Totally insane-y

September 14, 2020 7:13 PM

Animaniacs - Official Sneak Peak (2020) [1m30s], premiering in November on Hulu.
posted by hippybear (47 comments total)

Let us invoke the sacred chant of all Gen X and Millenial kids as they gaze at another slowly inflating entry in the ever expanding street zombie parade that is our collective pop cultural legacy:

"plzdontsuckplzdontsuckplzdontsuck"
posted by Jilder at 7:22 PM on September 14, 2020 [47 favorites]

Yakko Warner sings the nations you can currently travel to from the US without restrictions.

posted by lalochezia at 7:22 PM on September 14, 2020 [15 favorites]

Maurice LaMarche is the only dude who actually looks like that voice comes out of his body. The rest of them are doing some dark-ass magic.
posted by selfnoise at 7:23 PM on September 14, 2020 [25 favorites]

no, finger prints!
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 7:28 PM on September 14, 2020 [31 favorites]

Oh hell yes! If this is anything like the Ducktales reboot I think it's gonna be great!
posted by Kitchen Witch at 7:33 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

It releases dopamine! I am pleased.

Where's Paul Dini? Any room for a Freakazoid reboot? No, probably not. The internet is no longer a fun place, now that we've seen what it actually turns teen boys into.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:35 PM on September 14, 2020 [3 favorites]

Rob Paulsen interview.
posted by sardonyx at 7:42 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Any room for a Freakazoid reboot?

Yes, but WHICH Freakazoid!? The first season was SO different from the second, they were nearly different shows (but with entirely the same flavors).

I could stand to see some first season style Freakazoid shorts woven in with the Animaniacs segments. I would probably cheer out loud at the first one I saw if it were to happen. Ditto Slappy Squirrel, um... the hippos could be fabulous... Surely they'll have Good Idea Bad Idea and Wheel Of Morality and other bizarre interstitials. With Richard Stone gone, I wonder who they might find that is that style of composer. Obviously Pinky/Brain will be back, but Rita and Runt? Would Bernadette even DO that today? (She did the Sondheim birthday thing, and I'm convinced she has a painting aging in her attic.) Pigeons! Find the pigeons! Oh, and a personal favorite of mine, Chicken Boo. More great Wakkorotti?

I have no many questions! They're doing, like, 26, 28 episodes of this? That's a serious commitment!
posted by hippybear at 7:43 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm just here for Good Idea Bad Idea.
posted by deadaluspark at 7:47 PM on September 14, 2020 [14 favorites]

Based on the state of things, we need a sight gag where the Wheel of Morality is closed down for repairs.
posted by delfin at 7:49 PM on September 14, 2020 [15 favorites]

Huh, IMDb lists 26 episodes, articles I'm reading are saying 13...

Did I mention that I own all 4 of the Animaniacs DVD sets, all 3 of the PatB sets, and all of the F! episodes DVDs?

At one point I had ripped all of them into individual segments, each cohesive bit of each program (sketch, interstitial, song, half-hour, whatever) and given them a naming scheme that made sense and had them all in a giant external hard drive, so I could put the entire thing into VLC on a television at a party and it would just run a non-repeating stream of That Silver Age of WB TV for the duration which worked well.

I loved having that. I accidentally irretrievably reformatted that hard drive several years ago. There was so much on that drive, I still don't even know what all I lost. *sigh*

Someday I'll find the ambition to do that project again. Someday....
posted by hippybear at 7:49 PM on September 14, 2020 [9 favorites]

I think this reboot might actually be a good idea, not just a cynical cash grab. Half of why I liked Animaniacs when I was a kid was because it was basically Looney Toons when you couldn't see Looney Toons on TV anymore. Somehow that niche is still unfilled over two decades later, so the same formula could well be successful. The only problem I foresee is that the other half of why I liked Animaniacs was because it was clever and snarky, and I get way too much of that on the internet already. I'm interested to see how it pans out.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 7:50 PM on September 14, 2020 [6 favorites]

From the above linked Paulsen interview:

The thing that’s going to be fascinating from a professional standpoint is you will be able to sit down with your children and your husband and watch your very favorite episode of Animaniacs and then literally watch a brand new episode that’s been made 25 years later with the same cast and you’ll be able to make a judgment. So it’s a pretty high bar.

posted by hippybear at 7:58 PM on September 14, 2020 [3 favorites]

This reminds me of when Homer voices Poochie and can't believe the voice actors are the voices of the cartoon characters. So much makes sense now that I'm older and have experienced the weirdness of being behind the scenes of a cartoon, even if it is through YouTube.
posted by geoff. at 9:06 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Years ago, when I ran an online store, I had to run a lot of tests on checkout. One of my test purchase accounts was Heinz von Testy (loosely based on a minor character from Intolerable Cruelty).

One of the other accounts I remember was Weed Memlo, who was one of the first directors for Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Weed Memlo: It's fun to say AND to type.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:03 PM on September 14, 2020 [2 favorites]

It's fun to say AND to type.


The reader may be aware there's also a producer in Hollywood called Speed Weed.

What does this have to do with Animaniacs? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

It won't be the end of the world if they don't include _that recurring sketch you don't like_. You know the one!
posted by StarkRoads at 10:32 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Goodnight, everybody!
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:45 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Any room for a Freakazoid reboot? No, probably not. The internet is no longer a fun place, now that we've seen what it actually turns teen boys into.

oh no this is making me want a ReBoot reboot
posted by taquito sunrise at 12:19 AM on September 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

Aw this was one of my favourite cartoons growing up. I loved how it didn't feel like it was talking down to me and I'm sure a couple of jokes went right over my head ("finger prints!" "I don't think so." FOR SURE went whooosh).

I'm so happy it's the original voices and it's hand drawn!
posted by like_neon at 2:28 AM on September 15, 2020

Wait, wait, I was told all reboots would be grimdark. Where's the grit? Where's the despair? This can't be a modern remake with dark, tortured souls...
posted by Ghidorah at 2:38 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

ReBoot reboot

God, what a concept. What would you even do with it? I'm not sure how it could be modernized without it falling apart entirely, but if feels kind of wrong as purely a retro thing. Although I guess a lot of the referenced tech was already mostly out of favor by the time the show happened anyway. But what to do about the animation style? Many questions.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 2:58 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm sure I saw an add for a ReBoot movie recently, which looked really terrible, but now I can't seem to find any evidence of it so either I was confused or 2020 is finally driving me mad.

I loved the original ReBoot but I don't see how you could re-do it. Modernising it seems wrong...
posted by stillnocturnal at 3:29 AM on September 15, 2020

This reminds me of when Homer voices Poochie and can't believe the voice actors are the voices of the cartoon characters.

My eleven year old daughter has become hooked on old Daria episodes on Hulu, which is awesome. I wish I still had a recording of a special they did back in the day with the voice cast. At one point, you get to see Wendy Hoopes quickly cycle through Jane then Quinn and then Helen. It was really disconcerting to watch.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 3:43 AM on September 15, 2020 [7 favorites]

Yes, but WHICH Freakazoid!? The first season was SO different from the second, they were nearly different shows (but with entirely the same flavors).

I'll take either, but they'll need to be careful about bringing back Candlejack in a post Slender Man wor-
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:29 AM on September 15, 2020 [7 favorites]

But who’s going to play the sax?!
posted by the_blizz at 6:00 AM on September 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

EXEC #2: Hey, I love a clever parody as much as the next knucklehead, but will the children even understand a majority of these jokes?

THE ANIMATOR: No, they will not. Animaniacs will not make sense to them now. It will make the world make sense to them later.
posted by Mayor West at 6:11 AM on September 15, 2020 [17 favorites]

Gotta admit I'm secretly hoping they update the Presidents song...
posted by Mchelly at 6:21 AM on September 15, 2020

>Reboot reboot

They tried.
posted by persona at 6:32 AM on September 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

Years ago, when I ran an online store, I had to run a lot of tests on checkout. [...]

One of the other accounts I remember was Weed Memlo

I used to name my test accounts Bubba Bo Bob Brain.
posted by neilbert at 6:47 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

Now, I'm normally rather grumpy and bothered by reboots of 80s and 90s properties. They all-too-often feel like cash-grab attempts to squeeze more money out of nostalgic millennials—and I have precious little nostalgia.

This.

This is... the exception.
posted by SansPoint at 7:28 AM on September 15, 2020

Oh no, is this thread going to start doing the Candle Jack mem
posted by Laura Palmer's Cold Dead Kiss at 7:40 AM on September 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

NOOOO! I can't afford to subscribe to another streaming service. My heart is breaking. I made a Pinky and the Brain reference to one of the school agers at work and she had no clue (as expected). *sigh*
posted by kathrynm at 8:01 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

Will they have an updated theme song? Surely, "Wakko packs away the snacks while Bill Clinton plays the sax" is way past its sell-by date.

Maybe, "Wakko packs away the snacks, we've got al-ter-na-tive facts"
posted by wabbittwax at 8:12 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

wabbitwax: During the original run, they changed the lyric to "While we pay our income tax" after a couple seasons.

Edit: Here's a Wiki with all the lyric alterations. The line I was thinking of is "We pay tons of income tax"
posted by SansPoint at 8:42 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

they could just leave it as "while bill clinton plays the sax." the original show was already peppered with antiquated references that the kids weren't expected to get. this could be another one.

the only reason i hesitate to say this is that bill clinton is an epstein pal and maybe needs to be memory holed instead of used for cute references...
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 8:54 AM on September 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

I loved the show as a kid and recently watched several episodes with my kid. I find I don't even get many of the references anymore, and the casual, semi-aware misogyny is intrusive. I'm hopeful that the reboot can address both of these problem.
posted by wnissen at 10:10 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

From the same era...

Eek the Cat
Earthworm Jim
Sam and Max

Saturday cartoons were good, then the went bad, then they were good (see above), then they went bad. So maybe a new era of good is coming?
posted by njohnson23 at 10:23 AM on September 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

One thing that stands out from the original theme song to me was the exposition of the basic plot.

Come join the Warner Brothers
And the Warner Sister, Dot
Just for fun we run around the Warner movie lot.
They lock us in the tower whenever we get caught
But we break loose and then vamoose
And now you know the plot!

Hand-in-hand with MST3K, I really miss shows that put the basic plot in the theme song so you don't actually have to familiarize yourself with the plot, you can just jump in and it doesn't matter.
posted by deadaluspark at 10:54 AM on September 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

Heh - "plot"...
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:27 AM on September 15, 2020 [2 favorites]

"the casual, semi-aware misogyny is intrusive. I'm hopeful that the reboot can address both of these problem."

Yeah, it's jarring to see just how common homophobia, transphobia, sexism, etc. was in mainstream TV from not that long ago. Addressing these flaws and, too often, the lack of significant diversity is a big, meaningful benefit of the reboots that we're seeing.

The She-Ra and Voltron reboots were so much better from those perspectives. They are also really good cartoons! They aren't perfect (is anything?), but I don't cringe when I watch them with my child. That's a good thing.
posted by oddman at 11:39 AM on September 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

. . . M. C. Gainey . . .
posted by dannyboybell at 11:45 AM on September 15, 2020

I don’t remember the misogyny! Aside from the nurse, which ... is a big aside, I guess. But then, I expected less back then, from shows and in general.

I did not know who Jerry Lewis was before Animaniacs, and he’s funnier there. Plus less scary.

Earthworm Jim was a pretty great show IIRC, but its creator is beyond cancelled. I don’t know if he did any of the writing there anyway.
posted by Countess Elena at 11:45 AM on September 15, 2020 [4 favorites]

I don’t remember the misogyny!

That's full on a thing, and from time to time I go back and revisit something I remember as being totally benign and ...fucking hell it's pervasive. It's easy to not notice the grime against a background of grime, but it stands out now. Probably for the best, actually. Shows we're growing.
posted by Jilder at 5:53 PM on September 15, 2020 [5 favorites]

I think a Freakazoid return would actually be good, it was made by good people (Ed Asner was Cosgrove!) and may be a way to strike a blow for positive crazy internet humor.
posted by JHarris at 9:25 PM on September 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

Brick brick! Brick brick brick brick!
posted by hippybear at 9:32 PM on September 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

The later seasons of ReBoot (which were very hard to find in the US for a long time) go a bunch of different places I did not expect. Shout Factory has the whole ReBoot series in a nice collection if that is your thing.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:52 PM on September 16, 2020

WB has released the cold open for the first episode from the NYCC panel. Spielberg as Hammond is an inspired touch.
posted by NoxAeternum at 12:04 PM on October 11, 2020