25 years ago today......

wonderfly

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Were you there 25 years ago when it premiered on Fox?

You better believe it! I was in high school back then.

1993 was just an excellent year for Fox Kids! There was continuing episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series", Eek the Cat, X-Men, and the premiere of Animaniacs! That was also the Fall season when "Power Rangers" premiered on Saturday Mornings (I wasn't a fan, though I could enjoy the more lighthearted aspects of it, and I recognize the impact it had on a generation of kids). Also that year, there was "Exosquad" on Saturday mornings on CBS, and the first Anime Film Festival (which was then called "Adventures in Japanimation") on the Sci-Fi Channel. Just an awesome year in general.

Animaniacs premiered weekday afternoons - the first episode airing on Monday, September 13th (new episodes of "Batman" starting airing that afternoon as well - it was "Shadow of the Bat" part 1 - the first Batgirl episode - that aired that day).

One of my fondest memories of this time period is the 2nd Day (2nd episode - September 14th) of Animaniacs, with Yakko singing about the nations of the world. My friends and I gathered around my TV and burst a gut laughing.



That episode was also the first episode featuring a "Pinky and the Brain" segment. I also recorded this episode on my VCR and we took the whole VCR and the tape over to another friend, who was working a part-time job at a "mom and pop" type retail store. He was closing up the shop by himself, but he let us in and we plugged the VCR into the store TV and we all sat around watched the episode again.

No, I don't have that recording anymore (either one of my friends kept it, or my parents pitched it). Just good times in general, that year...
 

Dan's Revenge

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The Warner Siblings escaped out of the water tower for the first time!


Happy 25th Anniversary Animaniacs!

Were you there 25 years ago when it premiered on Fox?

I started Kindigartin. Can't say I was there for FOX though. Don't remember exactly when I'd first seen the series. I want to say around 2000 or something when it was already in syndication to CN.
 

LinusFan303

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When I first saw the repeats on Cartoon Network is when I fell in love with the show. It's still good to this day, happy 25th!
 

TnAdct1

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Were you there 25 years ago when it premiered on Fox?
Oh yeah, I remember the day Animaniacs very well for a couple of reasons:

1. I was out from school that day (and the following day) due to a case of pinkeye.

2. After watching the first episode, The Monkey Song was stuck in my head for the rest of the day, with me definitely ready for more.
 

DeanBurrito25

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When Animaniacs premiered I was...almost four months old. So, naturally, I missed it.

I did, however, catch the ample amount of reruns on Cartoon Network when the show was still going strong. Along with that, I have distinct memories of watching a VHS recording of an episode in preschool. Kids knew about it, parents knew about it, just about everyone and their grandma knew about Animaniacs. The amount of mass appeal it has was unprecedented, and it still remains that way to this day. In an era of Barney and Rugrats, Animaniacs had a distinct sophistication in its writing that not only made it palatable for grown-ups to watch with their children, but it also got a staggering amount of layered jokes that barged its way through television censors (the existence of the "fingerprints" bit still baffles me to this day - and it took me even longer to get).

Even with all its lampooning of 1990's pop culture, the show still has a timeless quality that still makes it deeply funny and enjoyable a quarter century later - not unlike how the Looney Tunes are still beloved despite its references to 1940s/1950s culture/fashion and whatnot. That's not easy to accomplish. I have no gauge as to how this Hulu reboot is going to turn out yet (so far I still have hope), but of course there's no nullifying the existence of the initial series that got the ball rolling. The original's on my Hulu watchlist and I'm going to binge watch it from beginning to end some day just so I can relish in all the jokes and references that flew over my head. :D

So here's to you, Animaniacs! Thanks for all the laughs.
 

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