Back to School season is the perfect time to unveil the highly anticipated new Tiny Toons Looniversity series. It premieres this Friday September 8th on Max and Saturday September 9th at 9am on Cartoon Network. Co-Showrunner and Co-EP Nate Cash and three of the talented voice actors, David Errigo Jr., Eric Bauza and Tessa Netting, join me for this Animation Scoop Q&A to discuss being star pupils in this cartoon Looniverse and what fans and newbies to the franchise can expect. (These interviews were edited for structure, length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: Nate, this show is so ambitious. How do you set-up a university?

Nate Cash (Co-EP and Co-Showrunner): It was a lot of hard work. From an art direction standpoint, too. Filling out the campus. Deciding what the style of the campus was going to be. We leaned into the old show for a lot of the main buildings. But we did expand it out to do the entire campus. And with each episode that takes place on campus… it was super fun.

JM: David, you voice two characters who have such strong personalities. How did you want to approach these personalities?

David Errigo Jr. (Voice of Hamton J. Pig and Plucky): Well, you don’t know me very well but I’m a very meek individual. (laughs) I can’t even say it with a straight face. I approached them obviously first and foremost from the writing. You do what they give you. But also with the core of what I remembered them being. That’s how I found the sound. I didn’t listen to what they were. I went with what I remembered, which makes me beautifully off-kilter and helps make it my own. I tried to honor the source material and what I remembered of it. I approached it with that sort of enthusiasm for their pre-existing versions but then as far as leaning in… the fun we have in the room when we record and the fun they build into the scripts that enable that bigness of character, if you will.

JM: The show is big. In scale. In impact. Bugs has this epic entrance. I love it.

NC: I think that harkens back to the premise of this show. These are toons who are attending ACME Looniversity to earn their toon degree. Our version of the show leans into them going to college. Their mentors at the school (the faculty) are the legacy Warner Bros. characters they look up to. They’re trying to figure out who they are too. They’re not just imitations of the old Looney Tunes characters. Bugs’ entrance with the slowly rotating, epic stuff is playing into him being a god to Buster Bunny. He looks up to him. And what does it mean to want to be your hero?

DEJ: And to add onto that… I wanted to give an homage not just to Tiny Toons but Looney Tunes. Finding the moments in the performances where I get to do that is also a blast. Finding the differences… what would be keeping in character enough, not dialed up to 10, dialed up to Looney instead. That has also been a driving force underneath the performances.

JM: Yeah. And David, what Hamton experiences in the first episode has a lot to do with being brave. What does that theme mean to you… and for the kids who are going to watch this episode and see what happens to Hamton?

DEJ: I believe doing your best is always an excellent start. One of the reasons that I have a career in voiceover is because I decided I wasn’t afraid of it. I decided I would show up and I would do the work and I would take all of the research and put in all the reps and listen to all the podcasts. Shout-out to Talkin’ Toons with Rob Paulsen. Without that podcast, I would not be here today. There is something to showing up and putting in the work, which is what Hamton does. He’s brave and very vulnerable. In terms of talking to kids: Be yourself and let that be what carries you through, and you will find your successes in that way.

JM: Wow. I love that very much. One of the executive producers is Steven Spielberg. He’s one of the first names you see on each of the episodes. What does Mr. Spielberg think of all this, and especially The Warner Bros. Center for Excellence in Visual Gags? I’m sure he likes that, right?

NC: Yeah. He’s really excited about it. Our first note from him was that this is the best iteration of Tiny Toons that he’s seen, which is huge praise! He’s been amazing to work with.

JM: This is a show at a university where the characters learn a lot. What is the most important thing you have learned from your experience working on this show so far?

DEJ: You can take the leap. As long as you’re doing the things that are authentic to you and you’re jumping, it seems to work in the room. Take the leap and have fun and be your version of who you want to be in this world and you will find your people.

NC: There are no shortcuts in life. The goal for this show was to harken back to classic cartoons and to have them hand-drawn in a way that modern cartoons often are not — squash and stretch and old-school, fun, cartoony bounciness. That isn’t really something a computer program can do. Finding the right people who understand those concepts and do them — that hand-crafted surrealism of old cartoons was one of my huge things to want to bring back and pay homage to. And that stuff’s hard to do! I knew it would be. But finding the right people who also had put in the hard work to draw in that classic style… no shortcuts.

DEJ: Shout-out to the art department!

JM: Eric, you’ve been around the Looney Tunes world for a long time. When this show — this concept — was approached to you, what was your initial reaction to it?

Eric Bauza (Voice of Buster): Like anything, for me, it’s just like being a kid in a candy store. You don’t even fathom or think of the idea that you might be part of this thing. I always think, “Hey, I’m just gonna enjoy it regardless” — even if I don’t get accepted or see that acceptance letter or I do see it, I’m always thrilled to see that Warner Bros. is keeping these characters alive and relevant for the generation now to kind of fall in love with it, the way Tessa and I did back in the day. It’s unbelievable that I get to be around these characters that helped raise me as a kid. And my only hope is that I am doing them justice and keeping them interesting and funny for the new kids to enjoy.

JM: It’s a fun, entertaining show. And Tessa, Sweetie has such a strong personality. How did you want to approach her first impression (which is always so important in a university setting) and an arc throughout the season?

Tessa Netting (Voice of Sweetie): Oh man! Well, first impression, like you said, she had to just have a bang. A really really intense, really loud and soft levels. Giving her everything that I could. And then for more of an arc: you wanna see how much that she cares underneath. She has this tough exterior but then she has this warm, sweet heart underneath. She loves her friends so much, especially Babs — their dynamic together. Exploring that throughout the entire show is so lovely. People who are really tough and have these intense personalities… they’re sweet too. They’re human too. They have feelings and emotions. We all do.

JM: She’s terrific. I love the Babs/Sweetie and Buster/Babs bonds (they are twins). Eric, what does this theme of friendship, togetherness and a community setting mean to you with this show?

EB: I look back at my college experience and high school experience. I do like that it gives it a little bit more of a realistic approach and take. Obviously they were classmates in the original and it sets it all up in the theme song, but sometimes you lose that in a sense where it may be a Plucky-centric episode or a Plucky and Hamton or a Buster and Babs episode. This version of the show I feel really doesn’t exclude one character or another. Even if it’s focused on one character, there’s still an all-encompassing vibe. No one’s left out of any of the scripts. I kind of like that it went from two 11-minute shorts to this big, 22-minute arc and story that allows you to explore who these characters are further and who they are in relation to each other. And especially with today’s audience. I have a seven-year-old and I’m like, “I wonder if this is gonna be too over the kids’ heads” but they’re pretty smart and receptive. They’re smart. These kids today — they’re fast. You have to roll with the punches.

JM: Tessa, if you could sign up for a class with one of these Looney Tunes icons and get even more enhancement in the world of comedy and timing, who would it be and why?

TN: Bugs Bunny. 100%. I’m sitting with the man right now. How could you not?! This is one of the most iconic cartoon characters of all-time. You think of a cartoon character, you think of Bugs Bunny. I’d just go in front of him and ask him any sort of question that could come to mind. And I want to learn things from him. And actually, I want him to conduct an orchestra for me. That was dream — to see Bugs Bunny conduct an orchestra. I think it would be the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

EB (doing Bugs Bunny voice): Let me tell you, Tessa, you passed already! And you too, Jackson!

JM: Thank you, Bugs! One of the episodes of this show involves a pizza party. Eric, what’s the most epic pizza party that you’ve ever been a part of?

EB: Oh man, yesterday! Just at lunch. Me and my son. We always like to play pizza roulette on Postmates. Pizza party pro over here! That’s a good question. Maybe we should hold a wacky topping pizza party party.

JM: Yeah! And Tessa, what’s the topping on the pizza gonna be?

TN: Oh man. You have to close your eyes and see what’s in the fridge. (laughs) You just gotta go with whatever happens. Trust fate. Destiny, baby!

EB: Going with Ralph’s store-bought sushi with some free whip cream.

TN: Some ranch dressing. A little bit of everything. (laughs) So disgusting.

JM: Before we go, Eric, I have to ask you about being at Cartoon Network Studios for the final time recording dialogue. You had a very powerful post on social media. What has that building meant to you throughout your career?

EB: Originality and creativity. A lot of creator-driven cartoons have been birthed at the Cartoon Network Studios. And I know that they’re kind of under the Warner Bros. wing now. It’s funny because before Cartoon Network was around, it was Hanna-Barbera. So Hanna-Barbera turned into Cartoon Network, and now Cartoon Network is still going to be Cartoon Network but under the guidance of Warner Bros. a little bit more focused. I think it’s only a natural progression. They definitely know what Cartoon Network stood for, and I’m not at all worried that under the new regime it will continue to be a place for creators to come-up with original shows. Definitely creative shorts will still be a main focus there, as well as nods to shows like Tiny Toons and Looney Tunes and other things that are under the WB IP.