The seventh episode of the third season of Tiny Toon Adventures, and eighty-fifth episode overall.
Fed up with their usual Tiny Toons comedy routines, Babs, Buster, and Plucky decide to speak to their boss with Warner Bros., Mr. Cooper DeVille, hoping to be given a chance to do something that each of them want to do, such as Babs being a Southern Belle, Buster a buff action hero, and Plucky a swashbuckling Musketeer. Despite his initial refusal after each of them voice their ideas, DeVille is willing to give them a chance to make a cartoon as a publicity stunt for Warner Bros., and makes all three of them directors.
However, over the course of Babs, Buster, and Plucky working on their individual ideas, everyone, from Hamton, to Mr. DeVille, to even the writing staff, know that comedy is what Babs, Buster, and Plucky do best, but all three refuse to go back to that and are forced to take matters into their own hands to ensure they get their cartoon done.
After fast-forwarding past the rest of what they had to do to get the cartoon together, Babs, Buster, and Plucky are ready to release their cartoon to the public, but Mr. DeVille and his yes-men stop them, reminding them that he has to see it in a private screening first, and if he likes it, he'll give it the green light to go public. However, Babs has other ideas, and while Buster and Plucky watch it with DeVille and his yes-men, Babs pirates the satellite signal so it will be shown to the public, without DeVille's authorization, a clear breach of protocol and their boss' orders. As a result, DeVille is furious afterwards, and fires the three on the spot, ordering them out of his sight.
After they sadly leave upon realizing their attempts at what they really want to do with their lives has cost them their jobs with Warner Bros., Buster, Babs, and Plucky return just in time to see DeVille's true reaction to the cartoon: It was so bad, it was actually good, sending DeVille and his yes-men into hysterical laughter. Turns out that comedy-wise, Cooper liked it and was glad to have Babs, Buster, and Plucky try their hand at a cartoon, but refuses to let them make another one. Instead, since they did make him laugh, despite his initial fury at them before, he's willing to let them keep their jobs, and sends them back to resume their work with Tiny Toons, now with a better respect for doing comedy, ending with everyone laughing hysterically at what the Tiny Toons are doing in following their Looney Tunes elders with making people laugh with cartoon comedy.
This episode provides examples of:
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Babs imitates Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard when she arrives at the screening room, ready to show Dawn of Despair to the world.
- Angst Nuke: Mr. DeVille is so furious at Dawn of Despair, that flames shoot out the top of his head like an erupting volcano, a way for cartoons to show just how furious one can get when their Berserk Button is pressed.
- Animated Actors: Buster, Babs, and Plucky are shown not only to be this, but also create their cartoon, Dawn of Despair.
- Anvil on Head: The writers try to add this gag to Dawn of Despair. Buster, Plucky, and Babs retaliate by dropping anvils on them.
- As Herself: Voice director Andrea Romano, who is credited for playing "Andrea Romano the Magnificent". The Tiny Toons writers appear in caricatured form but are otherwise voiced by the cast. (Notably, Gail Matthius plays Sherri Stoner.)
- Book Ends: This episode begins and ends with Buster and his friends in the rehearsal hall, reading over a script involving Buster dressed like an aardvark.
- Call-Back: The overworked animator that asks Buster for more money is the same animator from The Looney Beginning.
- Cheek Copy: Plucky does this with his face to save time and money on animation.
- Credits Gag: Hey! We lost a paperclip! Whoever took it, give it back right now! - Oh, wait. We found it. Never mind.
- Even the Dog Is Ashamed: A boy, a girl, and their pet dog are watching TV when Babs pirates the signal to show the world Dawn of Despair. The dog, along with the boy and girl, are disgusted by the cartoon.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending
- Food as Bribe: When everyone leaves the WB studio after hearing the idea for Dawn of Despair, Mr. DeVille has to convince them to go back inside by telling them there's free ice cream.
- Low Count Gag: When Buster, Babs, and Plucky split up into teams so they can each film their own scenes for Dawn of Despair, Babs chooses to have all the women on her team. Babs soon finds out that there are only two female staff members.
- Office Golf: This trope is taken to extreme by having an entire golf course in Mr. DeVille's office.Buster: This explains why he was yelling "Fore!" on all those conference calls.
- Running Gag: The writers saying "My joke" during the table read.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The entire cast and crew flee the Warner Bros. animation studio when Buster, Babs, and Plucky announce Dawn of Despair to them. Mr. DeVille convinces them to go back inside by telling them there is free ice cream.
- Shaped Like Itself: When Buster and Babs want to make an adventurous and romantic cartoon, Plucky tells the staff that he wants to play a selfish, loud-mouthed egomaniac, which, as Buster and Babs point out, he already is.
- Slave Galley: The entire animation staff is portrayed this way, with Buster as the cruel drum-beating coxswain who beats up anyone who asks for more money.Buster: Faster! Cheaper! Cheaper! Faster!
- So Bad, It's Good: An in-universe example; Mr. DeVille realizes that Dawn of Despair falls into this category, though he initially feels it's horrible.
- We Are Not Going Through That Again: Despite finding Dawn of Despair so bad it's good and being glad he let Buster, Babs, and Plucky make it, Mr. DeVille refuses to let Buster, Babs, and Plucky make another cartoon. However, he does let them keep their jobs as a reward for making him laugh.
- Whoopee Cushion: An anthropomorphic one takes offense to Babs saying that she's an actress, not a whoopee cushion. Plucky silences him by sitting on him.
