Animaniacs Season 1, Episode 4 recap: Bun Control/Ex Mousina

Episode 4 of Hulu’s Animaniacs is perhaps the most blatantly political episode yet, with “Bun Control” being a thinly veiled reference to a serious topic.  It all starts when the Warners — Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner (Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille, respectively) —  encounter Dwayne Lapistol (Danny Jacobs), an obvious parody of the NRA’s current leader, Wayne LaPierre.  It’s not like there’s nothing to mock here.

In addition to the NRA undergoing financial troubles, LaPierre got in hot water over footage of him hunting elephants (not only are they a vulnerable species, but the video clearly shows his aim is bad, and his over-reliance on a tour guide who tells him where to aim and when, suggesting he’s not even much of a hunter!).

Of course, some will not enjoy this commentary, but it seems relevant and might help explain why Animaniacs would go through the trouble.  Anyway, in the specific story, Dwayne Lapistol messes up a fruit sculpture of 16th-century Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, which took 3 months to construct.  He and his bunnies (or “buns”) also interrupt Yakko Warner.  In his defense, Dwayne claims he’s only providing a much-needed service, as “people need buns in uncertain times.”

Animaniacs:  The “bun” issue

Before much time elapses, Dwayne Lapistol ends up putting bunnies everywhere, replacing even things like toothbrushes.  Obviously, this is a play on rabbits procreating while being about gun proliferation.

Lapistol claims, “you’re safer from other bun owners if you own multiple buns,” but that issue gets complicated when we see giant bunnies.  The CEO of Warner Bros., Nora Rita Norita (Stephanie Escajeda), assures the Warners that she’s fine with “buns” because the right to own them is enshrined in the Constitution.

However, the Animaniacs end up mounting a defense.  Yakko begins with a “Yak attack,” as he and the others transform into anime-like super characters (and Lapistol transforms as well, making for a showdown).  Dot even has a bow and arrow.  Ultimately, they call Australia for “solutions on bun violence,” prompting dingo soldiers to show up.  Dot finally assures us, in so many words, that this will be as political as she intends to get.

Pinky and the Brain: Ex Mousina

Although less political than the Warners, the Pinky and the Brain segment of this Animaniacs episode gets philosophical; then again, the idea of conquering the world is political, by its very nature, and certainly has philosophical implications.  It all begins with Pinky asking Brain:  If I ate myself, would I become twice as big or completely disappear?

Brain laments Pinky’s lack of intelligence but is also busy inventing while lamenting.  Specifically, he’s putting the finishing touches on what he called “Binary Rodent Artificially Intelligent Nanotechnology,” or B.R.A.I.N., which is a robot that has Brain’s intelligence built into it, constructed in a way that multiplies itself exponentially.

Like a true annoying intellectual, B.R.A.I.N. namedrops René Descartes (though in the form of a “walks into a bar” joke).  Both B.R.A.I.N. and Brain seem to find Cartesian dualism a ripe source of comedy.  The two fiends start bonding while they plot against the world, with a scheme involving everything from Chinese aerospace to military coups (which, in this day and age, seems quite relevant).  In contrast, Pinky is annoyed that a pizza roll is still cold in the middle after finding B.R.A.I.N. is not a good microwave.

Elaborate details of a master plot

It’s not very easy to map out Brain and B.R.A.I.N.’s tentative plan. Still, it comes to involve a moon rover on the Sea of Tranquility, altering the moon’s pull on Earth and shifting the planet’s axial tilt to screw with astrology.  An argument ensues when B.R.A.I.N. calls his plan inefficient, insipid (even though, of course, B.R.A.I.N. is rooted in Brain’s own intelligence, making B.R.A.I.N.’s critique and insults almost self-ridicule).

Other possibilities get mentioned, like mind control shampoo, but B.R.A.I.N. decides that it must destroy Brain.  Thankfully, for Brain, Pinky’s dumb question about self-cannibalism thwarts the B.R.A.I.N. robot by causing it to explode, oddly converging intelligence and stupidity into an effective weapon.

Lastly, there is a brief Animaniacs sketch featuring the Warners regarding attention span.  It’s about a platform named Bloopf featuring videos that are 1/10th of a second (likely a parody of Vine, or possibly even other online services like Twitter or any social network that seems to cultivate short attention spans deliberately).

What are your thoughts on Animaniacs?  Let us know in the comments!