Animaniacs Reboot: Why The Show Deserves Your Attention in 2021

Fun fact: I’ve never seen an episode of Insecure or Game of Thrones.

If you hand me the remote, my preference is to watch a cartoon or animated comedy series instead. Spongebob Squarepants, Rick and Morty, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, Archer—I’ve seen and enjoyed them all. And, being of the opinion that the ‘90s were one of the best decades pop culture-wise, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon the Animaniacs reboot on Hulu during my “it’s winter in New York and too damn cold to be outside so I’m binge-watching between playoff games” time. 

For those who don’t remember (or are too young to know—looking at you Gen Z), Animaniacs is a Daytime Emmy Award-winning animated sketch comedy music variety TV series. Originally airing in 1993, it features the Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister, Dot—three 1930s-era cartoon stars of an unknown species (definitely mammals. Could be marsupials? Bears?) who were locked in the Warner Brothers water tower on a movie studio lot. As the theme song explains, the Warner siblings escaped and wreaked havoc for five seasons along with a cast of characters, which included among others, Pinky and The Brain.

I know what you’re thinking if you’re not a big cartoon fan, but you’d be seriously missing out if you wrote off Animaniacs as simply a “silly cartoon for kids.” Nostalgia aside, if you tend to be the smart-ass in the group chat, here are five reasons why you should get familiar with the Warner siblings.