Line #156 YMMV/Animaniacs2020


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2	** Pinky is shown as single, despite the fact that he had a girlfriend in the original series. Did he and Pharfignewton break up, or [[spoiler:did he know she had gotten (apparently) killed and stuffed by Walter C. Grubb]]? If he didn't, did he think the horse ghosted him? Maybe he went into therapy not just for Brain's relationship with him but also [[spoiler:if he was mourning his girlfriend]].
3	*** Pinky’s relationship status being taken was never a constant. Barring an out-of-universe role in ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'', she was only referenced once more in the original ''Animaniacs'' in "The World Can Wait." In the [[WesternAnimation/PinkyandtheBrain spin-off series]], Pharfignewton was referenced only in the Season 1 episode “The Third Mouse” as well as the Season 3 episode "A Meticulous Analysis of History." Later on in another Season 3 episode which takes place after these, "Operation Sea-Lion", Pinky falls in love with a sea-lion. And in the comics, he had a short-lived relationship with Snowball's sister that caused Brain and Snowball to [[EnemyMine put aside their differences]] long enough to try and break them up so they wouldn't have to be around each other anymore.
4	** Yakko near the end of "Good Warner Hunting". He claims that [[spoiler:Chicken Boo is the least popular character on the show and that he's on the "bottom of every fan list" despite the existence of less popular characters (i.e. Katie Kaboom) and the fact that Boo did have his fans. Was Yakko just voicing his opinion or was he exaggerating Chicken Boo's unpopularity to make him reveal himself?]]
5	** In "France France Revolution". Was Marie Antoinette really going to have the Warners executed for eating her food? She never outright says she's going to execute them. Also, the guards only take the Warners to the stocks suggesting they may have only been sentenced to public humiliation (and are only using the guillotine to cut cake).
6	** The first ''Pinky and the Brain'' short establishes that 22 years have passed in-universe. Is Brain's new, more villainous demeanor out of character, or have decades of failure hardened him to the point of doubling his efforts while forgetting his goal of making the world a better place? Creator/MauriceLaMarche favors the latter interpretation.
7	** Dot dissing the [[WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed Loonatics]] during "Suffragette City". Is she indeed dissing them or does she genuinely have no idea what they are?
8	* AluminumChristmasTrees: One of the donuts Wakko has in "[=WhoDonut=]" is squid-ink flavored. While this may seem strange to many Western viewers, [[https://soranews24.com/2015/10/10/why-does-burger-kings-black-burger-turn-poo-green-in-the-u-s-and-the-u-k-but-not-japan/ squid ink is commonly used as food coloring in many Asian countries.]]
9	* AmericansHateTingle: If the now-disabled comments on [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joezO-5LIRk this video]] were anything to go by, some Russian viewers are not exactly fans of how the show satirizes Russia... not because it shows them in a negative light, but because most of the jokes (aside from a few references to Putin and oligarchs) [[OnceOriginalNowCommon are just repackaged Cold War-era jokes about the Soviet Union that have little to do with the country today]]. Commentary about the modern Russian government and its relationship with the US does increase later on though.
10	* AngstWhatAngst: Yakko, Wakko, and Dot aren't shown being angry or sad that the recurring characters of the original series (long time coworkers) aren't in the reboot.
11	* {{Anvilicious}}:
12	** The show itself lampshaded how "bun control" was a heavy handed and thinly veiled jab allegory for gun control.
13	** "Pinko and the Brain" emphasizes that you must always stand up to InsaneTrollLogic persecution with a really heavy-handed Red Scare analogies. Notably, it's one of the few episodes where even Pinky is super-uncomfortable with Brain starting an anti-mouse campaign while posing as a US senator, and telling him it's a bad idea. We see images of children being arrested, and Congress shaking in fear about being accused. Brie ends up being the OnlySaneWoman who stands up to Brain and turns his own logic against him by saying that accusing her of being a mouse due to her being named after cheese is stupid because cheese is an American staple, so Brain must not be patriotic. Even Brain seems to admit that he went too far when they're busted and fleeing, telling Pinky it wasn't his fault for cracking under pressure.
14	** The show ''really'' pounds it into your head how much the writers don't like Trump in "Rome Sweet Rome".
15	** "Global Warnering" about climate change, lampshaded with the "Preachy Ending Warning".
16	* AudienceAlienatingEnding: When the final episode first dropped in February 2023, many people saw the EverybodyDiesEnding where the Warners lament that their contract hasn't been renewed while a FlamingMeteor is about to kill all of mankind as an incredibly cruel form of TorchTheFranchiseAndRun that greatly took away from the show's sense of satirical escapism. Even after WordOfGod confirmed that the Warners survived the meteor, most of the discussion surrounding the show after it wrapped up consisted of nothing but discussing how much of a mean-spirited DownerEnding it has.
17	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Well duh, it's ''Animaniacs''; it's ''all'' catchy. However, they also do some new stuff:
18	** The Episode 7 segment "Gift Rapper" has Yakko engaging in a rap battle with a rapper named "[=JayPac=]", first doing a verse in a Shakespearean style a la the ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'' episode "Rap it Up" that tears apart the bravado of rap, then doing a second, more straight verse full of callbacks to jokes and catchphrases from the original show. [=JayPac=] himself, despite being a parody, ain't too bad either.
19	** Creator/StevenSpielberg [[https://variety.com/2020/artisans/production/hulu-animaniacs-score-1234818054/ insisted]] that the revival use a full orchestra like the original series, and hired back two of the original composers, Steve and Julie Bernstein, to write the music and lead the orchestra. Needless to say, even fans who say "TheyChangedItNowItSucks" about every other aspect of the reboot have no complaints about the musical scores.
20	** The musical number from "Warner's Ark" is a big band ditty about finding where an egg came from (it ends up being [[spoiler:Chicken Boo]]) sung by the Warners and a slew of mythological creatures including Benedict from "How to Brain Your Dragon". It's bouncy, fun, energetic, and makes you feel like dancing.
21	** "Rome, Sweet Rome" features a MajorGeneralSong that’s just as catchy and fun as the one from the original series.
22	** "Rug of War!"'s musical number about William the Conqueror is just plain good in general.
23	** "Yakko's Big Idea" is a bombastic, up-tempo showtune, and has been universally praised for its visuals and Creator/RobPaulsen's vocal performance.
24	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
25	** Near the end of "Gift Rapper", a cheering fan explodes for no reason. Everyone appears surprised... then they turn away like nothing happened.
26	** The "[[ArtShift Animeniacs]]" turn out to be this [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext in context]]. Rather than a sketch parodying anime in general as assumed, they appear in a 90-second segment in the middle of an otherwise normal allegory about gun control, and are forgotten just as quickly as the main conflict gets back on track.
27	* BrokenBase:
28	** The new segments. You either love or hate the absurdity of the Incredible Gnome in People's Mouths, and Starbox & Cindy is either seen as a boring rehash of [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain an already-done concept]], or said concept done right. In other words, they're either [[ReplacementScrappy Replacement Scrappies]] for Slappy Squirrel and the Goodfeathers or [[MorePopularReplacement More Popular Replacements]] for the Hip Hippos and Katie [=KaBoom=].
29	** As for the absence of the older characters, Hello Nurse seems to stand out a lot: is getting rid of her for good because of her looks or should she have returned with her stereotype-breaking CharacterDevelopment from the original show's later seasons and ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish'' as a strong, intelligent, independent woman? Tom Ruegger has sided with the latter group, saying that if he were to be brought back, he would've had Hello Nurse replace Thaddeus Plotz as the CEO of Warner Bros. rather than create Nora Rita Norita.
30	** Over time, the show itself has become divisive. One camp considers it an excellent reboot that still has the charm of the original, a second one considers it to be SoOkayItsAverage, as it does have good things but it's nothing to write home about, while a third camp dislikes it for its more cynical tone, the way the Warners are written, the lack of slapstick and ''especially'' the absence of the other characters like Slappy Squirrel. What all three camps agree with is that the reboot doesn't hold a candle to the original, while the Pinky and The Brain segments are generally well-liked.
31	%%** Let's just say the show's portrayal of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump and his allies is rather divisive.
32	* CatharsisFactor:
33	** [[spoiler:Chicken Boo]] tried to self-destruct the franchise by killing anyone who could return to the reboot. [[spoiler:The Warners are sympathetic about his reasons why -- he was contractually banned from returning-- but they also are horrified that he killed innocent Toons, and mounted ''[[WouldHurtAChild Mindy and Skippy]]'' on his trophy wall. They try chasing him, but Yakko stops his siblings and smirks. He says Chicken Boo will get his comeuppance. Sure enough, when Chicken Boo tries to walk away, he hears angry footsteps and growling. Behind him, all of the formerly-dead and silly Toons -- including a MamaBear Slappy Squirrel, HairTriggerTemper Katie Ka-Boom, who is Chicken Boo's ex to boot, and the Goodfeathers with [[BewareTheNiceOnes Squit]] leading them in a DeathGlare-- promise to bring on pain. Chicken Boo goes OhCrap and runs off as they all chase him. Buttons is one of the only ones that don't because he's protecting Mindy, but they look tempted to follow]].
34	** Sometimes, Brain invites LaserGuidedKarma into his shorts when he goes too far. Pinky even notes it occasionally.
35	*** In "Pinko and the Brain", Brie utterly humiliates him and Pinky during a Congressional hearing against her. When Brain says that her being named for a cheese proves that she must be a mouse, Brie smirks. She says that cheese is an American staple and downright patriotic. Then she browbeats Pinky into confessing the truth. Brain can only tell Pinky it wasn't his fault that he cracked, as they're fleeing for their lives.
36	*** In "Mousechurian Candidate", Brain has genetically altered his "wife" Julia and sees her as a mere pawn for becoming a senator and later a governor. When Julia flips the script and tells him he could be a nicer mouse, Brain responds by trying to brainwash her with a faulty MindControlDevice, which turns her into a feral monster and costs them both the election. The catharsis is that Julia somehow regains her sapience and is monitoring Brain, ostensibly for revenge; in addition, Pinky is putting salt into Brain's coffee, which is a natural emetic that makes the drinker throw up. You can't blame Julia for looking smug and going for PassThePopcorn. Indeed, Julia's next two appearances have her going after Brain.
37	* CrossesTheLineTwice: "Catch Up" features Russian robots hacking the 2016 US election. The robots later do a can-can dance as part of the big finale. It's so ridiculous that you can't help but laugh.
38	* CrossoverShip: It has become popular among some fans, particularly on Tumblr, to ship Yakko with [[WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie Max Goof]].
39	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
40	** The Warner Siblings' {{Animesque}} designs from Episode 4 gained instant approval from the fanbase due to how amazing they looked. Probably helped that Yakko's design reminded everyone of [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina]].
41	** In regards to characters, Nora Rita Norita, the new CEO of Warner Bros. Studios, has become pretty popular due to being a [[OfficeLady sexy businesswoman]], while still [[NotSoAboveItAll carrying a sense of humor under her stuffy exterior]].
42	** Julia has been likened to Snowball, but with the potential to be ALighterShadeOfGrey to the Brain instead of an EvilCounterpart, and many have expressed interest in seeing her return as an antagonist and rival to Brain in the same manner as Snowball. [[spoiler:She does so in Seasons 2 and 3.]]
43	** Benedict the Dragon from the Pinky and the Brain segment "How to Brain Your Dragon" has also managed to gain a noticeable following (which isn't too surprising when you think about it), to the point that many are just as interested in seeing him reappear in potential future episodes as Julia. [[spoiler:Like Julia, he indeed returns in Season 2, albeit in a cameo.]]
44	** The Animator from "Yakko Amakko" has a pretty sizable following thanks to her reenacting one of the [[WesternAnimation/DuckAmuck most beloved]] ''Looney Tunes'' shorts, being a rare example of Creator/NancyCartwright voicing a new (and [[CrossDressingVoices female]], for once) character, her OddFriendship with Yakko that amounts to {{troll}}ing the entire Warner Studio, and of course, [[HartmanHips her design]].
45	* {{Fanon}}:
46	** Some on Twitter have also headcanoned that Nora Rita Norita is married to Hello Nurse from [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} the original series]]. Cora’s [[DisappearedDad lack of a father]] and the fact that Hello Nurse was never shown to be in a relationship in the original series add to this.
47	** Did Mr. Plotz pass away, or did he retire? Despite "Wakkiver Twist" showing his return, it is a non-canon parody.
48	** Another big one is Pinky & the Brain being a gay couple, considering how much HoYay they have in the series.
49	* FriendlyFandoms:
50	** The reboot's fandom has found some common ground with ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'''s own base ever since Twitter artist Alayna Gray made an [[https://twitter.com/alaynakgray/status/1334195633436184579 adorable artwork]] depicting Wakko and Crash together, due to sharing the same voice actor Creator/JessHarnell. The fandoms also take advantage of their respective series' successful [[SoftReboot Soft Reboots]] in 2020, along with their ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'' inspirations.
51	** Fans of ''Franchise/SamAndMax'' have started to overlap with fans of the show. It helps that the franchises have very similar [[BreakingTheFourthWall styles of humor]], in addition to the remastered version of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxSaveTheWorld'' coming out around the same time that the Animaniacs reboot did.
52	** With the Creator/{{Netflix}} original series, ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'', thanks to the show tying with the Netflix animated series for the Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Editing in a Children's TV Series". Why? Both shows featuring a PowerTrio? Check! Going on zany and wild adventures and never letting anything get in their way? Double check! Looks like Yakko, Wakko, and Dot have found some new friends to bring with on their adventures. Fans of ''Hilda'' also flocked over to the 2020 reboot for a breather show after witnessing ''Hilda'' 's sudden Season 2 cliffhanger. In addition, a second season of ''Animaniacs'' has dropped in 2021 while ''WesternAnimation/HildaAndTheMountainKing'' premiered on December 30th, 2021. By then, ''Animaniacs'' Season 2 is already streaming so that fans can have one heck of a breather after watching one heck of a wham-movie.
53	*** It is also HilariousInHindsight when the second season of both shows ended on a surprise cliffhanger.
54	** With the upcoming Creator/AdultSwim series, ''WesternAnimation/{{Pibby}}''. After the trailer for the series dropped with massive critical acclaim, fans began creating Pibby-themed edits of the monstrous [[EldritchAbomination glitchy blob]] invading the Warners' world, infecting the Warners and other characters. Fans have also created fan-art of the Warners taking part in the battle with Pibby, herself, to stop the glitch from taking over.
55	* GeniusBonus:
56	** Odysseus in ''Animaniacs'' gives into hubris and splashes water all over the Warner gods just because they're "nerds", leading to them tormenting him. The actual mythological Odysseus wasn't able to return home for twenty years after the war for similar reasons, that his hubris was too strong and he angered the gods.
57	** Wakko hits upon the idea to ask Australia for help dealing with "bun violence". In addition to enacting strong gun control laws (since the short is an allegory toward guns and gun violence), Australia had to deal with an ecological disaster caused by rabbits and their uncontrolled breeding.
58	** B.R.A.I.N. tells a joke about French philosopher René Descartes saying "I think not" and disappearing. He's best known for the phrase "I think, therefore I am."
59	** The recurring ButtMonkey Egwind being a third mouse to Pinky & the Brain and [[TheyKilledKennyAgain getting killed in every appearance]] is a joke about how back in the original '90s show, [[ExecutiveMeddling the WB executives demanded]] that a new character should join Pinky & the Brain (which eventually resulted in the episode "Pinky and the Brain...and Larry" and the non-canon ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'').
60	** In "Bride of Pinky", Dr. Brainenstein says that his castle was built by masons expert in the most advanced techniques of "wall-stone craft". This is a reference to Literature/{{Frankenstein}} author Mary Wollstonecraft's maiden name, before she married Percy Shelley.
61	* GrowingTheBeard:
62	** Within the first season itself. Some critics feel that the first few episodes are lackluster and somewhat too caustic, but the humor improves and the cynicism decreases in later episodes. The exact turning point is "Good Warner Hunting", which is all about lampshading why the Warners and Pinky and the Brain are the only ones carrying the reboot and they learn [[spoiler:Chicken Boo was attempting to murder all the Toons to kill the show out of revenge]].
63	** The second season is seen as being better than the first, even Rob Paulsen said before the show released the first season is "hit or miss" while the second is better. The Pinky & the Brain segments in particular are more experimental and feel like episodes of [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain the spin-off]], there are more musical numbers, characters like Nora and Dr. Scratchansniff get more screen time, and the format of the show is more like the original. There are also way less political jokes (with some exceptions like "Rome Sweet Rome") and meta jokes about being a reboot than the first season.
64	** The third season is probably considered to be the best one, as many fans felt it now actually felt more like what Animaniacs should be, with many entertaining plot lines, the characters acting like themselves again, and not to mention the numerous references and cameos of the other characters, especially the return of [[EnsembleDarkHorse Slappy Squirrel]] in the final episode.
65	* HarsherInHindsight:
66	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSGbLxbiODo This parody short released five years before the Reboot]] pretty much predicted The Brain's origin story.
67	** The song about television show reboots mentions [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 the 2017 reboot]] of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' (at the time of the show's writing, a year old), when only a few days after the premiere of this show, it was announced that the 2017 ''[=DuckTales=]'' would be ending after three seasons. Later on, this show would suffer the same fate.
68	** Steven Spielberg tells Dr. Grant and Sattler that he is bringing back ''Pinky and the Brain'' as well as the Warners. Dr. Grant needs to sit down and calm himself from an anxiety attack in excitement. [[spoiler:A few episodes later, the show reveals that the Warners and mice were the ''only'' major characters brought back to headline shorts; Dot comments that they seem to be carrying the weight of the reboot and realizes the [[OhCrap Hollywood lot is empty]]. Cue Dr. Walter Grubb revealing he hunted down and stuffed all the Toons out of revenge for not being included; he was Chicken Boo in disguise. Fortunately, the ending of "Good Warner Hunting" hints that the rest of the cast may return; you can see Minerva, Buttons and Mindy, Katie Kaboom, and Rita and Runt among the mob glaring at Chicken Boo]].
69	** A ''lightning round'' of it caused by ProductionLeadTime. The first episode has a gag that seems to have been intended to reference the [[YouTubeKidsChannel Johnny Johnny Yes Papa]] videos, with a poster showing Creator/JohnnyDepp starring in a film called "Johnny 2: Telling Lies"[[note]]Relevant lyrics from the Johnny Johnny Yes Papa videos: "Johnny Johnny / Yes Papa? / Eating sugar? / No Papa! / Telling lies?"[[/note]]. This apparently being intended as a meme reference is underscored by immediately following the "Telling Lies" poster with one for "Johnny: The Beginning" that features what appears to be a baby in the style of Johnny Johnny Yes Papa eating sugar. Unfortunately, while the meme reference was relevant in 2018 when the episode was written, plenty of people didn't catch it in 2020, instead believing the "Telling Lies" title was accusing Depp of lying about being a victim of domestic abuse, leading to cries of poor taste.
70	** Wakko's Russian bootleg counterpart from "Anima-Nyet" describing Ukraine (among other nations) as part of Russia and thinking about starting World War III became this when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.]]
71	** Season 2 ends with [[spoiler: Ralph the Security Guard becoming the Chairman of the Board over Warner Brothers.]] His ideas promptly shake up the company causing their profits to tank while [[spoiler: Ralph]] chases after his poor ideas. Only a year later in real life Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery was founded, and new CEO David Zaslav would tank the company's valuation in a desperate attempt to reduce debt via rapidly cancelling and vaulting various film and TV projects.
72	** The series was cancelled while Season 3 was late in the production cycle, causing the show to go for the rushed RocksFallEveryoneDies ending scene. This is even harsher though in the many episodes leading up to the finale having characters joking about "appearing in Season 4" making it seem like the series had been attempting to negotiate for a fourth season before getting the final cancelation notice, and had left in the jokes about a Season 4 just as ominous foreshadowing for the finale.
73	** Related to this, both ''Starbox And Cindy'' and ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' end with effective cliffhangers, with the latter having [[EnsembleDarkhorse Julia]] return as a flat out DistaffCounterpart to Brain, since, similar to ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'', the production team were still laying groundwork for what they assumed was a guaranteed Season 4.
74	** The even more painful thing? The ''"...see our new contracts"'' line has a FreezeFrameBonus TakeThat to the early cancellation, when it ''instead of 3 New Seasons'' it has 2 and 10/13, implying that the season ''itself'' was CutShort!
75	* HilariousInHindsight:
76	** "The Catch-Up Song" does this a lot since, as they plainly admit, the song was written in 2018, thus they have no idea what would happen in 2019 or 2020. Oddly, they ''do'' get it right with the worsening natural disasters (which admittedly was not that hard to predict, though reality did not feature volcano eruptions when the first season was released.[[note]]Though Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano experienced a notable eruption the following month.[[/note]]) And, in a moment of reality catching up with a wild - and at the time of writing probably completely ridiculous and impossible-sounding - [[RefugeInAudacity conjecture for the sake of comedy]], they predicted that we would have to wear masks and live in bunkers in 2020 (though in the song, it's because we're being hunted by vengeful polar bears), as well as the part about everyone not leaving their house because they can get everything they need to be delivered.
77	*** Depending on how bad the pandemic death toll situation is and how harsh the lockdown restrictions are in your country/area at the time when you watch the show, this song can come down on the side of FridgeBrilliance or of HarsherInHindsight or be ''both'' in equal measure...
78	*** Plus, Yakko is sent onto this tangent in the first place by saying they don't know if Donald Trump would still be the President, with the season set to be released shortly after the 2020 election. As it turned out, Trump was defeated in that election, but at the time of release was refusing to concede and trying to get the result overturned, insisting it was rigged. (And, regardless of the outcome, Trump's term had not ended at release time anyway. Though this could be a reference to the possibility that Trump would be removed from office by impeachment, and he was indeed impeached in November 2019 — and again in January 2021 — but was not removed from office as a result.)
79	** Similarly, "Suffragette City" which features a cameo from [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Buster and Babs Bunny]] would have been made at least a year before 2020. As right before the ''Animaniacs'' revival premiered a reboot of ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' was announced, it ends up making the two's cameo quite prophetic.
80	** The disparaging cameo from the ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'' gang in the same episode is also pretty funny considering the audience went wild over the Warners' own {{Animesque}} superpowered reimaginings. Rubs salt in the wound, eh, Ace?
81	** The Warners confronting foreign copycats of themselves and singing a song about how being original is better than copying others becomes absolutely side-splitting when you realize ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' ''did the exact same thing first'' with their episode "The Copycats". Even with the ProductionLeadTime, "The Copycats" came out in 2017, a full year before the ''Animaniacs'' episode would have been written.
82	** In "Warners Unbound", Odysseus is sent to Hades and treats it like a ''Series/NinjaWarrior'' course, causing the Warners to say "Is he trying to win at Hades?" Due to the delay between writing and release of the episode, a game called ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' was actually released about a month before the episode, and players had complained it's NintendoHard. You ''can'' win at Hades, but only with a lot of hard work.
83	** Creator/IkueOtani, the voice of [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]], voiced Dot in the short-lived Japanese dub of the original series. Here, one of the ''Pokémon'' anime dub voice actors, Creator/ZenoRobinson, voiced [=JayPac=] in "Gift Rapper". It's a case of reverse franchise dubbing.
84	** TheReasonYouSuckSpeech on comparing Putin's hairline to global influence in "The Pinktator" became this as Ukraine Invasion in 2022 accelerated the decline of Russia's reputation and influence (both from atrocities and the abysmal failure in its first month that led to its bloody stalemate).
85	** The episode ''[=WARnerGAMES=]'' has Wakko playing a game very similar to VideoGame/SuperSmashBros, showing off a pair of sisters who are obvious [[{{Expy}} expies]] of [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosMarioBrothers Mario and Luigi]] (with the color scheme of a [[Characters/WarioAndWaluigi different]] pair of siblings). The Donkey Kong [[{{Expy}} expy]] has the name Jackass Monkey. What makes it this trope is that back in the 80s there was a bootleg of the original Donkey Kong arcade game called... "Monkey Donkey".
86	* HoYay:
87	** Brain attempts to first hug and then kiss a heartbroken Pinky's tears away in "Bride of Pinky" after the latter is left at the altar, but he loses his nerve before he can go through with either. When Pinky notices, he brightens up immediately and goes in for a hug, only for Brain to flinch and tell him, "Don't."
88	** In "[=WhoDonut=]", Yakko and Dot go on a double date with two bats, one male and one female. Yakko is positioned across from the male bat, while Dot is positioned across from the female one.
89	** Honestly, you could give Pinky and Brain an entire ''page'' as of Season 2.
90	** The title card for "The Flawed Couple" features wedding-topper versions of Pinky and Brain, with Brain dressed as the husband and Pinky as the wife.
91	** Following the above, the first two failed pilots for ''Pinky and the Brain'' explicitly cast them as wife and husband, respectively.
92	** "Mouse Congeniality" has Pinky dress in drag to enter a beauty pageant as part of one of Brain's schemes. To quote him, "With your love and support, I'm sure I can do it!" Brain quickly rebukes this, but let's be honest, the damage was done for the shippers.
93	** When Brain makes a sarcastic remark at the beginning of "Happy Narfday", Pinky reminds him to "Save the jokes for eight, will you darling?"
94	** At the end of "Happy Narfday", Brain tucks Pinky into bed, complete with a tender hug. According to one of the crew members, however, [[https://geezerflakes.tumblr.com/post/667327461650055168 this was originally a goodnight KISS.]]
95	** In "Plight of Hand", after the helicopter crash, Brain finds Pinky lying on the ground, appearing to be dead. He starts to cry, then audibly ''kisses his hand'' and caresses Pinky's cheek with it.
96	** During "Reichenbrain Falls", Pinky calls Brain "babe" while telling him not to interrupt. [[spoiler:It wasn't the real Pinky, just Julia in disguise, but it must be pointed out that being called "babe" didn't raise Brain's suspicions, implying that's normal for Pinky. Julia also no longer harbors such feelings for Brain, so presumably she ''also'' did it as part of the Pinky act.]]
97	** "Narf Over Troubled Water" has Pinky and Brain run away to UsefulNotes/{{Paris}} together after they reunite. A tablecloth even rips in such a way that it looks like Brain is wearing a wedding veil. The kicker? The entire scene is a re-enactment of the ending of ''Film/TheGraduate''. And yes, it's complete with the classic [[TheGraduateHomageShot homage shot.]]
98	** Wakko is willing to seduce Beastwipe to escape from TheGameComeToLife in "Warner Games".
99	** "International Mouse of Mystery" has Pinky dressed as Brain's [[Film/JamesBond Bond]] girl and attempting to kiss him.
100	* JerkassWoobie: Julia. She's trying to kill Brain, but only because his attempt to manipulate her with a faulty MindControlDevice drove her crazy. Even Brain eventually admits that he mistreated Julia.
101	* LGBTFanbase: The reboot has specifically gained a fandom of young LGBTQ+ people. The theme song references gender-neutral pronouns (albeit in a ''highly'' tongue-in-cheek fashion), the "Reboot It" song mentions famous LGBTQ+ shows like ''Series/WillAndGrace'' and ''Series/QueerEye'', and Pinky and the Brain have more HoYay than ever.
102	* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt:
103	** "Good Warner Hunting" [[spoiler:has us believe the hunter has hunted and killed almost every supporting character from the original series, only to be revealed at the end of the segment that they're all alive and well. It's also a collective HesBack and ShesBack moment; Slappy Squirrel, the Goodfeathers (yes, Squit too), and Katie Kaboom are all ready to kick some butt.]]
104	** In "Bun Control", they solve the overabundance of buns on the Warner lot by calling Australia, who drop in a bunch of dingoes. Initially, it looks like the dingoes are going to eat all the buns, but really, they're just doing a buyback program for all the buns.
105	* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/{{Animaniacs}} Has its own page alongside the original series.]]
106	* {{Moe}}: Isn't Cindy just the cutest? The fact that her lines are actually recorded by a little girl helps.
107	** Wakko and Pinky are just as adorable as they were in the original series.
108	** Say what you want about Chicken Boo, but you have to admit his baby form in "Warner's Ark" is pretty damn cute.
109	* MoralEventHorizon:
110	** Dwayne [=LaPistol=], the villain in "Bun Control", crosses it by trying to [[ItMakesSenseInContext drown the Warners in buns]] when they rightly point out that these are too many bunnies for one Hollywood lot.
111	** Dr. Walter Grubb [[spoiler:aka Chicken Boo (!!!)]] crosses it when it's revealed [[spoiler:he stuffed and mounted every Animaniacs character, including ''children'' like Skippy and Mindy, along with countless other innocent toons if you look closely, because he was expressly forbidden in the reboot contract to return. He almost says that if he couldn't appear, then no one could, even if it meant he killed the franchise. If anything he ought to have taken revenge on the studio executives rather than the relatively innocent Toons. Heck, even the Warners are disgusted if sympathetic when they realize it. Alleviated a bit when it's revealed none of the supposedly killed characters are actually dead, but the context is still pretty scary]].
112	** B.R.A.I.N., Brain's robotic "son" in "Ex Mousina", crosses it by trying to murder his "father" and Pinky when the former verbally opposes him taking over the world.
113	* MorePopularReplacement: Some have stated that the new segment Starbox and Cindy is better than the more mean-spirited Buttons and Mindy shorts from the original.
114	** A Website/YouTube comment had this to say:
115	---> '''Commenter:''' I'll take this over [[TheScrappy Katie Kaboom!]]
116	** Starbox and Cindy has also been commonly compared to ''WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain'', largely by saying it took that show's premise but did it right.
117	* OlderThanTheyThink:
118	** The song "A Zit!" features Creator/KevinMichaelRichardson as a talking zit. It may seem original, but he voiced a talking zit once before in a season 4 episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. Coincidentally, the showrunner Wellesley Wild was a writer on ''Family Guy''.
119	** "Starbox and Cindy" isn't just a retool of the general concept behind ''Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain'' -- Elmyra actually kept an alien prisoner as one of her pets on that show!
120	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: Openly referenced in the theme song: "The trolls will say we're so passé, but we did meta first." There were indeed quite a few complaints about the show being too political, when the original version did just as much if not more, and it's just that the fans are old enough to understand it now. In fairness, the airings of the original show ''did'' allow the topical jokes to be spread apart and weren't that frequent. Since this is streaming and seasons are fully uploaded right from the off, it's more than likely just fatigue watching back-to-back episodes and not giving enough time for the jokes to settle.
121	* PopularWithFurries:
122	** Benedict the Dragon from the ''Pinky and the Brain'' segment "How to Brain Your Dragon" has already gotten this reaction from scalies.
123	** Another character from the ''Pinky and the Brain'' segments, Julia, has received as much of a following among standard furries for her [[MsFanservice design]], humble personality (at first), and her character arc of MoralityPet-turned-FemmeFatale.
124	** The {{Animesque}} Dot from "Bun Control" got this big-time. The reason's [[Rule34 pretty obvious]].
125	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: [[spoiler:Chicken Boo]] was always a divisive character, mainly due to the stock formula of the shorts and him being one-dimensional. So how do you help him make one hurrah in the season? [[spoiler:Have him up his disguise game, complete with speaking as a human, and being the BigBad who poses a legitimate threat to the Warners; he's even completely able to lie that he has a loving wife, fooling Dot with the wedding ring. Chicken Boo also has a poignant moment when crying as the Warners read aloud that he was the least popular character, even below Katie Kaboom and the Hip Hippos. When pointing out he wanted to be a part of the reboot because it's not his fault the animators made him so shallow, he's completely right]].
126	* TheScrappy: Many people weren't exactly endeared by Cora, Nora Rita Norita's teenaged daughter, mainly for being a [[BrattyTeenageDaughter very obnoxious spoiled brat]] in her debut episode "My Super Sour Sixteen" who ordered everyone around, including her own mother, [[PushoverParents who did everything she wanted]], with many people feeling that she made similar characters like WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} and [[WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} D.W. Read]], ''who are children'' mind you, look better behaved by comparison. The moment in where she tells Dot that she was disappointed that her crush wasn't coming to the party did a very poor job at making her sympathetic.
127	* ShallowParody: [[https://www.theverge.com/21719188/animaniacs-reboot-review-hulu-bojack-horseman In his review of the show,]] ''The Verge''[='=]s Joshua Rivera criticized Episode 1's TakeThat towards ''Series/LateNight with Creator/SethMeyers'' as not being based on reality, pointing out Meyers' preference to give attention to unusual topics and provide more incisive political commentary clashes with how he was portrayed in "Of Mice and Memes". Rivera stated that a "more frivolous [late-night talk show] host" like Creator/JimmyFallon would have made better sense, although it wouldn't have the parody "much funnier".
128	* SpecialEffectFailure: The part where Yakko interrupts the intro in "[=WhoDonut=]" would be seamless if not for the fact that if you look very closely, you'll see the outlines of the Warners becoming ''slightly'' thicker when he does so, due to the differing animation studios (the intro was animated by Snipple, while the sketch itself was animated by Titmouse).
129	* {{Squick}}:
130	** The {{Trumplica}} cyclops rubbing Odysseus on his body like a loofah. The [[GrossUpCloseUp Gross Up Close Ups]] on his body are pretty vomit-worthy.
131	** The woman on the train kissing her dog... on the lips.
132	** The end of "The Cutening" sees the cute-ified Warners try to turn the world back to normal by "doing something gross"... which involves licking a pigeon that has pus in its eyes and violently vomiting on everything to turn the world back to normal. It's a pretty jarring case of gross-out humor.
133	** The GrossUpCloseUp of Queen Antoinette's fingers with a spider going inside.
134	** A closeup of Wakko's tail regenerating in nauseating detail after it gets torn off by Nils in "Hindenburg Cola".
135	* StrawmanHasAPoint: Well, [[spoiler:straw Chicken]] and it does ''not'' justify his actions, but he has a point (and it is a little sad) when saying [[spoiler:there were other divisive characters in ''Animaniacs'' allowed to return -- The Hippos, Katie Kaboom, Mindy, Buttons-- and he was forbidden by contract to even appear. Plus, at least Chicken Boo upped his disguise game and added variety to his formula]].
136	* SuspiciouslySimilarSong:
137	** Pinky's apology song in "How To: Friendship" sounds identical to "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc.
138	** Pinky and Abigail's song in "Royal Flush" for [[{{WesternAnimation/Aladdin}} "A Whole New World"]].
139	** "Here Comes the Sea" for [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 "Under the Sea"]].
140	* TakeThatScrappy:
141	** ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'' gets the exact unflattering treatment an average ''Looney Tunes'' fan would give it in "Suffragette City".
142	** The rapper in "Gift Rapper" describes Wakko as "less likable than [[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures Elm]][[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain yra]]" as a way to insult him.
143	** Pepé Le Pew being erased on "Yakko Amacko" can be seen as this, depending of your opinion on the character.
144	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
145	** The loss of many characters has upset most fans. However, the biggest loss was that of Slappy and Skippy, whose shorts were widely considered among the most popular behind the Warners and Pinky & the Brain in the original series. Many were crestfallen to hear they would not return. [[spoiler:Granted, they ''do'' show up in "Good Warner Hunting" but only as a one-off gag.]]
146	*** [[spoiler:Slappy gets more significant screen time in the final season with a quick cameo in a cutaway gag, and then finally a full short segment in the ''very last'' episode with original voice-actress Sherri Stoner reprising the role. To spoof her own lack of regular appearances in the show, the skit revolves around Slappy's retirement in Pensacola being disturbed by a GroupieBrigade demanding to see her; which she very much in character mocks.]]
147	*** To a lesser extent, the removal of Hello Nurse, both the character and the gag. Most audiences didn't have a problem with it, [[CrossingTheLineTwice or at least found it offensive in an enjoyable kind of way]]. Not helping is the DoubleStandard that Dot is still able to act like this towards men.
148	** As a result of the above, this means that the Warners and Pinky & the Brain have to carry a majority of the show (which the Warners themselves bring up in "Good Warner Hunting"). While they haven't changed much in terms of humor (other than updating with the times and being a bit meaner), some criticisms they've received are that it does get a little weary having the same five main characters over and over again in what was once a variety show that had a multitude of different characters. There are a few new segments with new characters, but they're too short to get a good grasp on them. Furthermore, this iteration is a lot more formulaic than its original outing even when ignoring this, as most episodes follow a ThreeShorts format with a Warners skit, a Pinky & the Brain skit, and one last shorter skit with only a few deviations, which is the exact opposite of the "you never know what you'll get" approach the original show took.
149	** The opening theme has been cited to be a little underwhelming. While the theme song itself is still fine [[note]]though a majority did think the "Dot has wit" from "Dot is cute" change was unnecessary since it wasn't even offensive, and she has more than proven she's just as smart as her brothers in the original. Likewise, while the new lyrics were added in nicely and even throw in a joke about the current atmosphere of the media, many do miss the roll call lines of the other characters[[/note]], the visuals just make it feel... off without the other characters and lessen the over-the-top nature of the song. Even newcomers to the show have cited that the original opening theme felt more epic than the new one.
150	** Also a slight gripe from some fans, but no sign-off CouchGag like in the original show either.
151	** Some criticism on ''Pinky & the Brain'' is how much harsher Brain is in regards to his plans and Pinky. In the original, he was calmer and more tactical but still had morals, and his treatment of Pinky leaned more towards annoyance and (in)tolerance. Despite that, Brain did show on several occasions he cared for Pinky's welfare. Here, Brain is more openly hostile to Pinky and seems to insult and abuse him more readily, Brain has a much colder demeanor, and he likewise mentions things like using child labor to make bombs or throwing his fellow mice under the bus in pursuit of world domination. Not to mention the fact he straight up tortures Julia the moment she doesn't want to go along with his plans and is completely apathetic to her suffering, at least at first.
152	** While the original series had gross out humor (including entire musical scores of burps), some fans considered the much more frequent use of {{Gross Up Close Up}} in the new series to be unnecessary and very off-putting.
153	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
154	** Nora Rita Norita. Compared to her predecessor, Thaddeus Plotz, Nora had significantly less screen time in the first season and wasn't involved in many stories, and only appeared in one scene in each of the shorts that she was in. Thankfully the second season gives her more screen time and development, and even shows off her extended family.
155	** In Dot's song about the First Ladies, she runs out of time and only namedrops most of them. Contrast this with the original's song about the US Presidents, which managed to have short descriptions for ''every single president'' up to that point (UsefulNotes/BillClinton). At least this is [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as she hadn't practiced singing about ''every'' First Lady in ''two minutes'', and it would've been difficult anyway.
156	** While Slappy's appearance in the final season was well-received by the fanbase, many still wish that both she and Skippy had more screentime and appearances throughout the reboot. Gabe Swarr revealed that if a fourth season had been greenlit, they, along with the other characters, could've made more appearance, which is sadly not happening because of the reboot's cancellation.
157	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
158	** Episode 5's "Pinky and the Brain" segment could have been used to explain why the titular lab mice [[spoiler:weren't hunted down and mounted by Walter Grubb/Chicken Boo in the previous segment "Good Warner Hunting" even if they just make it a throw-away line]]. Instead, the issue is never brought up.
159	** The anime bit in "Bun Control" could have been expanded to an episode of its own rather than a throwaway gag.
160	* ToughActToFollow: This is a reboot to one of the most legendary and highly regarded cartoon shows of its generation. Saying this reaction was inevitable is understating it ''immensely''.
161	* UnexpectedCharacter:
162	** Sure, it was only for a very brief TakeThat gag, but who would've expected the characters from ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed'' to appear in fully animated form in "Suffragette City"?
163	** Speaking of "Suffragette City" the segment contains many cameos from ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' and Creator/HannaBarbera Cartoons, this is the first time they have been seen together ever! Coincidentally Yogi Bear and Boo Boo exist in this show despite the fact that the show had expies named Calhoun Q. Capybara and Lew Lew (though granted, as that was before Warner Bros. acquired Hanna-Barbera).
164	** Not too many people expected to see Pharfignewton the horse, Charlton "Baynarts" Woodchuck (even moreso as [[spoiler:the episode previously implied he had been killed and skinned]]), and Miles Standish of all people return in the final few shots of “Good Warner Hunting”.
165	** Larry from the episode "Pinky and the Brain...and Larry" making a cameo in "The Flawed Couple" was certainly a surprise. He's also only the second direct reference in the show to the events of the non-Animaniacs ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' spinoff and the first (an appearance of the almost-a-word "[[VerbalTic TROZ]]") occurred in the same episode.
166	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Fidget spinners get referenced in a Pinky and the Brain short, immediately putting the viewer right back to the time it was written. While they do joke about the fact it was indeed a fad, people weren't removed far enough from their demise to feel nostalgia for them yet and as a result it comes across as this.
167	* UnintentionallySympathetic: UsefulNotes/MarieAntoinette, the queen of France, and the first female historical figure to get slapstick treatment on the show. She's portrayed as a SpoiledBrat WomanChild, but as in real life, Marie is ObliviouslyEvil. She doesn't know any better about the people being poor, and cannot understand it due to her upbringing. The Warners pose as servants to get entrance to Versailles and eat all the cake she has; her response is to chide them for not doing their jobs and wait on her. They didn't even try their usual shtick of asking politely first and getting incentivized to fight back when they insult her. It wasn't very polite calling them "Lazy servants", but her request was completely reasonable. Also, if you know your French history, Marie wasn't the one responsible for the poverty of her people; she was merely a scapegoat due to being a foreigner [[note]] she came from Austria[[/note]] and having expensive tastes while the whole system needed an overhaul. What's more, while she may or may not have sentenced the Warners to death for stealing from her (see AlternateCharacterInterpretation above), she doesn't deserve Yakko happily announcing she'll be sentenced to prison and executed in due time as she was in history.
168	* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Most agree that the animation is very nice and fluid, and is about on par with TMS and [=StarToons=]' episodes of the original.
169	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids:
170	** Despite being based on a show intended for all ages that originally ran on kid-oriented programming blocks, the show is significantly RuderAndCruder than its original iteration and features a ''lot'' of references to pop culture and current events that you actually need to be somewhat familiar with in order to follow the plots, even if the show is rated TV-PG.
171	* TheWoobie:
172	** Yakko becomes this in "Fear and Laughter in Burbank" when his fears of being alone and people not finding him funny come to light. The poor kid just sounds so ''desperate'' as he calls out for someone to talk to and begs Nickelwise to laugh.
173	** Egwind, a fat third mouse appearing in a few of the ''Pinky and the Brain'' segments, always gets killed off before he can do anything.
174	** Tuck Buckerson, a news anchorman, gets physically and verbally assaulted by the Warners despite having done ''absolutely nothing'' to them. He's not even a jerk or anything; he just asked for their opinions on current social and political issues.
175	* {{Woolseyism}}: In the Spanish dub of "[=WhoDonut=]", the SAP gag has Wakko speak English.

Context YMMV / Animaniacs2020