. Anybody who loves Looney Tunes (have been a lifelong fan), 'Animaniacs' and 'Pinky and the Brain' should find a lot to at least like 'Tiny Toon Adventures'. Told myself that before watching it long ago that if it was anything like them that it would be a treat. It turned out to be just that, if not quite childhood favourites in the same way they were due to being introduced to it later.
"Thirteensomething" is a very strong start for Season 3, this season beginning a lot stronger than how the previous season ended with the pretty good if strange "Take Elmyra Please". "Thirteensomething" feels a lot more like a 'Tiny Toon Adventures' episode than that and is a perfect scenario for the show that would do classic Looney Tunes proud. Apparently this was Steven Spielberg's favourite episode of the show, wouldn't go that far personally as in my view there are better but can see why he would find that amount of appeal in it.
While the great things vastly overshadow any gripes and almost everything works, "Thirteensomething" is not quite perfect. It to me would have been even better as a segment as part of a two or three segment structured episode centered around this topic. On the most part, this fares very well as a single story episode but on occasion the story is a little over-stretched.
On the other hand, there are so many great things here. The animation is beautiful and crisp, with bright colourful backgrounds, beautiful colours and well drawn characters. Some of the visuals are among the most imaginative for any episode of the show, and one could tell that the animators were having great fun with the visual side of things. The music is as good as the old Looney Tunes cartoons (prime-Looney Tunes, not most of the 60s ones) in being characterful and adding to the action, if not quite enhancing it in the same way. It always helps to have a memorable theme tune, and the one for 'Tiny Toon Adventures' is suitably hip and very catchy.
Dialogue is razor sharp and witty in a script that is extremely clever and always between very funny and hilarious. The inside jokes, behind the scenes observations and Babs' one-liners are an absolute joy, and they were funny and clever to me even when younger. The story is always engaging and it was good that the depiction of fame and fortune is not what it seems and that there is a not so happy side to it. There is also the delicious wackiness that emulates the spirit of the old Looney Tunes cartoons to a tee.
Babs is on fine form and all the supporting characters are great. Can't fault the voice acting, with Babs being a perfect showcase for Tress MacNeille's versatility.
Concluding, great. 9/10.
