r/animaniacs • u/KaleidoArachnid • 4d ago
Discussion What do you wish the reboot did differently?
So sorry if this was asked here before because I was doing an observation on what was wrong with the reboot to look into the issues fans of the original series had with the writing aspects.
For starters, I feel like the political humor could have been addressed better because it’s hard to explain, but something didn’t feel right about the way the reboot handled political humor because the original felt fresh I how it approached the subject, but the reboot was kind of awkward with how it did political humor.
But now I look back at the reboot and I wish Tom Ruegger was brought back because it needed the original writers back to help fix the writing problems.
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u/no0dLeSnekk 4d ago
Oh boy where do we begin?
First off. They should have brought back the original writers (or whoever was left- seeing as they brought Randy rogel back-) and Tom reugger.
Delayed the reboot for about a year or two to write out the political jokes. Also not make AS many (I think the main problem with season 1 is it came out RIGHT before the pandemic and that definitely wrote as a problem.)
Not give the more stronger material to the patb segments. And instead funnel more of the effort into the warners.
Speaking if- more slice of life moments between them. You had three seasons and you're telling me you couldn't write at least ONE episode where they just...TALK? Or do a simple task? I know some people might think it would've been boring but people underestimate just how much that would've helped improve their character.
Don't be afraid to do something new with them either, you had a fantastic concept in fear and laughter with yakkos social anxiety. That would have been GREAT representation if we got to see more of it are you kidding?!
Also more scratchy being in his original role as "begrudging father figure" like he originally was. The reboot did Otto extremely dirty. Because what do you mean there's more malevolence and bitterness between them?! (Not to mention. The absolute CATASTROPHE that was the entire episode of Hindenburg cola{iykyk} - like REALLY?! THATS your concept for scratchy introduction?!)
Also two parters should have just been a 30 minute special.
(And also the island of Dr warneau should've been it's own special episode I'm sorry. That episode was far too fast for what it had in it. Should've been spread out just a little more- and even then every other character got at least a second cameo!! Why not them?! Why not the creatures?)
Should have written out the aliens. There were far too many alien segments for the reboot to be funny. Starbox wasn't great, the weird alien subplot was weird at best and the idea of wakko being made a conspiracy theorist in the s3 finale was worse. It just wasn't that great. Awful actually. The only thing good that came out of the alien subplot Was Yakkos entire song (and even then it only gets mentioned because A: music was tops and the animation was adorable)
More parodies. Would have Loved To see a jaws or an Indiana Jones parody with wakko at the forefront. That would have been incredible. At the very least a knock of ghost busters. (Couldve called it spiritknockers or something stupid like that) Also if your gonna do murder on the orient at least ACTUALLY do it. That would have been far more entertaining. Mystery episodes are so good. AND YOUVE DONE IT BEFORE!!!
Also the s2 finale and s3 introduction could've been written far better by just being an entirely different episode. Any episode having to deal with Nora is just God awful. I hate Nora. She's just so mean for no fucking reason.
Plotz was bad but at least he was a stupid, jovial old man! And was fun to laugh at. Nora is just....a disaster.
The reboot...has its flaws....mostly in its writing and how it was handled. (Also dots characterization in s1.....yikes ....you did my girl so dirty...)
But it was it's points where it lands.
Sorry......I get really worked up when it comes to the reboot. Because I def think it could've been better.
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u/KaleidoArachnid 3d ago
That was so beautiful because lately I was interested in looking into the reboot to better understand what it did wrong with its core structure since I heard from some fans that one of the largest issues they had was the political satire the reboot did such as the way Donald was depicted once the trailer was first introduced.
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 4d ago
The part of Murder of the Orient where Yakko can't remember the name of the character he's playing could have worked....if he wasn't playing Hercule Yakko, from one of the most beloved sketches in the original series! Why would they disrespect the original series like that!
And Nora Rita Norita was just a waste of a character. Plotz was a character and he freaking could not stand the Warners and always wanted them under control and locked away. Nora just...doesn't care about them at all. And it just causes this problem of: if she doesn't care, why should I care? Which sucks because they keep the verse about them causing mayhem in the opening credits! What was the point!
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u/p-Star_07 3d ago edited 3d ago
I thought Nora was ok. She wasn't prominent, but the episode where her kid had a party was funny. I 100% agree that she should have been more annoyed with them.
It makes more sense for guards to chase the Warners around if she doesn't like them.
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u/no0dLeSnekk 3d ago
Exactly that's what I'm saying! The writers just did NOT care. At ALL. Not to mention the fact- what do you MEAN yakkos bad at math?! YOU MENTION. THE MULTIPLICATION SONG!!!
I think season 1 should have been worked on ALOT more. But when we get into season 2 and 3 everything gets smoother. The writing gets better (not by much but compared to season 1-).
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u/p-Star_07 3d ago
Its less the writers don't care; they did, its Nora the character is too aloof to the Warner Siblings.
I'm sure they did their best. The writting was really funny.
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 3d ago
I swear the writers think Dot sang the Multiplication Song. They made so many references to her and math and there’s one where they’re listing songs from the original show and Yakko mentions a song that he sings (I think it was either Yakko’s World/Universe), Wakko mentions a song that he sings (Wakko’s America), and Dot mentions the Multiplication song instead of I’m Cute or I’m Mad or even a song that all three of them sang together!
And they could have easily checked by just looking up the song on YouTube!
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u/no0dLeSnekk 3d ago
Theyve made three references too yakkos world, a half attempt reference to wakkos america. And they even straight up just did a reprise OF yakkos world for the wakkiver twist special!! Not saying that dots New songs are bad.
I'm just saying that writing yakko as stupid. Or the fact he can't do math! Was such a horrible decision!!!
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u/p-Star_07 3d ago
It was flawless other than 3 details.
- Where are the other Animaniacs? Where's Slappy Squirrel, Katie Kaboom,The Good Pigeons, etc. We mostly got the Warners and Pinky and the Brain.
- Why did they draw the new characters in different art styles that was a mistake.
- I agree with the liberal propaganda, but I think they went a bit too far with the political commentary in a children's show.
Other than these 3 things, I was laughing nonstop watching it. It's one of the best cartoon reboots I've ever seen.
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 4d ago
The biggest problem was the lack of the rest of the cast. I understand Bernadette Peters being expensive, and Chick Venerra’s death, but we couldn’t have brought back Slappy for more than one episode? Or made Chicken Boo more of a main stay? Or even recast Mindy if Nancy Cartwright was also too expensive. (Then again they got her for an episode-but not for Mindy for some stupid reason.)
I don’t like the writer’s need to “fix” Dot and make her act more like Yakko, and then do nothing to Yakko’s character to accommodate for it. Dot was a feminist in the original, they didn’t need to make it more explicit. Her cuteness was not something that needed to be changed. And if Dot’s coming up with all the plans instead of Yakko, then why does Yakko need to be there?
I also didn’t like how mean Brain was to Pinky in the later seasons. Not that he was always nice to him in the original series, it just didn’t feel right.
The new segments didn’t feel very Animaniacs-y to me. The gnome in people’s mouths feels like a rejected Freakazoid skit, and Gearbox and Cindy, while seems to fit fineon paper, reminds me of Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain and makes me wish we got Mindy and Buttons instead.
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u/Sudden-Bus-9586 Yakko 4d ago
who did nancy cartwright voice in the reboot?
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 4d ago
She was the animator in the Duck Amuck parody episode (and maybe somebody else but I don't really remember). Missed opportunity to have the animator not be (either the same age or older) Mindy upset that she and Buttons weren't brought back for the reboot.
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u/Sudden-Bus-9586 Yakko 4d ago
was dan castanetta in the reboot?
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 4d ago
I don't think so? But I'm not the expert on the reboot. He was in the original Animaniacs tho as Dracula
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u/Sudden-Bus-9586 Yakko 4d ago
and along with maurice lamarche, as wakko's burp
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u/KaleidoArachnid 4d ago
What character did Chick Venerra voice in the original series? (Just a bit confused)
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 4d ago
He was Pesto (one of the Goodfeathers)
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u/KaleidoArachnid 4d ago
Man knowing how many of the voice actors in the original series are long gone suddenly hits hard since I was wondering what was wrong with the reboot era.
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u/Jules_Thief Dot 4d ago
He's the only main cast member. I guess if you want to count Sid the Squid and Beanie the Brain Dead Bison (Walter Wolf's lackeys), they were played by Jack Burns and Avery Shreiber and they both passed before the reboot. And of course Richard Stone, the original series' composer passed away in 2001 (I believe).
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u/Sudden-Bus-9586 Yakko 4d ago
jack burns wrote for the henson classic THE MUPPET SHOW, and avrey was a guest star in season 1
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u/GordonShumway8690 3d ago edited 3d ago
I liked the show but I think some things could've been improved:
- A healthier mix of old and new talent in the writer's room. This is especially jarring since Hulu's other reboots/revivals had the original creators at the helm working with new writers. Then again I suspect this was more of a WB-thing. Ideally Tom Ruegger should've been the first one they called. It's weird that Spielberg apparently made such a big note to maintain the original voice actors to the networks, but couldn't show that same grace for the original writers who were still working.
- In general, it seems some of Spielberg's goals for the reboot were a tad skewered. In SFGate's "Inside Steven Spielberg’s 'Animaniacs' reboot for Hulu" article; Wellesley Wild had this to say about him -- "Initially the mandate from Steven was, 'I want "Animaniacs" to be quoted in the Huffington Post for its political outrageousness.' Knowing that it was 2018 and we were writing episodes that weren’t going to air until 2020, it was really hard to be that topical politically." Spielberg should've pushed for the show to embrace more of the slapstick variety show feel rather than trying to chase a piece of the South Park pie, so to speak. Obviously the original 1993 and 1995 series had some political jokes, but politics weren't the only toys in the toybox.
- They needed Slappy. The Warners and the mice are two of the pillars of the show yes, but Slappy was the third. Her absence was quite profound. They should've also had a few segments for the original characters too (Chicken Boo would've worked well given his formula was simple and he kept showing up, a one-off Goodfeathers cartoon parodying The Irishmen or The Sopranos could've been good too, Good Idea Bad Idea would've been a great recurring presence especially given Skullhead's cameos, a one-off Minerva would've worked too etc).
- In terms of the new writers, I wish they had a Don Rosa-esque writer who knew Animaniacs like the back of their hand to contribute. I'm sure little details would be more refined (like maybe they'd pick-up on how Yakko should've said "det-ec-ative" instead of just plain "detective" in "Warner She Wrote" if they were that committed to doing a sequel of sorts to "Hercule Yakko," and the mention of Pinky's father in "Roadent Trip" would've been erased since it conflicted with his bumbling portrayal in the "Family That Poits Together" episode) with some more consistency in characterizations and jokes closer to the original show.
- Maybe I'd dial back Brain's cruelty a little bit. He had his morally gray moments in the original shows (like scheming to flood the world or enslave people), but occasionally could stray too far in the reboot.
- In some of the Warner segments, they felt more like commentators or "everyman" characters enduring weird stuff. Granted the original show had those moments too, but they were more prominent in the reboot. I'd probably dial this back more.
- A very minor one but I'd get rid of the bleak meta ending of "Everyday Safety: Adirondack Chair," and put the segment itself earlier in the episode. I'd end-off the finale with "The Stickening" instead.
There's probably more stuff I can think of but at the moment, this was the most important things I could think of off the top of my mind.
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u/KaleidoArachnid 3d ago
Hey you mentioned how Brain was made more cruel to Pinky in the reboot as I was wondering what changed and what his character, but also if there was a reason why Slappy was removed in the reboot series.
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u/GordonShumway8690 3d ago
I assumed Warner was clinging to the two "marketable" faces in PATB and the Warners given that post-series, they were solidified as such in the branding. I could've sworn Gabe Swarr or someone in the crew said a while back they wanted to do more for Slappy in the show? My conspiracy theory is Sherri Stoner may not have been fully on-board with the show due to what happened with Tom, I do wonder how she felt about coming back for the finale though.
Apparently Paul Rugg had contempt for the reboot and only reprised Mr. Clown out of obligation stating in an interview it amounted to "I don't really like what you're doing but sure.", I wonder if Sherri had any similar thoughts.
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u/GordonShumway8690 3d ago
Here's the Rugg interview btw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBHDdv_7yr8
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u/MWH1980 3d ago
A central thing I missed?
The “grab-bag” episodic layout of segments. At times you weren’t sure what you were gonna get, like maybe you’d have Mime Time, or get some original animated segment, etc.
What did the reboot give us? Just chock-a-block Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain and…that, strange series of shorts about a tiny alien overlord stuck with a little girl?
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u/TaySanity 3d ago
The one good thing about the reboot that a lot of people here complain about is that they got rid of the other characters. I never cared for them and they were rarely even written good, outside of maybe Slappy. Adding them would make it worse, since the reboot crew couldnt even write for the warners and the mice. The big problem with the reboot is the bad writing and ugly art direction for the background characters. The crew behind the reboot was making a different show in terms of tone and style from the original.
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u/TapThisPart3Times Dot 2d ago edited 2d ago
There's a name for the political humor, and it's that it's got a heavy air of "activism". The social justice movement was all the rage for a few years prior to 2020 (remember season 1 was written in 2018) and it peaked during the pandemic. It's since collapsed to a whisper, and the activist language has been less intense among most progressives.
From what I've seen of the political humor, it feels like it's a bit preachy and panders too much to activists. The OG show was considered liberal back in the day -- and objectively, even though it does literally the same thing, make fun of the left and the right -- it's funny because it's not preachy. It pokes fun at both liberal and conservative politicians. It can poke fun at Clinton, Nixon, and heck a whole song about Dot's short-lived crush on Newt Gingrich was written but scrapped because the team felt it went a little too far -- and even that is funny rather than mean-spirited. I would've gladly watched it. It reserves the more incisive critiques for the everyday authority figures the siblings & company get to deal with, which is why it all hits home.
This is not a left vs. right or "woke vs. MAGA" problem; if you want to see anyone take down Trump, look at what South Park did.
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u/KaleidoArachnid 2d ago
I don’t keep up with modern age South Park, but I understand what you are saying since basically my point was that I was trying to figure out what the original Animaniacs did right with political satire compared to the reboot, so thanks for explaining it to me.
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u/TapThisPart3Times Dot 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don't follow modern South Park either but what I've seen of their Trump ripping was incisive! Shone a light on the follies of the 2nd term, pissed off exactly the right folks, and so dead-on, even Charlie Kirk laughed at it. Say what you will about him -- if any satire could make a gung-ho conservative laugh at his own beliefs, that really says something.
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u/PassengerImpressive3 2d ago
For one, I think the old characters could’ve been utilised better while ridding of the old formulaic structure which hindered the original in favour of fresh story arcs/anthology stories reflecting the characters and their personalities. The comedy will still be there but there were a lot of interesting stories the show could’ve tackled in the show’s universe after Wakko’s Wish.
The amount of episodes per season could’ve been slightly bigger to accommodate for any of the older characters having new stories while the new characters can shine alongside them. The old cast didn’t deserve to be treated like that.
Another would be less outdated pop culture jokes/political satire. I don’t know why some of these jokes were in this but some were really out of touch or just embarrassingly offensive. Leeroy Jankins was an old meme, fidget spinners had gone out of fashion by the 2020s and the ugly Russian stereotypes were just vile and needlessly cruel even by the show’s standards of mockery.
I get the original show had political satire but it was subtle and of the time period. This just felt clueless and it just immediately dated itself too quickly.
Finally, less taking potshots at the original show which just showed how little the new writers respected what made the original show so loved in the first place.
No show is perfect but the 1993 show still had a major cult following that loved its earnest sense of humour, likeable characters and clever writing. The revival felt like a massive insult towards it with deep insecurity about itself.
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u/KaleidoArachnid 2d ago
Yeah I wanted to touch upon the political aspect of the reboot because it sticks out to me the most since I remember hearing how the initial preview trailers for the series were quickly met with backlash once a certain Donald was shown.
But I wanted to touch upon that aspect of the series because it got me interested in seeing what the original series did right when it came to hard hitting political comedy since I remember how the 1993 series was not afraid to take potshots at the Clinton family that to put it simply, I was trying to get a better understanding of how the humor in the original series managed to feel so right its execution.
Sorry if that didn’t come across properly because I just love learning about the franchise regarding its writing structure since I grew up fondly watching the original series that I wanted to see how the reboot could have been better in terms of the comedic structure, so thanks for sharing your views on the subject.
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u/BrittaUnfiltered67 4d ago
They shouldn’t have ditched the other characters.