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Episode 56
Schnitzelbank
Some
could say that this show is virtually anything it wants to be, and in a way
that couldn’t be truer. As this song
segment proves, it takes a simple German children’s song and makes it a really
lively and also surprising animated work.
The tone starts off as innocent as children’s songs typically are as the Warners appear in Germany to learn what’s known as the “International Friendship Song.” The man teaching them all about it is Otto von Schnitzelpusskrankengescheitmeyer, a jolly looking fellow. At this point, the song is as innocent as it can get as Otto and the Warners go to different objects like chalk, a key and lock, and a clock and put them to music. Interestingly enough, what they do is accurate to the real life Schnitzelbank folk song as you’ll find out with a little research.
The tone starts off as innocent as children’s songs typically are as the Warners appear in Germany to learn what’s known as the “International Friendship Song.” The man teaching them all about it is Otto von Schnitzelpusskrankengescheitmeyer, a jolly looking fellow. At this point, the song is as innocent as it can get as Otto and the Warners go to different objects like chalk, a key and lock, and a clock and put them to music. Interestingly enough, what they do is accurate to the real life Schnitzelbank folk song as you’ll find out with a little research.
As basic as what everyone sings is, it’s kept fun by a lively musical
orchestration and fast-paced animation to keep up with the tempo. There’s so much entertainment and energy from
what’s being sung, you don’t care that it may be juvenile, at least at the
start. Because of the energy, the song
is open for many humorous verses when the Warners give it a shot. Some of them play to humorous character
traits like Yakko stuffing bread into Wakko’s head or Dot flirting with Otto. The most stand-out verse is easily Wakko
making one out of Otto’s incredibly long name, even if it has too many
syllables to match the beats.
Then comes
the most surprising part of the song as if the Warners’ humorous twists on it
weren’t enough. Since the song here is
referred to as the “International Friendship Song,” they decide to go with the
more sexual definition of friendship. In
a set of verses, they draw attention to Otto’s fatness and his big butt, and
later undress him, at least to his underwear from France and hairy chest. Now, this direction is sure to catch a lot of
people off guard where after spending the song innocently observing the world
around them, matters turn to stripping an innocent guy. However, like I said earlier, the last verses
can also fit the nature of the title for how it can function as another way of
expressing friendship. In
other words, using the song to undress Otto works as a funny twist ending to
the song.
With great animation and music
and surprising
yet hilarious directions taken in spots, this song is a perfect example of this
show’s greatest strengths. By
taking something that’s seemingly
meaningless, it leaves the audience with
entertainment destined to
last a lifetime.
A+
The Helpinki Formula
Sometimes, it’s impressive how close
Pinky and the Brain get to achieving their goals of world domination. This cartoon is a prime example of this
concept where everything is so well planned out to ensure success. By the time the obligatory failure comes, it
honestly comes as a surprise with a big moment that’s so bizarre, even for a
show like this.
Brain has invented a
substance called the Smallerizer Plus that shrinks anything and anyone down to
mouse-size with just one drop, and it works too. However, he specifically explains that only
one drop of the stuff is to be used or else there will be an unpredictable
occurrence. When it comes to letting his
creation be known, an amusing direction is taken with that as well. Taking usual inspiration from Pinky’s TV
watching, Brain decides to advertise the Smallerizer Plus on an infomercial,
described as a way to get people to buy things they don’t need.
This basic description is the driving force
of the legit progress in the plan via an exaggerated yet comedic atmosphere of
the infomercial studio. Throughout the
show, there are frequent cuts to the same animation of an audience going crazy
over key parts of the presentation. They
even go crazy over a completely random scene of Pinky setting fire to a
car. As for Brain and his product, it’s
an easy venue to get the word and for people to put in a good word for it. Considering how the direction makes it clear
that people will cheer for anything on this show, it makes sense that they’d
want to buy something that shrinks them.
In an ironic sense, the Smallerizer Plus is boosted by celebrities as
they get what they want by getting shrunk by it. Well, that’s at least true for Cher in regards
to big hair, but it doesn’t work for Janet Jackson, the shrink, when her nose
doesn’t get small with the rest of her.
This leads to the plan’s failure which involves one of the rare times
Pinky’s unintelligence is a key factor as most people would expect. Even though he was told not to add a second
drop of the Smallerizer Plus, he attempts to do that, and when Brain tries to
stop him, the whole supply rains over everyone.
This brings the bizarre part where the overdose of the Smallerizer Plus
turns everyone in to gigantic cleat-wearing yodelers. I know it was said that the outcome to this
would be unpredictable, but this is just random in a rather uncomfortable
way. I could find it funny for how
out-there this whole thing is, but it just leaves me dumbfounded with the
wayward nature. Maybe that’s because of
the extremely unfortunate implications that innocent people are now trapped
yodeling in completely different bodies, possibly forever. Won’t this cause their friends and families
total grief? Shouldn’t drastic measures
be taken to turn everyone back to normal?
As you can tell, for how fun this cartoon was, this cartoon ends with a
good deal of boneheaded actions, moments so insane even for this show, and
discomfort. Thanks to the sight humor
factor, with more of it coming from before the part with Janet Jackson’s nose,
it’s still easy to have a fun enough time here.
A-
Les Boutons et le Ballon
Of all the segments of this episode,
this one is the best reason for why we start it with the French version of the
theme song. At its core, it’s just your
average Mindy and Buttons cartoon where Mindy goes after a red balloon, Buttons
chases her to keep her safe, but gets hurt himself. There is, however, one thing that makes it
stand out even if it’s more to do with the aesthetic than the writing.
The cartoon is entirely in French which makes
sense considering that it takes place in France. This direction is a great way to make the
setting come alive instead of merely being a backdrop for all the actions. It also makes good use of France where all
the gags that come from the usual pursuit unfold in famed locations. Mindy chases her red balloon along the River
Seinne, it looks like she falls in, but lands on a riverboat unbeknownst to
Buttons. When she goes up to Notre Dame
Cathedral to get the balloon, Buttons is walked over by a procession of nuns
walking with who appears to be a caricature of Madeline. The flight up the Eiffel Tower highlights how
people can get up its many levels via elevator, making for a clever Baby Plucky
cameo. If you’ve seen his typical
routine in Tiny Toon Adventures, you
probably have a good idea of what he does around elevators. Even Mindy going after a red balloon is a
nice stylistic choice to fit the custom of Mindy chasing something cute
looking. Film buffs may be aware of a
French short film of a boy who befriends a lonely red balloon called The Red Balloon. It’s much more somber than Mindy’s chase for
it here, but it suits the setting well regardless. Combined with the direct use of French
language, the use of the landmarks for the gags are used to their fullest
potential, crafting the city through the show’s perspective.
However, this is still the only thing this
cartoon has going for it among other Mindy and Buttons cartoons. It’s largely the same thing as we get
from these characters which isn’t too interesting and still isn’t very fair to
some characters. There’s at least one
point when Buttons’ pain feels deliberate as the riverboat backs into him once
Mindy is safe when there’s little to no reason for this to happen. Is Buttons supposed to get hurt on purpose
just for the formulas sake? Plus, he
still gets scolded for messing up the one order he was given which doesn’t do
much to dispel the usual mean-spiritedness even if it is refreshing to get a
French version. This still means his
efforts went unnoticed as usual. Even if
it does feel different, the formulaic undertones are still present and hold the
cartoon back. Thankfully, the atmosphere
is a key factor in at least making this one of Mindy and Buttons’ more
memorable escapades.
A-
Kung Boo
Keeping with formulaic undertones, we
close this episode with a Chicken Boo cartoon.
Usually, the ridiculous formula is made successful by the interesting
ways key elements are shaken up. Here
though, it’s shaken up to pretty disappointing lengths.
This time, the giant chicken is in a state
karate championship and is faced off against a fierce opponent in the
dojo. As usual, it’s amusing to see a
big-eyed dumb looking chicken make it to the big time in a given area. He not only has many alleged
accomplishments to him, but also his own sensei who’s been guiding him for a
while. You get the impression that he
has a lot to be impressed by when it comes to karate.
Then we get to the actual match where all the
bravado built up for Chicken Boo as a karate star is put to waste. He never actually pulls any punches with his
attacks. The jerky opponent constantly
gets the upper hand during the fight, and even the sensei’s teachings do no
good. He brings up a philosophy about a
grasshopper, and Chicken Boo just goes for that instead of participating in the
fight. I get the humor of the scenario
since this is what a real-life chicken would do around grasshoppers, but
Chicken Boo’s been more competent than this before.
By the time we get to the part where his
disguise comes off, it’s hard to really feel for him since he really doesn’t
live up to his celebrated greatness. At
least there’s a funny reaction of Chicken Boo’s sensei karate chopping himself
far away upon realizing his student is a chicken. In the end it’s hard to know how to
feel. It’s very mean that Chicken Boo is
given all this animosity for being a chicken which somehow means his
accomplishments mean nothing now, as is usually so. However, as mean as it is, it’s hard to say
if it’s truly unwarranted given that he turns out to be no karate star even
when no one except one person sees him as one.
This makes for one of the most confusing Chicken Boo starring
roles. I give credit for a few good
laughs and Asian atmosphere from the sensei’s philosophies, but it’s still
merely passable by this show’s standards.
C+
Cartoon Ranking
1. Frontier Slappy
2. The Warners and the Beanstalk
3. Brain Meets Brawn
4. Yes, Always
5. Drive Insane
6. Meet Minerva
7. A Gift of Gold
8. Ups and Downs
9. The Helpinki Formula
10. Les Boutons et le Ballon
11. Gold Rush
12. Kung Boo
13. The Brave Little Trailer
14. Girlfeathers
Song Ranking
1. Schnitzelbank
2. I’m Cute
3. Dot’s Quiet Time
Miscellaneous Ranking
1. Branimaniacs
The next Animaniacs review puts the Warners in an authentic morale boosting film for World War II, Rita spends a cartoon up a tree, and Wakko gets into his true animated nature with his own Rube Goldberg device.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews we meet the "Off Colors" in Steven Universe.
