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Episode 31
O Silly Mio
A key factor to the Warner siblings cartoons being so
consistently great is the portrayal of the antagonists. Since the kids’ cartoonish antics tend to get
really ridiculous and aggressive, the person at the receiving end of said
antics should be deserving of them.
They’re usually a total grump or jerk who needs some sense knocked
in. This way, the jokes work incredibly
well and you easily root for the right characters and don’t feel too bad for
whoever endures the antics. Most all the
antagonists the Warners have dealt with so far have been portrayed this way and
the one in this cartoon continues the trend.
As an added bonus, the cartoon pays tribute to one of the greatest Bugs Bunny
cartoons and the favorite of series creator, Tom Ruegger, “Long Haired
Hare.” In that short, Bugs just minds
his own business playing music, but constantly gets belittled by a pompous
opera singer he’s unintentionally disrupting.
Likewise here, the Warners face a similar problem with the featured
antagonist, an opera singer named Madame Bruntwind. They’re simply making a stained glass window
of their old director, and Bruntwind, singing loudly while rehearsing for a
performance of Carmen distracts them. The thing that sets the Warners apart from
the earlier Looney Tunes short is that the siblings are upfront with their
problem with Bruntwind. Heck, all they
ask of her is to turn down the volume.
However, the singer is too stubborn to reason, and intentionally
continues singing as she did to the point of trying to harm them. Still, the basic idea of both cartoons is the
same where both singer characters are too pompous to see that the world doesn’t
just revolve around them. The
protagonists of both works even vow revenge in very similar playful ways. It causes the action to shift to an interesting setup of creative
gags pulled within an elite setting of high-class operatic music.
While the Warners’ retaliation
gags aren’t as creative or grand-scale as Bugs’, there’s still plenty of wacky
imagination put into them, and they’re all fun to see. Some are childish like grossing Bruntwind out
with half-eaten food while she’s in the middle of a performance. Others have a huge surprise factor like Yakko
suddenly appearing as one of the co-stars to sing about how heavy Bruntwind
is before
dropping her. My favorite gag is one
that turns the opera into something completely different. It starts when the Warners use the surprise
factor again and sing a line so loudly, Bruntwind gets stuck in a drum. When Wakko hits her out with the biggest
drumstick he has, everything is briefly transformed into a sudden baseball game
on the opera stage. It’s one of those
gags that’s so random, yet is brought to life to great entertaining
effect.
All the while as Bruntwind’s
performance falls apart, the Warners are kept likable and fully worth
supporting. They even bring up the
broken window that drove them to fight back, something they rarely do to any of
their antagonists. For the finale, the
Warners pull off even more elaborate gags to go out on. They swing Bruntwind from a hook who still
sings the piece perfectly, and congratulate her with plants as small as roses
and as big as trees that weigh her down through the stage.
As for this performance as a whole, in
addition to being a great modern version of a classic Looney Tunes short, it’s
another strong example of Warners retaliation at its finest.
A+
Puttin’ on
the Blitz
When discussing Rita and Runt cartoons, I frequently bring up
how they have a stronger sense of emotion and soul than works from any other
character in the cast. With this cartoon, the
emotional power is in full force. While it
feels out of place for this comedy series, it can be admired as a heartwarming
story with endearing character bonds as a work by itself.
Adding to the emotional weight is the setting of Nazi-occupied Poland in
World War II. It’s portrayed as war
normally would be with bleak backgrounds, dark threatening soldiers, and innocent
citizens running for their lives. As
beneficial to animation as creative portrayals of wartime are, expected serious
and emotional portrayals benefit too.
They make you feel like you’re in this dark moment of history with the
appropriate atmosphere. Coming from a family
show, this portrayal stands out much more.
Through all the darkness and fear from the Nazi forces, Rita and Runt
themselves pull everything through. It
shows that for their differences, they’re still best friends vowing to stay
together even in the darkest of times.
For Rita to put up with Runt’s lack of intelligence says a lot
considering how much of a burden it can be.
This element is really felt in Rita’s featured song, a tango of how she
and Runt will always have each other in the end. As nice as the song is, it does tend to go
too far in parts of Rita seeming flirtatious with heart symbols and kissing
Runt at one point. There’s no reason why
she can’t see Runt as just a friend like normal.
It’s also great that the cartoon doesn’t just
say that Rita and Runt make a great team.
It shows it too. With a dark and
brooding setting, the soldiers, and a blue dog working for them bring lots of
danger to fight. Rita and Runt are
capable enough to do this which is especially great for Rita who usually plays
victim. It’s impressive that she fights
against the dog so well.
Rita and Runt’s
bond is also put to good use in helping others.
They find a little girl named Katrina who is left behind by her father
who tries to evade the Nazis without having them follow her as well. Feeling bad for her, Rita and Runt strive to
help Katrina, which brings on most of their heroic moments. Plus, Katrina adds a welcome layer of
cuteness to their dynamic as shown through her gratitude to Rita for saving her
from the Nazis’ dog. She’s clearly the
best chance Rita and Runt have to get what they want the most, a home.
They’re set to get it in an exciting climax
where they find Katrina’s father on a departing train and rush towards it with
the Nazis right behind. From the
sweeping background music and desperation from the characters’ actions and
voice work, this is where the emotion is the most effective. It also gives Runt a chance to shine as he fights
the dog which gives Rita and Katrina a chance to get on board. However, Rita’s friendship rules out when the
Nazi dog getting the upper hand convinces her to leave the possible family
behind to help Runt. In the end, the
heart shines through with Rita making it clear that a home would mean nothing
for her without Runt. Once again, for how
different these characters are, it’s truly endearing that they need each other
to really be happy.
This cartoon’s sense
of emotion does go against the tone of this show yet still works as it is. It tells a
heartfelt story where great friendships prevail in a dark period of history not
often portrayed in family shows. Through
playing to what makes Rita and Runt stand out from the cast, we have a great
cartoon.
A
The Great
Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert
Like Episode 16, this episode contains a Great Wakkorotti
concert. I for one enjoy them as a
humorous mix of a high-class setting with low-brow humor as Wakko belches along
to a classical music piece.
The problem
with this particular one is that it’s almost exactly the same as the previous
one. It features the same animated
scenes, the same introduction and closing line, and the same in between gag to
make Wakko burp more. It really shows
how mass-produced these segments are which makes them feel cheap and lazy. Depending on how you feel about the humor,
this can be disappointing if you like the concept or a waste of time if you
don’t like it.
There are at least some
things to distinguish itself from the others.
The biggest one is the actual piece which in this case is “Dance of the
Hours.” This makes for a different tempo
for Wakko to burp to which is nice to see.
Plus, while it’s honestly hard to tell, burping to a different piece
does make for a few new funny expressions.
As it stands, this Great Wakkorotti segment is fun and watchable, but
mostly being the same as what we got before does not make it anything special.
C+
Cartoon Ranking
- Hot Bothered and Bedeviled
- O Silly Mio
- Phranken-Runt
- Jockey For Position
- Sir Yaksalot
- Potty Emergency
- Puttin’ on the Blitz
- Draculee Draculaa
- Babblin’ Bijou
- I Got Yer Can
- Moby or Not Moby
- Skullhead Boneyhands
- The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
- Moon Over Minerva
- Mesozoic Mindy
Miscellaneous Ranking
- Testimonials
- You Risk Your Life
- The Great Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert
The next Animaniacs review covers a masterpiece of a cartoon where the Warners endure a boring man who won't stop telling them a long, rambling story, a song about the planets, and Mindy and Buttons in space.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a spooky-themed OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode suitable for this month, "Parents Day."
