This time, we're going to take a look at another amazingly succsesful cartoon subscribed to the cartoon logic school of thought. Hot on the heels of their succsess with Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs was creative collaboration between Stephen Spielberg and the Warner Animation Studio. The show aired from 1993-1998, with a grand total of 99 episodes and one full length film. The episodes were in sketch format, with a cast of recurring characters, who usually appeared in sketches with either one or two consistent counterparts. The plots themselves were equally as random as other cartoons of the day (such as Ren and Stimpy), but were considerably more witty and catered to slightly more cultured audiences.

A portion of the regular cast

Animaniacs was one of those shows that, although designed for children, is perhaps significantly more entertaining for adults to watch. The show was packed with references to pop culture, classical plays, world leaders, actual events, and historical figures, many of which the target audience would never have heard of, let alone understand. I was, myself, subject to this bias: As a child I only had a mild enjoyment of the show, but watching it again, now that I understand more of the allusions  and appreciate the scores, I find it much more more enjoyable. In one cycle of sketches, Yakko and Wakko reenact various Shakespearean plays, while Dot "translates" the dialogue into witty comments. While scenes like these are entertaining on their own, anyone with an appreciation for Shakespeare's work would find them considerably more entertaining, as they would most likely understand the context of what's being said, thus making the entire scene much more relevant to their tastes.

One would be hard pressed to find a viewer under the age
of 15 who understood this reference to "The Seventh Seal"

I can't possibly talk about the Animaniacs without mentioning its outstanding use of music. Every episode featured its own completely original score, composed to fit every on-screen action. In addition to the 35 piece orchestra required for this, Broadway actress Bernadette Peters was cast in the role of Rita the cat, who had numerous musical solos through the course of the show. Both of these were expensive decisions on Stephen Spielberg's part that paid off in the form of 5 separate daytime Emmy awards in the field of music, and numerous other Daytime Emmy nominations. All of these were well deserved. The musical direction in the show is nothing short of brilliant. So much can be said about the depth that is added, by the way that every time a character so much as moves their fingers or blinks, there is a musical cue to go along with the action. 

Bernadette Peters as Rita

Also worth mentioning is the amount of adult humor that went into the show. Adult humor ran amok in a number of episodes, particularly focusing on innuendos. Just take a look at this exchange in one episode:
Beethoven: I am Ludwig Van Beethoven, World famous composer and pianist!"
Yakko: *taken aback* You're a what?
Beethoven: A pianist!
Yakko: ...Goodnight Everybody!
Beethoven: But that's what I am! A pianist!
Yakko: I think we've heard enough out of you.
Also, these lyrics from the movie "Wakko's Wish":
Yakko:  All of the shop's are closin'.
Dot:      Things couldn't get much worse.
Skippy: All of my nuts are frozen. *holding a frozen block of acorns*
Slappy: Be careful with that last verse!
But perhaps the most notorious instance of this is the following clip. In a recent interview with the creators, it was stated that this scene was intended only to be viewed by the censors, whom it was assumed would remove it, but for some reason, missed it altogether:

Now, those of you who read my last entry are probably aware that I'm not a fan of The Ren & Stimpy Show, on the grounds that it relies on surreal animation and inconsequential plot threads. I feel like pointing out that, while these elements are the basis of Animaniacs as well, I enjoy Animaniacs because it doesn't rely  on these elements. The jokes are witty and often take a while to get, instead of utilizing entirely "gross" humor and visual gags. Celebrety refrences are used in such a way that, even if an individual doesn't know who the person is, the scene is still funny. The score goes miles beyond what the bulk of cartoons of the day were doing, which is to say, recycling variations of the same theme repeatedly through the series. Animaniacs is without a doubt among my favorite cartoons of all time. Every element of the show, from the smallest jokes to the grandest scores, is a work of art on its own, that comes together to create a near perfect animated show.

P.S. Like what I have to say? Disagree with me? Hate my guts? Leave a comment!
P.P.S. I'm looking for ideas for future posts! Feel free to suggest any American animated series that began airing at some point after 1990.