Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish

Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish_720p(480P)

source: Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish

For those who followed the show throughout its run, you will have a lot to like about this film, including a slam-bang version of that old WB cartoon standard, the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. Even if you aren't familiar with the show, give this a try; the animation is nicely done, and there's a lot of heart to the film.

Wakko's Wish is the full length gift to us from Animaniacs. 75% of the jokes try to hard. The good thing is that there are some pretty good musical numbers in the beginning of the film, but even they diminish in quality throughout the film. They made Pinky a lot stupider than he was during the show, and made Brain a lot less tolerant towards him. And as with any musical, everyone from the show is singing, but we could have went without some of the solos, particularly from Aunt Slappy's little nephew, who mumbles all his singing lines. I guess that was supposed to be cute but for the most part, it sucks. With all that said, this is still pretty funny. The 25% of the jokes and stunts that kick tale are pretty good. I wouldn't recommend more than one viewing though. Go watch the show instead.

I happened to find Wakko's Wish at Sam's Club and I picked it up sight unseen because I enjoyed the "Animaniacs" series when it was on. I watched it and was a tad disappointed. The story was cute and all, but the songs? Ouch. The songs really were pointless and seemed on par with any direct to video animated movie That's a shame because "Animaniacs" had some catchy tunes like 'Yakko's World' and 'I'm Cute' and such. The song writing here was flat and none of the 10 songs were memorable. Some in fact were painful. There are some fun moments in this- the cave I found funny- and Pinky and the horse, for example. Is it worth a look? As long as your hopes aren't too high, sure. Sadly, it's not as good as I hoped.

The problem with Wakko's Wish is a matter of it coming long after the Animaniacs had run their course. Granted, the funny spin-off show the Pinky and the Brain was still running fine, but Wakko's Wish is mostly a pap-filled musical (overloaded with songs if you ask me), and not with the same overall verve of sharp humor. What I loved about the original show was that it was aimed at kids, and it was a very good one in terms of wacky humor and delightful oddball side characters, but it also had a sense of humor that went for the gleefully deranged that aged well. Unfortunately, I can sense how Wakko's Wish was probably packaged as a big grab bag for everything in the show and packed into a silly story for kids. Actually, there isn't much story here anyway, except for the set-up: in a small village Baron Thaddeus von Plotz III robs the poor to feed himself via taxes, leaving everyone destitute. Wakko decides after a year's wait to go find riches of his own to help pay for an operation for Dot, and though completely overjoyed when he returns with a hay-penny, Plotz steals it anyway. He makes a wish on a star, and the star gets shot away to another place far away, leading everyone in the village off to find the star. Not that it isn't fun to see all of the old characters again, and the nostalgia meter is fine in that regard, the same edge is dulled away with smaller laughs in shorter spurts. Only Pinky and the Brain, oddly enough, really garner the best bits, with one line in particular from Brain ("Pinky, you left the lens cap of you mind on again") that reminded me of how I could be hysterical from watching the show. There's even a decent bit involving the Warners conning a vindictive King who just wants them exterminated so he can have the star all to himself. But in the end, the songs really get more in the way than they should, with it being more redundant than a necessary entertainment for the sake of it all. Maybe I should've expected it, as it was a straight-to-video release with occasional TV play. Yet as a tie-in to the holidays meant to inspire cheer and good-will and all those vibes, it's just sort of stupid. I wouldn't say that it isn't worth seeing though if you were already a fan of either Spielberg exec-produced show, and if you have little kids it might be worth a good few chuckles with them. It aims low enough and comes out neither horribly wrong or exceptional.

I grew up with "Animaniacs" at a time when I was already supposed to be grown-up, and still have a soft spot for it. But please, rent "Mostly In Toon" or "The Warners Escape" or ANYTHING, ANYTHING but this disgusting dreck apparently recycled from the ruins of some [god help us] DISNEY DTV FLICK -- it feels the same, anyway. Very few laughs, most involving Pinky and the Brain --- constant stream of pointless cast cameos, great animation from Tokyo Movie Shinsha which makes the unspeakably bad script all that more painful, because it does LOOK good onscreen. The plot? There's Tom Bodett, and at the end.... Major ouch.

I wrote a much longer review on amazon.com and Usenet's alt.tv.animaniacs group. Since then, I've watched the movie several more times, and all I can say is that my original impressions have been reinforced: The folks who made Animaniacs have produced a fitting last hurrah for the series. There's enough adult-level humor to keep everyone laughing, especially if you pay attention to the throwaway lines. A superficial glance might lead you to believe this is another formulaic Disneyoid animated kidflick, but that's wide of the mark: they skewer the formula, not follow it. Give it a chance and you'll be sold.

First, I saw some Animaniacs shorts. They were smart, witty, and funny. Then I saw THIS. I was bloody outraged. Where's the water tower? Where's the Warner lot? What happened here?!?! Instead, we get sucked into "Acme Falls" (???) and a childish plot where Yakko, Wakko, and Dot search for the "wishing star" to bring hope to a desperate village. If I wanted to see a childish plot like this, I would've turned on Teletubbies! YES, I ACTUALLY LIKENED AN ANIMANIACS MOVIE TO TELETUBBIES!!! But the worst part was near the end, where Dot gets mortally wounded by a cannonball and dies, then when Wakko goes into the wishing star and makes his wish, GUESS WHAT?!?! SHE LIVES!!!!! OMFG! Ever since I was introduced to Animaniacs, I wanted to see that bitch die. She's like a washed up celebrity, like Hannah Montana, she thinks she's cute, but she's NOT. And she just HAS to rub it off on the other characters! F&#% her to HELL! You understand why this piece of sh%# wasn't released in theaters? Because it SUCKED SO BAD! Do not buy this. EVER. In fact, do not mention a word of this garbage to ANYONE, unless they're an Animaniacs fan. If you're gonna rush a movie out to DVD about an awesome TV show, make sure it bears a resemblance to the show! They did it with Tiny Toons: How I Spent My Summer Vacation.

A must for animation fans, the new Animaniacs movie offers music, humor, and wit for viewers of all ages. Adults and teens will enjoy the humor, and the kids will eat up the slapstick. Don't pass up this wonderful conclusion to the Animaniacs saga - it's too much fun to miss!