Animaniacs, Vol. 1

It’s time for Ani-mani-acs! Yes, the Warner brothers—and the Warner sister, Dot—have been released from their water tower and onto DVD where the first 25 episodes have been collected. In 1993, while massaging the highbrow with witty pop culture and political satires filled with double entendres, Animaniacs was also throwing pies into lowbrow mugs. A succession of Hollywood cameos brings welcome shades of Mel Blanc’s 1941 “Hollywood Goes Out” and regulars like Pinky and the Brain and Dr. Scratchensniff are equally as zany as the Warner siblings. The series still busts a gut, though occasionally the jokes become a bit outdated—does anyone remember something about Shirley MacLaine and psychics? Or that Bill Clinton blew the sax before Monica Lewinsky blew …

Goood-niiight nurse!