It’s no secret that I’ve had my fair share of animated crushes from Robin Hood to Alvin but one I’ve yet to talk about just hadn’t come up yet. That is until filmmaker Josh Stifter came through with his after-school crush and I thought, yes! Finally, it’s time to talk about my favorite blue bunny outside of the ice cream treat, and that’s none other than Buster Bunny.
Josh’s is more on the real human side but you’ll find out more about his, and his new movie, ‘Greywood’s Plot,’ later this week. For now, let’s talk about Buster Bunny, one of the stars of a cartoon that helped define ‘90s animation and as very much a reward for getting through a day at school, and that’s ‘Tiny Toons.’
‘Tiny Toons’ wasn’t just some vapid cartoon that was mindless and made zero sense. It was Steven fucking Speilberg was presenting this shit, and because of that connection – the writing was quite unparalleled when compared to some of the other shit we were taking in at the time. There were pop culture references and that summer special that was like a whole-ass movie that went on to inspire Donald Glover to pen the impeccable second season of ‘Atlanta?’ *chef’s kiss*
Of course, this show had an ensemble cast of characters of sorts much like ‘Cheers’ or ‘The Office,’ but let’s be real – Buster Bunny was the Sam Malone, the Michael Scott – he was running that ship, and I wanted nothing more than to sail the seven seas with him. Not in the same way I would’ve loved to be by Robin Hood’s side though. No, this crush was more like…damn, Buster is so fucking cool. He had the same impish charm the popular boys at school had, only he was an animated bunny. So…better?
The jury’s out on that but to me, Buster Bunny was such a delight to have on my television screen after school, and after ‘Power Rangers’ is what I looked forward to most. One could say that ‘Tiny Toons’ and Buster are part of the foundation that my love of pop culture stands upon. The show gave kids so many references that it was hard not to know Hollywood classics and bits that I’d yet to see on Nick at Nite.
Heading home after a long day learning the basics of education can be tough but it was all worth it knowing that as soon as I walked in that front door and turned on the TV, an afternoon of goodness was waiting for me and Buster Bunny was always at the helm, and for that – how could I not crush and relish in those fond memories?
Crushgasm 