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Episode 65
Back in the day, shows reaching 65
episodes was seen as a big deal. Before
innumerable cable channels were on the rise, shows would be put in syndication
at this amount of episodes. This means a
show is eligible for airing on several TV networks instead of being confined to
one allowing for more ways to watch a show, and more revenue for the
creators. Most shows would just mark the
occasion with whatever episode is 65th in the line-up, usually
nothing out of the ordinary. Then you
have the occurrence when the occasion is marked with something special such as
this 65th episode of Animaniacs. What we have here isn’t just
special. It’s also an immersive
retrospective on cartoon characters who know how to embrace their zany
nature, the Warner Brothers and Warner Sister, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. With humorous takes to the conventions going
into documentaries, this look at the background of these cartoon characters
goes all out to stand as such a grand experience.
Although it’s been said that the
Warners were created in the past and locked away for being too zany for the
outside world, it’s great to see the details on established history. Each key subject of their history takes up
its own act in the retrospective. The
first act is on their creation and how they got started in show business. There’s background on their often-mentioned
favorite director, Weed Memlo, and a funny scene of the animator who drew them going
crazy, winding up in the asylum.
We also have interesting
references delving into one of the lesser known Warner Bros cartoons,
Buddy. I’ve only seen one of his cartoons, but from that, I can agree with the consensus of how devoid of edge
and standout characteristics he is, mostly just smiling and believing all is
well.
The Warners, who star alongside
him in this retrospective, showing up to smash him is honestly the most
enjoyable thing with him. Too bad this
isn’t the case in real life.
Their time
in the Buddy cartoons leads to the second act highlighting their solo career
and why their films were so looked down upon by the studio. It comes with even more solid laughs from the
Warners’ antics and relationship with the staff. They had a chicken as an agent, tendencies to
go off the script so much the director would scream at them while filming, and
directed their own bizarre films. Even
if this is meant to educate on where the Warners came from, it’s still filled
with the hilarious nature of their standard cartoons. The material they starred in may have been locked away, but
their lives are the true cartoons. The
second act also consists of the origins of their running around the studio and
driving the actors crazy after their contract was cancelled. The culmination
was them being sealed in the water tower as we all know. Even so, the third act also consists of a
small aside of the Warners needing to be let out for a day for maintenance
reasons. This makes for many hilarious
encounters in post 1930s historical events be they youth fads like pop rock and
disco, or more obscurely World War 2’s aftermath and the Berlin Wall. I’m always excited to hear more to the
stories behind interesting characters, and this anniversary special really has
a lot of that.
It also goes all out with
a light-hearted take on documentaries.
We have a fun use of celebrities to open up the affair like a
delightfully cheesy Liza Minelli number, and posing as a host complete with his
need to look at cue cards, Bob Hope.
The interviews also make up the great appeal of the retrospective not
just by highlighting the studio staff and human actors, but the actual Looney
Tunes as well. That’s a smart move to
give weight and authenticity to the Warners’ cartoon careers.
They even have their own share of laughs from blunt reactions to their
ridiculous histories with the Warners to getting paid over saying how good the
sponsored cereal is.
Out of this
background and comedy from the retrospective setup is a touch of darkness
unfolding for the Warners. Even then,
this turns out to be in the name of laughs coming from the big-eyed,
high-pitched Buddy wanting revenge on the kids for stealing his career. Not only that, but the Warners are wise to
his plan where they praise Buddy in their big anniversary speech at the end,
but also set it up so have him get smashed like old times. It gives the foe what he deserves, pays
tribute to how the Warners got started, plays to the kids’ character strengths,
and ends the whole thing with a bang.
Well, this and smashing the encore of that cheesy Liza Minelli number.
Syndication episodes don’t always come
off as special events, but you can tell that a lot of thought went into this
one. The history of who may be the best
characters TV animation has to offer is interesting and expansive. The documentary tone is mined for a plethora
of comedy. The historical lengths of
classic cartoons are huge and unusual. This is hardly even enough to describe how
big of a masterpiece this work is. It
must be seen to be believed as a great animated work that enriches you with a
fascinating background and delivers top-notch hilarity all at once.
A++
Cartoon Ranking
1. The
Warners’ 65th Anniversary Special
2. Baloney and
Kids
3. Ragamuffins
4. Frontier
Slappy
5. Woodstock
Slappy
6. Wakko’s
Gizmo
7. The Warners
and the Beanstalk
8. Brain Meets
Brawn
9. Meet John
Brain
10. Yes, Always
11. Drive
Insane
12. Lookit the
Fuzzy Heads
13. Karaoke
Dokie
14. Witch One
15. Of Course,
You Know This Means Warners
16. No Face
Like Home
17. Meet
Minerva
18. The Chicken
Who Loved Me
19. Scare Happy
Slappy
20. Smell Ya
Later
21. A Gift of
Gold
22. Ups and
Downs
23. The
Helpinki Formula
24. Les Boutons
et le Ballon
25. Gold Rush
26. Up a Tree
27. Cranial
Crusader
28. Mermaid
Mindy
29. Katie
Ka-Boom: The Driving Lesson
30. With Three
You Get Eggroll
31. Kung Boo
32. The Brave
Little Trailer
33. Girlfeathers
34. Super
Buttons
35. Katie
Ka-Boom: Call Waiting
Song Ranking
1. Schnitzelbank
2. I’m Cute
3. Dot’s Quiet
Time
Miscellaneous Ranking
1. Branimaniacs
2. Macbeth
3. Oh, Oh,
Ethel
4. Spike
Now we’re 3/5s through this DVD set.
We’ll be moving onto Disc 4 next time, mainly consisting of four episodes
consisting of leftover material originally created for the first 65 shows. It’s an understandably economic measure, but
how well does using the originally scrapped cartoons turn out? See you tomorrow to find out.
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