Saturday, June 15, 2019

Branimaniacs / The Warners and the Beanstalk / Frontier Slappy (Animaniacs Vol 3 Part 1) - 'Toon Reviews 32

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I’m breaking out another DVD set of my favorite animated series to further show how it’s the one to impress the most through using the old school cartoon formula as an art:
Animaniacs (Volume 3)


Basic Premise
HELLOOO NURSE and welcome to the start of even more looks into the original cartoon marvel that is Animaniacs!  An undeniable passion project done by talented writers, animators, voice actors, and musicians, it has brought successful entertainment to the medium.  Granted, some stories and characters are far more successful than others, but the things that work set a high standard for how funny, creative, smart, and witty cartoons can be.  Each episode always has pure variety to its content making for one surprise package after another.  You could get cartoons with any team of characters like the madcap Warners, Slappy and Skippy Squirrel in the arts of violence, Pinky and the Brain’s world domination plans, etc.  Other episodes stand out with elaborate song numbers, respectable parodies of TV shows and commercials, or interesting ways of tying the content together with a specific theme.  If that’s not an ingenious way to show what animation can do, I don’t know what is.
With this DVD, we’re entering the second half of the entire series where it’s debatable if the show can remain strong getting so deep into the production run.  On one hand, we’ll be getting some milestones like the big celebration of a syndication qualifying 65th episode and the first episodes made for the Warner-owned WB channel.  Within the show itself though, many episodes are going to feature the last time certain elements are regularly featured.  At the end of the look at this DVD, we’ll have covered certain characters’ last starring roles either on a regular basis, or in Rita and Runt’s case, in general.  In some instances like Pinky and the Brain, this makes sense since they’ll have moved onto their spinoff at this point.  The content featured will also bring slight changes in setup and variety feel not just as the episodes generally progress, but also when they switch from Fox Kids to Kids WB.  However the quality is affected by what the content of this DVD brings, I can guarantee it will still be one of the most satisfactory TV animation experiences ever.  So let’s not waste any more time and get on with the totally insane-y fun in the Volume 3 DVD set of Animaniacs!  As I always say, those are the facts!
Episode 51
Branimaniacs
Just as it’s always good to start the day with breakfast, we start off this episode with a bumper parodying breakfast cereal commercials featuring Slappy and Skippy Squirrel. 
It’s got all the authenticity of your average cereal commercial.  We have clearly staged enthusiastic voices from Slappy and Skippy, mentions of the healthy stuff in the cereal, and even the stuff slowly being poured into the bowl. 
So to stand as its own thing, there are also a few jabs at how corny this act is.  Skippy wonders if they’ll get paid since their picture happens to be on the box which Slappy retorts that he at least doesn’t get paid.  Special attention is given to the sugar lumps shaped like Slappy’s head, the main selling point for most cereals.  Then near the end as Slappy and Skippy mention the cereal’s “get up and go” feeling, there’s a subtle joke about its double meaning with stomach rumbles heard after one bite. 
The following enthusiastic dance routine for the cereal brings hilarious irony.  We have the Warners dancing their hearts out singing the praises of the cereal, while Slappy and Skippy’s demeanor on the box reflects how one would really feel after eating it.  It’s the true nature of advertising right there shown to funny effect.  That said, Slappy and Skippy seem to build up a tolerance for the cereal since it shows up in the background a few times afterwards. 
Despite that, this bumper is a strong start to the episode giving you a get up and go feeling…to see what great entertainment lies ahead.
A+
The Warners and the Beanstalk
It’s been a common custom to place the Warners into any random scenario, sometimes in the universe of a separate one-off story.  Common as this setup is, it’s all in the execution that make these cartoons so dang fun and exciting.  This cartoon is no different where we find the kids taking part in a fairy tale and delivering not just their trademark in comedy all the way, but also in how they tell the story. 
As most can tell from the title, the parodied fairy tale is Jack and the Beanstalk and its premise is very straight-forward from the source.  There’s a giant stealing goods from a village, forcing the people into poverty.  The Warners have to sell a cow to get by, but they get swindled and end up with beans instead of actual cash. 
So far, the story seems all too familiar to the actual fairy tale, but being the great comedic cartoon characters they are, the Warners give it an edge to stand out.  Selling the cow has a good amount of edge to it, particularly with how they plan on throwing in Wakko because Dot gets more fan letters.  Personally, I don’t get where that comes from since at this point and continuing onward, Wakko seems like a very stand out character from the trio.  Then there’s awareness that the Warners are basically roped into the ensuing adventure. The beans fall through a crack, a beanstalk comes up, and they’re transported up to the clouds in a pod.  They only venture into the giant’s castle to save the golden harp and golden egg-laying goose because the harp claims she’s pretty.  Well, it convinces Yakko and Wakko to keep going while Dot, as expected has to be roped into coming along.  Even then, laughs abound highlighting the absurdity of what they have to do given where they’ve ended up. They lower the harp gently by dropping her on the floor, and when the giant, portrayed by Ralph the Guard, comes, they give a variety extreme freak-outs before simply saying hi. 
Great gags and self-awareness like this would typically be satisfactory enough for a Warners cartoon, but then it goes the extra mile with how the kids take on Ralph the giant.  As he sets out to eat them, they dare to turn the setup of classic fairy tales to Dr. Seuss as they try to convince him to have gold eggs and meat instead.  Through every outrageous setup to make the new meal more appealing, Ralph keeps refusing.  Speaking of the setups, they’re a major comedic step up from simply having the new meal in houses, boxes, and in cars, trains, boats, and the like.  They all play a role in messing with Ralph and inflicting crazy pain gags on him.  He gets electrocuted when offered to eat the meal with a cod holding up a metal rod.  He’s falls through the earth during a quake and is crushed when offed to have gold eggs and meat with a dash of salt on the San Andreas Fault.  The gags even reach Japan when Ralph’s offered to eat the new meal with Godzilla and Rhodan who hit him with fire breath.  As you can tell from my descriptions, there’s humorous creativity in the Seuss-like rhyme schemes all throughout. 
Finally, continuing to add edge to the innocent story, even when Ralph finally gives in, eats the gold eggs and meat, and likes them, he falls through the clouds and is knocked silly.  His dim-witted response to never thinking that the clouds wouldn’t hold his weight after eating sells the comedy.  The same is true with the Warners’ annoyance when their heroic efforts are awarded with more beans. 
In the end, this fairy tale with a touch of Dr. Seuss turns out to be one simple yet hilariously-executed cartoon.
A+
Frontier Slappy
This show is tailored so that any character can be placed in any time period, and fit their styles.  In the case of this cartoon starring Slappy Squirrel, this is very much the case.  Even in the pioneer days of 1700s Kentucky, she treats to the audience to her winning brand of comedy against anyone spoiling her peace.  In fact, her adversary here is one of the main reasons this cartoon turns out to be one of Slappy’s best performances. 
It’s a personification of the real life frontiersman and “great big guy” Daniel Boone.  His simple design shows him as all brute strength and a simple and haphazard mindset where all he wants to do is cut down trees.  He’s introduced on a crazy cutting spree just to show his obsession.  Once he gets to Slappy’s tree, he slowly realizes what this simple old squirrel has against his force. 
Even when out of her usual modern time period, Slappy has everything she needs to face the featured yutz daring to cut down her home via the old world amenities.  She’s first shown randomly making candles, and pours wax on Daniel Boone when she first notices him.  After mocking the fakeness of his panther call, she utilizes a butter churn bringing nicely fluid slips on butter she spreads under Daniel Boone when he’s not looking.  When Daniel Boone comes charging at her tree with a battering ram, she has him run straight into a spinning wheel which comically spins him out of sight.  Even without the amenities, Slappy brings on clever wisecracks and creative gags to beat back Daniel Boone.  When he has ox pull down the tree, she surprisingly puts them in a union and they go on strike.  When Daniel Boone disguises himself as a woodpecker, Slappy feeds him disgustingly drawn bugs woodpeckers actually eat to gross him out enough to break character.  For good measure at the end, just as Daniel Boon is about to blow the tree sky high with gun powder, Slappy surprises him by telling him she moved it because it was attracting ants.  This way we literally end with a bang. 
Aiding the comedy is the upbeat and rustic chorus highlighting Daniel Boone’s push to cut down that tree all throughout.  In addition to being really catchy on its own, it’s also a pretty funny way of messing with the “great big guy’s” ego.  They start by singing his praises when he’s introduced and when he notices the tree and plans his first few attempts.  By the time it becomes clear that he’s too bumbling to come up with a competent plan, the chorus starts acting like wise guys and openly mock Daniel Boone.  They call his bird disguise absurd (which it is), sing about how he loses his lunch after eating Slappy’s bugs, and their last line calls him a jerk coming up with a plan that won’t work.  They frustrate Daniel Boone so much that he can actually hear them and later has them come down so he can criticize them.  By the way, the identities of the chorus have the benefit of pleasing classic animation fans.  They’re the Dover Boys starring in their first role since the 1942 Chuck Jones short from over 50 years ago.  Needless to say, they make the background chorus very fun despite its redundancies, meaning it’s a nice touch that they end the cartoon singing Slappy’s praises. 
Overall, this comedic look into the deep past is a true winner with great gags, strong characterizations, and creative ways of making the humor work.
A+

Cartoon Ranking

1.      Frontier Slappy

2.      The Warners and the Beanstalk

Miscellaneous Ranking

1.      Branimaniacs
 
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Wakko and Dr. Scratchansniff spend a cartoon in an elevator, there's a very basic story about a brave little trailer, and the Brain taps into his Orson Welles influence.
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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