Animaniacs

This is my third attempt at writing a review for this title, I am not so sure why IMDb rejected the previous two, but here we are with my third try at leaving a comment.

Anyway, Animaniacs was one of my favorite shows growing up and still remains a favorite of mine now as an adult. I was skeptical a revival could work because the original is too much of a product of the 1990's - back then the internet was nowhere as complex of a system as it is today, there was actually such a thing as Saturday morning cartoons, and western animation itself didn't venture out as much to appeal to strictly adult audiences as they do so now so a lot of animation writers had to work around censorship. There were no streaming services, if you wanted to watch an episode of television you had to make you were there on time when it aired, you could only tape programs instead of DVR. Cable networks such as HBO and Showtime were known mostly for showing movies and would not become known for having daring and critically acclaimed original programming. Blockbuster season at the movies generally occurred in the summer time and occasionally in the winter but not all year round as they would like to have you believe these days, either. It was a pretty different time, and other attempts at revivals of 90's favorites haven't always gone over too well. Coupled with the fact that the majority of the original writing staff of Animaniacs didn't return I had serious skepticism about this. Having seen the first season on Hulu my feelings are that it is largely a mixed bag.

On the one hand it does seem like they ae really trying to keep the spirit of the original strong despite it being the 2020's, and you have the original voice artists back which is a plus. The animation is a bit clunky in areas but not awful - it could look worse. Some of the writing is clever and funny, but on the other hand the series misses much of its original cast of characters, a lot of the satire feels overdone in parts without much to any subtlety whatsoever, and the political satire feels much too one-sided for comfort.

Could have been great, could have been worse.

The Animaniacs have returned and the Warners have come back to wreak havoc in the 2020s. How does this make me feel?

I was excited from day 1. As a loyal fan of the original, I loved the skits and satire that the original had and I'm glad it's been upgraded to poke fun at current events. I've seen 4 episodes so far and I've enjoyed every segment. The writing is still naughty as it was before, and the comedy is mostly solid. The only thing I dislike is that only the Warners and Pinky and the Brain are the only characters in it, so it does get a bit repetitive. I hope they introduce more in the future. Also, it's still funny, but not as funny as the original, but that's to be expected, since almost no reboot is as good as the original. But it's a reboot done right in my opinion, and we have too many failed ones (a.k.a. Teen Titans Go)

The animation is quite nice to watch. Episode 4 had an anime sequence that really amped and hyped fans to watch the show, and man it did not dissappoint.

With that said, I'll be giving the reboot an 8/10, or a solid B. I'll be watching the rest of the episodes and will give a proper youtube review on my channel too.

Hi readers. I know it has been 8 months since I have posted a review. I told you I was not going to review in IMDB that much. But here I am planning to post a review once or twice a month.

This review will be on the; Animaniacs 2020 reboot. I always wanted to make a review on it; and this reboot is really great. Probably not as good as the original, which I have seen which I think was a hilarious blast. But this reboot is still really awesome maniacs.

Let's look at the animation first. It's good and fluid with the animation, like how the Warner siblings are still cartoony. But if I have a nitpick, it's that I'm not really a fan of the human designs in the show. They're not the worst, but I still dislike them.

The stories are still enjoyable and fun. In the reviews, I have heard a lot of people criticize how political the show is. While some of it might be too forced. I think it still doesn't ruin how the Animaniacs reboot is still zany to the max.

Now let's look at the characters. The Warner siblings; Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are still fun and chaotic like from the original. Pinky and the Brain also return in the reboot. While still being a fun duo trying to take over the world. It was disappointing that other characters from the original haven't returned yet; like Slappy Squirrel. They might come soon in season 2.

The characters that meet the Warner siblings, and Pinky and the Brain are a mixed bag though. With some of them being fun, while others are not. The short with the alien and girl were cute, but the one with the gnome...ugh.

So my overall thoughts on the Animaniacs reboot are that the animation is good. The storylines are still fun and enjoyable. The returning characters were great as themselves. But there are still flaws like what I mentioned in my review. I would give the Animaniacs reboot a 8/10.

Recently, director Christopher Columbus complained about Disney's plans to remake HOME ALONE. He pointed out that when something has staying power, you cannot recapture that lightning in a bottle, no matter how much money you throw at it. That's kind of the way I feel about this reboot. While it often imitates the style of the original cult series, everything feels so much safer-- and dare I say it, a little more mean-spirited.

Good things first: the Pinky and the Brain segments are amazing. They understand these characters and what made the original shorts so funny without saturating themselves in nostalgia. Also the animation is pretty good on the whole as is the orchestrated music in the style of the old Looney Tunes cartoons.

Unfortunately, the rest of the show doesn't live up to the old one. Firstly, there's something off about this presentation of the Warner siblings. They seem to be going for a more "the 21st century is so insane that the Warners are the sane ones now" approach, which doesn't really work. These characters as originally presented were essentially the Marx Brothers filtered through classic cartoon logic: they spread anarchic madness wherever they went, to both the innocent and the not-so-innocent. The Variety review of the reboot is on point when it says that the Warners were agents of madness driving an uptight world insane, not "snarky pundits commenting on its flaws." To be fair, the Warners shorts do have good jokes and flashes of the old style-- it's not a total failure, but the smug attitude gets old fast, especially when they make the same jokes about being sellouts to Hulu.

But the bigger problem is the lack of other characters beyond the Warners and the mice. I once read that ANIMANIACS was in a way THE MUPPET SHOW of its generation: a variety show that appealed to adults and kids with its vaudevillian sense of humor and willingness to take creative risks. The original series featured several reoccurring characters, ranging from the cartoony to the more dramatic. Not all of them stuck or worked, but the variety made the show interesting to watch. There was a willingness to play around that the reboot lacks-- making all the show's self-aware jokes about the creative bankruptcy of reboots hit a little more sourly.

I seem to be in the minority, but that's fine. There is a lot to enjoy, but it doesn't work for me. Personally, I think the most successful modern reboot is still DUCKTALES 2017, which remembers what made the original series good while updating it in ways that add to its charms.

I grew with the original Animaniacs. I must've been 7 years old when it came out and I was hooked on it!

No need to mention that I was looking forward to the reboot to relive those memories.

The new series does an alright job getting the 34-year-old kid inside me back in the series, but not "great."

There are good gags, the music is amazing, the HD quality is looking slick (although needs some getting used to, especially if you've just binge-watched the original series,) the intro-song gags are fun and pretty clever but maybe too overthought (e.g. "Animany, totally-insany, don't-need-to-mansplany, Animaniacs.)

However, the animation is not as extravagant and over-the-top funny as the original. It really feels like there is a brand new (too young) team of animators that are not that familiar with the original and rushed into making the new series.

I really miss some of the old characters and recurring sketches, like Slappy and Skippy Squirrel, Mime Time, Mindy and Button, Rita and Runt, the Goodfeathers, The Wheel of Morality, etc.

At the same time, it felt to me a bit desperate in certain episodes to dive into Asian types of animation, such as Japanese anime and K-pop. Really hard to understand, even if the series is trying to recruit new audiences.

The self-mocking jokes on their reboot were pretty funny in the beginning, but as they recur more often, they start to wear off quickly.

This said, I still had plenty of laughs and chuckles throughout the season and looking forward to the second season coming out.