'Toon Reviews 14: Animaniacs Vol 1 Part 7: Piano Rag/When Rita Met Runt

Episode 7

Piano Rag

An interesting, yet humorous, thing about the Warners is just how random they can be whenever they go out doing their thing.  This cartoon is a good example of this when they’re out running away from Ralph, Dr. Scratchansniff, and Hello Nurse trying to catch them and end up in a piano concert of all things.  It’s just outrageous how two completely different scenarios end up in the same plot, but go perfectly together anyway.  It’s a good use of the oddball nature of these characters. 

Regarding the chase portion of the cartoon, there’s one irksome element to it that’s prevalent throughout the whole cartoon.  It has to do with how bent every one of the Warners’ pursuers is on catching them, even if it’s not like some of them to be THIS determined.  I can buy Ralph acting this way since he’s a guard and trying to catch the Warners is his thing as shown in most bridging material and in the background of cartoons starring other characters.  Dr. Scratchansniff, on the other hand, is someone with a different assigned job regarding the Warners which is trying to get them under control, and with a couple of good-hearted moments between him and the kids throughout the series, it doesn’t make sense for HIM to want to capture them this badly.  Considering that Hello Nurse is his assistant, the same applies to her too.  At least the three of them together make for some humorous moments, and since Hello Nurse is mostly just present as a figure of her intense beauty, which is frequently commented on and used for some risqué jokes here, her taking part in the Warners pursuit does give her more to do than usual which is nice. 

Anyway, the cartoon picks up in entertainment when the Warners lay low in the concert.  They liven up the uptight social affair as they observe the performance with a lot of innocence combined with strong comedy. The comedy includes mistaking the pianist, Tympanini, for a magician, handing over a literal candy store worth of snacks when they become too distracting, and come up with clever ways to cheer for the performance even when it’s not over.  It’s all a bunch of amazing antics we’ve come to expect from these characters made even more impressive that they can fit them in while hiding from people trying to get them. 

Everything builds up to a pretty intense moment where the kids are finally spotted and cornered behind Tympanini on stage.  It looks like they’re finally caught, but then the shock turns into humor with the reveal that Tympanini was caught instead.  As for the Warners, they end the cartoon free to give everything a lively finish with their own piano rag, and boy is it catchy and triumphant. 

While this cartoon isn’t perfect in construction, it’s still a strong work for its handling of different scenarios in one plot, and great sense of comedy. 9/10

When Rita Met Runt

While all the members of the cast we’ve explored so far have a certain comedic edge to them, Rita and Runt are the characters with the closest flare to the dramatic.  They may be a common cat and dog team trying to find a home, but the approach taken applies a lot of emotion and soul to the setup that invests you in what they go through.  This is shown right away with this cartoon that officially introduces the characters and sets up their major arc with a story of how Rita and Runt first met. 

Rita’s a cat who’s too independent for any lonely pet owner to deal with while Runt is a big dumb dog who messes up so much that he’s impossible to deal with.  They both end up in the pound when their current pet owners have enough with them, and since they’re separated by a solid wall, they have no way of seeing that they’re different species.  Through their interactions, the appeal of their dynamic is fully apparent.  Runt is an eternal optimist who always sees the good in everything and everyone while Rita has a lot of problems with life, especially with humans, although those feelings are more complex than she lets on.  Together, these completely different worldviews make for interesting personality clashes showing a lot of promise for future cartoons with these characters. 

They also help bring out another dramatic layer to these types of cartoons when the conversations reveal the complexities of Rita’s feelings for humans.  She may be annoyed by their constant qualms, but deep down knows that they have enough good qualities to provide what she really wants, a good home, and these clashing feelings are constantly at war within herself, making her one of the most interesting characters to get behind. 

These feelings are especially shown in a soulful musical number, which is another way these cartoons dramatically stand out from others on this show.  While most songs are either short, goofy ditties or interesting ways of teaching something, Rita’s songs have a lot more emotion that have you buy into the weight of what she’s put through especially since she’s performed by a professional singer, Bernadette Peters.  That fact is not just interesting, but also proves that this show can easily recognize good talent to utilize, selling just how great a series it is.  As for the song here, it brilliantly illustrates how Rita deals with her complicated issues with humans to emotional effect accompanied with a soothing melody and Peters’ great singing talents. 

Going back to her dynamic with Runt, its appeal is further shown at the end when Rita springs them out of the pound.  Even when she finds out she’s been talking to a dog the whole time, she still willingly befriends him when he steps into action and saves them both from a dogcatcher, setting them free.  Plus, in addition to enhancing his own appeal by being a dumb character who can be useful, Runt is willing to befriend Rita too, even if it’s mostly because he can never figure out that she’s a cat.  With this friendship established, these characters are officially set up to spend future appearances searching for a home.  Sure, Rita plans on them splitting up when they do at the time, but their friendship is so strong in its first moments, you can tell that this mindset won’t last long (it doesn’t). 

So, in addition to being a solid, down-to-earth, and meaningful cartoon with endearing character interactions, this cartoon presents a lot to look forward to from the pairing of Rita and Runt with great uses of music, genuine emotions, and the great care and admiration between the principal characters. 10/10

Cartoon Ranking

1. Slappy Goes Walnuts
2. H.M.S. Yakko
3. Hooked on a Ceiling
4. Temporary Insanity
5. When Rita Met Runt
6. De-zanitized
7. Win Big
8. Taming of the Screwy
9. Piano Rag
10. Cookies for Einstein
11. Operation: Lollipop
12. Goodfeathers: The Beginning

Song Ranking

1. Yakko’s Universe
2. Yakko’s World
3. The Monkey Song
4. What Are We?

Miscellaneous Ranking

1. Nighty-Night Toon
2. Flipper Parody

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where there's another TV show parody, the Warners meet a jerky candy store owner who's even mean to a nun, and Slappy teaches Skippy that no one really dies in movies after he goes through what kids usually go through when they see Disney films for the first time.

If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.