Animaniacs Season 1, Episode 5 recap: Good Warner Hunting

Episode 5 of the Hulu series Animaniacs begins with the Warners — Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner (Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille, respectively) — running out of ideas for the episode.

While thoroughly breaking the fourth wall, they decide to pick different concepts out of a hat.  They come up with random combinations of foes to tangle with, such as a “narcoleptic dairy cow who’s also a vampire.”  However, the actual plot seems to unfold a bit more normally than that (at first anyway).

After a tour guide (Hiromi Dames) belittles Zack Snyder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, we’re introduced to a narcissistic big game hunter with tiny feet named Dr. Walter Grubb (Danny Jacobs).

Similar to the previous season 1 episode’s Dwayne Lapistol (Jacobs),  Dr. Grubb is there to collect the Animaniacs as trophies. Planning to knock them out with tranquilizer darts, when the Animaniacs learn they’re supposed to sleep, they politely ask Grubb to read them a story.  The book he reads insults him and he’s rendered a “poor man’s Elmer Fudd,” and he ultimately ends up falling asleep himself.

Do the Animaniacs inspire Dr. Grubbs to change his mind?

After a snare trap attempt fails, Grubb seems to have a change of heart, saying he now wants to preserve cartoons.  However, perhaps because the Warners keep insulting his tiny feet, he uses a special kind of trick photography.

A net gets cast through his camera, finally ensnaring the Warners, and Grubb seems to triumphantly drive away with them.  After pulling a strange prank where Dr. Grubb’s body becomes their phone, it’s ultimately revealed that Dr. Grubbs is a character named Chicken Boo (Frank Welker).

Chicken Boo was rounding up (kidnapping) characters from the Animaniacs universe, thus also explaining why many of them hadn’t appeared in the Hulu series thus far.

Of course, there is a much simpler explanation for that, too:  The writers for the 2020 series likely wanted to emphasize the main characters first.  In any case, this segment suggests that one might reasonably expect more old-school characters to appear.

At the same time, the introduction of new (or one-off) characters can help the show stay fresh.  Perhaps the main point is simply that the Warners will stay true to themselves, regardless of the scenarios and characters they’re around.

Pinky and the Brain: No Brainer

This action-packed “Pinky and the Brain” segment begins with Brain (Maurice LaMarche) being chased by Yakuza gangsters. After an accident where Brain’s car falls over a raised bridge, Brain gets amnesia about his plan. So now, in an attempt to rebound his diabolical scheme, Brain decides to hack the NSA to hear their tapped phone recording of his plan. Is it brilliant? Sure!

Interestingly, Brain tries to coordinate with NSA-leaker Edward Snowden. The brain also gets help from a squirrel character named Mrs. Jenny, who gives them a forged ID card. Conning their way in, Pinky (Paulsen) threatens their efforts through his good-guy nature.  He demands Brain adhere to their promise to rescue Mrs. Jenny before they escape with the NSA files.

So what was the original plan? Apparently, they wanted to gather a neurotoxin from Snowden’s plant to make everyone sleepy. Ultimately, the plan (and the episode) is a bit confusing, and Pinky drives them off the edge of a cliff.

Finally, this “Animaniacs” episode has a short segment of “Ralph cam,” where the security guard named Ralph (normally voiced by Frank Welker) is shown in a silent security cam footage faceoff against Dracula on the Warner Bros. lot.

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