Friday, October 12, 2018

'Toon Reviews 22: Animaniacs Vol 2 Part 8: Cartoons in Wakko's Body: Noah's Lark/The Big Kiss/Hiccup

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Episode 33
Cartoons in Wakko’s Body (A)


The centerpiece for this episode is a set of bumpers that tell their own mini-story put together.  They’re basically the same gag every time, but the gag itself is so inventive an entertainingly delivered it hardly matters. 
In this one, Wakko complains to Yakko and Dot posing as doctors that he has a pain in his head.  Yakko looks into his head and discovers that Wakko has a cartoon stuck in his ear.  The camera zooms into the ear and said cartoon begins. 
It’s a simple yet creative way to introduce the episode’s featured cartoons, and the overactive line deliveries, particularly Wakko in pain, add to the comedy.  Before we move onto the next bumper, let’s analyze exactly what was in Wakko’s ear:

Noah’s Lark

You just know this show is calling in the big guns when it turns to religion for a cartoon’s backdrop or subject matter.  Having turned to the Bible for inspiration before, it’s all set up to give another effective humorous take on a sacred story. 
This time, the story tackled is of “Noah’s Ark” and instantly this interpretation has an effective humorous take.  The reason for the ark to be made is shown through scenes of the world partying like modern teenagers in a burning village and the narrator bluntly saying everyone was being jerks.  It’s silly and light-hearted, but works for getting the basic idea across. 
Noah himself is also an enjoyable feature of the cartoon.  He’s assigned by God to take on this huge task of helping create a new world. However, rather than wise and serious like a saint most would expect, he’s neurotic, whiny, and is very open about his fear of spiders.  This direction works because it enhances the idea that even though many people have done great world-renowned feats, they were still human and open to faults.  This makes this Noah well-rounded and likable enough to follow through the whole cartoon.  As he goes through the motions of building that ark and summoning two of every animal, his pathetic portrayal makes for solid entertainment.  He’s enjoyably clueless and reluctant going along with the plan, and often gives snide remarks and solid one-liners to the animals going onboard. 
Eventually, established members of the cast come aboard, and they’re unfortunately some of the weaker characters, the Hip Hippos, Flavio and Marita.  Treating going on this ark like a modern day couple taking a cruise is mildly humorous from them.  Still, what we get is most of the traits that bring them down.  They’re a likable couple who act as friendly as possible for sure, but it’s not all that funny.  Also working against them is how oblivious they are of all the problems caused by their enormous weight as well as how much they’re annoying Noah, the “captain.” 
Unlike most of the Hip Hippos’ starring roles, their antics actually don’t affect the entertainment too much.  Because they’re generally nice and well-meaning, they have potential to work off of funnier and more dynamic characters.  Noah happens to be just that.  Despite the Hip Hippos’ presence, Noah feels like the more major character with more scenes of him going through God’s plan than Flavio and Marita enjoying the cruise.  This is good because Noah is clearly the most sympathetic of the bunch. He’s thankfully not too sympathetic for the sake of the comedy.  Noah being whiny about what he’s put through despite its importance makes the humor from his banter with God and enduring the Hip Hippos work.  It’s a good use of negative character traits helping an overall product instead of hurting it. 
Still, when the 40 days and 40 nights are up, even after Noah being a total joke character throughout the voyage, it’s a nice moment when he finally settles down in the new world.  It’s so nice, I feel the last moment of the Hip Hippos showing him the two spiders from the ark and him running scared is a little uncalled for.  At least it’s decent as a punchline. 
While not the funniest thing from the show, this is a fun watch with well-defined characters and a well-executed light-hearted approach to a major Bible story.

B+

Cartoons in Wakko’s Body (B)

This is basically the same as the first bumper, only this time Wakko’s pain is in his eye.  Redundant as this may be, the hilarious line deliveries and the creative concept make it work. 
Now onto the cartoon that was in Wakko’s eye:






The Big Kiss

Of all the formulaic Chicken Boo cartoons, this is one of the most effective ones.  It’s got an interesting setting, mines the premise for its comedic potential, and everyone turning on the giant chicken makes more sense than usual. 
This time, Chicken Boo is a professional movie star called in to take part in a film’s climactic kiss scene.  The setup to the whole cartoon nicely plays to what makes Chicken Boo work on a comedic level to begin with, boiling down to his disguise.  There’s usually some extravagance to them to hide his true identity, but this time, all Chicken Boo is wearing is a mustache, and a thin one at that.  Because the disguise takes flimsy to a whole new level, it’s hilarious that Chicken Boo is considered such a huge movie star. 
All the while, as the crew prepares to film the kiss, there’s actually some build-up to Chicken Boo’s identity getting exposed beyond the usual single detractor.  Since that’s not the usual case, the cartoon further stands out.  For one thing, there’s a brief mention that Chicken Boo is a vegetarian when offered a chicken salad sandwich.  An even bigger example is a running scene of the director having sneezing fits due to an allergy to chicken feathers.  With this in mind, you’re led to wonder how Chicken Boo isn’t exposed sooner. 
This is where the kiss scene the cartoon was building up to happens, and it's already huge given what the cartoon is able to show of the featured actress.  It’s a sexy kind of funny when she puts a lot of passion into the kiss, completely unaware that her costar’s a chicken.  When the mustache comes off as a result of the kiss, it’s also amusing how quickly she goes from seductive and restrained to totally freaking out that she kissed chicken lips.  It’s this factor that makes Chicken Boo getting belittled for who he is work.  He may have apparent skill, but humans and chicken germs do not go well together and can honestly lead to of health hazards.  The director’s allergies also support this.  If all Chicken Boo cartoons brought this point up, they’d probably be a lot better. 
As this one shows, with the right direction, Chicken Boo can be winning cartoon material despite his redundancies.
A
Cartoons in Wakko’s Body (C)

Wakko’s operations turn to dentistry when the next cartoon is in his mouth this time.  It’s the same premise as before and funny for the same given reasons.








Hiccup


Cartoons starring the Goodfeathers go either ways.  They’re either interesting takes on the Italian mafia genre with creative potential and character banter or endless collections of pain gags which aren’t always very enjoyable.  This one is of the former category, but is mostly basic and lacking anything truly noteworthy.  That’s saying a lot since most plots to this show are basic and at times formulaic, but they’re usually executed well to feel like something more. 
This cartoon is executed to be no broader than its simple concept.  It’s just about Squit getting the hiccups and turning to Bobby and Pesto for help to cure them.  For the most part, the cartoon is nothing more than that.  They go through many of the basic attempts to cure hiccups used in most shows, especially those made just for kids.  There’s Squit holding his breath, drinking, and getting a pigeon-styled Heimlich maneuver from Pesto.  The fact that not one of these attempts work despite their effectiveness in real life makes the cures very dull and too long.  It even makes the cartoon feel repetitive at times, particularly when Bobby and Pesto frighten Squit with stories of pigeons who got hiccups so bad they croaked.  At least they mean no ill-intent and are still keen on genuinely helping Squit. 
In that regard, the cartoon can be seen as an edgy approach to a typical day-to-day problem.  This especially benefits the cartoon because the biggest strength of the Goodfeathers is their characterizations.  They’re all distinct in personality as a street gang would be.  Their portrayal as street pigeons adds an interesting and funny layer to the dynamic.  This strength often tends to get lost in cartoons bent on hurting them violently.  Here, there are hardly any pain gags at all.  In fact, most of the humor comes from funny expressions to emphasize certain points or the effects of Squit’s hiccup cure attempts, thus keeping the cartoon enjoyable. 
The characters prove so entertaining that they themselves bring all the comedy we need.  As usual, Pesto is a riot for finding insults in Squit’s innocent remark resulting in a rant that builds up to a fast-paced beating.  Bobby's tempers also have an enjoyable edge to them as seen every time Pesto badgers him with remarks that his cure attempts won't work.  It's like proportionate retribution for how much Pesto's always whacking on Squit for similar reasons.
In the end, it’s a surprise appearance from the Godpigeon that solves the problem while also adding to his already mysterious character. 
Instead of just talking in his unintelligible language, he shocks the Goodfeathers with a surprise monster face brimming with more character from him than expected.  The old saying that a good scare gets rid of hiccups wins out with Squit finally cured, though one last Pesto rant truly ends it all on a good joke. 
Even if this is a very basic and mostly uninteresting cartoon, it’s one of the better showings of the Goodfeathers’ dynamic and appeal.  It’s not one I’d continually watch, but I commend it for actually doing the featured characters justice.
B

Cartoons in Wakko’s Body (D)
Another great thing about the “Cartoons in Wakko’s Body” bumpers is that they lead to something instead of just being creative transitions. 
At the very end of an episode is a scene that brings all of Yakko and Dot’s treatments of pulling cartoons out of Wakko’s body full circle.  They take the abstract concept to creative extremes by announcing their findings to an entire auditorium, treating Wakko like their own personal science project.  This is honestly an appropriate thing to do with such a bizarre occurrence.  Wakko essentially being a cartoon transition is something so creative, how can you not treat it like a science project? 
Also, if you think about the cartoons pulled out of his various body parts, it kind of makes sense that they emerged from where they did.  The one in his ear is about someone being annoyed, the one in his eye features people not noticing the obvious, and the one in his mouth is about the hiccups.  The cartoons may seem random, but tie into the framing device better than you’d expect.  With this in mind, I’m personally grateful that we don’t see the cartoon causing pain in Wakko’s bottom.

These bumpers successfully do more than just what they’re intended to do.  They may tell the same joke, but keep it funny every time and what they lead to in the end is very satisfying.  While not all the cartoons they lead into are the best of the series, it's interesting that they have their ways of fitting the framing device.  Not to mention, the framing device itself is still immensely entertaining.  It’s a unique approach to the episode and a testament to the series’ versatile approach to the art of cartoons.
A
Cartoon Ranking

  1. Chairman of the Bored
  2. Hot Bothered and Bedeviled
  3. O Silly Mio
  4. Phranken-Runt
  5. Jockey For Position
  6. Sir Yaksalot
  7. Potty Emergency
  8. Puttin’ on the Blitz
  9. The Big Kiss
  10. Draculee Draculaa
  11. Babblin’ Bijou
  12. I Got Yer Can
  13. Astro-Buttons
  14. Moby or Not Moby
  15. Noah’s Lark
  16. Skullhead Boneyhands
  17. The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
  18. Hiccup
  19. Moon Over Minerva
  20. Mesozoic Mindy

Miscellaneous Ranking

  1. Testimonials
  2. Cartoons in Wakko’s Body
  3. You Risk Your Life
  4. The Great Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert

Song Ranking

  1. The Planets
The next Animaniacs review features Wakko dealing with a clown that keeps scaring him, and Brain try his hand at country western singing.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Gem Drill" from Steven Universe.
If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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