"Animaniacs: Volume One" DVD Talkback (Spoilers)

[veemonjosh]

I agree completely, it really ain't fair, i've been excited for these since i first heard of the release, and then they didnt even come out here i ordered them off ebay of course, but with them being region one, and my DVD player being region 2, i've since been told they wont work on my player, so im just praying they do now. It'll be total disappointment if they dont ... not to mention a waste of money.

I guess you could try turning your DVD player into a Region-Free one...

 

[Keeper]

No time to read or write in this thread completely, but thought I'd mention:

Vol. 2 Animaniacs DVD set, tentatively due in December, has interviews with writers as the bonus feature. I know at least that Earl Kress, Gordon Bressack, Charles M. Howell IV and Tom Minton appear in it.

Need to get yourself in there one of these times, Jon!

My brief reaction to seeing these again: "Whoa, film!" You can really tell that you're looking at photographs of physical paintings. It looks so "classic" to our 21st-century eyes. It's more "real". Tom Ruegger called it "visceral" -- and said it made his day when I commented on the film look and how we'll never see the like again. "It was a show someone drew," he said. "I love that."

 

[zorinlynx]

If you have a computer you can probably set the DVD drive in it to region 1. DVD-ROM drives typically allow you to change the region a few times.

Keep your computer on 1 and watch imports there, and use your normal DVD player to watch domestic DVDs. I know a few people over there who do this and it works great for them!

There's also software that lets you rip a DVD from a different region, and then burn yourself a copy that's region free. I've not done this myself so you will have to do the research, but it's doable.

-Z

 

[Anthonynotes]

Think some DVD player software will let you change the region code within the software itself as many times as needed/desired (since IIRC DVD drives only let you change their physical region code settings several times before it locks onto one setting permanently). Agree that a region-free player of some sort would be ideal...

Re: the DVDs: Since finances seem to be looking up unexpectedly, I'll probably be buying the A! set this weekend sometime....

 

[J. B. Warner]

UPDATE: I've seen all of Disc 2 now. "Temporary Insanity" brought back some nice memories of my old "The Warners Escape!" VHS (which also included "De-Zanitized", "Hello Nice Warners", and "Video Review"). "Piano Rag" was excellent - not just for the humor, but because it's always nice to see Hello Nurse doing something other than just looking seductive. "When Rita Met Runt" has this sort of inexplicable Don Bluth quality to it (that's "An American Tail"-era Don Bluth, mind you, not "The Pebble and the Penguin"-era Don Bluth). I made sure to show "The Big Candy Store" and "Bumbie's Mom" to my sister as an example of the brilliant work that StarToons did for this show, not to mention the great writing in the both cartoons ("Don't look down! Otherwise you could fall and hit your head and die and your brains would leak out alllll over!" and "Say one word and I'll drop dynamite down your pants" are two more lines I've gotta use more often in real life). I forget what the credits for "Wally Llama" said, but I don't think it was StarToons, even though it looked an awful lot like them. And for a half-hour episode, "King Yakko" held up admirably well.

Disc 3 features "Animaniacs Live!", so I can't wait to get to that...

 

[Cactusjack1999]

I grabbed the absolute LAST copy that Best Buy had last night and have watched most of the Discs (I still haven't checked into disc 5 yet).

I have to say I really like the way the DVD was done. I like the "whole episode" type thing they have. The only problem is that it's not broken up enough for my tastes. The opening theme shouldn't be tied directly to the first cartoon (it get's annoying after the 20th watching in a row and you just want to skip it) If it was the opening theme as it's own chapter, Mime Time, Good Idea, Bad Idea, Randy Beaman, and the ending as their own separate chapters, that would make me give the DVD an extra half star.

My only other gripe about the DVDs is the Special Features. Dont' get me wrong, I love the "Animaniacs Live!" thing and I thought it was great. But this relates more to the "Special Features" menu option appearing on EVERY SINGLE DISC. Honestly, if there aren't special features there, then don't put the "Special Features" option on that disc. It's also annoying that they all say "See other discs for more Special Features". Given that only 1 out of the 5 discs even HAS anything in the special features section this doesn't help, and even then THAT Disc has the same "See other discs..." thing as well.

It would've been better to have put something like pencil tests, animatics, cel shots, character sheets, or something to fill the "special features" area on each disc.

BTW Where the crap is Steven? I mean he created this he should atleast have SOMETHING on here. A small interview on what made him want to do the show or something along those lines. Couldn't hurt.

All in all Dispites the 2 "problems" I mentioned the DVD get's a 4 out of 5.

Now all that's left is for Tiny Toons to come out on DVD and I'll have a second childhoon

 

[Classic Speedy]

My only other gripe about the DVDs is the Special Features. Dont' get me wrong, I love the "Animaniacs Live!" thing and I thought it was great. But this relates more to the "Special Features" menu option appearing on EVERY SINGLE DISC. Honestly, if there aren't special features there, then don't put the "Special Features" option on that disc. It's also annoying that they all say "See other discs for more Special Features". Given that only 1 out of the 5 discs even HAS anything in the special features section this doesn't help, and even then THAT Disc has the same "See other discs..." thing as well.

Technically, disc 5 also had Special Features in the form of trailers (which doesn't really count, but it sorta does), but I agree. They might as well not even include them on discs which don't have any, and it's a bit misleading in a way.

 

[Keeper]

My understanding is that Steven passed on the opportunity.

So instead they had everybody talk about him a lot...!

Yeah, I'd like to see more preproduction art and stuff along those lines, but Warner Home Video is such a separate group, and so DVD clueless as you can see from the presentation, that I guess it's unlikely.

(Of course I'd most want to hear the Pondering line of mine that Gordon Bressack used with my permission. It got recorded and animated, but then the line was changed in ADR. I can SEE them saying it, but I'd so love to hear it! There must be other possibilities like that too, e.g., the "There must be some way to make that kind of money without working for Congress/Eisner" line that was changed from one broadcast to the next.)

 

[Peter Paltridge]

My understanding is that Steven passed on the opportunity.

So instead they had everybody talk about him a lot...!

Yeah, I'd like to see more preproduction art and stuff along those lines, but Warner Home Video is such a separate group, and so DVD clueless as you can see from the presentation, that I guess it's unlikely.

(Of course I'd most want to hear the Pondering line of mine that Gordon Bressack used with my permission. It got recorded and animated, but then the line was changed in ADR. I can SEE them saying it, but I'd so love to hear it! There must be other possibilities like that too, e.g., the "There must be some way to make that kind of money without working for Congress/Eisner" line that was changed from one broadcast to the next.)

Here's something about the Eisner line, Keeper: they fixed that very fast. I have a tape of the second airing, which was two weeks after the first (the difference being the Kids WB debut instead of the prime-time debut). I was hoping I'd find Brain saying "Eisner" there, but he said "Congress."

I don't know why I didn't have the VCR ready for that first airing...

 

[Keeper]

Yep. I think I got the original one on tape. That episode aired during Animania V, though, so I would have had my VCR set rather than being there recording it like I did with most of the other episodes. I recall being in the hotel room watching that episode. But I'm sure I would have had my VCR recording everything while I was gone, anyway...

 

[Frank15]

I noticed this when the show first aired, and I'm renoticing this now: anyone know why two different end themes were used? Both versions are all instrumental, but one version goes from the first verse to the second verse, then goes to "we're animanie, totally insaney," then ends, while the other, less common version goes from the first verse to the fourth, then fifth verse, then ends. Usually with "Goodfeathers flock together, Slappy whacks them with her purse" and "We're animanie, totally insaney" edited out.

Rewatching the shows, I don't get why a lot of people don't like the Rita and Runt segments. I'll admit it not the show's funniest segment, but I love the heart, and the characters themselves. And Rita's singing. And Les Miseranimals as a whole.

 

[Fifi Fanatic]

Rewatching the shows, I don't get why a lot of people don't like the Rita and Runt segments. I'll admit it not the show's funniest segment, but I love the heart, and the characters themselves. And Rita's singing. And Les Miseranimals as a whole.

I love most of the Rita and Runt cartoons too.

Anyway, I'm still having a great time with this! It's just wonderful to have complete episodes without network logos in the corner or promos for some other show over the end credits. This is the first time I've seen "Cat on a Hot Steel Beam" without an ad and phone number for some contest the local station was running at the time popping up right in the middle of the cartoon! It's like having the definitive edition! I want more, Warner Bros!

 

[Jonny Mack]

Vol. 2 Animaniacs DVD set, tentatively due in December, has interviews with writers as the bonus feature. I know at least that Earl Kress, Gordon Bressack, Charles M. Howell IV and Tom Minton appear in it.

Need to get yourself in there one of these times, Jon!

Those interview sessions are by invitation only, and - hate to sound ornery, but - generally artists aren't invited for interviews. Which is probably just as well; animators are generally the kind of people you want to keep chained up in a back room, away from the public. Or, maybe to put it in a more positive way: their work speaks for itself. They don't perform very well in front of a camera, but as I've said, "An animator is an actor who performs through his pencil."

If they did invite any of the artists to speak for one of those DVD features, it should definitely be one of the staff directors, who were eating, breathing, and pooping Animaniacs 24-7, not a freelancer like me.

All that said, and keeping in mind that I'm definitely a "glass-half-empty" guy, I found the DVD set to be extremely disappointing, partly for what they left out, and partly for the lack of special features. How annoying is it to put a disc in, click on 'Special Features', and then read, 'Special Features Are On Another Disc'? So as it turns out, LaMarche's interview is it. Really shoddy disc-planning, in my book. There were so many stories to tell about that series, and people who are interested (i.e. the people who buy the DVD) would like to see more of that kind of stuff.

And I haven't read through this entire thread but what about Meet Minerva (or the other Minerva cartoon!) Windsor Hassle, Karaoke Dokey, Meet John Brain, Dot the Macadamia Nut, and It? Are they coming in the next collection?

... I made sure to show "The Big Candy Store" and "Bumbie's Mom" to my sister as an example of the brilliant work that StarToons did for this show ...

Glad you and your sister liked our stuff. Didn't LaMarche say that Bumbie's Mom was his favorite Animaniacs episode? That was nice to hear.

... I forget what the credits for "Wally Llama" said, but I don't think it was StarToons, even though it looked an awful lot like them.

Credits were generally faulty throughout the collection ... but yeah, that was ours. The animation was all over the place. Fun to work on, but in the end, not the freshest cartoon I've ever watched ...

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

So to answer my own question, at least six episodes have the interlacing/shuddering problem: episodes 1-3, 9, 20 and 21. You can see the same problem on other episodes of WB cartoon shows on DVD (like the "Two-Face" episode of "Batman"). Whoever does these DVD transfers needs to be severely chided.

And I haven't read through this entire thread but what about Meet Minerva (or the other Minerva cartoon!) Windsor Hassle, Karaoke Dokey, Meet John Brain, Dot the Macadamia Nut, and It? Are they coming in the next collection?

Jon, these are the first 25 episodes in numerical order; the others you mention appeared in later episodes, so they'll be coming in later volumes.

 

[SimpsonGuy100]

I agree completely, it really ain't fair, i've been excited for these since i first heard of the release, and then they didnt even come out here i ordered them off ebay of course, but with them being region one, and my DVD player being region 2, i've since been told they wont work on my player, so im just praying they do now. It'll be total disappointment if they dont ... not to mention a waste of money.

They REALLY should release these in the UK... like i said before, Animaniacs has british fans too. Dont leave us out!

They'll work if you have a multi-regional player or if you have a PlayStation 2 and have one of those multi-regional-DVD things you can get from video game shops but yes, you're right, it certinely may not work sadly.

And I definetly agree with you, there are Animaniacs fans in the UK and also in the rest of the world too so why don't they release that internationally too?

 

[Classic Speedy]

And I haven't read through this entire thread but what about Meet Minerva (or the other Minerva cartoon!) Windsor Hassle, Karaoke Dokey, Meet John Brain, Dot the Macadamia Nut, and It? Are they coming in the next collection?

If these collections keep up the pattern of 25 episodes per volume (and it's highly likely they will), we should see this:
-Moon Over Minerva: Volume 2
-Meet Minerva: Volume 3
-Windsor Hassle: Volume 2
-Karaoke Dokie: Volume 3
-Meet John Brain: Volume 3
-Dot the Macadamia Nut: Volume 4 (ugh, a long wait!)
-It: Volume 4

Personally, I can't wait for volume 2, since it will be the first time I've ever seen a Minerva cartoon. Pumped? You bet.

There were so many stories to tell about that series, and people who are interested (i.e. the people who buy the DVD) would like to see more of that kind of stuff.

Even though the interviews were nice breezy pieces and it was cool to see the faces behind the voices/writing, I agree. It's so much more interesting to hear turmoil and/or problems behind the scenes than it is to hear generic "GREAT SHOW!" "Yes, great show indeed!" fluff. I mean, would "Heart of Darkness" have been as fascinating if they had glossed over all the production woes that went into making Apocalypse Now?

 

[Ishoka]

Sofar, I'm loving these DVD's. The audio problem I was having with the PatB DVDs doesn't seem to be as bad here, and I've decided to just turn the volume up higher than ever and give the bird to those complaining about the noise ^^d I really wish they could have done more with the special features.. But honestly... The episodes alone were good enough for me. The two interviews still cracked me up though. Maybe they'll include more in the next volume with the writer's and such interveiw. T'would be awesome if they actually added in that production art, cell shot, or model sheets or the such.. Spacifically the model sheets, I could actually put those to some use XD

So to answer my own question, at least six episodes have the interlacing/shuddering problem: episodes 1-3, 9, 20 and 21. You can see the same problem on other episodes of WB cartoon shows on DVD (like the "Two-Face" episode of "Batman"). Whoever does these DVD transfers needs to be severely chided.

I think that's just a minor (In a sense) problem with the DVD itself... If you rewind it a bit and then play it again, or let it go for a few, then rewind and play it, it'll normally get corrected. That's what I've done to fix it at least.

If they did invite any of the artists to speak for one of those DVD features, it should definitely be one of the staff directors, who were eating, breathing, and pooping Animaniacs 24-7, not a freelancer like me.

I could have sworn I've seen your named cedited as "Director" in quite a few of the shorts Startoons has done.... heh.

I made sure to show "The Big Candy Store" and "Bumbie's Mom" to my sister as an example of the brilliant work that StarToons did for this show

I've had to watch both of those a few times so far... Laughing more and more each time XD

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

So speaking of animation, you might notice that two different TMS units worked on Animaniacs, one distinctly inferior to the other. The superior unit was the one headed by Toshihiko Masuda (you can hear admiring references to him on the commentary for the Return of the Joker movie); they did the beautiful, broad animation we associate with TMS in cartoons like "Hello Nice Warners." Then there's another TMS unit which turns out less beautiful-looking drawings and less distinctive animation: they animated "Taming of the Screwy" and "Roll Over Beethoven," which in spots look more like Akom than TMS. Still decent animation, but not up to the highest standard.

You can see the difference in "Cookies For Einstein" because Masuda's unit animated the opening and closing scenes, and the other unit did the rest -- look at the change in animation/drawing styles when Yakko spots Einstein's house.

As for director credits, they were very haphazard on these shows. For example, Dave Marshall, the director of animation for Wang, was credited as a co-director on every cartoon animated by Wang. But the directors of animation for TMS and Akom didn't get co-director credits.

 

[Anniemaniac]

So speaking of animation, you might notice that two different TMS units worked on Animaniacs, one distinctly inferior to the other

Ah, thank you!

I noticed that too, but i couldn't figure out what happened. I never did like the "Taming Of The Screwy" animation style. The facial expressions annoyed me most. They were pretty lifeless at times, not strong enough when portraying emotions. The other TMS style was alot better. Sharper and more expressive. Had a distinct style to it and it fit the warners perfectly.

"Roll Over Beethoven" confused me like crazy. The animation seemed to jump from style to style and at times, for a while i thought it was done by akom like you mentioned, but the end credits said different. That episode was pretty annoying to watch due to the animation switches. I never could figure out who had actually animated that one.

Thanks for that info!!

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

P.S. - Now that I look at the credits again, I see there were other "good" TMS directors involved besides Masuda -- "Les Miseranimals" was handled in part by Yuichiro Yano, who is best known for having directed the Batman episode "Over the Edge." I don't remember at the moment the name of the people responsible for the "bad" TMS animation.

Even though the interviews were nice breezy pieces and it was cool to see the faces behind the voices/writing, I agree. It's so much more interesting to hear turmoil and/or problems behind the scenes than it is to hear generic "GREAT SHOW!" "Yes, great show indeed!" fluff.

The closest thing to something really substantial was the bit on the "Pinky and the Brain" special feature where Tom Ruegger talks about an idea that was abandoned -- having Pinky and the Brain gain different powers every week as a result of the experiments being done on them. ("Vivisection is not the best idea for a kid's show.") That at least acknowledges that on the way to getting a character right, there are bad ideas that get discarded.

But hopefully the writer interviews on vol. 2 -- all the writers were interviewed, as Earl Kress revealed some weeks ago -- will have more meat to them.

And yeah, someone needs to get the staff directors in there for a special feature.