#this has been a good year for lost Animaniacs-related media

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

I'm Mad, I'm Mad...

Actually I'm glad because a scan of the theatrical run of "I'm Mad" has been found!

The short itself isn't lost media, but its original theatrical version was for nearly 30 years. It is now on YouTube thanks to FT Depot.

UPDATE:

It got taken down by WarnerMedia, but it's on the Web Archive now.

[swordsandrayguns]

(QuaranTV 4) Animaniacs: Reboot, Revival or Ruined?

If you are like me (and heaven help you if you are), one of the few bright spots on the news in 2020 was the announcement Animaniacs would be returning with new episodes on Hulu. Being a college student in the early ‘90s (and studying art to boot), those were prime cartoon years for me. And there were great shows being tossed out in the after-school hours, too! Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and, of course, Animaniacs. In recent years it has completely baffled me how, despite the influx of kids related networks spread across cable/satellite providers and the post-HD boom of low powered digital sub channels chocked full of retro programming, there is no longer a real after school or Saturday morning power block of cartoons anymore. So when I heard Animaniacs was returning I was hit with a wave of hope, nostalgia and even a little fear they would screw it up or it would turn into a one off deal that ultimately disappoints (Teen Titans, I am looking at you).

Before I get into Animaniacs, let me mention one of the bigger retro-programming centered low power digital sub channel networks, METV, has announced they are bringing back Saturday morning cartoons starting January 2, 2021 so check your local listings. 

Let me start by mentioning I have not watched all of the new Animaniacs yet; I’m about half a dozen episodes in and kind of avoiding binge watching the whole series. You know, trying to savor it. All in all, I am really enjoying the Animaniacs revival. It is a revival, by the way, as the Warners are the same Warners and the new series is basically a continuation of the original. It is worth watching, and it will make you laugh. Remember that while I commence to bitch about it!

One of my big disappointments with the new series is so far it is basically the Warners and Pinky and the Brain show. The new opening sequence mentions there are new characters (which played well to the focus groups) but with the exception of the new, female, studio president none have surfaced and she has not been much of a presence on the show. None of the other old characters have popped up either, with the exception of Ralph the security guard. Don’t get me wrong, I like Pinky and the Brain but they could have just revived either Pinky and The Brain or Pinky and The Brain and Elmyra (‘member that?). 

The fifth episode, which features Pinky and Brain being chased by “every Yakuza and their mothers” and meeting Edward Snowden, kind of addresses the lack of supporting characters but really does not introduce anyone new to replace Slappy Squirrel, the Hip Hippoes, Slappy Squirrel, Dr. Scratchansniff or any of my other old favorites. Perhaps that will change in episode six. I hope so! Animaniacs needs more than just the Warners and a couple of gene-spliced rodents to keep the show moving.

So speaking of the Warners... there is my other big disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, they are still funny and I still laugh at the show. But the new <i>Animaniacs</i> is different and the Warners are at the heart of it because they are the core of the show and, honestly, Pinky and the Brain are pretty much exactly the same as they have been in every show featuring them. I first noticed it in the new opening song, which has understandably been updated. With most of the old cast gone it does not makes sense to mention Goodfeathers, Buttons and Mindy or Slappy Squirrel in the lyrics. With the passage of time it makes sense Wakko no longer packs away the snacks while Bill Clinton plays the sax; the show needs to be timely to keep its edge. What I noticed, though, was that it used to be “Dot is cute and Yakko yacks” but that has been changed to “Dot has wit and Yakko yacks.” The lyrics also take a swipe at modern political correctness by pointing out the new (as of yet unseen) cast is “gender balanced, pronoun neutral and ethnically diverse.” So what to make of the change in Dot’s line?

The Warners are more politically correct now... “Helloooooo, nurse!” was basically their catchphrase. Hell, I think I still have an Animaniacs paperweight somewhere (with my Animaniacs snow globe) that says “Helloooooo, nurse!” and a few other phrases when you move it. But they have yet to udder those words in the new series and Dr. Scratchansniff’s nurse is among the casualties of the cast change. There has also barely been a reference to the fact nobody seems to know what the Warners are (I believe the good doctor referred to them as “puppy-children”). Also gone seems to be the original show’s taking old fashioned cartoon formats and tropes and applying them to today’s pop culture (like a trip to the Hollywood Canteen or Brown Derby as an excuse to introduce a bunch of parody versions of contemporary movie stars). Animaniacs was a new cartoon back in 1993 but it broke away form the Scooby Doo 30 minute single story mold and went back to the Merry Melodies and Looney Toons style plots and formats even more than its cousin Tiny Toon Adventures did.

The problem I see with the new Animaniacs is they are modernizing a ‘90s cartoon so the Warners can provide commentary and satire on today’s issues, pop culture and society but missing some important character traits of their main cast. What seems to be forgotten is the fact the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister) might have been actually created in the early ‘90s but they were not supposed to be from the 1990s... they were supposed to be uncontrollable characters from 1930s black and white cartoons. Although they were good sorts deep down, they were not politically correct and they were not grown ups. I am afraid the new Animaniacs, despite the fact it has jumped from after school broadcast TV aimed at kids to streaming media aimed at adults, has actually become in some ways more restrained and self censored. A rather weak segment on gun control using multiplying bunnies instead of guns (or “buns,” which kind of illustrates how thin the writing was on that) which missed plenty of opportunities for non-political humor (the multiplying rabbits screamed for a Star Trek Tribble reference and an irreverent portrayal of William Shatner) and chose to be preachy instead kind of bolsters my fears.

So is Animaniacs worth watching? Yes, for sure if you were a fan of the original or even want a cartoon you can watch with your kids. Just be warned: they seem to be streamlining the  cast to cash in of the best remembered characters and the show has lost a little of the wit, charm and edge that made the original so damn good. If you missed Animaniacs the first time around and want to figure out what made it so special and beloved, you ain’t going to find it here. The old show had a fearlessness to it, something that in a really weird way I can only liken to almost a kid’s version of the fearlessness found in Chappelle’s Show. Unfortunately that fearlessness seems to be gone now.