"Animaniacs (2020)" Series Talkback Thread (Spoilers)

ToonJay723

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Animaniacs is now on Hulu. Watch here.

Episode 1

The Warner Brothers (& Warner sister!) return. Brain’s meme fails to achieve world domination.

Episode 2

The Warners vacation in Ancient Greece. Pinky & the Brain try using a dragon to rule the world.

Episode 3

The Warners compete in games of skill. Brain gets busted time-travelling. Dot gives a dramatic math lesson

Episode 4

The Warners fight a rabbit infestation. Brain’s robot “son” turns on him. A new app is born.

Episode 5

The Warners are stalked by a hunter. Pinky & the Brain break into the NSA. Ralph falls asleep.

Episode 6

Dot discovers a recipe for cuteness. Aliens don’t share Brain’s goals. Odd political ads.

Episode 7

The Warners investigate a dognapping & accidentally start the French Revolution. Yakko channels Shakespeare to save hip-hop

Episode 8

The Warners hunt a donut thief. Brain creates a perfect FLOTUS. Starbox fails to escape Cindy’s adoring grasp.

Episode 9

The Warners butt heads with a conductor and a talk show host. Brain is humbled by his future self. Marsha has a gnome in her mouth.

Episode 10

The Warners discover an unauthorized version of their show in Russia. Brain battles a toddler for a meteorite. Also, a press conference.

Episode 11

Halloween in Burbank: the Warners haunt a television and encounter a scary clown. Brain frightens a whole village into submission. Spooky monsters get claustrophobic.

Episode 12

The inner life of a pimple. Pinky & the Brain entertain a Sultana. A man lacks a sense of personal space.

Episode 13

The Warners go on a quest for Dr. Scratchansniff. Brain builds a driverless car. Dot sings about all the First Ladies.
 
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ElectricAngel

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Yeah I really... didn't like that.. and considering critics said this was the highlight of the season? Yikes. Animation being sluggish and choppy aside, the jokes just weren't there. Literally the whole episode was "we're doing a reboot we got our money". Seriously. Like ALL the jokes. I thought Animaniacs of all shows would be okay at least as a reboot but dang, nah, everything is just trash these days I guess.
 
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Fone Bone

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Animaniacs "Jurassic Lark / Suspended Animation Part 1 / Of Mice And Memes / Suspended Animation Part 2"

I am very amused by the negative reviews this is getting. Why? BECAUSE THIS IS THE EXACT SAME DAMN SHOW. Yes, I was an adult when the old show was on the air, and the jokes were exactly as obvious and corny as this was. Now you are an adult, and you can easily see this. When you are a kid, this kind of nonsense seems edgy. When you are an adult, it IS actually this lame.

I was similarly annoyed by the negative reviews Murphy Brown's update got. It was ALWAYS that bad. It's that people and the Emmys back then had extremely low standards. This isn't as bad as Murphy Brown. But it's also the exact same quality as it's always been.

The show hasn't changed, folks. You've simply grown up.

Jurassic Lark:

Seems like they could have spoofed this on the old show, but okay. I love the revamped theme song. ***.

Suspended Animation, Part 1:

You know, nothing was actually stopping them from making the Warners' first lines memorable. You know that, right? **1/2.

Of Mice And Memes:

Like all Pinky And The Brain cartoons, this was the highlight of the episode. Pinky has learned in therapy that he is merely an enabler of Brain's schemes. Which rightly earns him a punch in the nose. ****.

Suspended Animation, Part 2:

Meh. **1/2.

Episode Overall: ***.
 
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ElectricAngel

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The show hasn't changed, folks. You've simply grown up.
Nah man, I've been watching the old show recently with my girlfriend and we both agree the new reboot is trash compared to it. At least the original had nice animation and clever writing.
 

Peter Paltridge

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This return episode reminds me of when Scooby Doo got his first traditional series in over 15 years and the characters wouldn't stop yelling "DVD! IPOD! CELL PHONE!!" just for the sake of doing it. And no, Fone, that wasn't the original show. I can think of only a handful of Animaniacs episodes that were actually like that.

When Animaniacs riffed on the popularity of Power Rangers, they did it in the form of a parody that was brilliant and had plenty of jokes that worked even if you were unfamiliar with the source: "Here, have a fat free yogurt." That's the difference between a parody and just saying the word "parody," which is what this was more like.

I don't hate the animation. I know it's ToonBoom but there's a lot more actual fluid movement and drawings than there is cheating. The artstyle is another thing -- some of those human background charcters are hideous. It was most cringeworthy when they tried to recreate shots from the original title sequence because the weight was off -- but I've seen that title a billion times and you'd have to trace it to make it feel the same to me.

The rest of them unlock at midnight Pacific. I'm hoping that some more polished scripts await. Also, I hope Hello Nurse and Sara Bellum are doing okay on that island they were both banished to.
 

MarshalGrover

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I've watched the first two so far. The Pinky and the Brain segments have gotten the most laughs from me.

And of interest, the musical segment in Episode 2 has cameos from Babs and Buster, and some of the Loonatics Unleashed gang.
 

Peter Paltridge

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*EPISODE 2*

I've calmed down now; this was much closer to what I was hoping for. I could see these three segments fitting in on the original show, and the animation was somewhat better (human extras are still ugly though, dunno why). The Odyssey with the Warners as Greek gods was a good twist on the "Warners annoy a jerk" formula, as they way overpowered him this time yet failed to annoy him much. The cultural references were fun and not the only point like they were in Episode 1.

Two Loonatics slams in one weekend -- wow. This is the most work those guys have gotten in years.
 

wonderfly

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MOD NOTE: Discuss the episodes here, keep the spoilers out of the "News and Discussion" thread!
 
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zoombie

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I haven't finished the season, could take me a few days. Only seen a couple of episodes. But so far, so good. I find it odd in the 2nd episode, Pinky and the Brain is looking for a new member, didn't they learn nothing form the whole Larry experience?
 

Neo Ultra Mike

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Okay I only watched the first episode so far of the reboot and.... honestly I don't get the hate or dislike of it. If you're someone like Fone who admitted to never caring about the show I get not liking the episode but I have to admit people like Peter who don't care for it kind of confuse me. Yeah Animaniacs had episodes that were more subtle and less specific with their parodies or satire and weren't constantly winking at the camera... but there's episodes that had songs about Variety Speak or the San Andreas earthquake or the spoofs of stuff like Pocohontas or Friends or Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids that were a whole lot more direct and winking at the audience. Yeah there are leaning on that for the majority of this first episode but that's the point of the episode; It's pretty much shouting out "hey we're back from the 90's and doing a reboot so we're doing all the jokes on reboots and reimagining and of history in the last 20 years even meta commentary about not even knowing how the next two years would go due to writing this in 2018 and how people are going to complain about our obvious sell out status." Not every episode is obviously going to be like that but I'm fine having a full episode focused on that sort of thing and honestly there were a lot of gags with the Warners I laughed at; them pushing away Harry Potter and others to get to the towers, "oh it's a pull not push" Wakko's sandwitch eating dance to supposedly avoid the laser, the warners agreeing Ralph's duh is a good introduction him as a character, the CEO just pulling out a new tablet, pointing out they already did a song before the Pinky and the Brain segment but needing to do another one and pointing out just how many reboots there's been. I also appreciate how it's clear too the Pinky and the Brain segments like in the original will have a different less meta more sort of story focus on joke with giving more of an explanation as to what Brain's been doing the last 20 years other then just saying they were redrawn and the idea of him being famous because of a clip Pinky uploaded. I think my only major gripe with that was that the thing with Pinky and the Brain is that yeah it's the Brain own hubris and poor planning the fails his schemes more then Pinky's idioticy (which can be a hindrance but isn't supposed to be the hindrance) so Pinky ruinining it by sharing the brainwashing the clip sort of feels like it's spitting in the face of that but eh that could still be tied into Brain not having properly focused his meme status there and the more subtle commentary of how quickly these memes fade was well done so kudos there.

But honestly I really liked the first episode back. It'd be annoying if EVERY episode was this sure but having seen bits of the other episodes in the promotion that won't be the case and them doing that as a set up point was fine so yeah looking forward to seeing more of the show and what other jokes they'll net.
 

Jonwo

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Episode 2 has a nice bit of synergy in Suffragette City with the Looney Tunes, Loonatics, Tiny Toons and Hanna Barbera cameos. Must be the first time we've seen the two sets of characters in one show although I wonder if Speed Buggy was a replacement because they were unable to have Scooby Doo.
 

TnAdct1

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Episode 2 has a nice bit of synergy in Suffragette City with the Looney Tunes, Loonatics, Tiny Toons and Hanna Barbera cameos. Must be the first time we've seen the two sets of characters in one show although I wonder if Speed Buggy was a replacement because they were unable to have Scooby Doo.
Given the song lyric, I think it was planned from the start.

Meanwhile, as someone who remembers the original list (and contributed to the list during the Kids' WB era), I've started working on a Cultural Reference Guide to the new season (starting with the second episode), with me adding to it as I watch each episode (although I do plan to add more information to the "give cartoons the right to vote" segment when I have more time).
 

VeiledHat

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Why is this on Hulu, which is owned by Disney, and not HBO Max? Even more confusing, Tiny Toons Looniversity is going to be on HBO Max.
 

Mostezli

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Why is this on Hulu, which is owned by Disney, and not HBO Max? Even more confusing, Tiny Toons Looniversity is going to be on HBO Max.
I guess by the time Looniversity premieres, HBO Max could have bought back the distribution rights from Hulu to these Spielberg toons.
 

PinkieLopBun

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Why is this on Hulu, which is owned by Disney, and not HBO Max? Even more confusing, Tiny Toons Looniversity is going to be on HBO Max.
It was announced before HBO Max was probably even being developed. By the time it came around, it was probably too late to pull out.
 

Classic Speedy

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Episode 1: Biggest laugh for me was in the P&TB segment:
Brain: Do you know what most humans use it [the internet] for?
Pinky: I do, but I don't think I can say it.

But man, Maurice LaMarche's voice is definitely showing its age. Not his fault; it happens to all of us. Just an observation.
 

DeanBurrito25

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I'm halfway through nuAnimaniacs right now. So far it's been delightful!

I find myself continually having to put my expectations in check just because there have been so many changes from the original series. The animation doesn't move exactly like in the old show and TMS set such a gold standard that it's hard not to compare – but it's growing on me. The updated theme song lyrics were jarring to me at first – but they're growing on me. The voice actors have (obviously) aged considerably since 1993 and it shows in some line deliveries more than others – but I can still accept that. Etcetera and so forth. I've found that once you compartmentalize the 1993/2020 series' and factor how much time has passed in between, it helps you appreciate the latter for what it is. I'm looking forward to watch the other half tonight.

I noticed the reboot is technically rated TV-PG instead of Y or even Y7, and it's been getting some shockingly good mileage out of it without being overt or crass; i.e:
Brain saying "hell" or Ralph breaking blood donor packets and getting covered in blood stains.

Also, if you have take umbrage the lack of the supporting cast...just wait 'till
"Good Warner Hunting" in Episode 5. It answers that question and more in a deliciously meta way that only this show could.
 
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wiley207

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I just finished the first episode, and so far I am really liking what I'm seeing! The intelligent writing and humor is there, the orchestral Carl Stalling-esque music, very fluid and cartoony animation (Snipple Animation is now one of my new favorite overseas animation houses!), and hearing Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche and Frank Welker reprising their roles are taking me back to my childhood. So far it reminded me a lot of "Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling," especially with how "Suspended Animation" involved the Warner siblings attempting to familiarize themselves with 21st century trends and technology.
Gonna watch more episodes now!
 

Peter Paltridge

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Episode 3:
Well, now we know who that muscular guy was on the leaked poster. It's weird he was there, though -- he's probably only going to appear in this one short, right?
The showrunner was worried this wouldn't land because it's based on the Olympics and there were no Olympics this year.....I don't think that's gonna matter to anyone, especially since the "Greek Games" aren't technically the Olympics! As Dot used to say, go fig.

I'm glad we're getting more "historical" Pinky and the Brain shorts.
 

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