Recap / Tiny Toon Adventures S 1 E 31 Sawdust And Toonsil

The thirty-first episode of Tiny Toon Adventures.

The episode begins in Wackyland, where Buster, Babs, and Plucky ride their bikes with Gogo Dodo. When they reach the entrance to Wackyland, Babs thanks Gogo for inviting her, Buster, and Plucky to Wackyland, and tells him he's a one-of-a-kind friend. Just then, they hear a loud whistle, which is revealed to belong to a train. On the train is a poster that says, SILAS WONDER'S WONDERFUL CIRCUS OF WONDERMENT. Gogo is shocked when he sees the poster, and pulls away the bridge to Wackyland. Plucky asks Gogo why he's acting stranger than usual, but Gogo doesn't want to tell him. Plucky then tells Buster and Babs that Gogo's mom was probably scared by a train, and Babs tells him, "Or a circus." Upon hearing this, Plucky wants to join the circus and become a star. He, Buster, and Babs follow the train on their bikes, and the train screeches to a halt. Plucky is excited to join the circus, but then gets flattened by the ramp leading into one of the box cars. Buster and Babs wonder what the circus has, and the rest of the box cars open, revealing various circus attractions inside them. The circus' ringmaster, Silas Wonder, introduces himself to Buster, Babs, and Plucky and welcomes them to his circus. Plucky then asks Silas if he ever considered having a high-wire duck act in his circus, and Silas tells him his Wonderful Circus of Wonderment includes only the most wonderous wonders in the world. Silas then leads Buster, Babs, and Plucky into his tent of Wonderbeasts. Unknown to him, Gogo has been watching from Wackyland. Gogo suspected that Silas Wonder would return to ACME Acres one day, and he decides to set out. He then looks at his watch and decides that he needs to hurry up.

Inside Silas' tent, Silas' two nameless henchmen pull the curtains open, and Silas shows Buster, Babs, and Plucky his collection of Wonderbeasts, which include the world's only living Pegasus, the world's only magical fire-breathing dragon, and the mysterious sphinx. Buster, Babs, and Plucky are all shocked to find the wonderbeasts all miserable and sick. Just then, Gogo cuts a hole in the bottom of Sphinx's cage and traps Silas in Sphinx's cage. Gogo escapes with Sphinx, and Buster is surprised to see Gogo. He, Babs, and Plucky all run away as Silas orders his two henchmen to stop them.

In the second act, as Gogo tries to lead Sphinx out of Silas' circus, they get spotted by Silas' henchmen. Gogo and Sphinx escape as Silas' henchmen run into each other. Silas then uses his magic wand to escape from Sphinx's cage, and tells himself that he knew that Gogo would come to save his friends if he came back to ACME Acres. Silas' henchmen chase Gogo and Sphinx, who lose them in a tent. Meanwhile, as Buster, Babs, and Plucky look for the restroom, Gogo pulls them into the tent. Babs asks Gogo what's going on, and Gogo tells her that Silas captured his friends a while back, and now he's trying to capture him. Silas' henchmen then spot Gogo, and chase him, Buster, Babs, Plucky, and Sphinx. Buster, Babs, and Plucky hide behind a bush, but become concerned when Gogo doesn't follow behind them. To their shock, Silas' henchmen have captured Gogo and Sphinx and put them in a cage. Silas then tells his henchman that it's time for them to leave, and the box cars close. Silas then drives his train away, and Gogo waves sadly at Buster, Babs, and Plucky.

Gogo plays a harmonica onboard Silas' train. Silas is now satisfied that he has finally captured Gogo, the last Dodo on Earth, and his collection of wonderbeasts is complete. Gogo tells Silas that he doesn't take well to captivity, but Silas tells him that he'll learn to enjoy it just like his friends. Unfortunately, Gogo's friends haven't exactly gotten used to captivity, as they are all very miserable. After Silas leaves, Gogo tells his friends that he's going to help them break out. Sphinx tells Gogo that Silas' cages are made of solid steel, and all their plans to escape from them have failed. Gogo then tells his friends they can't give up, but suddenly, his left arm begins to disappear. He checks his dippy stick, and finds out it is low on wackiness. If he doesn't return to Wackyland to refill it, he'll disappear completely.

Silas sets up his circus, with Gogo as the star attraction, extorting him for profit. Buster, Babs, and Plucky, all of whom are disguised as spies, overhear from behind a bush. As Silas wlecomes people to see his circus, Buster, Babs, and Plucky walk past him, disguised as a three-headed, duck-billed rabbit, using two of Plucky's feathers as ears, two fake beaks, and a bag of ACME Guano. This gets Silas' attention, and Buster tells him that he, Babs, and Plucky want to be in his sideshow. Silas then grabs them and tells them he has a fabulous idea. He asks them if they'd like to star in the magical center ring. Babs tells Silas that she, Buster, and Plucky would rather go in the sideshow tent with the other mistreated animals, but Plucky protests, saying that this could be his big chance to be a star. Silas assures Plucky that he, Buster, and Babs will be at the top of their profession.

In the center ring, Buster and Babs growl angrily at Plucky for getting them into a high dive act. Silas then announces to his audience that Buster, Babs, and Plucky are going to jump from a high platform and dive into a thimble filled with lukewarm Jell-O. Plucky looks down and refuses to dive, but before he can sneak away, one of Silas' minions pokes him, Buster, and Babs with a spiked club.

In the third act, Plucky begins to regret his decision to star in the center ring, and Silas' henchman pokes him, Buster, and Babs with his spiked club again, pushing them off the platform. They all fall, but Buster has an idea. He, Babs, and Plucky will grab hold of a nearby trapze with their ears. They all do so, and land in a pool of water. After they lose their disguise, Plucky decides to break up the act and do a solo career. Babs tells Buster that they have to save Plucky before Silas makes mincemeat out of him, but Buster stops her and tells her that Plucky will distract Silas while they rescue Gogo and his friends. Babs likes this idea.

As Silas looks for Buster, Babs, and Plucky, Plucky catches up to him and volunteers himself to be in his circus. He tries to demonstrate his talents to Silas by climbing up a human pyramid, but he accidentally causes it to fall on top of Silas. Silas tells Plucky, "Stop this, you clown!", but this only gives Plucky the idea to be a clown. He then tries to demonstrate his talents by stuffing Silas into a clown car, but he only causes it to roll into the human pyramid. An angry Silas then tosses Plucky into a cage filled with lions, much to Plucky's horror.

As Buster and Babs continue to look through Silas' circus, Buster tells Babs that he finally found the restroom. They don't find it, but they do find Gogo and his friends looking miserable. Buster and Babs Gogo where his Wackyland spirit is, and Sphinx tells them that his spirit is in Wackyland, but they'll never see it again. Babs assures Sphinx that she and Buster will help her and her friends get back to Wackyland. Buster then digs a hole and decides to help them escape by tunneling. When they reach the other side of the tunnel, Gogo begins to disappear. Buster and Babs put Gogo and his friends on a handcar and tell them they're going to make it back to Wackyland on it. Buster and Babs then realize that Plucky is still in Silas' circus, and he might be in danger.

In the lion cage, Plucky is being tamed to jump through a hoop by one of the lions, and the audience cheers. Buster and Babs return to Silas' circus and tell Plucky it's time to leave, but Plucky doesn't want to leave, as he is finally a star. Buster and Babs pull him away, and this gets Silas' attention. He then sees Buster, Babs, and Plucky board their handcar, which also has Gogo and his friends on it. As Buster and Babs pump the handcar, Buster finds out that they're being chased by Silas' engine. Buster and Babs pump the handcar as fast as they can, but Silas' engine catches up to them fast. Buster decies that he, Babs, and Plucky should each grab one of Gogo's friends and jump off. They do so just in time as Silas' engine destroys the handcar. Now on land, Buster tells Babs and Plucky that they'll have to get back to Wackyland on foot.

By the time Buster, Babs, and Plucky reach ACME Acres, Silas' train derails and chases after them. Buster, Babs, and Plucky reach the bridge to Wackyland, which begins to roll up. Silas sees that the bridge to Wackyland is out, and he tries to stop his engine by applying the brakes, but it is too late, and his engine falls down the cliff. It explodes, killing him and sending him to Heck, where various creatures are being tortured by a Devil. Silas lands in a cage, and the Devil tells him, "Now my collection is complete!"

With Gogo and his friends returned to Wackyland, they suddenly get their wackiness back. Sphinx, the Dragon, and Pegasus fly into the air, and Gogo multiplies. Babs tells Buster that she loves happy endings.

Back in Heck, the devil torches a green monster, and Silas realizes he's in trouble now. The Devil torches Silas, who by this time, has gotten used to living in Heck, as the fire tickles him. Buster and Babs watch this from a TV in Wackyland, and Buster tells Babs, "there's nothing like an ending with a little heart.". A little heart passes by them and says, "Gee, thanks!", and the screen irises out.

This episode provides examples of:

• A Day in the Limelight: For Gogo.
• Bait-and-Switch: Gogo reveals Wonder's villainy with a joke.
  Gogo: What do you get when you cross a rat with a fink?
  Babs: A ratfink?
  Gogo: Nope. Sorry. A Silas Wonder!
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: This exchange at the beginning of the episode:
  Plucky: Look! No hands!
  Gogo (floating in mid-air): Look, no bike!
  Plucky: Show-off.
  Gogo: No problem!
  (Gogo pulls out a remote and uses it to turn off the show.)
  Plucky: Give me that!
  (Plucky snatches the remote and turns the show back on.)
• Captivity Harmonica: Gogo plays one onboard Silas' train.
• Circus Episode: Silas Wonder's Wonderful Circus of Wonderment is held in this episode.
• Credits Gag: This Program Has been Edited - For Your Own Good.
• Disney Villain Death: Silas meets his demise when his engine falls off a cliff.
• Fading Away: In this episode, it is revealed that when Gogo is away from Wackyland for long periods of time, he loses his wackiness and begins to fade from existence. He begins to suffer this fate when he tries to rescue his captive friends from Wackyland from Silas, but thankfully, he and his friends are rescued by Buster, Babs, and Plucky.
• Handcar Pursuit: Towards the end of the episode, Buster, Babs, and Plucky manage to escape from Silas Wonder's Wonderful Circus of Wonderment with Gogo Dodo and his friends on a handcar. However, they get chased by Silas' engine when he finds out they've escaped. Just before Silas' engine crashes through the handcar, they all jump off, carrying Gogo and each of his friends.
• High-Dive Hijinks: Buster, Babs, and Plucky get roped into a high dive wherein they have to jump into a thimble of lukewarm Jell-O.
• Iris Out: This episode ends with a heart-shaped one, after the Little Heart passes by Buster and Babs.
• Ironic Hell: Near the end of the episode, Silas drives his engine off a cliff to his death. He gets deposited directly in a cage in Heck next to strange-looking demonic creatures. The Devil in charge then provides an Ironic Echo of what Silas had said earlier upon catching Gogo Dodo: "Now my collection is complete!"
• Karmic Death: For capturing and mistreating Gogo and his friends, Silas drives his engine off a cliff trying to chase after them, and the resulting fall sends him to Heck.
• Killed Off for Real: Silas Wonder is the only Tiny Toon Adventures villain to actually die, when his train goes off a cliff.
• Last of His Kind: Gogo.
• Lorre Lookalike: Gogo Dodo briefly takes on Peter Lorre's appearance when he does a Brief Accent Imitation of him.
• Multiple Head Case: Buster, Babs, and Plucky try to get into the sideshow by pretending to be a three-headed duck-billed rabbit. Unfortunately, Silas sees through their Paper-Thin Disguise and instead puts them in the central ring.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Silas Wonder is played using an imitation of Ronald Reagan.
• No Name Given: Silas' Henchmen's names are never revealed.
• Oh, Crap!: Gogo has a massive one when he sees Silas' train coming into Acme Acres, to the point that he closes off the entrance to Wackyland.
• Repulsive Ringmaster: Silas Wonder. He captures rare and exotic animals and is shown to horribly mistreat (practically poaching them) and extort them for profit.
• Shout-Out:
  • This episode's title is a reference to the 1953 movie "Sawdust and Tinsel".
  • Gogo imitates the Robot from Lost in Space ("Danger, Will Robinson, danger!"), Edward G. Robinson, and Peter Lorre.
• Terrible Trio: Silas Wonder and his two henchmen.