In the wake of the election, I decided to post something a little lighthearted and write a throwback review of a television show that is still near and dear to my heart: Animaniacs!
If you were a child in the ’90s, or had a child in the ’90s, you’ve probably heard of the show, but just in case, I shall summarize. The show, much like Tiny Toon Adventures, was a Steven Spielberg production from 1993-1998. It was made up of various unrelated shorts containing a barrage of characters that were occasionally inserted into each others’ skits for continuity. The main three, though, were the Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and their sister, Dot. Don’t ask what they are, it’s never revealed; the best descriptor I can give is that they resemble Bosko and Honey of early Looney Tune fame. The story goes that after they were created back in the old cartoon days, they were called too zany and locked away in the studio water tower until their escape in modern (early 1990s) times. Other characters in the Animaniac family included lab rats Pinky and the Brain, little girl Mindy and her faithful dog Buttons, who always got in trouble despite the fact that he saved her life every episode, the Goodfeathers, who were direct pigeon versions of DeNiro, Pesci, and Liotta in Goodfellas, and Slappy Squirrel, who was an aged cartoon star with a razor wit. (Yes, I know there are more, but if I did them all it would take up a ton of time.)
I absolutely did not miss this show coming on TV growing up, and I still watch it on DVD whenever I’m sick. (Try it. I swear it will cure you.) From the bright colors to the wacky characters to the extremely catchy music, you can still catch me humming the tunes. Most adults at the times were also interested because of some of the jokes inserted into the show that the kids didn’t get (“Yakko, can you conjugate?” “I’ve never even kissed a girl!”; “I am a pianist!” “You kiss your mother with that potty mouth?”). As an adult, I get them now and it makes it all the better. What I wasn’t aware of at the time, but I find pretty amazing now, is the fact that there were actually things to be learned from the show! Take the Presidents Song (YouTubed here), Wakko’s America, which names all of the states and capitals, or Yakko’s World, which gave the names of all the countries in the world at the time: they are legitimately educational! There is also a Rita and Runt episode which deals with the Holocaust that gets me very time.
From a nostalgia point of view, this is great, and I would tell anyone, whether you have kids or not, to give it a watch.
16 replies on “’90s Kid Throwbacks: Animaniacs”
I love the Animanics! “We are going to do what we do every night, try to take over the world.” “Helloooo nurse.”
As a massive P. & the B. nerd, I must respectfully correct you. They were *mice*
I freely admit that I only know the state capitals because of Animaniacs.
This show stuck with me way more than Tiny Toons. I’ve been singing the theme song in my head since I started reading this. I always loved Pinky and the Brain, and the variations on “Are you pondering what I’m pondering, Pinky?” “I think so, Brain, but me and Pippi Longstocking…I mean, what would the children look like?” (http://www.patman.org/interests/comics/ponderings.asp)
And I loved Slappy, and Randy Beaman’s friend…I miss that show!
I loved this show! I went through a phase where I was obsessed with Pinky and the Brain; I had the t-shirts, figurines, all of it. Now my daughter is 3 1/2 and we’ve started showing her clips on YouTube and she loves it too. I have the DVDs of the first couple seasons, but they’re still packed up in storage from our move last summer. :/
Chicken Boo, what’s the matter with you, you don’t act like the other chickens do, you wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you’re not a man, you’re a Chicken Boo.
From memory. I can’t fucking remember what I ate for dinner last week, but I can remember all of the Chicken Boo song. And the fact that I used Chicken Boo as y’alls school pickup safe word :-D
Specifically the full phrase “But you’re not a man, you’re a Chicken, Boo!”
Occasionally, this song still gets stuck in my head. At work.
I love showing this to the kids I teach comic book and cartooning art to. Several of them are young enough to have never seen it before and it is like onto magic.
Only last week did I use Yakko singing every country of the world for an Anthropology “class”! Humming the intro tune as we speak, I really really liked this show.
This was a such a fun show- I think I can probably still sing the theme song, and I remember the States song. I was in college (not inhaling) and my brother was a kid- I think we both loved the show equally. I also have vivid memories of watching Pinky and the Brain. Love them!
I learned they lyrics to the theme song for one of my students, who loved the show, and sometimes needed a little extra motivation to do his work. When he’d finish a task, we’d sing the theme at the top of our lungs. It’s one of my fondest teaching memories.
Also, I used to watch in college after, ahem, inhaling.
HELLO, NURSE!
Simply brilliant. I want to be an English teacher myself, so this makes me smile. :) I only wish that they had some songs that dealt directly with English, but alas. Oh well. :)
Oh man! I freaking loved this show! And I totally learned my state capitals from that song. I am now going to track it down and put it on my Christmas wishlist for my mom. :)
They have all 99 episodes on DVD. I own the full set!
There’s a good chance I will too after a few months. I can’t wait!