The Warners Brothers (and Sister) from "Animaniacs."

Wakko, Dot, and Yakko [image via Warner Bros.]

Steven Spielberg is bringing back Animaniacs, IndieWire announced, and animation fans from Albuquerque to Zion are rejoicing. Animaniacs was a popular Warner Bros. cartoon from 1993 – 1998.  It claimed to be “zany to the max,” and it wasn’t lying.  ComicBook.com reported that “Warner Bros. has been working with Spielberg’s production company, Amblin Television, to bring the fan-favorite cartoon out of the 1990s history books. The report states that Spielberg is also expected to be working on the project as well.” It has not been announced yet whether Tom Ruegger, who created Animaniacs for Steven Spielberg, will be returning as well, although fans certainly hope so.

The reboot of the beloved series is not set in stone yet, so don’t count your Chicken Boos before they’re hatched.  At the moment, it’s still in negotiation. No network has been announced as the home of the new show, although Cartoon Network, WB, and Netflix have been discussed as possibilities by fans. Netflix is a strong possibility, as it as been airing the old episodes.

Animaniacs won multiple awards for its music, its voice acting, its directing, its writing, and its artwork.  It won one Peabody Award, eight Emmy’s, and a Young Artist Award, in addition to being nominated for Annie Awards, Kids’ Choice Awards, and Television Critics Association Award.

[krvod url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y_psiP76SA]

Animaniacs was popular with both children and adults in the ’90s.  It featured music, slapstick, bad puns, cartoon violence, and parodies/homages of the best and worst of Hollywood. According to director Russell Calabrese, casts and crews of other shows considered it a compliment to be parodied on Animaniacs. Teachers used the songs to help students learn American geography, American history math, world geography, and science.  (Some still do.)  In Batman: the Animated Series, also produced by Warner Bros. Batgirl made a joke about Pinky and the Brain, which Batman didn’t get.  Too busy fighting crime to have time to watch TV, Bruce Wayne may have been one of the few not watching Animaniacs. During its heyday, it was the second most popular show for audiences aged 2-11, and twenty percent of the viewers were 25 or older.

Can this reboot live up to the quality and success of the original? We fervently hope so.

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Susan Macdonald
Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as short stories in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, “Supernatural Colorado”, “Barbarian Crowns”, “Cat Tails””Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.