HBO Max's Tiny Toons reboot, Tiny Toons Looniversity, will not include Elmyra Duff, a main character from the original series. The first joint venture between Warner Bros. Animation and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, Tiny Toons Adventures is an animated comedy TV-series that follows a group of young cartoon characters as they enroll in the Acme Looniversity in pursuit of transforming into the next-gen Looney Tunes heroes. Tiny Toons Adventures aired the first-runs of its first two seasons in syndication between September 1990 and December 1992. The show's final season, meanwhile, was broadcast on Fox Kids, where it was eventually cancelled in favor of Animanicas, another Spielberg animated-comedy series that's also getting a reboot treatment soon.
Amblin Entertainment announced that a new Tiny Toons series was headed to HBO Max and Cartoon Network. Titled Tiny Toons Looniversity, the new revival show has already scored a two season straight-to-series order at its respective network and streamer. Tiny Toons Looniversity will feature the return of the beloved teen cartoons to their “esteemed institution of higher hijinx learning”, where they will train under the tutelage of distinguished professors to master their cartoony craft. While announcing the series' revival, Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register had confirmed that all the original characters will be brought back in Tiny Toons Looniversity for fans of all ages to enjoy. But as per a recent development, it appears that the reboot will not include a pivotal character from the original run.
Shortly after the announcement of the revival series, original voice actor Cree Summer took to Twitter to announce that her character Elmyra Duff will not be a part of Tiny Toons Looniversity. Elmyra's exclusion from the Tiny Toons reboot series has enraged the franchise's loyal fans, who were already infuriated over Slappy's absence from the Animaniacs reboot. Some franchise enthusiasts cite that Elmyra has possibly been removed from Tiny Toons owing to her ties with the retooled Animanicas spinoff series Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain. Pinky and The Brain have been confirmed to return in Hulu's Animaniacs reboot, so it is probable that their association with Elmyra might pose rights and licensing issues.
In the 90's Tiny Toons Adventures, Elmyra Duff served as a fill-in for Elmer Fudd, the antagonistic Looney Tunes hunter who terrorized Bugs Bunny and Daffy with his gun. While Elmyra wasn't exactly as violent as her adult counterpart, she persecuted her pets differently; she chased after the teen toons in desperate attempts to forcibly cuddle them. In the original show, Elmyra also fervently pursued her crush Montana Max, although he did not reciprocate her feelings. Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment are yet to confirm if Max too has been removed from the upcoming series.
Elmyra’s rough treatment of animals in Tiny Toons Adventures may have been played for laughs at the time, but in the current era, may come off more like making fun of animal abuse. This brings to mind how Elmer Fudd was changed in the Looney Tunes reboot, where he appears unarmed without his gun in order to adapt the character to modern times and sensibilities. Removing Elmyra reads as a mindful attempt by the creative team to prevent the display of potentially irresponsible plot points. But with Elmyra gone, Tiny Toons Looniversity finds itself deprived of a pivotal, forceful villain. So in order for the new series to not be impacted by Elmyra's departure, it's important that the makers introduce a less aggressive human or even an evil anthropomorphic animal as a stand-in for Elmyra.
Source: Cree Summer