Wakkos Wunsch

"Animaniacs" was a cartoon that always struck me as good but highly inconsistent. At any given time there were at least two dozen characters on the show. Each of them starred in their own segments. Some of them worked, some of them didn't. And some of them fell flat.

This problem is finally eliminated in "Wakko's Wish". All of the characters, good (the Warners, Pinky and the Brain), bad (the Goodfeathers, the Hip Hippos), and pointless (Chicken Boo) are involved in this one major story. The story is a tad sentimental for an "Animaniacs" movie but they have a lot of fun parodying the expected cliches as they go along. Check it out, it's a lot of fun. And it's got "Tiny Toons: Summer Vacation" beat by miles.

I can't call this a bad movie, because I'm a sucker for anything with "Animaniacs" in the title. Somehow, the novelty of just seeing all the characters in one place is enjoyable enough for me. Unfortunately, the charm wears off really fast.

The plot holes are gigantic! I know it's Animaniacs, and I shouldn't be asking for logic, but usually things make just a little bit of sense. This movie tries to be a Disney flick, and it's just not working for it. I compaire this story to fanfiction. The characters are out of character, even for them, and for a movie called "Wakko's Wish", Wakko dosn't get a whole lot of screen time. That really makes me mad, because that's my favorite character!

I can't say the movie is terrible; it's decent Animation, the voice acting is pretty good, and even the plot, as cliché'd as it is, is very entertaining. I just fall in love with it every time I see it. It's so bad that it's good. As an Animaniacs fan, I love to pick apart everything that's wrong with it. For an non-Animanics watcher, I'd skip this movie. If you don't know the characters, it won't make much sense, and you'll turn it off before it reaches the ten minute mark.

For little kids, they'll love it. I know I used to. (I bought five copies of the original VHS version when it first came out. One was eaten by the VCR, I lost one, I have two in my video collection, and one is still unopened.) It's a very nice movie for kids, and it keeps them quiet for an hour. Then again, I guess kids love anything animated, so that's not much of an accomplishment.

'Animaniacs' has always been one of my favorite cartoons. It is truly amazing with its brilliant writing, endless hilarity, fantastic animation, memorable characters and music, and the pure amount of joy it brings me. People of all ages will enjoy the show's intelligence and wit, but adult viewers in particular will understand the clever references to films and celebrities. The cartoon excelled in humor and is a perfect example of why I love cartoons in the first place.

'Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish' is cute and pleasant, but does not come close to the greatness of the original series. As a film targeted more toward younger audiences, it lacks the wacky humor that was very often present in 'Animaniacs' and the characters are less zany.

It was not a complete disappointment, however. The animation is very smooth and clean and the colors are vibrant and lovely. There are also some scenes I found touching, notably the ones where Yakko displays gentleness and brotherly love toward his sister Dot. Pinky and the Brain are very enjoyable in the film and their antics provided me with many laughs. All of the voice acting is fantastic as well.

Despite these positive aspects, the film is let down by rather unexceptional writing, and the large amount of songs sung are forgettable at best. To me, the film just does not feel like it is related to anything 'Animaniacs.' It lacks the strong and clever writing and sharp, comical moments that are so often associated with 'Animaniacs' on the whole. Certain parts did make me laugh, but I did not laugh nearly as much as I do when watching the original classic series.

'Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish' is a likable and fun film and has lots of good aspects, but it is not nearly as good as the series.

Wakko's Wish does what Animaniacs fans have come to expect, and in fact demand. The story is entertaining at multiple levels, from the purely visual, to the slapstick, to clever wordplay, to subtle cultural references that surface on watching for the second or third time.

It may look like it is a Disney-esque thing. If you expect that, you may be uneasy when Wakko's Wish gives it what-for and does what Warner Bros. cartoons have always done: had fun with things and not let anyone or anything off the hook.

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.