Season 3 was a step up from the previous two seasons as it actually made me laugh a few times, but it really is a pale shadow of the original. The lack of variety just... eh.
Was really amused by jerkass Lassie though.
Season 3 was a step up from the previous two seasons as it actually made me laugh a few times, but it really is a pale shadow of the original. The lack of variety just... eh.
Was really amused by jerkass Lassie though.
Yeah Chicken Boo and Mindy & Buttons was terrible. Goodfeathers was eh.
@Time-Control-Magician said in Animaniacs Two season revival on Hulu:
Yeah Chicken Boo and Mindy & Buttons was terrible. Goodfeathers was eh.
Chicken Boo was hilarious bit of insane comedy.
They just did it too many times and the joke wore thin. That was NOT a "repeat note for note 15 times" gag. If they had just done it like, twice, it wouldn't be part of the conversation but it would be remembered as "that one insane skit where..."
Kind of like how Michigan J. Frog works so well BECAUSE he was only in the one classic Looney tunes short. If they'd done that gag a dozen times it would have become worthless.
Goodfeathers was actually better when they stepped AWAY from the Goodfellas parody (since that was just a one note joke) and instead did stuff like Fiddler on the Roof and had actual character bits besides the getting mad joke.
They only had like 14 shorts in the course of all 99 episodes and were pretty much phased out by the final season like a lot of the others.
Rita and Runt has 12 but notably none after the first season because Bernadette Peters was expensive... (but they were my fave segment) Mindy and Buttons had 14. Pinky and Brain has 19, but also got the spinoff halfway through. Slappy had 29!
Hippos has five (too many) Minerva Mink only had 2 (because the network had problems with her) and Katie Kaboom who was introduced late had 7. The flame had 3 because who cares.
What the show is really missing above all else i think is the 1 minute quickies. The Randy Beaman kid, Mime Time, Good Idea Bad Idea... they started doing more of that in the third season but too little too late.
Like I understand why they retired some of those or didn't bring back what didn't work... so try throwing 6 or 7 new things in among the Warners and P&B. If it works great, if not, whatever. Just... instead of 80 Warner segments and 40 Pinky and the Brain... like 65 Warners and 30 PB would have given them 25 shorts to do other characters. And even if a character only got 3 or 4 tries. that would still be 4-7 different skits getting a chance.
Hmm my takeaway with the originals
I have to admit that I only watched individual clips of the reboot instead of whole episodes since they haven't aired it on any available channel here as of yet, so I can't really say if the episodes start feeling redundant after watching a few because of the lack of variety. From what I've seen of it, I would deem the reboot "fine". It's not quite as good or charming as the original but it's also not a disgrace that ruins the original show or anything. Let's just say that I'd rather have this reboot than no new Animaniacs episodes at all, which is more than I can say for a lot of other reboots.
My main problem is that it really does feel more mean-spirited and cynical. The original always had a certain edge to it, including adult jokes, but at the same time, it also felt somehow earnest and sweet. The reboot is definitely. lacking in that department. Despite the pop culture references, political satire and adult jokes in the original show, it nevertheless still felt like a kids show...just one that a) didn't look down on its audience and b) made sure to include plenty of jokes for adult viewers. But the reboot feels much more oriented at young adults, while still acting like it's supposed to be a kids show.
Regarding the lack of variety, I think we should all be fair enough to admit that despite our love for Animaniacs, the original show was pretty hit and miss with regard to its different segments. I usually generally enjoyed the Warner siblings, Pinky and the Brain and Slappy Squirrel - out of all the OG characters, I missed Slappy the most in the reboot and wish they included her frequently. Sherry Stoner proved in her cameo that she could still play the character flawlessly, and while that was a treat, I just wished we could have gotten more of her.
But looking at most of the other segments: I don't think I ever really enjoyed Goodfeathers. They have a couple of cool sketches, but most fell kinda flat to me. I actually preferred Buttons and Mindy sketches, which seems to be a rather unpopular opinion. Don't get me wrong, I always felt sorry for Buttons and kinda hated Mindy (someone on that staff must have really hated dogs!), but their segments were always good for some solid slapstick humor. And maybe that's also an unpopular opinion, but I looooved the Chicken Boo segments. Yes, it was always the same silly, dumb joke, but that what it made so fun for me. I didn't expected any surprises from a Chicken Boo sketch, i just marveled at the writers tenacity to do a dozen different variations of the exact same absurd gag routine. For some reason, that joke never got old for me. (I think my favorite is the one where Chicken Boo is Robin and Adam West Batman is the only one who doesn't realize his partner is a giant chicken).
But the Hippos, the Flame, Buttons and Mindy, Katie Ka-Boom...it's not like I hated them, but I can't exactly say that I desperately wanted them to return. I think it would have been fine if the writers had been a little more experimental and tried out all kinds of new segments. I mean, why not? I fully understand making the Warners and Pinky & the Brain the main attraction - I think it was Robby who said that Pinky and The Braind already had enough foucs because of their own show, but I think we have to be realistic here. If they hadn't included them in the reboot, there would have been an outrage amongst fans, much bigger than for the other segments. But that doesn't mean you can't have other stuff, too.
I agree with Robby though - what annoys me the most is that they excluded the smaller segments like "Good Idea, Bad Idea", "Wheel of Morality" and so one. I loved those as a kid and I really don't see any argument at all why they couldn't have been included in the reboot.
But all that said, I mostly liked what I've seen. I could have done without the gross-out humor, but I generally liked the writing, I thought it was pretty funny and witty. (My favorite dialogue was definitely this gem from Season 2:
Marie Antoinette: "Do you know what's the worst thing about being rich?"
Yakko: "Your only other nickname is Dick?"
)
The voice actors were amazing as always, and though you could tell they sounded a bit older, they have lost nothing of their comedic timing. I also really enjoyed most of the new songs. I'm an absolute sucker for catchy music in cartoons, and there were some absolute gems here, especially in Season 2. From the new season, I haven't been able to get this one out of my head:
So, in general, from my limited perspective, I would it rate it a more or less successful reboot that however didn't quite retain the charm or reach the quality of the original.
@Retro said in Animaniacs Two season revival on Hulu:
Cindy is completely unaware and mostly doing her own thing while rambling childishly (I am fully convinced they just had the VA say whatever
Yeah,it was somebody's neice and they just had her improv while following a very loose guideline. I guess she rambles like that in real life and it was inspiring in the way only a six year old can write. (see also Axe Cop)