Streaming service Hulu seems to be on a roll for quite a few years now. The latest feather in their crown is ‘Animaniacs’, the reboot series of the original animated comedy series of the same name that premiered back in the 90s to critical and commercial acclaim. With a better animation technology and cinematic genius Steven Spielberg associated with it, let’s see what the reboot offers and how season 2 would fare?
In November 2020, Hulu premiered the 1st season of ‘Animaniacs’, which was slated to air for 13 episodes in total. Produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros., the series follows more or less the same characters from the original series. Yakko Warner, Wakko Warner, and Dot Warner, the three Warner siblings make their re-entry on our screens, along with the additional cast comprising of Pinky and the Brain among others.
Highlights —
- Recap of season 1 of ‘Animaniacs’
- What made the show work in the first place?
- Is season 2 going to be all the same?
The story mainly focuses on the adventures of the three main characters, the Warner Brothers. The difference from the previous version is that their antics are more in line with the 21st century, where the story is set. But the fun and the wackiness remain intact. Most of the 13 episodes are divided into three short stories, two dealing with the Warner brothers and the third one usually features two lab mice, Pinky and the Brain.
What makes ‘Animaniacs’ work so well?
The first season drew praises mostly owing to its stellar voice cast, comprising of names such as Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, and Jess Harnell among others. Other merits the show had amazing and theme-appropriate music composed by Richard Stone. The show inherited the charm and caustic tone from the previous version and received widespread critical acclaim. The show’s segments featuring Pinky and the Brain are hilariously sarcastic as one wants to take over the world through sheer intelligence while the other one is in perfect contrast: dumb.
The series amazingly adapts itself to the 21st century and all the gags are in perfect coherence with it. What further makes the show more interesting and enjoyable is its ability to poke fun at current events and real-life people. This requires some serious guts and ‘Animaniacs’ achieves this wonderfully.
Will the 2nd season address the most rampant issues?
However, there are also some problems with the show that we hope can be corrected in season 2 of ‘Animaniacs’. For one, we seriously hope the show ventures more into the absurd comedy territory and tries to be less “edgy” while talking about the current politics. While it’s still quite fun to watch and entertaining, it seems like an overkill sometimes. That said, it further adds to the charm of the show that the characters take a clear political stand while taking strong political stances, instead of talking for all the sides to please everyone.
The second thing the creators need to keep in mind for the second season is no matter how funny and entertaining the Warners and the mice are, filling the entire show with only these few characters can get repetitive very soon. The makers need to understand that the times have changed and that holding the audience’s attention for long is not as easy as it used to be three decades ago. So, we should expect that with a mind like Spielberg as one of the decision-makers, he will take care of this crucial aspect of the show.
Soon after the announcement of the 1st season, the 2nd season of ‘Animaniacs’ was announced. So there is no doubt that the second season might already be in production as the release year was announced to be 2021. It will be really interesting to see what direction the makers take with the second season.
What do you think is going to change in season 2 of ‘Animaniacs’? Or do you think the show will play it safe and keep walking the same path? We couldn’t complain, either way, both are fine with us, as long as we keep seeing these mad characters on our screens! What do you think?
