Fifi La Fume
Do you remember Tiny Toon Adventures?
This self-aware, chaotic cartoon aired from 1990-1992 was a kind of Looney Toons reboot/spin-off featuring the hip new reincarnations of the classic cast. The new anthropomorphic teens attend Acme Looniversity where they study under the tutelage the likes of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, etc., etc., to earn their degrees in being bonafide cartoon characters who can go on to star in their own animated shows.
Buster and Babs Bunny were the non-familial successors to Bugs Bunny, just as Plucky Duck was to Daffy Duck, Little Beeper was to The Road Runner, and so on, and so on. As a child in the 90s I spent hoooooours watching this show and drawing the characters. Well, drawing mostly just one character: Fifi La Fume.
This boy-crazy skunk was the '90s antidote to Pepe Le Pew's no-longer-socially-acceptable sexual harassment hijinks from the WWII-era. Unwanted sexual advances are funny again when a female character is doing it to the terrified male object of her affections! Not that I thought about it like that when I was 8. I just liked the pretty purple skunk lady.
One evening I was reminiscing with friends about the crushes we had on cartoon characters as kids and I had try my hand at drawing Ms. La Fume from memory. Here is what I produced:
It's... like, it's close enough. I think anybody familiar with the show would be able to tell who this is. But I could tell she just wasn't... quite... right. So I looked up some official character model sheets!
Oh, right! Her body was way more squished-peanut-shaped than I had remembered, and her tail is frickin' massive. Also, her (gigantic) face just fits together better. I joke that I'm not actually a furry because whenever I've tried to draw them, they just look wrong. I, like, create an uncanny valley version of furry characters. They're close, but just obviously not quite right.
What a delightful character design. It's pure bounce. Pure joy. All swoops and curves and energy, even when she's just holding still.
Now, I wish I could say I just drew these from my imagination, but I most definitely did not. These are 100% copies of the model sheets and screen shots I saved from my Google image searching. So before you give me any kudos for creating such delightful sketches, just know that I was only copying the exact poses that the show's artists had already figured out before me.
Ok, real talk? I had a lot more I wanted to say about this character design and how I draw in general and- woof- furry art thoughts- but I'm legit having a hot flash right now. Oh my god. I can't think.
I gotta get this warm laptop off me, I'm fucking sweating.
Uh, TO BE CONTINUED?????
Comments (13)
.... Such a formative series for my lil bitty brain.... And you're telling me it was over in only three years????
Recreating a baby Plucky Duck learning the toilet is what got me banned from hijinks cartoons for a couple of years. "Ducky go down the hole~ "
As a late perimenopausal woman the same age as you, I feel and appreciate that last part sooooo hard! 😹 🥵
My partner has gotten several small fans for hot flashes. They are charged via usb, can be clipped to something or placed on a flat surface, they have varying speeds (one of them even has a small remote control.) Multiple so there’s one in every room when needed. It’s been a game changer.
Someone told me they had an episode that paid homage to David Lynch's ERASERHEAD, although I've never seen it! Or maybe that was Animaniacs?
They rebooted in 2023 as Tiny Toons Looniversity! Babs and Buster are twins in this one and Fifi doesn't get enough time in the sun, but I've been coincidentally watching the show this summer. It's cute.
Also a fan of Tiny Toons, though I must confess I don't particularly remember Fifi (I don't remember Little Beeper AT ALL). It was such a clever approach to rebooting/updating beloved characters while still honoring the source material.
Oh man, what a blast from the past! My sister and I drove my Mom crazy with "Plucky do down da hooole" Fifi continues to be such a cutie, but I love your from memory drawing too.
The theme song of this show will live in my head forever.
Much sympathy for your hormonal adjustment, may you find a cool breeze!
I must have missed that growing up. Fifi is adorable!
*and even though you're kinda little, I'll teach you how to shpray your shpittle." "Uh. Anybody got a shammie?"
one of my favorite cartoons, right next to animaniacs. i'm pretty sure i've seen every episode of tiny toons and I remember getting mad if it wasn't a favorite episode. one of my friends had the theme song memorized. we'd start singing/humming it and stop and she'd just keep going (i'd say it was mean, but we were all in art class together and most of us had known each other since first grade) but thanks for the trip back down memory lane.