"Animaniacs: Volume 3: A Modern Classic at its Best"

Here at Golden Age Cartoons, the term “classic” is generally used to refer to cartoons made during the Golden Age of Hollywood for theatrical release. For all practical purposes, this includes most cartoons made from the 1920’s to the 1960’s.

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But many “classic cartoons” emerged in the television era, from the 1960’s through today. In addition to many 1960’s and 1970’s favorites that we have included in our reviews and recommendations, there is a series from the 1990’s that deserves some recognition as well.

That series is “Animaniacs”, arguably one of the greatest animated TV series of all time. Running from 1993 to 1998 with nearly 100 episodes to its credit, (plus a spinoff series, “Pinky and the Brain” and a movie, “Wakko’s Wish”), it remained a staple on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons and is still shown occasionally in syndication on cable channels.  Produced by Steven Spielberg, “Animaniacs” was created as a follow-up to the successful “Tiny Toon Adventures”, a show starring protégés of the classic Looney Tunes stars. Unlike that series, however, “Animaniacs” was more subtle about its influences, and created a whole new cast of crazy characters with roots in the Golden Age but a more modern sense of humor.

Among the characters introduced were the Warner Brothers and their sister, Dot,( a trio of nondescript 1930’s characters in the tradition of Bosko), Pinky and the Brain, (Two megalomaniacal lab mice), The Goodfeathers (a pigeon send-up of Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas”), Mindy and Buttons (a mischievous baby girl and her protective dog), and Slappy Squirrel. 

The Warners were the hosts of the show. Yakko, the oldest brother (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is sort of a cross between Groucho Marx, Bugs Bunny and Bosko, and is constantly spouting one-liners and funny asides. Wakko is his baseball-cap wearing brother, (voiced by Jess Harnell), who talks like Ringo Starr of the Beatles and specializes in funny expressions, rude noises and slapstick. Dot (Tress MacNeille) is their sister, whose cuteness belies a wicked sense of humor and slapstick nature.)  Their supposed origin was the Warner Bros. cartoon studio in 1930, where directors were trying to come up with funny new characters. They created the Warners, but the characters were so insane they literally jumped off the drawing board and ran amok throughout the studio, until they caused so much trouble they were locked away in the water tower on the WB Studio lot. Years later, they escaped, prompting the studio head, Thaddeus Plotz, to try and tame them by giving them a psychiatrist, Otto Scratchansniff, and placing them under the watch of Ralph, a big, dumb security guard. Of course, the Warners pay these authorities lip service only.

Volume 3 of Warner Home Video’s ongoing DVD collection of “Animaniacs” collects some of their most memorable episodes uncut and mostly in chronological order. With 25 episodes on 5 discs, it took me several evenings to view the whole set. The fact that the show was so prolific and long-lasting is to its credit, because when it’s good, it’s hysterical, and when it falls flat, it REALLY falls flat. DVD is a great format for it, because it allows you the luxury of skipping around to different segments. This is a variety show in the truest sense…lots of different characters and ideas. Its “segments” are generally 6 minutes or so, with bridging segments hosted by the Warners and the occasional 1-2-minute “gags” (most of which are laugh-out-loud funny).

The shorts themselves are where the real fun is. There’s a real sense of spontaneity to each episode, because you never know exactly which character will appear next. The Warners, Pinky and the Brain, Goodfeathers and Slappy Squirrel are the most common, but a series of cartoons starring theatrical cat Rita and her “Rain-Man”-esque dog pal Runt makes regular appearances, along with the occasional one-shot cartoon or “All-Star” bit. Nearly all are great. Cultural parodies abound. You will find it hard to believe that the series is over ten years old,  because the cultural jabs are still relevant for the most part, mainly because they took aim at not only then-current events, but historical figures and happenings as well. The setting is usually Burbank , California , but none of the segments is strictly confined to this…they are frequently set throughout the world and throughout history. (The Warners in the Gold Rush or Slappy Squirrel in the time of Daniel Boone, for example). 

The Warners are generally hit-or-miss. This particular run of episodes has arguably their funniest bits, including Wakko getting stuck on an elevator with Dr. Scratchansniff, a dead-on “Power Rangers” spoof,  the three siblings in a sendup of the fairytale “3 Billygoats Gruff”, Their hilarious battles with a Barney-like kids-show host dinosaur, a gold miner, a Howard Stern-esque  bird, and a singing German entertainer, plus the “65^th Anniversary Special”, in which their origin is explained in-depth and 1930’s Looney Tune star Buddy tries to murder them. Early episodes show these characters annoying anyone in sight for no reason, but this DVD set showcases them in cartoons where the victim clearly deserves it, making them much funnier than usual!

The “Goodfeathers” segments here are particularly clever. Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci are re-imagined as pigeons in New York .  In addition to a memorable parody of “Fiddler on the Roof”, they also meet their girlfriends, the “Girlfeathers”, face off against a Henery Hawk-esque owl, and meet hotheaded Pesto Pigeon’s stepdad, “Steven Seagull”. These shorts really stand out as highlights due to their adult humor and sophisticated wit. Most kids would have never seen the inspirations for this series (“The Godfather” and “Goodfellas”), but at the time of their debut,  they had wide appeal, because people of all ages could find something funny in them. Adults appreciated the mafia-movie influence, kids liked the slapstick and strong characters. These shorts alone make this DVD set worth a look.

“Pinky and the Brain”, probably the funniest segment in the series, is thinly represented here, as a spinoff series came in 1995, but 5 shorts appear on this set, and each is a gem. Smart, unforgettably voiced by Maurice Lamarche and Rob Paulsen, and side-splittingly funny, these characters were and are “classic” in the truest sense. Brain, a genius lab mouse, and Pinky, his idiot pal, attempt to take over the world. That’s all you need to know. I will spoil nothing else for you.

The “Slappy” segments are either the best part of an episode or the worst, depending on how the character is handled. Slappy, an octogenarian squirrel and her young nephew, Skippy, live together in a big tree and face the everyday challenges of their extreme generation gap. Slappy is a retired cartoon star who feels that cartoons in the modern era have no punch. On their own, Slappy and Skippy are hysterical. One memorable segment involves the two at the infamous 1969 “Woodstock” music festival, updating Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” sketch…Slappy asks who the band on stage is, and Skippy proclaims “Who!” (As in Roger Daltry and co., “The Who”). This Results in an argument that tops the original inspiration!  Another short has a woodchuck directing them in a movie musical set to “the Nutrcacker Suite” by Tchaikovsky,  (attempting to crack a walnut). Where the “Slappy” series fails is the inclusion of Slappy’s jealous former co-stars, Walter the Wolf, Benny the Brain-dead Bison and Sid the Squid. Not only are these guys stupid, they’re not funny. Maybe that’s the point, but if they show up, you won’t be sorry you pushed fast-forward on your DVD!

“Rita and Runt” don’t show up often in this run of episodes, but their Broadway parodies and the voice talents of Frank Welker and Bernadette Peters are fun when they do show up!

There is ONE recurring segment I found myself skipping a lot, the “Mindy and Buttons” cartoons. A sendup of an age-old cliché, the “baby in danger” scenario, there is little humor or amusement to be found in these shorts. Mindy’s neglectful mother scolds Buttons for some minor crime, (sometimes hitting him!) then leaves. Mindy wanders off into town or wherever the setting is, and narrowly escapes danger at every turn, while Buttons’ attempts to rescue her only result in him suffering the fate she narrowly escapes. Mindy always gets home safely, the mother never knows what happened, and Buttons always gets scolded. There is no sympathy generated for Mindy, and Buttons’ pratfalls are not only unfunny, they’re painful to watch, considering the poor dog did nothing to deserve them.

Early artwork showing the original stars of the show: a trio of ducks (as seen in the DVD bonus features).

There are also other, shorter bits presented here, including “Mime Time”, “Good Idea, Bad Idea”, “Randy Beamen’s Pal” and “Katie Ka-Boom”. “Mime” is the weakest of these, involving a mime doing something “imaginary” with very real consequences…it fails only because it’s too predictable. “Idea” will have you in stitches…”Mister Skullhead”, a character originally introduced in “Tiny Toons”, illustrates a deadpan narrator’s ideas of a “good idea” and its negative counterpart. “Beamen” is a series of bits where a cute lil’ kid runs out of his house, tells a gross, funny or outlandish story about what some unseen friend named Randy Beamen did, then says “OK, bye” and runs inside again. “Ka-Boom” is about a cute teenage girl with overactive hormones who, when faced with a common teenage dilemma, freaks out and turns into a monster before literally exploding, destroying her family’s home…then calming down as if nothing ever happened.

Overall, “Animaniacs Vol. 3” is a must-see for animation enthusiasts. If you’re intent on owning all of the best cartoons ever made on DVD, buy it. If you didn’t like this series the first time, never saw it, or are selective, rent it first. It might win you over. Warner Home Video has done a great job compiling this stuff, and this particular set is arguably the best of the series. Check out the extras, too… documentaries about how the series came to be, as well as a tribute to the late Richard Stone, the musical composer for the series who scored these cartoons in the style of Carl Stalling.