Wakko's Wish
Starring The Animaniacs and "Their Friends"
Starring The Animaniacs and "Their Friends"
I watched Animaniacs all the time when I'd come home from school in the early-to-mid '90s. It was a cartoon that was clever, smart, and felt perfectly acceptable for a 13-year-old kid to watch (granted, my age has never stopped me from enjoying animation). For those unfamiliar, the cartoon followed three siblings -- Yakko, Wakko, and Dot -- who were created by Warner Brothers animators in the 1930s. The creatures were a little too crazy for their own good, so Warner Bros. management locked them in a water tower on the studio lot...until one day they escaped. The show followed these three through little cartoons along with a whole cavalcade of other side characters (including mice Pinky and the Brain who would later get their own spin-off).
The show was known for being very pop-culture oriented which I usually despise in cartoons, but the references were not necessarily to "current events" culture. Rather, they'd throw out Citizen Kane and Vertigo jokes...not necessarily stuff young kids would understand. The problem with the movie Wakko's Wish is that a lot of those references aren't there (although they kind of become a little more prevalent towards the end) and what worked in short ten to thirty minute segments just doesn't translate to an 80-minute film. The film relies much too heavily on music -- I'd say nearly half of the film is told in song which is cute for a bit, but then it gets a tad old.
Still, all in all, the film is cute and it was fun to revisit this cartoon again. Now it's time to see if the actual show is available on dvd.
The show was known for being very pop-culture oriented which I usually despise in cartoons, but the references were not necessarily to "current events" culture. Rather, they'd throw out Citizen Kane and Vertigo jokes...not necessarily stuff young kids would understand. The problem with the movie Wakko's Wish is that a lot of those references aren't there (although they kind of become a little more prevalent towards the end) and what worked in short ten to thirty minute segments just doesn't translate to an 80-minute film. The film relies much too heavily on music -- I'd say nearly half of the film is told in song which is cute for a bit, but then it gets a tad old.
Still, all in all, the film is cute and it was fun to revisit this cartoon again. Now it's time to see if the actual show is available on dvd.
The RyMickey Rating: 2/5
NOTE: I realize I didn't write a summary of the movie...Wakko wishes on a wishing star which falls to the earth. In order to get his wish, he must find the star and be the first to touch it. A Wacky Races-type competition ensues to get to the star first with all the characters from the tv show taking part.
Nostalgia'd.
ReplyDeleteOh man oh man.