A Very Special Special Segment UPDATE: We May Have Found Our Thing

If you’ve been following us, you know from A Very Special Special Segment that our two “special” miniseries segments, What The Funny and Pop Dream, were getting shelved/put on ice as we’re planning to consolidate them (or elements of them) into a single new miniseries segment that we’re developing. There we also mentioned that we want this new segment to be singularly focused on a specific thing, like one particular franchise, studio, genre or company.

For a brief moment, we considered that thing being Saturday Morning Cartoons…

But that’s too similar to our flagship series, the Razzle Dazzle Show; in fact, the basic premise of our entire channel/brand is Saturday Morning Fans Who Grew Up, aka a kids’ show for adults. After some back-and-forth searching and consideration, we may have landed on the connecting thread that this new segment will be built around:

It’s looking like this new segment will be built around…WARNER BROS. STUDIOS!

We’ve been giving this some thought, and WB seems to check all our boxes: it’s big and iconic, so the things we can cover on it are generally known (no super niche stuff like Animal Jam), it’s a single company but it houses many products and pop-culture things of interest such as cartoons, TV shows, movies, video games, toys, merchandise, ad campaigns, theme park attractions, etc.

Plus a lot of the characters and franchises under WB’s umbrella are among our favorite things: Looney Tunes, Cartoon Network, DC, Hanna-Barbera; this will enable us to make a wide range of videos without getting burned out or repeating ourselves.

Plus, it’s something different. There are already about 300 people out there who have blogs, internet shows, or channels devoted to Disney; we don’t want our channel to be the 301st. There are already dozens of DisneyTubers, but nobody’s really spotlighting Warner Bros like that (as far as we know).

Here’s how it’ll work: Our main series will of course be The Razzle Dazzle Show. This will cover the Saturday Morning/Animation and Assorted Stuff/things in general.

The other main recurring segments like TV Special Tonight, The Couch, Talkin’ Nerdy, Player Two Start, Nerdvana, Retroville, etc. will more or less be incorporated into Razzle Dazzle (generally speaking, we plan to have each installment of RDS to feature 2 or 3 segments per show).

2 Funny, Brain Candy, and other miscellaneous mini-segments will either appear between the main Razzle Dazzle segments and/or separately as shorts. These segments are basically the shows between the shows.

The new segment will run on it’s own schedule; separate from the Razzle Dazzle Show but still running concurrently alongside of it, in other words when a new installment of the miniseries pops up, we won’t be ceasing production on anything else we’re doing at that time. However, the miniseries segment won’t appear as often or as regularly as the Razzle Dazzle Show segments; the miniseries segments will only turn up from time to time, and only when we have one (obviously).

Now, on to what you can expect to see on this new special segment (and why we shelved Pop Dream and What The Funny):

As previously stated, this new segment will celebrate/deep dive into all things Warner Brothers (or all the things pertaining to WB cartoon and geek culture stuff, anyway).

This obviously includes Looney Tunes (no shock there)…

Cartoon Network…

DC…

Hanna-Barbera, etc. It will cover the shorts, the shows, the movies,

The games,

The toys,

Theme parks and stage shows, you get the idea.

There will occasionally be detailed character profiles and tributes, a la Pop Dream, but the overall approach and execution will be much different. I don’t want this new segment to just be Pop Dream with a different name. Yes, one reason I retired Pop Dream was because I felt the branding and approach to it was too sugary-sweet and tame compared to the other stuff we do and it didn’t really fit in with our general style (which leans more towards wild ‘n’ crazy) but that wasn’t the only problem I was having with it. While it was a little more focused on a singular subject than the average segment, it was still a different show each time, which was kind of grab baggy, like what we’re already doing on The Razzle Dazzle Show; one reason I launched my miniseries in the first place was to do something different. Also I was starting to find the Pop Dream formula a tad too rigid; it followed the same basic formula of “Pick a show or franchise, select 5 or 6 of my favorite characters from said franchise, profile them in the same categories, choose another show, pick 5 or 6 favorite characters from that show, wash, rinse, repeat”, plus it adhered to the same 5 bullet points every time in the exact same order; I began wanting a break from that; I admit I was getting bored with Pop Dream because it was the same thing every time. My awakening came from watching LS Mark’s Splash Dash or Walter Banasiak’s Juniversal: I liked how, despite them both focusing on one specific thing (Sonic the Hedgehog and Universal Studios, respectively), each video was something different every time: sometimes they’d focus on a show, sometimes a game, sometimes a movie, sometimes a theme park attraction, sometimes lore, sometimes graphics, whatever, as long as they pertain to the main subject. I love how fluid those segments are, and wanted to have that kind of freedom on my miniseries, so while there will be Pop Dream style character profiles here and there, those won’t be the only things we do on this segment nor are we going to adhere to that structure as rigidly.

I probably can list these guys’ funnier moments, but we’d be here a while.

Hey, Jason (Goldstar) here. I just wanted to reiterate how this new segment will differ from What the Funny (and also why I wanted to make these changes in the first place). For one, the WTF segments quickly fell into a very predictable formula; I would pick a comedy show, breakdown 5 or 6 episodes of said show, then pick a different comedy show and start the process all over again. WTF was supposed to be a variety of fun stuff all focused on 1 specific show, franchise or studio, not just keep doing the exact same thing, but with a different show each time. I wanted to put a stop to that because that wasn’t far enough away from The Razzle Dazzle Show, our flagship show. In the time since I stared WTF, I became aware of Splash Dash and Tough Pigs.com. Both of which are focused on 1 specific subject: the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and Jim Henson’s Muppets, respectively. If WTF were to continue, it would’ve needed to have a more distinct connecting thread besides just being funny, since our entire website/channel is devoted to cartoons and comedy. Also, this new segment won’t be a miniseries in which each individual entry contains 5 or 6 separate parts. Truth be told, I was getting tired of that format and wanted to present the episodes in a different way.

For another, I definitely wanted to put a stop the episode reviews because that’s too basic. That’s Nostalgia Critic and everybody and their mom does those. One reason why I (and Damon too, as I later discovered) embarked on this special segment in the first place was to do something different. I still like the idea of What the Funny, but now I see that it needed more time to cook.

In short, the new segment will be less this…

And more this.

There may be a ratings system (of sorts), but it’s mainly going to be joke ratings made strictly for laughs and not meant to be taken that seriously. Also, we won’t be numbering the individual entries in this segment since it’s not going to be the same thing every time.

Now, before anyone informs us that we already have a recurring segment devoted to Warner Brothers Studios called That’s Warner Brothers! my response is that TWB! used to be Cartoon Country, so the way I see it, this is taking the evolution of the concept a step further. Finally, as previously stated, this new segment will be replacing both What the Funny and Pop Dream because we feel that it’s more efficient to have just one miniseries as opposed to having two.

Two things we’re committed to doing with this segment:

  1. It’ll be a variety. One thing I can’t overemphasize here is that we want this new segment to be fluid; we don’t wish to just do the same thing every time. If one installment is about Foghorn Leghorn’s Funniest Bits, then the next one will be something completely different, like “All Those -Alities”, where we spotlight our favorite Mortal Kombat Fatalities, Friendships and Animalities, then the video after that will be about something unrelated to that, like all the cameos, references, callbacks and Easter Eggs in the movie Scoob!. We’re really committed to the idea(l) that we never do the same type of video twice in a row.
  2. It will absolutely, positively, definitely NOT be a review show! We can do celebrations, goofs, trivia, spotlights and highlights and assorted fun things, but it won’t be the standard issue review format. Once again, this isn’t Nostalgia Critic; one reason we’re launching this segment (nee, the entire channel) is to do something different from that.

Right now, one of the main thing this new segment needs is a name. We could just continue to call it That’s Warner Bros!, but that might be a bit basic and too obvious. We want to have some fun and play a little loose with this segment, so we may want a more abstract and less obvious title. Some names we’re currently considering are:

Untitled Cartoon Show

That Cartoon Show

Toontime

The Basement

Cartoon Madness

Cartoon Country

Club Whatever

And of course, What The Funny.

We’re still playing around with names, but this new segment is coming that much closer to becoming reality. We’ll keep you posted.

“S-s-s-s-stay tooned, folks!”

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: After some deliberation, we’ve finally decided on a name for this new segment. As a result of What The Funny, Pop Dream and That’s Warner Brothers doing the Fusion Dance…

This new special miniseries segment will be called (drum roll, please)…

WEIRD BOYS!!

The name Weird Boys fits so perfectly. One, it applies; we’re both weird, and two, its’ initials are WB; so it’s a perfect way to say what the segment is about without actually saying it. (Weird Boys = Warner Brothers, get it?)

So when Twin Images goes live on video, expect to see Weird Boys make its’ debut alongside The Razzle Dazzle Show and our other regular segments somewhere down the line. When? Who knows? It’ll be a surprise, something special, if you will. So look out for it, at any given moment, Twin Images will be getting weird!

That’s Warner Brothers!: That’s Not All, Folks!

So Pete Browngardt and crew have just wrapped up production on Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Some folks are now asking, “What’s next?” Well, there are some new Looney Tunes projects in the works, such as Tweety Mysteries and The Day the Earth Blew Up, but if you’re asking us, we’d say…

Why not take another shot at Laff Riot?

Just putting that out there.

Player Two Start!/That’s Warner Brothers! – Characters We’d Like To See in Multiversus

Howdy, folks.

Unless you’ve been living in a remote log cabin in the woods somewhere, you’ve undoubtedly heard about Warner Bros. new video fighting game Multiversus.

Prepare to get knocked the toon out!

The game is still early, but the first character roster has been revealed, and we think that the lineup is pretty good.

However, we feel that this lineup is, shall we say, a tad incomplete. The official Multiversus website says that more characters will be revealed soon, but in the meantime, we’d like to list some of the characters that we would add to the Multiversus roster.

But before we start , there are a few conditions:

First, we’re not going to suggest any live action characters like Sheldon Cooper or Ted Lasso. The game’s designers would have to make them not resemble the actors, otherwise the actors would to be paid a royalty for the use of their likenesses, so we’re only going to suggest animated characters.

We’re only suggesting characters who are at least partially owned by Warner Brothers. I know that some folks like to go buck wild with their wish lists and make crazy suggestions like Ronald McDonald, Cookie Monster, Rainbow Dash, Homer Simpson, Beavis and Butthead or Son Goku,and that’s fine. You do you, but my feeling is that if you’re going to throw in any random ass characters, then you might as well just call it a completely new game. That’s basically M.U.G.E.N. We’re not going to be doing that. We’re kind of anal about that kind of thing.

And finally, keep in mind that these are all characters that we would add to the game, not characters that we think the studio is going to add. Got it? Good. Let’s go, man, go!

LOONEY TUNES

So far, we’ve got Bugs Bunny and Taz, which is great, but there needs to be more. There are too many awesome Looney Tunes characters for there to only be 2 in this game.

Multiversus needs to have Daffy Duck. It just does. Daffy is wacky and nutty, and his moves would be erratic and unpredictable. This isn’t up for debate. Daffy is awesome and he needs to be in the game. Period.
I’d also throw in Lola Bunny for gender balance, and I want The Looney Tunes Show version of the character. Wacky Lola is best Lola. I don’t care about “bunny boobies”, and neither should you.

And also, Yosemite Sam.

A little guy with a big mouth and big guns. He’d be perfect for a WB slug fest.

Here’s a kooky thought: why not add Granny as a wild card?

She could have a ramming motor scooter attack, an umbrella whack, some Matrix-style karate moves, plus another female Looney Tune is always welcome.
I considered Sylvester and Tweety, but the way I imagined them playing would be too similar to Tom & Jerry.

DETECTIVE COMICS (DC)

So far, we’ve got the Trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) and Harley Quinn. Nice, but there should be more.

Bring in The Flash. The Scarlet Speedster is a no-brainer.
And also Green Lantern, aka John Stewart. Yeah, I know that Hal Jordan is the most famous Green Lantern, but come on. We need some representation.
Cyborg would be another good choice for this endeavor; we haven’t gotten a decent Tech Factor hero in this game yet.
Or Static Shock. He’s got a unique power set. That works too.
And since Harley Quinn is already here, might as well bring in The Joker as well.

HANNA-BARBERA

There is a rumor that Fred Flintstone may show up in Multiversus, and if that’s true, yeah, we get it. The Flintstones is iconic. But personally, if we’re going to have an H-B caveman in this game, We’d rather have Captain Caveman.

He’s super strong. He can fly. He has a magic club. Tell me that having Cavey in this game wouldn’t rock (Sorry, couldn’t resist)!

And hey, since Multiversus is technically a fighting game, why not throw in Hong Kong Phooey?

Number One super guy! Fanriffic!
WARNING! Obscure TV show reference. You risk losing your contemporary audience! Please move on.
And since we’ve already got some super heroes, how about Space Ghost? He’s got groovy powers.
I think the Scoob! versions of Blue Falcon and Dynomutt might be cool, but that’s probably just me.

One more thing. I suspect that we’ll get more members of Mysteries Inc. somewhere down the line, but I think that it’s ridiculous that Shaggy and Velma made it to this game before Scooby Doo, so let’s rectify that.

“Ring me in, clowns!”

CARTOON NETWORK

So far, on the Cartoon Network side, we’ve got Finn and Jake from Adventure Time, Garnet and Steven Universe from, well, Steven Universe. Not bad, but there needs to be more.

The Powerpuff Girls

I don’t think that I need to explain why the Powerpuff Girls should be in Multiversus. They were originally called The Whoop-Ass Girls. ‘Nuff said.

I also think that this game should have Dexter as a playable character.

Give him a pile of gadgets and/or a mech suit and the pint sized mad scientist is good to go.

I’d also add Mordecai and Rigby from Regular Show.

I have no idea what they would do. I just want to see them in there.

An obvious choice from Cartoon Network’s roster would be Ben Tennyson, aka Ben 10.

The obvious hook with him would be having him switch into his various alien forms and giving each one of them a special attack. It would a bit to make, but it could be done.
For balance you could throw Gwen in there as well, just give her her Anodite magic and she’s all set.
Feakazoid would be a good addition, but he’s co-owned by Steven Spielberg, so WB would need to get clearance from Amblin in order to use him.

Speaking of Amblin characters, we considered suggesting Yakko, Wakko and Dot…

…but then rumors began circulating that they’re actually going to be in the game. The presence of a Yakko balloon in the 2024 poster for the game seems to confirm this.

It’s on the upper left corner, right above Wonder Woman. It helps to squint.

QUICK SIDE BAR: I hate that we’re referring to the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot as “the Animaniacs” now; originally the title Animaniacs referred to the zany, anarchic, free-for-all vaudeville style nature of the show, not any specific characters, but a few influential people and entities (such as Kids’ WB!) began calling the Warner sibs ‘the Animaniacs’ and the practice just spread like wildfire across the internet and the pop-culture spectrum the same way the word ‘dang’ (a safe way for kids to say “damn” without getting into trouble) spread like wild across the playgrounds of America. Like ‘dang’, calling the Warners ‘the Animaniacs’ has come too far and gotten too big to be stopped now, so while we don’t call them that ourselves, it’s too late to squash it. It is what it is. END SIDE BAR.

Moving on…

Say, here’s a wild card choice: Popeye the Sailor Man.

This isn’t as much of a reach as you might think; as of this writing, Warner Bros. currently holds the rights to the Popeye cartoons (Warner absorbed the Turner cartoon library after they merged with Turner Broadcasting), so Popeye is a WB character by proxy, the same way Gumby is technically a Disney character: the rights to Gumby are currently held by Fox Entertainment, and Disney owns Fox, so Gumby is technically a Disney character.

Back to Popeye, anyone who’s ever watched a Popeye cartoon in their lives knows why the one-eyed sailor man would fit perfectly in a brawler; just have him “eats ‘is spinach” for a Super and watch the sparks fly!

Speaking of Popeye and video games, did you know that the original Donkey Kong arcade game started out as a planned Popeye game, but was changed because Nintendo couldn’t secure the rights to the character? Now you do.

FINALLY….

Again, I don’t know how this would work, but you have to admit, having Godzilla in this game would be freakin’ cool!

That’s Warner Brothers!/Unpopular Opinions: This Must Be Bizarro World

“The following am very important and worth everyone’s time.”

Htrea, aka Bizarro World, is an imperfect, messed-up funhouse mirror duplicate of Earth where everything is the opposite of our world: cats chase dogs, jokes make people cry, boy bands play instruments and Bizarro Joker is the only sane person on the planet.

These days I swear I must be living on Bizarro World, because there was a time if someone told me that Bugs Bunny Builders, an upcoming preschool show for Cartoon Network’s Cartoonito block, would be the show that interests me and that I’m curious to see an episode or two of…

And Tiny Toons Looniversity, a new adaptation of the wonderful 90’s series Tiny Toon Adventures, would be the show that I couldn’t give two squats about…

I’d have told them they were crazy.

But here we are.

I don’t get it either. I’ve tried, folks; I’ve legitimately tried to generate some interest in Tiny Toons Looniversity, but it just ain’t happening. I have zero interest in this show. I’m not even slightly curious about it.

The show I am interested in seeing is Bugs Bunny Builders, the Cartoonito show with squashed versions of Bugs, Lola, Daffy, Porky and Tweety as construction workers taking on all the jobs that Bob the Builder rejected.

“Can we build it? Eh, maybe.”

I know TTL is the show I should be psyched for; I was a big fan of Tiny Toons back in the day, but I’m just not. I think I know why, though: One reason is Reboot Fatigue: I’m legit getting tired of all of these studios strip-mining the nostalgia of Millennials. Another reason is one that I brought up in an earlier Talkin’ Nerdy: I simply don’t think we need another Tiny Toons show right now.

Don’t get wrong; as previously stated, I was a fan of the original Tiny Toons. It definitely filled a need: TT premiered in 1990; back then there was almost no Looney Tunes media aside from The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show on ABC and assorted VHS compilations (anybody remember VHS?), but those were all just collections of the old theatrical shorts, Warner Bros. wasn’t making any new stuff with the Looney Tunes (Space Jam wouldn’t happen for another six years, and this was even before shows like Bugs & Daffy or The ACME Hour — Cartoon Network wouldn’t launch until 1992), so Tiny Toons was as close as we could get to a new Looney Tunes show at the time. It also didn’t hurt that TT was one of the very few syndicated animated series which was all-comedy in an era when most cartoons were action-based or action-comedy hybrids. So I’m not knocking what Tiny Toons contributed to the cultural lexicon.

BUUUT that was then. Today we’re experiencing a kind of Looney Tunes Renaissance: we’ve since gotten no less than 3 new Looney Tunes shows…

Count ’em. Three.

We had a movie this past summer (Space Jam: A New Legacy) and we’ve got 2 new Looney Tunes shows waiting in the wings: the aforementioned Bugs Bunny Builders

…And Tweety Mysteries. Not to mention that Wile E. Coyote VS ACME movie which is supposedly still happening and will be out…sometime.

So with WB doing all this new stuff with the Looney Tunes, what do we need a new Tiny Toons show for? If you own a designer original, what do you need with a knockoff?

Again, I enjoyed Tiny Toons back in the day, but there’s nothing WB can do with Buster, Babs, Plucky, Hamton and Dizzy that they can’t already do with Bugs, Lola, Daffy, Porky and Taz, and when you strip Tiny Toons down to its’ bare bones, Tiny Toons was just a kiddification. I didn’t think we needed a new Animaniacs either (and still don’t), but at least in the case of A!, the characters, while created in the spirit of Looney Tunes, are still original characters with their own shticks. TT, by contrast, did some great shorts, but the characters will always just be junior versions of the Looney Tunes and consequently will always be in their collective shadow.

“You are wrong! The Tiny Toons are original characters! They’re teenagers, unlike the Looney Tunes! There’s all kinds of stuff they can do with them! You’re just a hater!”

Really, what can the producers do on a new Tiny Toons show? A show devoted to part-time jobs? They did that in the first series. Dating and the prom? They did that too. Cramming for exams? They did that. The big football game? Done that. Field trips? Seen that. The only thing they can’t do in this new series is constantly remind us again and again that it’s the 90’s.

Sure, the producers are doing the world a favor by dropping the odious Elmyra from the show, but that’s still not enough to make me interested in it.

By contrast, Bugs Bunny Builders offers things I haven’t seen before.

For one, the cast.

Rather than centering the show on all of the Tunes as a whole, BBB looks like it’ll just be focusing on a crew of 5: Bugs, Porky, Lola, Daffy and Tweety (Tweety being there without Sylvester is kind of weird, though). I’m sure other Looney Tunes characters will make appearances, but I like the minimalist approach the producers are taking with this show.

Second, it looks like we’ll be getting a version of Lola Bunny that’s actually funny. Dare I say, LOONY!

I’m definitely looking forward to that after the comparatively bland version we got in Space Jam: A New Legacy. It’s quite a leap from a “too cool for school” Lola who sounded like Zendaya to a bubbly, silly one who sounds like one of the Chipettes, but I’m not complaining.

But what really sold me on BBB is this:

If this image is any indication, then it looks like Daffy on this show will be his earlier “crazy, darn-fool” version, which again we didn’t get in New Legacy.

Plucky Duck from Tiny Toons was straight-up 1950’s Daffy, which is fine, but I prefer the nuttier 1940’s version overall.

It looks like we may finally be getting the long-awaited Bugs and Crazy Daffy team-up for the first time…on a preschool show! I tell you, we’re in Bizarro World!

To (finally) sum up, I guess I relate to what producer/writer Paul Rugg said when asked why he wouldn’t be participating in the Animaniacs reboot:

“Here’s the thing: I did that. 20 years ago.”

That basically sums up my feelings about these reboots. Tiny Toons was great. Animaniacs was great. But both shows were products of the 90’s that I don’t need to see more of. It’s like Eek! The Cat.

I watched Eek! when it was on, I got a kick out of it, but I don’t need to see Eek! suddenly pop back into existence and find out what he’s been up to these past 20 years. I saw the originals, I’m good.

I haven’t seen 5 of the top tier Looney Tunes try to build stuff with kooky stylized vehicles and equipment, so I’m more inclined to check that out.
“That been very bad post! This will be very unpopular and earn you many, many dislikes!”

-Yeah, I know.

Quick Twinsanity 2.0 Update: Cartoon Country Gets Re-Branded…Again!

Hey, y’all.

Remember back in 2020, when we said this?

“Cartoon Country will not be making the transition to videos, at least not entirely. Damon believes that CC too closely resembles a conventional review show, which we’re trying to steer away from. Meanwhile I’ve been concerned for some time now that Cartoon Country and my miniseries What The Funny are too similar to one another for them both to coexist as separate entities, but WTF is too popular and we both enjoy doing them, so there was never the thought of dropping that segment. I was going to bring CC back as something else, but I have no idea what that something else could be. If Cartoon Country were to continue, I think it would need to have some sort of specific theme (such as Tony Goldmark’s Escape From Vault Disney, Doug Walker’s Disneycember, Austin Hardgrave’s Zelda Month or Allison Pregler’s Baywatching) rather than just be a grab bag of cartoons in general, since that’s basically what our show is; having a mish-mash segment on our mish-mash show would be quite redundant.”

Well, we may have found that special niche for the segment formerly known as Cartoon Country to embody. Jason and myself have been kicking the idea nut around, and it’s looking like going forward we’ll be re-re-branding Cartoon Country as a new segment called (drum roll, please)…That’s Warner Brothers!

What will That’s Warner Brothers! be about? I’m glad I pretended you asked. TWB! will be presented in the same manner as the Cartoon Countries, but as the name implies, instead of them being a grab-bag which focuses on a random show or franchise each time, TWB! will exclusively focus on the works of Warner Bros. Studios specifically. There will of course be segments spotlighting Looney Tunes (the most obvious example), but it will also encompass other shows and franchises under the Warner umbrella such as Hanna-Barbera (this includes Cartoon Network’s Cartoon-Cartoons such as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo and The Powerpuff Girls, as well as HB-Adjacent works like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Cartoon Planet), Tom & Jerry, Silver Age WB shows like Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Freakazoid!, and works based on or derived from Detective Comics (DC).

In addition to doing Cartoon Country style deep dives into WB produced shows and franchises, That’s Warner Brothers! will also spotlight commercials, shorts, toys, consumer products, TV specials and whatever else we feel like, as long as it somehow pertains to the works of Warner Bros. Studios.

So it looks like Cartoon Country will be making the jump to Twinsanity 2.0 after all, just under a different name and with a modified theme. When? I can’t say right now, but we’ll keep you posted on our progress and events as they happen. Stay tooned!