Sunday, September 1, 2019

The Tiger Prince / All the Words in the English Language / The Kid in the Lid / Method to Her Madness (Animaniacs Vol 3 Part 24) - 'Toon Reviews 32

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Episode 74
The Tiger Prince



It’s not hard to figure out that The Lion King is one of the biggest Disney films ever.  Even to this day, much like Frozen, you can see it heavily advertised as one of the grand animated epics.  That said, imagine being around at the time when it first came out in the 90s (I was personally born the year it was released).  It was most likely exposed much more then than it is now, and this includes parodies.  Coming from a show that typically specializes in parodies, this is perhaps one of the most elaborate jabs at Lion King ever constructed. 
Like many parodies of this show, even if it is playfully mocking the film’s famous opening “Circle of Life” scene, it’s highly respectful.  The animation clearly doesn’t match the cinematic scope of the film, but it’s impressive to see how close it comes.  There’s precision and accuracy to how so many animals travel across the plains to the stand-in for Pride Rock giving a solid imitation.  Also adding to the imitation is a passionate song about surprises in life.  The interesting thing about it is how much heart and soul goes into a musical work with offbeat lyrics on getting hit by a bus or punched in the nose.  It’s a great way of matching the Disney atmosphere buy still reminding the audience of exactly where all this is coming from.  To end it, we have Yakko taking the role of Rafiki as he enacts the famous pose of holding the newly born prince to all the animals.  Further making the parody all its own, one last jab highlights exactly why such a stunt shouldn’t be attempted as Yakko accidentally drops the prince.  From there the pleasing feeling is somewhat lost as he gives a sheepish look at what he just did.  While pretty dark, I see the intentions of going this route. 
Even with this, this is still an amazing parody with much love and dedication put into it, which is huge considering that this is on material from a big rival company.
Plus it's probably a much better tribute to the film than any live action remake.

A+

All the Words in the English Language (A)


Speaking of takes on clearly iconic media works, this episode features the show poke fun at one of its own popular segments.  Fans know of Yakko’s musical number where he sings names of the nations of the world as one of the greatest musical and animation feats.  Now, to the tune of the same piece, “The Mexican Hat Dance” he takes on an even more bountiful topic. 
In front of a dictionary, Yakko sings the names of all the English words imaginable.  It’s crazy to see him take it on but fun to watch for what it is.  It also helps that there’s a commentary by Dot and real-life announcer, Dick Button, adding an authentic dramatic announcer quality to such a ridiculous task.  In a way though, the song kind of boxes itself into a corner since there are simply innumerable words in the English language.  We don’t see Yakko sing all the words in the English language in one segment.  It takes three segments spanning across the entire episode, and it’s held back by actual repercussions most people would face when singing a lot of names.  That comes up more in later segments, but even here Yakko is nowhere near as lively and expressive as he is with nations of the world. 
For now though, it’s a very strong start to an ongoing song segment for this episode.

 

 
The Kid in the Lid


This show has worked wonders when taking on the style of Dr. Seuss before, and now it’s got a whole cartoon dedicated to it with this full-on parody of his famous work The Cat in the Hat.  As I’ve stated in my review of the TV special adaptation of the book, it’s a highly imaginative story with an interesting message on the importance of fun even if you bend rules a bit.  Now of all the characters on this show, Yakko is pretty much the ideal stand-in for the cat with arguably the biggest mind for fun. 
The cartoon’s environment also deserves a lot of credit for feeling right at home in the world of Dr. Seuss.  Like most of his works, it’s told in rhyme all throughout with highly imaginative ways to have what happens fit the rhyme scheme.  It gets more impressive when you consider the fun things Yakko has in mind for the featured kids to do.  The art style is worthy of mention too with the use of solid colors and loose outlines for all the props and characters.  It further shows the great respect the show brings even when making fun of various properties. 
Even so, this parody of a well-known story also successfully molds itself as its own thing.  I’m not just talking about little changes like the kids stuck inside the house due to intense heat instead of rain and watching TV instead of sitting at the window.  I mean the wacky things Yakko does to spend the day with them.  They even give the activities of the actual cat a run for his money.  While the messes in the source material were unintentional after effects of activities, at times it feels like Yakko is actively trying to make a mess.  How can one not expect it when putting glue on everything and then rolling them into a lump?  The kids easily go along with it knowing it’s wrong but just want some excitement. 
The stand-in for the cautious fish, Charleton Woodchuck, pops up posing as a total nag on the fun prompting Yakko to take measures that result in the most elaborate of gags.  He forces Charleton to take a bath, sends him down the drain, and the woodchuck comes out of the toilet while its water creates a lake for the neighborhood kids to swim in.  That’s the kind of extreme cartoonish gags that make this Dr. Seuss parody something of its own even if it is somewhat gross.  It should also be noted that Charleton Woodchuck never appears again after this, presumably through never being let out of that toilet.  Since he wasn’t exactly likable, this is far from a huge loss. 
As for Yakko’s antics, they get bigger when he brings in the stand-ins for Thing 1 and Thing 2, Wakko and Dot.  They add in more oddball gags like Wakko eating random things from the fridge including the things themselves, and all three Warners getting really destructive through playing war.  The latter thing is something even the thrill-seeking kids don’t approve of.  For one last departure from the source, the kids’ parents do come home to notice the mess which was what Yakko was apparently planning all along.  Just as the kids are about to get the ultimate scolding though, Yakko shows he does have a heart and doesn’t let the place stay destroyed, fixing it in literally no time.  This way the fun of the cartoon is perfectly intact despite any harsh directions. 
The cartoonish antics of this show and the creative styles of Dr. Seuss continue to go hand in hand with this cartoon.  It’s clear that they really make for quite an entertaining combination.

A+

All the Words in the English Language (B)


Continuing the earlier song segment, this is where the realistic repercussions of singing so many words start taking effect. 
Yakko is getting much more tired and therefore sings much slower as Dot and Dick Button comment on how he’s so far made it to the words that start with L.  Giving a more authentic announcing style, they also highlight on a mistake at an earlier verse of words starting with F.  If you’re aware of a certain F word that tends to get censored, it’s honestly a blessing that Yakko made a mistake with that letter.  As great as it is that he recovered from the mistake, wouldn’t that mean he still failed the challenge?  Things like this really start taking the audience out of the animated experience with a highly energetic cartoon like Yakko getting worn out over this.  Isn’t talking a lot and giving rapid wisecracks his thing?  At least the fun in the absurdity is still intact.

Method to Her Madness


This show often has a lot of interesting subjects for its cartoons, and it’s especially apparent when they highlight what makes the best kind of entertainment.  While that’s the case with this Slappy Squirrel cartoon, its morals can easily be taken the wrong way. 
It’s the 1950s where a lot of upcoming actors are specializing in the apparently then-popular Stanislavsky method of acting.  From what I understand, the method means getting in touch with the most realistic emotions possible to get into character.  Skippy is a huge follower of this method and is the talk of acting classes where the students are well-known actors of the time like Maroln Brando, Marylyn Monroe, and others.  He’s well-liked by the students but you can never tell if their affection is genuine or if they’re just making fun of him. 
Fed up with the style of acting dominating films of the era, Slappy decides to join Skippy for one of his classes to see what he’s become a part of.  All the way, there’s something confusing about the teaching methods.  The students are assigned to act certain emotions, but they all seem like the same bored cool-looking expressions that don’t seem to convey any emotion at all.  If this is supposed to be realistic reactions to all scenes, I have to wonder how actual examples of the Stanislavsky method go.  It’s easy to see Slappy’s point that this style is very lacking even by an audience standard.  Her wisecracking one-liners are honestly the most entertaining thing about the whole sequence.  There also seem to be a setback to the students’ acting when following this method.  At one point in the class, Skippy and a Marlon Brando caricature recite a scene from a parody of On the Waterfront and Brando keeps flubbing his lines and needs help from Skippy.  I find it ironic since this is one of Brando’s best roles in reality. The line in the cartoon is heavily accurate to the source material too, with a bit Streetcar Named Desire thrown in with the shouting of “STELLA!”.  Basically, this is a pretty awkward scene with little humorous appeal, though I do like the joke about Brando getting fat someday considering a famous role he’d play in the 70s. 
Anyway, this is when Slappy has enough of this emotionless method and decides to bestow her own method of acting on the class.  What it involves, however, is nothing but cartoonish antics on all the students.  She then brings on a plethora of any classic form of animated violence imaginable.  You got random falling pianos, blows from mallets, sticks of dynamite, and funny expressions of anger and frustration.  As you can imagine, these antics involve a lot of explosions that blow all the students up and bring out a lot of hurt, mad, or extremely scared emotions from holding dynamite.  They bring out the most emotion they’ve shown throughout this cartoon, but a lot of the expressions look very off-putting.  A big reason for this is that instead of being on characters with extremely exaggerated design, they’re expressed by characters trying to closely resemble real life actors.  You just can’t get genuine humor from realistic looking characters getting blown up. 
What’s more, what this leads to does lead to a more expressive form of acting, but it’s also very corny.  All the students do is imitate the mannerisms of Looney Tunes which further feels awkward coming from believable caricatures.  Not to mention, while it opens up use another acting method apart from the Stanislavsky one, it just has another one in dominance.  Does that really resolve anything? 
I admire the approach of pushing towards acting that’s truly expressive, but this cartoon really doesn’t stand out much with dull characters and confusing messages.

B

 

All the Words in the English Language (C)


By now, all the cartoonish fun of Yakko’s energy when it comes to singing a lot of names is practically nonexistent.  He’s made it to words beginning with Z, and he’s more tired than ever.  Keeping the fun of the affair going continues to be Dot and Dick Button’s commentary.  Heck, Yakko even comes incredibly close to giving up as he passes out before the last word.  I suppose some of his energy is still intact when even though he’s collapsed, Yakko summons his strength and finishes the stunt despite everything.  You can only imagine his shock when after he’s done, he’s assigned to sing all the numbers above zero next week.  At least the human emotions of shock are far more believable since that’s a task that’s not just harder, but also something no one can ever be finished with.

This is a fun noble attempt to follow up on “Yakko’s World” though it doesn’t really come close to matching it in terms of quality.  While believable, Yakko getting tired through singing all those words just sucks out the fun of the animated nature of the series we’ve grown accustomed to.  The direction makes sense for sure, but isn’t what we’ve come to expect.  It’s still impressive that it’s highly enjoyable from the dramatic approach to something so absurd regardless of everything.
A-

Cartoon Ranking

1.      The Warners’ 65th Anniversary Special

2.      Super Strong Warner Siblings

3.      Baloney and Kids

4.      Ragamuffins

5.      Frontier Slappy

6.      Woodstock Slappy

7.      Deduces Wild

8.      Wakko’s Gizmo

9.      The Warners and the Beanstalk

10.  Brain Meets Brawn

11.  The Kid in the Lid

12.  Morning Malaise

13.  Meet John Brain

14.  Yes, Always

15.  Drive Insane

16.  Lookit the Fuzzy Heads

17.  Take My Siblings Please

18.  A Hard Day’s Warners

19.  Wakko’s New Gookie

20.  Karaoke Dokie

21.  Nutcracker Slappy

22.  Witch One

23.  Of Course, You Know This Means Warners

24.  No Face Like Home

25.  Meet Minerva

26.  The Chicken Who Loved Me

27.  Scare Happy Slappy

28.  Bingo

29.  Smell Ya Later

30.  A Gift of Gold

31.  Ups and Downs

32.  Rest in Pieces

33.  The Helpinki Formula

34.  The Mindy 500

35.  Les Boutons et le Ballon

36.  Bad Mood Bobby

37.  Whistle Stop Mindy

38.  Gimme a Break

39.  Three Tenors and You’re Out

40.  Gold Rush

41.  Method to Her Madness

42.  Up a Tree

43.  Cranial Crusader

44.  Mermaid Mindy

45.  Katie Ka-Boom: The Driving Lesson

46.  With Three You Get Eggroll

47.  Kung Boo

48.  Pigeon on the Roof

49.  The Brave Little Trailer

50.  Girlfeathers

51.  Super Buttons

52.  We’re No Pigeons

53.  Miami-Mama Mia

54.  Fake

55.  Katie Ka-Boom: Call Waiting

56.  Katie Ka-Boon: The Blemish

57.  Katie Ka-Boom: The Broken Date

Song Ranking

1.      A Quake! A Quake!

2.      Variety Speak

3.      Schnitzelbank

4.      I’m Mad

5.      I’m Cute

6.      U.N. Me

7.      All the Words in the English Language

8.      Dot’s Quiet Time

9.      Coo

Miscellaneous Ranking

1.      Please, Please, Please Get a Life Foundation

2.      The Tiger Prince

3.      Branimaniacs

4.      Previously on Animaniacs

5.      Macbeth

6.      Oh, Oh, Ethel

7.      Spike
 
 
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode with a famous song about the presidents up to Bill Clinton, Pinky and the Brain's world domination plan with the Declaration of Independence, and the Flame returns to narrate the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
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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