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Episode 85
Rugrats Parody
When
opening episodes, most instances of that involve parodies of intros to shows
from decades ago. This one, however,
plays to what was easily one of the most popular animated shows of the 90s, Rugrats, though the show is also mostly
remembered fondly today. I, myself,
remember watching that show a lot back when it was all the rage, and have good
memories of it when looking back. For
that, I find it very impressive how spot-on this parody intro is.
Though the visual style is mostly rooted in
the series proper, things like the backgrounds and a few facial features like
the Warners having big baby eyes give it an authentic Rugrats touch. The music and
sound design, however, is an even bigger point of authenticity. Not only is the music of the intro a warped
version of the real one, but it also sounds like something straight out of
there. The synthesized music following
the characters and even for sound effects that emphasize things like objects
falling down or getting squirted by milk from a carton. By the way, the carton makes an excellent
reference to how Rita and Runt haven’t been given any starring material as
they’re labeled missing on the side of the carton.
These are the most convincing ways
this parody fits into the setup of Rugrats
and is beneficial to many core Animaniacs
characters being modeled after the cast of that show. The Warners fit their assigned baby roles
well with Yakko as Tommy crawling around, Wakko as Chuckie acting neurotic, and Dot as Angelica easily pulling pranks. There’s room for other characters taking up
roles too. Other kid characters like
Skippy and Mindy take up the roles of the twins, Phil and Lil. Pinky and the Brain show up as duplicates of
that strange cat robot from the original
Rugrats intro. Slappy is seen
sleeping in the armchair like Grandpa Lou.
Finally returning home are Dr. Scratchansniff and Hello Nurse as Stu and
Didi whom Yakko sprays milk at, ending the parody.
This is one of the show’s most authentic
parody intros with a fitting visual style and music, and mixing the parodied
material’s baby emphasis with the humor of the series proper. Plus it stands out as the only time this show
parodies something from Nickelodeon.
A
Jokahontas
For
the second time in a row, there’s an episode with a cartoon targeting a popular
Disney animated film from this era.
However, while “Cutie and the Beast” seemed to go after musicals in
general and not just the film it was working off of, this cartoon is all about
satirizing how big Disney really was. As
it makes fun of its corporate practices, I find it very appropriate that the
parodied film at the center of everything is Pocahontas. After several
major groundbreaking hits during the early part of the 90s, when Pocahontas was released in 1995, it was
the moment when Disney started to become unpopular. That film tried way too hard to incorporate
the family-pleasing elements that worked before into a story about something as serious as
prejudices between settlers and Native Americans. As a result, the public began seeing their
works as formulaic and mandated, so the company’s financial and critical
reception started going down for the rest of the 90s. These events can be seen as a precursor to Disney Animation crashing and burning in the early 2000s until Pixar was purchased in 2006 and its creative
officers helped it get back on track.
As
for how their downfall started, the underlying messages of it are greatly
reflected in this cartoon. There’s a
feeling that it’s going to be immersive with Native American culture, but then
it’s halted with how Yakko and Wakko joke around with the customs. That’s a solid interpretation of how hard it
is to get fully invested with the movie Pocahontas. This inconsistent tonal clash of serious
topics and silly comedy even applies to the Mel Gibson caricature serving as
John Smith. Like in the movie proper,
he’s off to overthrow lands and take what he pleases for his crew, but does so
in a funny costume of red shorts and a helmet with big mouse ears.
As for the plot, it brings up a major thing
noticed about Disney films of the era.
Dot, portraying the Native American daughter of Chief Yakko, is caught in
an arranged marriage to Wakko. Given
that they’re already related, them being married causes some slight
discomfort even if this is just an act solely for this cartoon.
The moment Dot says she
can’t marry and longs for something more, the truth comes out. All through the parody of one of the songs
from Pocahontas, there’s an honest
look at how films like Little Mermaid,
Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin seemed to follow a formula. There was a leading female wanting more,
sweeping music, and gorgeous visuals.
The same thing happening with Pocahontas,
a film more serious by conception, was enough to turn people off from Disney,
and this song perfectly sells this idea.
Nevertheless, it also points out that even with the formula in place,
Disney is still very profitable because of it.
Basically, this song is one of the smartest satires on the entertainment
business set to musical effect. After all,
when satirizing Disney, it’s better to attack actual problems with the company
than fabricated rumors on them that don't have any legitimate weight.
That said, at times it feels like the cartoon
doesn’t know when to treat the story as a funny satire or take it
seriously. Dot simply feels far too
passionate about her problem even though she's aware it’s part of a clichéd formula. Effective blows at Disney keep coming though,
as seen through a funny Slappy cameo jabbing at how useless wise Disney mentors are
such as Grandmother Willow of Pocahontas. They just don’t stand out much with Dot
legitimately worried about her marriage crisis.
That route also doesn’t make for a lot of strong interactions when, in
accordance with Disney’s Pocahontas,
she first meets Mel Gibson and falls for him.
It’s still fitting given that Dot’s always fawned over this actor, and
there are a few comedic lines here and there.
There’s even a sudden change of pace when the Warners stop the story to
work in a random song about ice cream.
Mel even says there’s no song like this in the actual movie, to which
Yakko responds that they’re singing this because they got hungry. Somehow, the ice cream direction works as it becomes
a humorous mean to undercut any sort of danger in a breakout battle. The outcome of said battle is also overly
light-hearted when the Warners decide to give Mel Gibson’s crew members,
Benjamin and Jerome the recipe. Get it?
Ben and Jerry working with ice cream?
There’s also one last jab at Disney’s corporate greed when Mel getting
hit and forced to go home causes Dot to break down over not doing a
sequel. She only perks up when she learns that this film
will still get money from a TV series and merchandise. Ironically, Disney’s Pocahontas actually would get a direct-to-video sequel, but the
last scene is still a really funny way to show the profitable hold Disney has
on the world, at least in the 90s. I can’t help but wonder
how the series could showcase their profitable holds nowadays.
As
a Disney fan, I respect this cartoon as a funny parody of one of their most
mandated films that hurt their reputation, and satire of beating all
competition with a formula. It does seem
hypocritical since this show itself has formulaic segments, and it can be hard
to tell if it really wants to be a parody or legit story at times. Still, the points it makes are valid, and
something like this is appropriate to see from a longtime Disney rival like
Warner Bros. It’s really no wonder
they’d jab at how big they had become just as they were falling into a slump,
and I’d say they do it with plenty of tact and good fun.
A-
Boids on the
Hood
You
won’t see many Goodfeathers cartoons at this point in the show, and honestly I
can’t complain much about that. Don’t
get me wrong; they are very likable for the most part and bring an interesting
edgy tone to make them stand out from the cast.
However, they’ve also been majorly hit or miss throughout the show’s
run, and when they miss, they do so very hard.
With a change of venue and limiting their presence with this cartoon,
the Goodfeathers actually get a very solid time to shine.
Instead of the streets of New York, they’re residing
on the Warner Bros studio lot where the likes of Thaddeus Plotz and Ralph the
Guard work. In other words, the
Goodfeathers are now officially associated with the universe of the show’s
major headlining stars, the Warners. The
story they star in is simple, but very well executed. They’re just minding their business and doing
nothing wrong when they’re suddenly run over by a car belonging to Plotz and
chauffeured by Ralph. This ignorance is
not unlike the usual cause for these pigeons’ pain, but then they’re
deliberately kicked aside by Plotz as if he’s intending to hurt them. By the end of the inflictions, the
Goodfeathers pain is at its most visually realistic. This is the usual case with these characters,
but the pain here has never looked so believable like it does here.
Here is where the cartoon stands out from
other Goodfeathers starring roles.
Usually the pain they’d endure would just be brushed off as if it was
nothing despite how detailed it is.
However, it’s the driving force for their actions, especially since it
feels like the person who hurt them did it on purpose. What follows is an elaborate take on the idea
of pigeons flying around a car. With
expert staging and scoring, the focus is on them making a mess of Plotz’s new
car that hurt them in the first place.
When you analyze the situation, this is honestly the best way for
pigeons to get revenge. It’s all backed
by a classical music piece, “Ride of the Valkyries” pretty much the perfect
thing to set epic flying scenes to.
Epic may not seem fitting for pigeons flying, but the focus on their flights
and the shots of the backgrounds sure make it feel that way to be honest. Ralph, protecting the car, gets in on the
action too as he does what he can to keep the Goodfeathers away from it at all
costs. This results in him being
stripped down to the appearance of someone right out of an opera, a ridiculous
sounding but solidly executed visual gag.
In the end, the car is destroyed, and if sound effects suggest anything,
soiled. If only the real instigator of
all this, Plotz, actually also endured what happened as opposed to just yelling at
Ralph over the destruction off screen.
It would make the comeuppance much more satisfying. Other than that, this is one of the more
satisfying Goodfeathers cartoons. Being
the only real one of the Kids WB era, it’s all the more special.
A
Mighty Wakko
at the Bat
I,
for one, think that a major advantage that the Kids WB episodes have over the
older Fox Kids episodes is how often the entire cast gets together for a
cartoon. Instead of having the
characters stick to their own universe more often than not, you’d be surprised
how many times they’re all on the same team.
That’s a great way to show off just how diverse this show is when it
comes to different kinds of characters.
On the subject of teams, this one puts several characters in something
well-suited to contain many characters, a baseball team. It’s all in accordance with following the
plot structure of the poem of an ill-fated sports superstar, “Casey at the
Bat.” With passionate narration by Yakko, the audience is instantly given the
feel of the poem with clever rhymes and everything tailored to the potential
excitement of baseball. Regarding the
rhymes, like most works of the show in that structure, this short is no
exception. Just about everything the
characters do is worked into the beat, making the material all the more
immersive. It’s not just Yakko’s
narration that’s rhymed. Plotz’s big
announcements to the team are part of the structure as are comments from
audience members and other players. The
only exception, save for the end of the poem, is Pesto arguing with a baseman
over whether or not he’s safe. However,
this works because it’s in line with Pesto’s character to pick fights with
people.
As for Wakko in the role as the
big baseball hero, he’s all set up to subvert expectations. In the original poem, the titular character,
Casey, was so full of himself that he ended up striking out at a big play, and
that destroyed his skills. This original
ending is set up to not make that happen and give the featured characters a
happier conclusion, and the events really work in Wakko’s favor. Circumstances put the team in a desperate
position with the opposing team losing by one, Dr. Scratchansniff striking out,
and Ralph, the alleged best player, getting injured.
When Wakko enters, he’s happy and confident
to play, but he clearly shows little skills.
There’s a lot of harshness from the audience laughing at him, but it
doesn’t feel nearly as mean thanks to the enjoyable rhyming. Even when he gets a hit, the other team is
all set to catch the ball. In the
process of it all, there’s good tension for Wakko to get to home plate and keep
the ball from getting caught. For one
thing, the eye candy gals of the cast, Minerva Mink and Hello Nurse, are given
something of substance to do as they use their beauty to distract the
catchers. They miss the ball, and
there’s actual triumph as Wakko keeps on running. As he nears home plate, you really have to
wonder if he can make it. While it’s a
predictable happy ending, given the story execution, it feels the most
appropriate for Wakko to pop out of dirt, untagged, just when it looks like
he’s out. For starting out like a weak
kid lacking the needed sports skills, coming out strong in the end is very
pleasing.
Now, it should be noted that
another Warner Bros TV Animation show from this era Tiny Toon Adventures did their own take on “Casey at the Bat” that also
subverted the ending. Because that
version had the Casey stand-in be great from the start and only had the narrator
do all the rhyming, I personally feel Animaniacs
pulled it off better. Does it repeat older
ideas even if it improves on them? Yes, but it doesn’t make the final results
any less entertaining. Above all, it’s
another strong example of bringing so many highly animated characters together
for a common activity.
A+
Cartoon Ranking
1. This Pun for Hire
2. Wakko’s 2-Note Song
3. Go Fish
4. Valuable Lesson
5. The Sound of Warners
6. Dot’s Entertainment
7. Boo Happens
8. Buttons in Ows
9. Cutie and the Beast
10. Star Truck
11. Boids on the Hood
12. Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise
13. Yabba Dabba Boo
14. The Party
15. The Girl with the Googily Goop
16. Jokahontas
17. Gimme the Works
18. My Mother the Squirrel
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock
20. Hercules Unwound
21. Belly Button Blues
22. Oh Say Can You See
23. Soccer Coach Slappy
Song Ranking
1. The Ballad of Magellan
2. Hello Nurse
3. Noel
4. The Big Wrap Party Tonight
5. Panama Canal
6. Multiplication
Miscellaneous Ranking
1. Gunga Dot
2. Mighty Wakko at the Bat
3. End Credits
4. Rugrats Parody
5. The 12 Days of Christmas
6. The Return of the Great Wakkorotti
Be sure to stay tuned for a review of the next episodes where the Warners give the ultimate jab at preachy PSAs, Mindy and Buttons give a stellar performance in a cemetery full of zombies, and Wakko is caught in a hiccups plot.
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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