Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Turkey Jerky/Wild Blue Yonder (Animaniacs Vol 2 Part 21) - 'Toon Reviews 22



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Episode 46

Turkey Jerky

The show is now back to using holidays as a basis for cartoons.  This one takes us back to the first Thanksgiving with a comedic take on one of the most memorable moments of American history.  Mind you, the entire origins of Thanksgiving aren’t what the cartoon’s all about.  The most there is to that is at the beginning.  There’s a brief narration of the Pilgrims settling in a new land of freedom and that's about it. 
The actual plot starts within a year of their original settlement as they plan a feast to celebrate their freedom and harvest. Amidst an interesting portrayal of the Pilgrims who suggest random modern meals comes the most authoritative of the group, Myles Standish.  He hunts for what is today the most popular food for Thanksgiving dinner, turkey which is said to be very elusive.  For that, it’s a funny turn of events that the only one around is a looney one with a gimmick of constantly warbling “Turkey in the Straw.” 
If that’s not enough, that turkey is Mr. Gobble pet of the Warners posing as Native Americans.  The cartoon already started off fine, but the Warners make it especially great.  In their respective getups , they make some elaborate entrances attributing to their Native American names even though the names are never brought up again.  However, when they find out that Myles Standish wants to shoot Mr. Gobble for dinner, the Warners’ hijinks are in full force.  Some of them get deliberately overdramatic, particularly when Dot goes crazy with begging Myles to spare the turkey and gets an Emmy.  Other antics totally twist the situation around by giving Myles a therapy session as he brings up a pet hamster he once had.  Just as he’s about to go off topic, the Warners tie him up for solitary confinement and roll his psychiatry couch off a cliff while telling him to stay away from their turkey.  It’s a gag that catches you off guard with something only to get to the point later. 
That’s not even the best gag. The bigger and more creative ones follow.  Myles chases Mr. Gobble into a teepee which to make a clever visual gag has several smaller teepees nesting inside where the Warners pop out again.  Wakko eating Myles’ musket and shooting bullets at him in a comedic manner is also executed to great effect.  Then there’s Myles getting crushed by a tree and coming out as sap, getting hit by a random piano, and the nesting teepees making him small enough to be chased by the turkey.  These gags are some of the most imaginative ones of the show as some you’d be hard pressed to find in any cartoon. 
How Myles is finally bested is interesting through messing with his mental state as opposed to just a physical blow.  When he tells everyone to go away, the Warners and Mr. Gobble do that and take the background too, leaving him alone in a white void where he finally goes nuts.  No wonder the Warners make him the turkey to bring to dinner where one last comedic scene inspires the name Thanksgiving among suggestions of random modern holidays. 
I do have to wonder why no one questions there being no turkey to eat.  That was the whole point of Myles going through all this trouble after all.  The ending does show people of different kinds coming together for a wholesome feast though which is what Thanksgiving is best remembered for.  It’s basically the best tie we have to the holiday’s meaning within this gag-a-minute encounter with the Warners just in a Native American setting.  Through genius gags and solid use of characters though, as a typical gag-driven escapade, it’s a great one.
A
 
Wild Blue Yonder



This episode contains one of the show’s occasional one-shot cartoons that tend to be more sentimental than the usual fare.  As a work of that kind, I find it very endearing and interesting. 
It’s a simple story about a bluebird hatching from his egg and immediately realizing his mother isn’t there.  Not knowing that she simply left to get him food, the bluebird flies off on his own to find her.  It’s as basic a setup as you can get, but as is usually the case, it’s the execution that makes the cartoon so good. 
The setup of the cartoon is a slight break from the norm most noticeably with the use of dialog.  It’s not a talk-heavy work, but it’s not devoid of talking either.  All there is to the cartoon is the little bluebird childishly observing the world around him with simple sentences that mostly amount to single words.  With such a minimal use of words, the technical direction consisting of the artistry and music is the driving force of the story.  Through this approach, little scenes like a big fighter jet flying by and the bluebird getting determined enough to fly after it have a lot of power and emotion. 
It also helps that the bird thinking the jet is his mother is a pretty interesting concept.  Throughout the cartoon, this cute little hatchling flying after an adventurous jet feels like an epic flight through the sky through the elevating music and aerial shots.  It hardly even matters that he’s totally misguided.  He’s only just been born and from is childish tone of voice, of course he’d think any big flying thing is his mother. 
The story also throws in interesting scenarios that come out of the birds pursuit, most of which building the stakes.  One of them is in front of fighting planes shooting at each other that turn out to be a movie trailer at a drive-in.  However, that’s an opportunity for the stakes to build when the next danger is real.  The bluebird follows the plane to an air force camp as it comes in for a landing.  He’s united with it as it takes off again adding an effective childlike innocence as he believes the bullets the plane is carrying are eggs.  This is where the danger is really felt with the bluebird unable to know that the bullets are meant to explode upon a target town.  For how endearing the bluebird has been, it’s not hard to fear his demise as the bullets fall and he’s worried that the “eggs” will break.  Fortunately, the bluebird is all right and flies away just before really getting blown up even if it’s too late for the “eggs”. 
The following scene of the bluebird returning to the nest to find his real mother is incredibly heartwarming and a rewarding payoff to the danger.  Given the atmosphere of the cartoon, its effect is stronger than ever with the visuals and music selling the heart of mother and son meeting at last.  However, to not be too sappy, we end with a slight edge as two more realistically drawn bluebirds hatch and the one bluebird is disgusted as they think another jet is their mother.  That’s one interesting way for newborns to learn about the world to say the least. 
The one-shot cartoons aren’t often the best of this series, but the effective mix of newborn innocence and action-filled settings make this one of the better ones.
A

Cartoon Ranking
  1. Chairman of the Bored
  2. Hot Bothered and Bedeviled
  3. Bubba Bo Bob Brain
  4. Baghdad Café
  5. In the Garden of Mindy
  6. Critical Condition
  7. O Silly Mio
  8. Phranken-Runt
  9. Puppet Rulers
  10. The Three Muska-Warners
  11. Clown and Out
  12. …And Justice for Slappy
  13. Jockey For Position
  14. Sir Yaksalot
  15. Potty Emergency
  16. Turkey Jerky
  17. Survey Ladies
  18. General Boo-Regard
  19. Puttin’ on the Blitz
  20. Raging Bird
  21. Windsor Hassle
  22. Of Nice and Men
  23. Wild Blue Yonder
  24. Dough Dough Boys
  25. The Big Kiss
  26. Draculee Draculaa
  27. Babblin’ Bijou
  28. Fair Game
  29. No Place Like Homeless
  30. I Got Yer Can
  31. Spell-bound
  32. Smitten With Kittens
  33. Astro-Buttons
  34. Boot Camping
  35. Moby or Not Moby
  36. The World Can Wait
  37. Noah’s Lark
  38. Skullhead Boneyhands
  39. The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
  40. Hiccup
  41. Moon Over Minerva
  42. Broadcast Nuisance
  43. White Gloves
  44. Katie Ka-Boo
  45. Mesozoic Mindy
  46. Hollywoodchuck
  47. Kiki’s Kitten
  48. Can’t Buy a Thrill
  49. What a Dump

Miscellaneous Ranking
  1. Animaniacs Stew
  2. Testimonials
  3. Buttermilk It Makes a Body Bitter
  4. Alas Poor Skullhead
  5. Cartoons in Wakko’s Body
  6. You Risk Your Life
  7. Casablanca Opening
  8. Mary Tyler Dot
  9. The Slapper
  10. The Great Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert
  11. Animator’s Alley
  12. Useless Facts

Song Ranking
  1. The Senses Song
  2. The Planets
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Warners have an adventure in a movie buff's haven, a video store, and Pinky and the Brain try their hand at time travel.
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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