Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish

I have loved the show Animaniacs for like forever, it is so cute, fun, witty and just something I really loved watching. Wakko's Wish is inferior to the show, but it is definitely not bad. In fact, it is decent, it is just lacking in that extra something that made the show so good. It is very cute and charming, with a touching ending and some off-the-wall humour to satisfy kids. Plus it is vibrantly animated, with some beautiful colours and above average character designs. The voice cast also do really well, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulson, Jess Harnell and Tress MacNeille all do great jobs as does everybody else. And the characters are at least likable, Pinky is still his funny, stupid and adorable self and Dot is cute here. King Salazar is pretty entertaining if rather unexceptional as a villain. The writing is mostly good, some parts are clichéd but there are some entertaining and heartwarming parts, that I really appreciated and the film moves along quickly. However, Wakko's Wish isn't without problems. While the plot has its moments there are other parts where it is disjointed, and although Wakko is supposed to be the main character according to the title Wakko doesn't get that much screen time disappointingly. While the incidental music was brilliant, I cannot say the same for the songs, they are forgettable at best and one or two of them don't seem to move the story forward. This is a shame because the music was one of the many components that made the show so entertaining. Overall, decent if not great swansong to Animaniacs. 7/10 Bethany Cox

"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.

Wakko's wish is a very worthy finale to the series. While some have complained that it isn't like the show at all, I don't really think it is meant to be. Nor should it. Does anyone really want to see 90 minutes of out and out zanyness? Instead, we get a rather touching story that gives all the characters and emotional weight they never really had before. And of course, we still get the zanyness, it's just placed within a larger framework.

Personally, I would love to see more Animaniacs stories done in this exact style (hope hope hope!).

With Wakko's Wish, Animaniacs ends it's run with a solid piece of work, very unlike the show in many ways, and for that I am glad. Nothing could have been worse for it to finish with something that was basically just another episode.

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.

'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.