Animaniacs Season 1, Episode 2 recap: Warners Unbound

Episode 2 of Hulu’s Animaniacs envisions the Warners as Greek gods, the Brain as a dragon slayer, and Dot as a suffragist.

As usual, episode 2 of Animaniacs is divided into segments, with “Warners Unbound” focusing on Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille, respectively). This time they are shockingly acting as Greek gods — and here “shockingly” can be quite literal, as they are able to throw lightning bolts and have other ways to “smite” people.

Still, rather than unleash all their power in a rampage against the entire populace, they end up wrangling with Odysseus (Diedrich Bader) and crew while on vacation, after Odysseus gets them waterlogged.

Odysseus is an interesting character, and not just for his odd way of drinking milk. The Warners don’t go easy on him, though, sending him on an odyssey into some sea monster’s toothy mouth, then the pit of fallen souls, and then an impromptu round of “Aegean ninja warrior.” However, he ends up looking like a buffoon for thinking he can “win” at Hades.

Animaniacs’ Pink and the Brain: How to Brain Your Dragon

Next, Animaniacs whisks us away to the land of Pinky & the Brain (Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, respectively). After briefly chatting with their mouse pal Egwind (Chris Cox), it becomes apparent that, like the Warners, they are also in a special place and time. For whatever magical reason, Pink & the Brain are now in medieval times, and the Brain quickly hatches a plan to tame a dragon (or basilisk, if you like really cool words) — and we soon learn the dragon’s name is Benedict (Fred Tatasicore). On their way to address the majestic beast, we learn a few things: Pinky loves being ridden like a horse and the Brain does not like minstrels, saying they make his ears vomit.

So what kind of fearsome foe awaits them upon entering the dragon’s cave? Well, it turns out that Benedict the dragon likes to dance and isn’t really very terrifying at all. However, in a power play, the Brain lies to Benedict, accusing the King (Frank Welker) is trying to restrict the arts. After proclaiming, “I don’t want your tears, I want your fury!,” Brain successfully inspires an intimidating performance out of Benedict, and he gets the part of terrorizing the kingdom.

At first, Brain is quite successful in his ploy. offering to slay the dreaded dragon in exchange for keys to the kingdom. However, the dragon overplays his scaly hand, overacting his own death and ultimately crushing the King’s castle. Though the dragon reveals he was acting the whole time, it inspires the king to hate the arts for real, and he arrests bards and minstrels, including Pinky and the Brain!

Animaniacs recap: Suffragette City

Next, the Animaniacs address a more serious matter: Woman’s right to vote. Dot sings a musical number as an anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Along the way, she namedrops important figures like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth. However, much to her chagrin, she realizes that cartoons don’t have the right to vote!

Dot quickly takes up the cause, and we get special appearances by the Flintstones, Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, and Daffy Duck. In addition to addressing the important milestone that was the 18th amendment, we’re also encouraged to ask: Is Dot a “tiny dog puppy lady”? As always, it’s a catchy song and potentially educational while injecting a little bit of humor. In other words, it’s Animaniacs! (As an added bit of trivia: “Suffragette City” is the title of a well-known David Bowie song.)

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