Animaniac Paradise

It has been several years since I have professed my love for these critters. They were a mainstay of my early DVD collection when I stumbled onto them late in their history in the 90's. To me they were the perfect science of old-school cartoons with the sharp edge of modern animation that later ruled with Family Guy and old South Park. Sure, they were modeled with Saturday morning matinee kids in mind, but nearly half of the content went WAY over their heads. Even though the were huge, they only ruled for a short time because both designers and audiences were never quite sure what to make of them.

Wakko, Yakko & Dot defied description even as to what they were - mice, monkey...? Originally described as "Cartoonus Characterus." They had a whole brood of misfits from Mindy & Buttons to Rita & Runt. Great art design in terms of the personalities - Slappy the Squirrel! Voices were masterful! Songs that perplexed, amused and astounded on a weekly basis with Bernadette Peters on board among others. As the brain child of Steven Spielberg, one would expect nothing less. Early episodes explain their pedigree going back to actual toons from the Warner Bros era of the 1930s. From there it veers off to a tangent where the three delinquent mongrels were locked in a vacant water tower on the Warner Bros lot. Celebrity guests were common with every one from Joan Rivers to Arnold Schwarzenegger and even Spielberg himself parodied. Huge 15 minute musical parodies of Les Miz, Gilbert & Sullivan and the Sound of Music were common - almost to the point of plagiarizing. Vixens such as Hello Nurse and Minerva Mink pushed the limits of censorship among children. Maybe that is why I loved them so much. Here is everything you wanted to know about the Animaniacs and MORE.

 

 

Mental Floss Animaniacs