Mary Tyler Dot/Windsor Hassle/...And Justice for Slappy (Animaniacs Vol 2 Part 20) - 'Toon Reviews 22

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Episode 45

Mary Tyler Dot

Another episode opens with a parody of another show’s theme song.  This parody highlights antics from Dot to a tune modeled after the intro to one of the most wholesome female-driven sitcoms, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

The atmosphere of the represented series is easily felt in the upbeat melody as well as Dot’s happiness in short scenes of her going about her day.  However, considering the featured character, outrageous antics are worked in and tie into the tune so well they don’t feel out of place.  Setting a stove ablaze with a smile, taking a bath with crocodiles, and blowing up a bridge are destructive but this work makes them feel more wholesome than they really are.  To make the parody complete, there’s a play on the throwing the hat in the air bit of the theme song when Dot does that and a Frigidaire falls instead. 

This is a very short segment, but the successful mix of good and wild values make it succeed as a very nice parody opener.

A

Windsor Hassle

It’s surprising how long it’s been since a cartoon starring the Warners was about the kids using their antics to help a historic figure since those tend to be the best remembered.  Even so, it’s of an event fairly recent to the airing of the cartoon, one year prior to the series premiering in fact. 

In 1992, there was a fire that broke out in Windsor Castle lasting for 15 hours and destroying much of the inside.  Actual restoration wasn’t complete until 1997, so it could be argued that this cartoon is about the restoration before the castle was fixed in real life.  Then again, particular attention is given to the banquet hall, so it’s hard to tell if it’s ahead of time or not.  Whatever the case, the setup lends itself well to a fun cartoon fitting for a then-current event. 

Even before the Warners show up there’s solid comedy right at the opening. The cartoon feels like a documentary on the restoration before shifting to a silly little cartoon as the narrator gives in to the whines of children watching.  Also amusing is the portrayal of the royal family who are so strapped for cash from the fire, they have to try and fix things up themselves.  Such royal members portrayed more humanly with more childish tendencies as they get into petty arguments during work.  The funniest of the family is easily the queen’s mother who’s totally out of what’s going on and constantly demands some tea. 

There’s already solid humor and in some places relatability to this cartoon, and when the Warners show up as the queen dismisses everyone, the comedy just gets better.  With grand entrances and making fun of the queen’s use of the royal we, the Warners’ humor feels very in place with this portrayal of the restoration.  It continues during their idea of redecorating at the command of the most stylish Warner of the team Dot.  All they do is chuck any random thing they see out the door, including the queen and put in nothing but a small dinette set that looks nice but clearly isn’t big enough for a banquet. 

Also, as the queen is at the receiving end of their antics, despite her occasional strictness, she doesn’t seem jerky enough to deserve it.  For all the drama she has to deal with from her family and there not being a lot in the royal budget, dealing with the Warners’ hijinks is the last thing she needs.  Despite that, the Warners are very enjoyable for feeling like they’re just having fun with the queen as they work with no bad intent.  Not being used to her customs like her royal talk also explains a lot about what they do. 

In the end, the Warners also show they do care for their assignment when the queen shows them what the banquet hall looked like before the fire.  That’s how it should look now, even if it does cost extra.  For that, they even give the royal family a plan to pay the expenses by having them charge banquet guests for the meals.  I’m no expert on the actual fire, but I find it hard to believe that the queen decided to open a chain of fast food restaurants because of this.  Even if it’s not a big service to the actual historic event, it at least fits the context and tone of this cartoon.  This move also brings out nice appeal from the queen as she delights in quick ways to make more money. 

The approach to the cartoon is interesting in setting and characterizations and the comedy feels perfectly in place to give the final product a clear identity.  It does fly by a little too quickly to leave a truly memorable experience, but it’s sure to stick with you better since it’s a funny cartoon with class worth revisiting.

A

…And Justice for Slappy

I find it an interesting plot point for cartoon villains to twist their schemes around through playing victim to get the true protagonist in trouble.  Sometimes it can bring a new perspective or character depth to the conflict, or set the villain up to get beaten by a hero in a whole new way.  Being part of a show that specializes in using animation to make people laugh, this type of plot falls into the latter category and its success comes from the strong characterization. 

It’s the aftermath of another encounter between Slappy Squirrel and Walter Wolf.  He appears all beaten up as a result and puts Slappy on trial for injuring him with her cartoonish violence and the court seems more on Walter’s side.  At first, the question is begged how the court could be dumb enough to believe him.  Not only is his claim as the unfortunate victim clearly fabricated, but given that he’s a cartoon wolf, his injuries should be easily shaken off. 

However, this issue becomes nonexistent looking at who’s in the court.  They’re all wolves and it goes without saying that wolves are a species that isn’t fond of Slappy.  Heck, some of them, at least the attorney are related to Walter.  It makes too much sense that they’d be biased with who to side with and want to get the chance to legally enforce punishment on the defendant.  There are even signs that the court knows that Walter’s just putting on an act with the judge frequently whispering plans to spend time with Walter.  This court is the basically the only one for him to attend to legalize a beating to Slappy. 

Adding to the setup are the details of Walter’s fabricated story designed to make him look like he was beaten for no reason and Slappy to look like the true bad guy.  His recount presents him as a friendly cheerful woodland wolf in a cheesy colorful suit and Slappy as an over-the-top devil character both of which are hilariously designed.  The court is completely invested in what Walter has to say and don’t pay any attention to what other people on trial say.  Skippy, the sole witness, also has some exaggerated characterizations in his recount.  His interpretation of Walter as the over-the-top devil is also presented in a really funny way. 

As for Slappy, despite her freedom being on the line, she's very nonchalant about everything.  She’s in her own world and at every chance to ask a question, she instead goes for something completely ridiculous.  This is characterization not often seen in court episodes where everyone is very involved and seriously thinking.  That’s a shame because I find Slappy’s approach to be very entertaining and should be emulated more in trials.  I see no problem with the approach as long as Slappy actually knows what she’s doing, and given what’s known about her, it’s no surprise that she does.  This makes Skippy’s constant worries of Slappy not asking good questions unneeded especially since it wasn’t long ago he took after his aunt immensely.  You’d think he’d know her better. 

Then when Slappy gives her account, she tells like it was.  There are no overly dramatic portrayals of everyone, but there is a great analysis of cartoon violence clichés fitting for her character which basically prove she’s guilty.  In the end though, Slappy proves she did know what she was doing and that the court was biased.  The only way to save herself was with a literal dynamite case which blows up the court after they declare her innocent out of fear.  That’s just Slappy for you when all is said and done. 

Through fun exaggerated recounts and solid character moments, this is one of the funniest instances of a villain taking a hero to court.

A+

Cartoon Ranking

1. Chairman of the Bored
2. Hot Bothered and Bedeviled
3. Bubba Bo Bob Brain
4. Baghdad Café
5. In the Garden of Mindy
6. Critical Condition
7. O Silly Mio
8. Phranken-Runt
9. Puppet Rulers
10. The Three Muska-Warners
11. Clown and Out
12. …And Justice for Slappy
13. Jockey For Position
14. Sir Yaksalot
15. Potty Emergency
16. Survey Ladies
17. General Boo-Regard
18. Puttin’ on the Blitz
19. Raging Bird
20. Windsor Hassle
21. Of Nice and Men
22. Dough Dough Boys
23. The Big Kiss
24. Draculee Draculaa
25. Babblin’ Bijou
26. Fair Game
27. No Place Like Homeless
28. I Got Yer Can
29. Spell-bound
30. Smitten With Kittens
31. Astro-Buttons
32. Boot Camping
33. Moby or Not Moby
34. The World Can Wait
35. Noah’s Lark
36. Skullhead Boneyhands
37. The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
38. Hiccup
39. Moon Over Minerva
40. Broadcast Nuisance
41. White Gloves
42. Katie Ka-Boo
43. Mesozoic Mindy
44. Hollywoodchuck
45. Kiki’s Kitten
46. Can’t Buy a Thrill
47. What a Dump

Miscellaneous Ranking

1. Animaniacs Stew
2. Testimonials
3. Buttermilk It Makes a Body Bitter
4. Alas Poor Skullhead
5. Cartoons in Wakko’s Body
6. You Risk Your Life
7. Casablanca Opening
8. Mary Tyler Dot
9. The Slapper
10. The Great Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert
11. Animator’s Alley
12. Useless Facts

Song Ranking

1. The Senses Song
2. The Planets

The next Animaniacs review will be up just in time for Thanksgiving as the Warners as Native Americans protect their turkey from Myles Standish. Also includes an adorable one-off short of a blue bird thinking his mother is a jet.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews from OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, it's "Let's Not Be Skeletons."

If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 14: Animaniacs Vol 1 Part 16: Chalkboard Bungle/Hurray for Slappy/The Great Wakkorotti: The Master and His Music

Episode 16

Chalkboard Bungle

We all got to get our education somehow, and most of us do so by going to school.  However, it can be a chore should you end up with a less-than-ideal teacher or professor who expects so much from you and make the learning experience harder and more grueling than it already is.  You wish you can retaliate, but you know that you could get in serious trouble if you do.  It’s only in the realm of cartoons where it’s safe to watch what you’d like to say to an overly strict teacher which can be pretty comforting, and this cartoon features just that with the cartooniest characters in the cast, the Warners, as the students. 

They’re assigned to Ms. Flamiel who’s so strict that she not only gives Fs for the pettiest of missteps, but does so to everyone, even those she’s not teaching.  Also, when she finally is set up to teach the Warners, she makes the classroom setting an overly-serious environment restricted of anything remotely fun with rules of everything her students can’t do and a demanding tone to everything she says.  If you know anything about the Warners though, they don’t adhere to strictness no matter what, so when they’re pitted against an unfriendly teacher like Ms. Flamiel, they don’t hold back with witty comebacks to everything she says. 

When she tells them to repeat after her while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, they do so starting with the first thing she says before the Pledge resulting in her growing frustration.  Their answers to Ms. Flamiel’s questions are sharp enough to work as jokes, but also make sense as logical responses like when Dot is asked to talk about the scientists of the 1800s, she says they’re all dead, or Wakko saying he’ll define “procrastinate” tomorrow while lounging in his seat.  Other clever jokes include Yakko interpreting being assigned to “conjugate” as suggestive, and when the kids are assigned a pop quiz, they utilize a double meaning for pop by tasting sodas blindfolded and playing a pop number. Jokes like these not only further sell the masterful hilarity of these characters, but also make possible the many ways we wish we could fight back against some of our least favorite teaching authorities. 

What’s more, they’re all capped off when Ms. Flamiel crosses the line and violates the Warners personal space by writing Fs on their foreheads as she did before, or on Wakko’s hat in his case.  Wakko is moved into an absolute frenzy of fury when his hat is vandalized and explodes which apparently gets Ms. Flamiel locked in a crate at the cartoon’s end.  This does make for a rare instance of cartoon humor I can’t suspend disbelief towards because I find it hard to think of a way Wakko exploding gets Ms. Flamiel in a crate, but that’s just me.  We really do get a great collection of bull's-eye-hitting gags with this cartoon. 

It’s just too bad that it isn’t very nice to look at most of the time being sent to the least visually compelling animation studio working for the series, Freelance.  Characters’ faces are often off-putting especially at the eyes, there’s an overall blobby look to the motion, and there’s overall not a lot of charm to the visualization.  I know I mostly focus on story, characters, and comedy in my reviews, but that’s because I feel they matter the most in determining how good a cartoon is while the animation is hardly worth talking about to me.  However, since all those things are so strong and the animation is kind of creepy here, the strengths would've stood out more if the cartoon was animated by one of the show’s more profound studios. 

If you can get past the animation quality, you’re sure to enjoy the top-notch comedy, dynamic characterizations, and the relatability of certain times in school. 9.5/10

Hurray for Slappy

To me, Slappy Squirrel cartoons are at their best whenever the old squirrel demonstrates the greatness of cartoon violence and shares knowledge of cartoon nature to a younger generation.  Since the focus of this cartoon isn’t really on any of these things, this is one of the duller cartoons starring this character.  It’s still good as it is, but it's not as interesting as the best cartoons starring this character. 

Slappy is invited to a ceremony where she is to get the Lifetime Achievement Award as a former toon great, while the enemies of her old cartoons from back in the day plot to ruin the ceremony by clobbering her before she gets her award.  That there is one way the cartoon stands out since it gives us a formal introduction to Walter Wolf, Sid the Squid, and Beanie Bison, cartoon enemies we’ve only heard about or seen in short clips of Slappy’s old cartoons prior to this.  We even get a taste of their distinct personalities at play like Walter as the disgruntled leader, Beanie as cerebrally challenged guy who can never think straight, and Sid…who really doesn’t stand out all that much apart from his fun design.  These guys are who we mainly focus on throughout the cartoon as they each try and fail to get the better of their sworn enemy. 

Truth be told, we do get some great and humorous ways for Slappy to work her cartoon violence on any one of her rivals’ pitiful attacks. They include how she works in three ways to blow up Beanie posing as an autograph hound, despite the comedic impact getting ruined with him realistically being in an all-body cast for the rest of the cartoon, and pointing out Sid’s clichéd dynamite in the cake gag and using her suggestions to improve it to get him blown up.  The problem is that so much time is devoted to these villains, but they’re just not engaging enough to take up starring roles.  Also, while the ways Slappy blows them up are funny as always that also show off her appeal as a character, all they’re attempts lose their interest because of how clear it is that the enemies are too dumb to pull off an attack, making them such easy targets for Slappy to fire at.  Heck, they even say they’re not surprised that one of them messed up at one point.  Maybe their roles would be interesting if they tried to take her out together and Slappy would find a unique way to beat them in that scenario. 

Fortunately, the last attempted blow at Slappy where Walter gives her the award rigged as a bomb, just before Slappy blows him and the others up again, there is a nice moment where she praises her villains for helping to enhance her comedy, and honestly, it makes perfect sense for her to do so.  Any antagonist, regardless if they’re in a comedy series like this, are the driving force of any conflict a protagonist is up against, and the way the protagonist finds a way to beat them helps bring out their admirable qualities.  It’s also a good payoff for Walter and company’s earlier laments about not being appreciated.  They may not ever win, but it’s great that their true purpose is made clear.

Even with this interesting perspective on villains and the great comedy in general, this is one of Slappy’s weaker cartoons for focusing on some of the least interesting characters on the show who are simply too dumb to do what they set out to do.  It’s worth watching, but trust me when I say there are better Slappy cartoons out there. 8/10

The Great Wakkorotti: The Master and His Music

Closing the episode is one of the most bizarre yet most hilarious things to come from the show.  It doesn’t tell a story at all nor does it amount to a song, but rather a representation of an off-the-wall idea. 

We open on a high-class setting of a sophisticated concert about to begin, then the main performer of the concert appears, and that is Wakko all dressed up for the event.  The concert begins with the classical piece, “The Blue Danube Waltz” playing on piano. That doesn’t sound too out of the norm for the setting, but that’s when we see the catch to the whole setup which is to be expected from a physical comedy-driven character like Wakko. 

At certain given notes during the piece, Wakko lets out a big belch to go along with them.  That’s all there is to it.  It’s a low-class action set against a high-class setting mixing the vulgar with the sophisticated.  I would usually be put off by something like this, but surprisingly, the burps and the classical music mesh together very well and leave a lot of admirable qualities.  The burps themselves are well performed and are in line with the note they go with.  Plus, each burp makes for a hilarious drawing of Wakko to go along with it.  They’re easily some of the best composed for the character.  You could just pause during burps and find a lot of character in just a still drawing. 

It’s also pretty amusing that while Wakko is doing something against the nature of a classical music concert, they still treat what he’s doing very seriously like when Dot appears mid-piece to freshen Wakko up by feeding him a lot of soda so he’ll burp more, and at the end of the piece while everyone applauds, Wakko formally bows while saying “Excuse me!”  In the end, everything that goes into this segment results in a one-of-a-kind experience that takes something rude yet funny and brings it into the fine art foray without making it feel out of place. 

They’d do this thing a few more times throughout the series, but it would mostly be exactly the same as the first showing, right down to the same animation on the phases of the concert except for different music pieces and slightly different belching poses, so that does cost the segment of specialness.  At least those would still be enjoyable in their own right, but we’ll get into them in future review sets of the DVD volumes to this show.  For now, I give a big goofy belch to the first of these bizarre yet highly appealing Great Wakkorotti concerts.  9.5/10

Cartoon Ranking

1. King Yakko
2. Hello Nice Warners
3. Slappy Goes Walnuts
4. H.M.S. Yakko
5. Hooked on a Ceiling
6. Temporary Insanity
7. Bumbie’s Mom
8. Les Miseranimals
9. Space Probed
10. West Side Pigeons
11. Battle for the Planet
12. When Rita Met Runt
13. De-zanitized
14. Win Big
15. Taming of the Screwy
16. Chalkboard Bungle
17. La La Law
18. Piano Rag
19. Cookies for Einstein
20. The Big Candy Store
21. Garage Sale of the Century
22. Wally Llama
23. Where Rodents Dare
24. Hurray for Slappy
25. Cat on a Hot Steel Beam
26. Operation: Lollipop
27. No Pain No Painting
28. Goodfeathers: The Beginning
29. La Behemoth

Song Ranking

1. Yakko’s Universe
2. Yakko’s World
3. The Monkey Song
4. What Are We?
5. Little Old Slappy from Pasadena

Miscellaneous Ranking

1. The Great Wakkorotti: The Master and His Music
2. Gilligan’s Island Parody
3. Nighty-Night Toon
4. Flipper Parody

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Warners annoy another historical figure into coming up with a big accomplishment, this one being Beethoven who's writing his 5th Symphony, and Rita and Runt find themselves in the home of an incredibly unsettling interpretation of famous violinmaker, Antonio Stradivarius.

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.