'Animaniacs' Review
TV-G
Runtime: 24+ minutes per episode (13 episodes)
Production Companies: Amblin Television, Warner Bros. Animation
Distributors: Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Network: Hulu
Voice Cast: Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Frank Welker
Release Date: November 20, 2020
They’re back! The Warner brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister Dot, have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet. After returning to their beloved home, the Warner Bros. water tower, the siblings waste no time in causing chaos and comic confusion as they run loose through the studio, turning the world into their personal playground. Joining Yakko, Wakko and Dot, fan-favorite characters Pinky and the Brain also return to continue their quest for world domination.
In this modern age where nearly every popular IP from the ‘90s is getting a reboot, revival, continuation, or whatever they want to call it — whether it be your general afternoon sitcoms or your favorite childhood animated series — it makes perfect sense to bring the Animaniacs into the 21st century. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, along with Pinky and The Brain, are back and in a way, it feels as if they never left.
Right off the bat, one of the best things about Animaniacs’ revival is the return of the original voice cast: Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille. They ARE the Warners, so hearing them return to these characters gives you an automatic sense of comfort. The same goes for Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche as Pinky and The Brain. After 22 years, they still nail that iconic, zany chemistry that always makes you burst with laughter. There’s no way in hell they could’ve recast these roles, especially given how big the fanbase is. Plus, after all these years of voice acting, I’m shocked that Rob Paulsen still has such a great singing voice.
The show’s modern look admittedly might not be everyone's cup of tea. It has an updated digital, vectored look. Much like the original series, seven different animation studios across the globe worked on this, but it manages to stay consistent. For starters, all the character designs have thinner outlines. There’s no shadowing and it leans more towards flat designs. The backgrounds, updated to resemble something like a watercolor painting, and the art direction are gorgeous. Part of what works best for the show is its subtle yet ambitious updates. Not to give too much away, but in one of the episodes, there is a transition where the Warners mimic Shonen Jump anime characters in a beautifully animated action sequence and it’s absolutely incredible.
While some returning characters retain much of their classic looks, such as Ralph the Warner Bros. security guard, the designs of the human characters are also great. Whether it be notable celebrities or figures (or hell, even the thankless background characters), the designers upped the ante for the humans. The ‘90s series displayed recognizable celebrity figures in a very cartoonish manner, but this revamp features an exaggerated caricature look and it works perfectly.
The show’s spirit is still completely intact. It hits all the beats that captured what the original was all about: the self-aware meta-humor, catchy music, unapologetic bashing of modern celebrities and figures, and satirical commentary on the state of the world that will fly over kids’ heads but that adults will immediately comprehend, all while being targeted towards a general family audience. The Pinky and The Brain sketches are also completely faithful to their original spirit and dynamic. Let’s be honest… the show’s primary demographic will definitely be Millennials and ‘90s Gen-Z’s.
The Animaniacs themselves have always been rather liberal; this is very present in the original series. Take this bit for example:
But man, this show is gonna piss off Republicans so bad and I, for one, welcome it. The Pinky and The Brain sketches barely rely on political humor, but the Warners’ skits pull no punches, tackling modern subjects in a very vocal manner on par with Sacha Baron Cohen’s current political pranks. There are sketches where the Animaniacs take shots at Russia, the Trump administration, and the American government. Hell, one sketch is just a huge allegory for gun control that is so bold my jaw dropped ample times. I had to look up real facts that I wasn’t even aware of in order to fully get the context of some of the humor.
I was only sent 5 of the 13 episodes of the first season and many of those sketches are political. While I welcome and adore that unapologetic liberal stance it takes, it is also overbearing. They adapted perfectly to the times and I commend the writers and directors for commenting on the parody we live in today, which bears so much of the show’s identity. That being said, the past four years under the Trump administration have been such an egregiously draining chore that it has affected the humor of modern-day comedy itself where nearly every other show features allegories or potshots at Donald Trump and Putin and everything else. So, to watch this series that had most of its sketches written in 2018 –– which feels like a lifetime ago –– with a release date that is hot on the heels of the 2020 election, a lot of the jokes featured feel tired at this point. Everyone has made an NSA joke, a Putin-worshipping Russian society joke, etc. The show works best when it takes blatant shots at world leaders while partaking in silly humor, meta self-awareness, or aiming for ambitiously outrageous satire.
While this revival focuses on the Warners and Pinky and The Brain, you do miss some of the other iconic characters from the original series who would fit perfectly in this modern era… basically just Slappy Squirrel and her nephew Skippy. Slappy may not be as popular as the rest of the cast, but she was certainly due for more screen time and would perfectly fit to this modern age.
Hulu’s Animaniacs 2020 revival retains the heart and charm of the show’s classic humor. Despite some of the modern satire arriving a bit too late to the party, the unapologetic updates, strong voice performances, and ambitiousness are hefty enough to successfully bring the trio to the 21st century.
