Western Animation - Discuss American, Canadian, and European cartoons here (or just bitch about wokeshit, I guess)

[Munchingonfish]

It's time for Animaniacs,
With a writer's room of hacks,
Political jabs everyday,
With little else to say,
It's the Animaniacs.

 

[Slamerella]

I had such high hopes. Spielberg's back, the cast is back, and the reboot announcement trailer was great! Then the preview trailer with the Trump cyclops came up and I'm not surprised my biggest dreams came true.

 

[Commander X]

Animaniacs was psychic poison in the first place, but they really managed to make this reboot far worse than the original. This whole thing about the original Animaniacs having political humor is a total retcon - “while Bill Clinton plays the sax” and a few tepid jokes about Whitewater or Al Gore being boring doesn’t exactly make it shocking political satire. The reboot is like a cartoon that's made for Twitter manchildren (whom most animated series seem to be made for now) and Boomers at the same time.

 

[Moguro Fukuzou]

Recently been on a DC cartoon bend and downloaded the first seasons of both Superman TAS and Batman TAS that I remember watching as a kid, only gotten into the first couple episodes of Superman but already liking it. I'll say that sometimes when seeing how Supes is drawn I have a good giggle, something about the tiny eyes on his huge dorito frame looks funny when he stands next to other people. I'm planning on watching through Superman TAS then Batman TAS with either Batman Beyond or Justice League after. Not super sure after that.

Also been watching the new Harley Quinn with a friend and we've both found it pretty entertaining so far. I went in with zero expectations so I'm pleasantly surprised how enjoyable its been, doesn't really take itself too serious.

While we're at it, let's mention the 90's Spider-man theme.

I remember really being into spider-man growing up and constantly watching any spider-man cartoons to come out, the 90s one was always my favorite. Still recall how horrified I was watching the man spider arc.

 

[DamageJoy]

Animaniacs was psychic poison in the first place, but they really managed to make this reboot far worse than the original. This whole thing about the original Animaniacs having political humor is a total retcon - “while Bill Clinton plays the sax” and a few tepid jokes about Whitewater or Al Gore being boring doesn’t exactly make it shocking political satire. It's like a cartoon that's made for Twitter manchildren and Boomers at the same time.

When a Democrat is a president the media usually don't attack the office as much. Just compare Bush vs Clinton or Obama vs Trump era.

Marvel 90s Cartoons had such good intros that kids would just honestly ignore that the shows itself were rather lackluster especially compared to what Warner Bros was achieving with the Bruce Timm cartoons.

Yes. Most of the time it feels like most budget went to animate the intro. Back in the day kids watched the tv as the main deal, so you needed something that's catchy as hell and stands out.
I feel the opening will be a lost art in the age of on-demand media because it's frankly pointless in a non-TV setting unless you want to pad run time.

I guess the glorious long into is ironically born out of the limitation of budget for the show itself. If the intro and credits run for minutes that's footage you can save on animating yet you are still selling them as full minutes to the stations buying into syndication.

 

[Kulee Baba]

Good. That character was annoying as fuck and in almost every single episode.

They yeeted Elmyra because it was obviously a cartoon depiction of a high functioning retarded girl.

I will finally be united with Furries for once when they announce they've axed Minerva Mink. Call me deviant all you want I'd yiff that.

 

[DamageJoy]

I will finally be united with Furries for once when they announce they've axed Minerva Mink. Call me deviant all you want I'd yiff that.

Furry or not, she certainly was a symbol of the show. And the makers exactly knew what they were making.

 

[Based Papa John]

Ah, yes. Back in the 90s when something like this could fly (no pun intended).

Western Civilization did not deserve Swat Kats.

They yeeted Elmyra because it was obviously a cartoon depiction of a high functioning retarded girl.

My guess would be the perceived animal abuse, but that's a good point. Elmyra was the primary "villian" - if you could call her that - of the show. You might as well cut out half of the show.

>inb4 Montana Max becomes a Trump parody.

 

[Steamboat_Bill]

They yeeted Elmyra because it was obviously a cartoon depiction of a high functioning retarded girl.

I will finally be united with Furries for once when they announce they've axed Minerva Mink. Call me deviant all you want I'd yiff that.

They already did. She's not in the reboot. (Excepting a cameo.)

Did any furries get pissed off that Minerva wasn't in the reboot? She was barely in the original show to begin with.

 

[Commander X]

When a Democrat is a president the media usually don't attack the office as much. Just compare Bush vs Clinton or Obama vs Trump era.

The Animaniacs reboot really comes off as an animated, G-rated version of late night shows like Colbert's, they have the same sort of boomer “PHONES AND THE INTERNET” and “THERE'S A FREAKING CHEETO IN THE WHITE HOUSE” humor, but they can’t say stuff like calling Trump Putin’s cock-holster 'cause it’s (ostensibly) for kids.

Neoliberal boomer politics in media are usually a little less annoying than "2-hour Breadtuber essay on why The Land Before Time is cryptofascist" young people politics, but with the episode about RUSSIAN BOTS and how RUSSIA SUCKS , it really feels like the writers wake up screaming in cold sweats over evil Russians undermining democracy. They added a line about the NSA and a "Russians themselves aren't bad it's just Putin is bad" line to convince themselves that episode isn't incredibly mean spiritedly xenophobic and also absolutely deranged.

 

[Deftones]

Was anyone really surprised that the Animaniacs reboot was going to be shit?

 

[DamageJoy]

The Animaniacs reboot really comes off as an animated, G-rated version of late night shows like Colbert's, they have the same sort of boomer “PHONES AND THE INTERNET” and “THERE'S A FREAKING CHEETO IN THE WHITE HOUSE” humor, but they can’t say stuff like calling Trump Putin’s cock-holster 'cause it’s (ostensibly) for kids.

Neoliberal boomer politics in media are usually a little less annoying than "2-hour Breadtuber essay on why The Land Before Time is cryptofascist" young people politics, but with the episode about RUSSIAN BOTS and how RUSSIA SUCKS , it really feels like the writers wake up screaming in cold sweats over evil Russians undermining democracy. They added a line about the NSA and a "Russians themselves aren't bad it's just Putin is bad " line to convince themselves that episode isn't incredibly mean spiritedly xenophobic and also absolutely deranged.

The old Animaniacs were fun because they added stuff the creators liked and the new one sounds less interesting due to the stuff the creators like now...
I guess they don't push it to absurdity which would make it funny again, like if Russians were literally Red Alert tier soviets with long coats and red stars everywhere. Then you could laugh it at either as a straight mainstream talking point or as a parody of that.

New creators seem to be less interesting people in general, all their identity is which hole they prefer and who are they voting for. At best they just rip off, I mean reference their favorite show, because ripping off whole scenes as paying homage is certainly a thing that didn't get old fast. I pray lord Biden to give us creators in the media who are more interesting as a person, and have other interests than Twitter memes.

Was anyone really surprised that the Animaniacs reboot was going to be shit?

Expected it, but didn't voice my opinion because it is too easy to say everything will suck now, because they usually get bad.

 

[A Grey Cat]

Sorry to distract everyone from questioning their post-Animaniacs sanity, but guess what was just confirmed to be dead despite various storyboarders leaving the project and the showrunner starting a new show on HBO Max.

https://twitter.com/MarlyHG/status/1329939054780026880

That's right, ThunderCats Roar has finally been put to pasture by the network.

 

[Crescent Fresh]

https://archive.vn/GizQM

This version of Animaniacs has some edge to it. I was wondering, was that always part of the initial pitch when you were brought on?
WELLESLEY WILD: Yeah, I mean, I think that... Do you think that there's more edge than the original? Is that what you're saying?
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT
Maybe it's just me not remembering something from 20 years ago, but it seemed to have more of a political edge. There’s a gun control episode, a Putin episode, stuff like that.
WILD: Well, I mean, we write to the cultural realities we're given and I think ideologically, things have changed a lot in 22 years and I think maybe we go a little harder. For example, there is a segment where we go after Christopher Columbus. And like you're saying, what's the political perspective on Christopher Columbus now versus 22 years ago? Well, there were a lot more schools and statutes 22 years ago. So we're writing to the reality of the world.
And was Spielberg totally onboard with this angle?
GABE SWARR: Oh, he encouraged it. He definitely encouraged it.
WILD: At the beginning, he was like, "I want to be so political. I want to be on..." He wanted clips of... He's like, "I envision posts"--
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SWARR: Huffington Post.
WILD: 3: Yeah. "I want articles in the Huffington Post about how political the show is."
SWARR: And then Warner Brothers was like, "We're making a kid's show." So, we were stuck right in the middle between those two things.

I genuinely wasn’t really expecting it to be Spielberg himself behind all the bullshit, however it looks like he was. Disappointing, and probably means similarly bad things for the new Tiny Toons reboot.

 

[Steamboat_Bill]

https://archive.vn/GizQM

I genuinely wasn’t really expecting it to be Spielberg himself behind all the bullshit, however it looks like he was. Disappointing, and probably means similarly bad things for the new Tiny Toons reboot.

In the old show he told the crew to make more cartoons with the Flame because he really liked the character. He also may have been behind the rampant use of Elmyra.

So, no, he's done worse.

 

[SteelPlatedHeart]

To quote the theme song of Pinky, Elmira, and the Brain:

“It’s what the network wants, why bother to complain?”

 

[-4ZURE-]

I'm planning on watching through Superman TAS then Batman TAS with either Batman Beyond or Justice League after. Not super sure after that.

You should try Batman Brave & The Bold. Other good modern DC shows include Young Justice or Green Lantern TAS. Bruce Timm can never be topped, but these shows make for good substitutes in the absence and are their own thing, especially Brave and The Bold.

 

[Autism Crowley]

I'm three episodes in and this is boring as shit.

Not offended at any of the political stuff (although the wimmen's rights stuff gets eye-rolling). It's just mediocre. Considering how everyone I saw talked about this being an amazing reboot, it really shows how nostalgia pandering and a couple of Woke Jokes makes your average Twitter manchild's brain go full consoomer.

 

[-4ZURE-]

I have watched clips of the Animaniacs reboot, and I have not laughed once. The writing is beyond predictable for a Warner show. Leaving the politics aside, they are still sticking with hurr..durr... Zach Snyder bad, BVS bad jokes that TTG already did.

The show comes off like a wannabe TTG, which is hilarious as the same people who trash TTG for its humor and making fun of the audience, praise the Animaniacs for it. It feels like the TTG Movie to me. I originally found the movie to be dull which is what surprised me that so many liked it. Animaniacs suffers the issue of all the TTG knockoffs and its movie in that it feels like it really wants to be seen as smart, when the jokes are the lowest brow you can go. They pretty much try to build a narrative that “you just are not smart enough to get the humor,” when in reality they are just not funny. TTG works as the writing feels like it was made by a talented kid that slacks off in class and the show is just him flipping the bird to the teacher for telling him to try harder. It is a fun experience as I genuinely believe the TTG writers do not give a damn. They give off a feel of shit-eating grin and lighting something off for the sake of it. Animaniacs, on the other hand, feels like the kid who is trying way to hard to show, or is so egotistical to believe, that they are absolute geniuses and their satire is pronounced. They give nothing but smugness, and it is not enjoyable, regardless of the politics.

Maybe this is just me though...

 

[Gaymead]

Here's Kate Rice she's the director:

Twitter cringe


View attachment 1740575View attachment 1740580

>amazing pilots that should be a full series instead of rebooted tone deaf 90s garbage
She retweets while working on a reboot of a 90s reboot. It’s just like Dana Terrace; these reboots are nothing but clout builders for showrunners.
And they’re still on that entitled, butthurt “bettercartoon” thing. I still remember how they reacted when a pilot actually got picked up.

This went down faster than the PPG reboot. I’m a bit bummed that Infinity Train may be going the same path but this is a good exchange.
The crossover with TTG where the writers heavily defended Roar has new humor in it now.

Actually, there’s a good chance that the R&S reboot is still happening; it was announced on CC’s upcoming slate and there’s some concept art of it floating around.
But everything you said is why I found it baffling that cancelling the reboot would be getting back at Kricfalusi. If anything that would be exactly what he wants given who he is.

I mean, the nurse is gone, but that doesn't mean the reboot hasn't directly referenced the quote or the character. Hell, they had an entire bit that was a clever workaround for explaining where the rest of the characters from the reboot went.

Even Minerva appeared in that bit. And nobody really cared about Minerva. Not even the original team.

Weirdly enough it's the other way around. More American companies like Snipple Animation Studios and Titmouse have their fingerprints on this reboot, whereas the original showed employed a SHITTON of outsourced Korean work.


FUCK ME I knew that name sounded familiar the first time I saw it: she's got a horrible reputation in the cartoon community for being incredibly hypocritical about animation topics and insulting and being obnoxious to anyone who so much as talks to her to be a Q U E E N for her stans; that passive-aggressive bitch working on the Animaniacs reboot makes so much more sense now.

Which is fucked given that she was also one of John K's victims, but she's as of late had this really bad habit of trying to act as the voice of reason in a poisoned industry filled with ungrateful fans which is just...eugh. I feel like an asshole for saying that, ESPECIALLY given everything that happened, and given that when she's just focusing on her own animations: she's completely fine and in fact REALLY talented (you don't get work on projects like Animaniacs and Book of Life without some level of talent). It's when she tries to postulate and make hot takes that it becomes a problem.

But I guess that's just a problem with Twitter culture in general, so...eeeeh.

EDIT: And I just now realized this was already heavily talked about a page back. Eh whatever I'm keeping that part up. Though I will say even though I think Kate can be a bit of a prick sometimes, the irony of her directing a show John explicitly hated IS funny, but fuck no it's not part of a cartoon cult or Rice getting back at John.

@Peep Plops Were you high when you wrote that?

I apologize if this sounds too presumptuous but when I was browsing /co/ a few weeks back, I stumbled on this post connecting Kate Rice with the removal of Hello Nurse:

Of course, /co/mblr, being the sycophantic fags that they, are thought it was bull, but for me it doesn't seem too far of a stretch.


Also, FluttershyTheKind/FTK_Artist (Powerword: June Kind, created Jewene the Ewe, a lewd oc, confirmed here, also worked on Hazbin Hotel as well as Mystery Skulls) works on the show (named in the credits, WIP of an an alternate opening for the show and worked with the crew, confirmation that she didn't do artwork for the Tiny Toons reboot but is attached to the show)

Spoiler: Archive of Tweets

Announcement About a "new gig"
Lives in Georgia
On the Election
On Biden Winning
Some Choice Words on Trump
"As a transwoman..."
(I'll attach some screencaps of tweets from her, but they are quite large as I've included some choice responses ; I post the caps with just the tweets from her)

Spoiler: Jewene the Ewe Artwork and more from FTK: NSFW

Source (A)

Source (A)

Source (A)

Source (A)

Source (the other character belongs to Siroc)

Source (A)

Source (A)

And some more fanart of Ewe here (1,2,3,4,5, 6, 7, 8) that post here because I am not going to comb for every single piece available and flood this post with porn, so I leave the rest up to you; you can find more from e621, however the art that Birchly made of the character is not there. And if you are wondering why am doing all of this, it is totally for posterity, FYI )