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I watched mainly the first season and some episodes of the others as well.I did not find the show very appealing or funny.
The reason was, as many others have mentioned, that it had so many cultural references and parodies from USA movies and musicals mainly, that you had to be a movie expert to really grasp and appreciate the humor. Especially in the episodes with the Warner siblings. I admit it was a nice effort to include so many elements and quotes from movies. But sometimes I felt as if the script writers had made their own clique and totally ignored the fact that not every viewer, let alone a child, could have watched and memorized the films they did.
American viewers probably had an advantage in grasping some of the humor. But I doubt that when the series was exported in the rest of the world, that viewers from Europe (like me) would be able to really appreciate the show a little more.
But even when I could identify the movies that were parodied I found it wasn't done so well to made the series a classic.Some episodes were funny but not to that extent to make me love the show
So it was not surprisingly for me that the moments I liked were the episodes that hadn't a hint of humor or parody (some of R&R mainly) and also some of the Pinky and the Brain ones that had a more conventional and easy to follow humor. This had to do also probably with the good characterization and the unique musical experience of R&R, though I couldn't identify or have known about the musicals in R&R) Except the above-mentioned characters I found the rest very flat, even for a parody.
Though I like watching or re-watching the cartoons (American, European or Japanese) that aired during my childhood, this show has absolutely no re-watch value for me, except some of the R&R and P&B episodes.
A rather experimental way of script-writing for an animated episodic cartoon series. Original but not for everyone, especially if you have no experience in American TV. I prefer the classic American cartoons of the 20's and 30's to which the show pays homage (Warner siblings character design) or the classic Looney Toons, when it comes to animation of that genre. Even if the gags there are repeated they never get as boring as in this show.
I found Tiny Toon Adventures better overall. It may have featured a poorer script and far less references but it relied on the classic and tried Looney Tunes formula, even if it had also some serious flaws as well. But it lasted far less and stopped when it had to. It had also better characters (Looney Toons familiarity but also better voice-acting contributed).
Animaniacs would have been successful if it was aimed at an older audience and not aired as a kid's show. Scriptwriters would then probably have more freedom to push the parody/comedy element to the extreme. Also a higher animation budget would not hurt
But trying to push movie parodies fit for adults into a show aired early in the morning, limits the shows potential.
One of the important US children shows of the 90's. Despite its flaws, probably it was the last good effort to make a decent children's show and it had also some non-PC gags, many of the later US children cartoons would omit.
If you are not a fan, watch only the few episodes you liked back then (for me the they were the ones with R&R and P&B) and ignore the rest. If you have skipped the series as a child I wouldn't recommend watching it but you could give the first episodes a look to see if it suits your tastes.
One of the last cartoons to have the Saturday-morning feeling.
score 6/10
petronius79 30 April 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1646704/ |
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29-4-2020 02:58:07