Animation Celebration Saturday - Wakko's Wish

Warner Bros, 1999
Voices of Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, and Maurice LaMarche
Directed by Liz Holzman, Tom Ruegger, and Rusty Mills
Music by Richard Stone and Julie Bernstein; Lyrics by Tom Ruegger and Randy Rogel

The first animated musical review of the year is the finale of the popular 90's TV series Animaniacs. The show follows the adventures of siblings Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner and the colorful cast of oddball characters in various skits, many of them inspired by older cartoon tropes (like former cartoon star Slappy Squirrel and dog-and-baby duo Mindy and Buttons). How does the wacky Warners style do in a spoof of operettas and fantasy cliches? Let's begin in the village of Acme Acres, in the kingdom of Warnerstock, and find out...

The Story: Warnerstock was a lovely little kingdom, until it's invaded by the kingdom of Ticktockia after a civil war. It's greedy ruler King Salazar the Pushy (Paxton Whitehead) taxed the residents into dire poverty. This is especially problematic for orphans Yakko (Paulsen), Wakko (Harnell), and Dot (MacNeille) Warner, who need money so Dot can have an operation. Wakko does finally manage to earn a haypenny, but it's taken for taxes the moment he comes home by the king's lackey Baron Von Plotz (Frank Welker). Frustrated, Wakko performs a harp solo to a wishing star that so moves the star, it falls from the sky. A "desired wish facilitator" (Ben Stein) tells Wakko that he needs to travel to the star to make his wish. Wakko's wild wish gets around town, and suddenly, every resident of Acme Acres, including Salzar and the mad scientist mice Pinky (Paulsen) and the Brain (LaMarche), wants to get to the star and make the wish they believe will bring them happiness.

The Animation: Typical colorful stretch-and-squash-style of the Warner TV cartoons of the time period. The designs are bright and fun, nicely reflecting their 40's inspirations and the more cynical late 90's.

The Song and Dance: If you love Animaniacs, you'll get a kick out of this movie. It uses almost the entire original voice cast, including Bernadette Peters as homeless cat Rita and Nancy Cartwright as ever-oblivious baby Mindy, and gives most of them at least a few minutes in the spotlight or a couple of good gags. The spoof songs are a lot of fun, and the story can get slightly dark and even surprisingly touching for the goofy Warners shows. The King is a hilarious villain, especially if you' can guess before the characters does why he really hates the Warner siblings - and it's not entirely because they're annoying him or because he wants the wish. Tom Bodett also has some very funny moments with his narration. (Even though I keep expecting him to say he'll leave the light on for us.)

Favorite Number: The opening song "Never Give Up Hope" introduces the entire huge cast and gives us an idea of how they're all suffering but manage to believe better times are ahead. They celebrate the arrival of Wakko and his little bit of money in "I Got a Haypenny," a spoof of large ensemble numbers in shows like The Music Man. "Twinkle, Twinkle" is Wakko's sweet harp solo as he wishes on the star to help with Dot's operation. Everyone tells why they're after the star, even as they rattle down the hill towards it, in "If I Had a Wish, I'd Be Happy."

Trivia: This was intended to be the first in a series of animated films featuring the Animaniacs cast, but sales of this one fell short, and Warners canceled the others.

What I Don't Like: The Warners cartoons of the 90's tended to be fond of topical jokes and gags, including the names of the kingdoms and how Ticktockia (Time Inc) invaded Warnerstock (Warner Media). Many people who weren't around then or aren't fans of pop culture may not get a lot of the jokes. And while they do manage to squeeze in most of the major characters, a few - notably fan favorite Minerva Mink - are missing or are reduced to cameos. Some folks who prefer the skit comedy style of the original show may be baffled by the more sentimental moments and linear story here.

The Big Finale: If you love Animaniacs, you'll find much to enjoy in this one...but do check out the show first before you come here to get a better idea of the characters and how they all relate to each other.

Home Media: Warners finally put it out on DVD about five years ago; it's also easily found on most streaming companies.

DVD
Amazon Prime