Animaniacs: January 1996
Cover
Drawn by: Allen Helbig
A direct, feature-for-feature parody of the movie poster for Pulp Fiction. Dot is lying on a bed, propped up on a pillow. She's just put down her copy of the novelization of Lethal Weapon, and is staring dreamily off into space. Around her are a bowl of popcorn, a Tweety Pez dispenser with a couple of candies, and a Batman mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, and she's holding a box with her pet barely visible inside and smoke curling from a corner in her other hand. She's wearing a gray dress, a black straight-haired wig, and a necklace with a single red stone in the middle.
The rest of the cover is done to look like the movie poster, as well, right down to the simulated wear around the edges. (No, your copy isn't defective; they all look like that.) The typefaces used, and the layout of the text, are identical to the movie poster. Finally, just as in the movie poster, there is no connection between the picture and the plot of the story it references. (SC)
Credits
Synopsis
An episode of American Animaniacs, with Wade Wail. His subject this week: the Warners. They may look harmless, but they're really serious public enemies. They've broken out of their maximum security watertower and are causing trouble everywhere they go. After a few man-on-the-street interviews (of a disguised Yakko, Slappy, and a random person), they show a privately-obtained video of just why the Warners are so dangerous...
Pulped Fractions is shown here...
Next, interviews with some victims: Thaddeus Plotz denies everything, Hello Nurse doesn't have much to offer, and Ralph (one of our brave law enforcement officers) asks for Pamela Andyston's autograph. Finally, Dr. Scratchansniff talks about the Warners as no laughing matter, and plugs his book on the subject. The Warners don't always work alone, either: another video, of partners in insanity...
Reservoir Mice is shown here...
The moment of truth arrives: Wail interviews the Warners live on his program...or, at least, tries to: they don't have all that much to say in response to his questions. They do, however, work their own zaniness on him, and he finally breaks down, goes crazy, and joins them as they rush off to do more crazy stuff. The program is cut short on that note.
Did You Notice...
The format and storyline are actually quite faithful to the original movie, Natural Born Killers, given the differences in intent and medium. The funny camera angles, extensive use of colored and black-and-white footage, and interviews are all straight out of the movie. King deserves a large amount of credit for taking one of the most gratuitously violent, disturbing, downright sick movies ever and making a credible comic story out of it, while staying as close as he did. Maybe that's because Natural Born Killers unconsciously parodies itself. (Don't go rent the movie unless you already wanted to see it before getting this comic. It's the exact antithesis of everything Animaniacs is about...JM)- Direct movie references: The TV show in the movie is American Maniacs, hosted by Wayne Gail; the interview and subsequent crackup are lifted straight from the film. (In the film, Gail at one point starts shooting at prison guards, and declares he's never felt more alive.)
- Pamela Andyston refers to Pamela Anderson, popular star on Baywatch.
- Scratchy's book, I'm Okay, They're All Toons, is a takeoff on the popular '70s self-help book, I'm OK, You're OK.
- Unlike the previous appearance of the Warners in black-and-white, in Re-Animaniacs!, their noses are always colored red, as they should be.
- This is the first wraparound in the comics, and it works very well. There are even a couple of ties between the stories, which are subtle but lend a feel of continuity to the whole issue.
Technical nits
This month's entry for Worst Stupid Spelling Error: "A prison inside the Warne Bros. studio water tower!" Cmon, folks...you do know who you work for, don't you? (page 2)- Dot's flower is occasionally shown with four petals instead of the standard five. (pages 1, 29)
- Slappy is grossly miscolored; she's shown as brown instead of the standard gray, in a shot where the coloring should be correct. (page 2)
Credits
Synopsis
It's another routine day on the WB lot. Ralph is chasing the Warners, until he gets interrupted by a bloated overweight pig (which Yakko and Wakko launched in Natural Born Jokers) falling on him. They run along and spot something new: Hollywood's hottest director, Squintin Tarantella, is making his first movie, Pulped Fractions, for WB. The Warners decide that it needs something more: themselves, as stars. Tarantella tells Plotz to get them away from him; he tells Dr. Scratchansniff to get rid of them. Scratchy explains to the Warners that Plotz doesn't want them as stars, since he already has Bruce Biceps and Uma Thermos to do that. The sibs decide that they're not going to take that.
The next morning, Tarantella is shooting the emotional crux of the movie. He gets Thurman and Biceps set up and begins filming, but then the Warners jump in with a song. Tarantella explodes, and once again orders Plotz to get rid of them. Plotz, Ralph, and Scratchy carry the sibs back to the water tower, and Plotz orders them to get inside and not come out until filming is over. They object, but finally go in...only to come out again when Ralph is left on guard. Dot arranges a parade to distract him, and Wakko hits him on the head with a mallet. Once again, they're free.
The Warners rush back to the set and surf into the next big shot. Tarantella objects, again; Plotz gets rid of them, again. Tarantella sets up an action shot, with Biceps riding by on a motorcycle and scooping up Thermos, but the Warners swing into the shot and disrupt it. Tarantella asks what the Warners are trying to do to his tough-guy movie with their antics, and the Warners change their approach: they disappear, then reappear dressed as gangsters, and tie up and tickle everyone in sight.
Did You Notice...
- Squintin Tarantella refers to Quentin Tarantino; Uma Thermos refers to Uma Thurman; and Bruce Biceps refers to Bruce Willis. Tarantella is a faithful depiction; Thermos is also faithful, except for her hair color - she's drawn as a blonde, which is Thurman's natural coloring (her hair was dyed black for Pulp Fiction); Biceps is not so close: he's overdone, and his hair was cropped much shorter in the movie. Neither Thurman nor Willis appeared in the scenes drawn, however.
- There's a grip wearing a hat with the Brain on it.
- Marita is driving a car in the parade.
- Dot's line, "I don't know if that's a motorcycle or a chopper," refers to a bit in the movie: As Willis is riding off with his girlfriend (who isn't Thurman's character), she repeatedly calls the custom Harley chopper Willis rides a motorcycle, and he repeatedly corrects her.
Technical nits
- Dot's flower has 4 petals in one panel on page 4.
- The coloration on page 7 is off, and this one appears to be a printing error: Yakko's pants, in particular, are very wrong, and just about all of the skin tones are subtly different from the rest of the issue. The error is consistent throughout the page.
- Dot's tail is missing in a few places. (pages 10, 13, 15)
Credits
Synopsis
We join the Brain as his plan is just about to succeed. He and Pinky are standing on the shore of a reservoir full of laughing ducks, contemplating his victory...To think it all started with Pinky's usual question, too: "Whaddya want to do tonight, Brain?"
Flashback: The Brain has created an irresistable laughing serum. Pinky tells him about a filibuster on Capitol Hill, and he decides to add his serum to the water supply in Washington, DC, thus allowing him to take over the US government, and, from there, the world. There's just one catch: The quantity of serum required is too large for the two of them to transport themselves. Fortunately, the Brain knows where to get help.
Pinky and the Brain go to Jack Mousey Slims, a favorite hangout for criminals. They find a likely looking trio, and make their pitch, which gets accepted. Pinky and the Brain adopt styles of dress similar to what the other three already wear, and everybody is assigned a code name.
Thus prepared, the band hits the road with a big bottle of the Brain's laughing serum. They are stopped by a cop who wants to know what they're up to; the Brain talks their way out of that, and they continue on their way. Five miles from Washington, they find a balloon tied to a sign, and the hired hoods are carried off by it when they try to tie it to the bottle to make it lighter. Pinky and the Brain finish the trip by themselves.
And so we arrive at the reservoir, and the ducks prove that the serum works. Pinky gives the Brain a pat on the back for his good work...and knocks him into the reservoir. The Brain is affected by the serum, and begins laughing uncontrollably. Since he's incapacitated, he can't take over the world tonight.
Did You Notice...
- The flashback, and the plot with the hired hoods until they hit the road with the serum, follow the movie Reservoir Dogs closely. The hoods are dressed as the ones in the movie; the conversation around the table in the restaurant is condensed from the one in the movie; the code names and their explanation are lifted directly, as is the line "Okay, rodents, let's get to rodenting!" and the shot of the group walking in front of the wall.
- The restaurant Jack Mousey Slims refers to the restaurant in Pulp Fiction.
Technical nits
- The bottom strip on page 19 is the usual one with Pinky and the Brain stories, but this is the first time it's been anything but an introduction. This page is a good illustration of the difference between Neal Sternecky's and Walter Carzon's drawing styles.
Jay Maynard, jmaynard@phoenix.net
Last updated 22 November 1995