2021-05-19

Watching Animaniacs can spur you on to learn

Apart from a slew of hilarious gags (many of which are indeed timeless) that appeal to young and old, the genius of Animaniacs lies in what you can learn from it – if you are curious and put in the work.

The first season of Animaniacs already features an impressive list of guest stars. These include (but are not limited to) Albert Einstein, Rasputin (no, not the song), Aristotle and Moby Dick. When I first started watching Animaniacs, I was excited about the sheer number of historical and cultural references the show featured. Of course, in keeping with their promise of being “zany to the max”, the historical figures were heavily satirized and it was almost impossible not to laugh during any given episode. But along with the yuks, Animaniacs motivated me to look-up a lot of these figures or events in history and learn more about them. For instance, thanks to this show, I learned that Einstein lived in Switzerland, where he worked as a patent clerk – apparently getting a delivery of Kid Scout cookies from the Warners and getting their indispensable help in finishing the theory of relativity in 1905.

While I am infinitely aware that television alone can and will not make anyone smart, I think a smart show can inspire people to learn and unlock more intelligence than any other medium.

Not just nostalgia
My brother gave me the first DVD volume of the classic series a few years ago and I am watching them with my kids. Although there is a little nostalgia in there, my motivation was mostly for their entertainment, and I also think they can learn from this show, too. It’s also gratifying that they not only laugh during the show, but even more so when they ask me questions about or refer to what we watched days later.

Of course, in true “Dad” fashion, I pause several times each episode to explain some pop-culture and historical references to make sure they maybe get a couple more jokes than they would otherwise.

But some of it is dated
Want to feel old? The original Animaniacs came out in 1993 – that’s almost 30 years! It has been rebooted and unfortunately is not (yet?) available in Germany. However, I did some reading about what they are now featuring and found that some running gags will not reappear. For instance, the “Hellooooo Nurse!” one. I have to admit, that one does not hold up, since it very literally trivializes borderline sexual harassment. Others like Mindy and Buttons or Rita and Runt, I feel could have made the cut. The Hip Hippos (not really healthy body images) or Minerva Mink (overly sexualized, even for the 90s, in my opinion) can very comfortably stay in the Warner Bros. archives, never to be released…