Of Course You Realize THIS Means Podcast - A Looney Tunes Discussion · thismeanspodcast

Embracing the Weird with Ashleigh Hairston

·55 min·2 clips

My 'weird' voice became my career the moment I stopped fighting it.

Jonathan Graves opens by noting Tiny Toons' 33rd anniversary. He brings in Ashley Hairston, the voice of Babs Bunny in Tiny Toons Luniversity, and sets up the discussion around the show's Max arrival, its Cartoon Network premiere the week before, and the wider Warner Brothers and Looney Tunes world around it. The interview starts with memory. Hairston talks about what Tiny Toons meant to her growing up and answers the nostalgia prompt by reaching back to the Adventures series in the 1990s. Babs quickly becomes the center of gravity. Graves asks how the character works inside Luniversity, especially with Babs separated from Buster, and Hairston explains how that gives her room to be unruly, sentimental, and a little more on her own. The role has range. She describes Babs as a mix of class-clown energy and something more measured, which lets the character jump from jokes to outrage without losing what makes her fun. That balance matters. The conversation then compares Babs with Wren, the character Hairston voices on Craig of the Creek, and Hairston walks through how both characters share excitement and headstrong momentum while still living in different emotional lanes. The overlap is useful. Graves uses that comparison to tease out how performance shifts when the same actor brings similar instincts to different shows, and Hairston seems genuinely happy to unpack the difference. The audition story comes next. Hairston talks about recording during the pandemic in 2021, alone, and describes the surreal feeling of finding out she had landed Babs Bunny. It is a big moment. The episode keeps a loose, conversational pace while Graves and Hairston bounce from process to memory, which makes it feel more like fans talking to fans than a formal promo stop. That tone helps. The pair also touch on how much the Looney Tunes characters still deserve more attention and why a resurgence around Tiny Toons matters to people who grew up with these cartoons. The affection is obvious. By the end, Graves is openly praising the work Warner Animation and Amblin Entertainment are doing, and the episode leaves with a clear sense that Babs, Buster, and the rest of the crew still have plenty left to offer a new audience.

As heard by us

A lively Tiny Toons anniversary interview anchored by strong Babs Bunny character work.

Jonathan Graves uses Tiny Toons' 33rd anniversary as a springboard for a lively conversation with Ashley Hairston about Babs Bunny in Tiny Toons Luniversity, now streaming on Max and having premiered on Cartoon Network last week.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Babs Bunny fans get a 33rd-anniversary Tiny Toons interview with Ashley Hairston and a real performance-process angle.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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