Product Description
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Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs: Vol. 1
Three inseparable, crazy siblings have been locked away in the
Warner Bros. water tower for a very long time. But they have
found a way to escape, and escape they do--every day! Causing
chaos and comic confusion, Yakko, Wakko and Dot run loose in the
city, turning the world into their very own personal playground
in this mix of cartoon shorts, musical numbers, and comedy
blackouts.
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As a splendid homage to the legacy of Warner Bros. animation,
the Emmy and Peabody award-winning Animaniacs was arguably the
most inventive and deliriously entertaining cartoon series of the
1990s. The series' appeal is at least two-fold: kids will enjoy
the wacky characters and easy-to-follow comedy, and grownups
raised on "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" cartoons will love
the show's knowledgeable movie spoofs, witty satire, and
spontaneous lines of dialogue ed squarely at an older audience
with an appreciation for Hollywood history. Cartoon lovers and
film buffs will benefit the most from repeated viewings of
Animaniacs since the series was conceived by head writer Tom
Ruegger (under the supervision of executive producer Steven
Spielberg) as an affectionate tribute to the golden age of
Hollywood, with its wild and wonderful cast of cartoon characters
led by "Warner Brothers" Wakko and Yakko, and their ever-so-cute
Warner sister, Dot, a playful trio of indeterminate species who
were (fictionally) created in the early 1930s by the overworked
animators of "Termite Terrace" (the actual name given to Warner's
animation studios) and wreaked havoc on the Warner Bros. backlot
until they were caught and captured in the studio's water tower.
Every episode begins with their clever escape, leading to wacky
adventures involving the entire cast of Animaniacs, a menagerie
of colorful characters worthy of cartoon immortality.
This five-DVD set offers 25 beautifully preserved episodes (out
of a five-season total of 99), mostly from the first season
(1993), when Spielberg was also enjoying the success of Jurassic
Park and Schindler's List. Premiering on the Fox Kids network,
the series introduced delighted viewers to Pinky and the Brain (
/gp/series/92276 ); Slappy the Squirrel (a curmudgeonly veteran
of decades in show-biz); the Goodfeathers (a pigeon-trio spoof of
Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas); Rita and Runt (a dog and cat duo
often featured in musical spoofs, the former voiced by Bernadette
Peters); and a wide variety of peripheral characters who randomly
appeared as part of the series' multi-segment format. Some
segments are brief and brilliant (including many original songs
that qualify as mini-masterpieces of educational entertainment),
while others are cartoon-length adventures like the unforgettable
"Bumbie's Mom," a riff on Bambi (and Disney animation) that's one
of many first-season highlights. Smart, literate, and totally
irreverent, Animaniacs benefited from all the prestige that
Spielberg's involvement could bring, including a
once-in-a-lifetime voice cast (honored here by disc 3's special
featurette "Animaniacs Live," hosted by "Annie"-award-winner
Maurice "The Brain" LeMarche) and amazing musical scores (many
written or supervised by the late, great Richard Stone) that were
recorded in the very same Warner studio where the legendary Carl
Stalling scored most of the classic Warner Bros. cartoons. With
creative and comedic highlights too numerous to mention,
Animaniacs is must-see TV for those who missed it the first time
around, and a welcome treasure for established fans who will
cherish these DVDs for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon