I’m sitting here at my computer pondering what Brain must be pondering. Because egad!  Narf! Is it where he’d find rubber pants his size?  No, it today’s big news! The Animaniacs are returning!

Hulu is Partnering with Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation and bringing back all new episodes starring the crazy Warner Brothers Yakko and Wakko and their cute sister Dot (aka Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third) after spending the last 25 years in their water tower.

Two seasons have been ordered and are scheduled to premiere 2020.

Hulu is also bringing the complete libraries of the original Animaniacs; Pinky and the Brain; Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain; and Tiny Toon Adventures!  Yes, once again we’ll get to see Plucky Duck animated to the tune of Istanbul, Not Constantinople by They Might Be Giants. And don’t forget Phone Call from the 405. Classic episode. “Shadows, we need more shadows!  Gotta go! Carrie Fisher’s on the other line!”

But wait! There’s more! Returning as Executive Producer is . . . drumroll please . . . none other than the famed director referred to as His Eminence in the episode Hooked on a Ceiling, Steven Spielberg!          

“We cannot wait to work with Steven Spielberg and the entire Amblin and Warner Bros. teams teams to bring more sketches, catchphrases, songs and laughs from the Animaniacs to kids and adults everywhere,” said Craig Erwich, SVP of Content, Hulu. “Now one of the most beloved, inventive and funny animated franchises in history, Animaniacs and its cast of witty characters can live on, on Hulu. This marks yet another big move for us as we continue our efforts to be the #1 streaming destination for premium animated content.”

And a few words from Spielberg himself: “I am so pleased and proud that Animaniacs will have a home at Hulu. Together with Warner Bros., we look to bring new audiences and longtime fans into this wild world of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. I am also excited that the full library of Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures episodes are included in the deal.”

“Yakko, Wakko and Dot have been waiting impatiently inside the water tower, and now their hilarious brand of animated chaos will be unleashed — again! We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Amblin and Hulu for new episodes of Animaniacs, filled with endless laughs — and ongoing plots for world domination by Pinky and the Brain,” said Sam Register, President, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series. “Parents who grew up with the cartoon now have new episodes to share with their own families.”

Animaniacs originally aired in 1993, and decades later I’m still singing “Yakko’s World” from memory and referencing “Ups and Downs” in elevators. I’m still not clear on if it annoys or entertains people. The show has set the record for most Daytime Emmy Awards in the field of Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for any animated series, winning three times.

But what about the original cast? Will they be returning? Maurice LaMarche posted on Twitter an audio of him reading the announcement in Orson Welles’ voice (who inspired the voice of the LaMarche’s character The Brain). And on Facebook he wrote: “Guess I can talk about this now.” And Rob Paulsen, the voice of Yakko shared the link on Facebook and wrote, “Now THAT’S a HAPPY NEW YEAR!” When I spoke with Paulsen at DragonCon he said he felt that talks were in the works because, once rumors began of a reboot, Spielberg made no attempts to quiet them, and “My little cartoon fingers are crossed.” But so far none of the original cast has directly stated their involvement in the new show. But I can’t imagine the characters without their familiar voices, or the contributions of creator Tom Ruegger.

Ruegger has recently been a guest on several episodes of the Animanicast, a podcast—the only podcast—dedicated to Animaniacs. Shameless plug: I’m one of the podcasters. Hopefully Mr. Ruegger will be on again soon, and we can learn the answers to some of the new questions that have risen in the wake of the reboot announcement.

Until then, stay “tooned.”

The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.

“Tiny Toon Adventures” Created by Tom Ruegger; Starring Charles Adler, Tress MacNeille, Joe Alaskey, and Don Messick. Series ran from 1990 – 1992.

“Tiny Toon Adventures” otherwise known simply as Tiny Toons was the first project that partnered Steven Spielberg with Warner Bros. and followed a younger generation of Toons attending Acme Looniversity with dreams of becoming the next wave of “Looney Tunes” characters. Most of the characters were modeled after the familiar “Looney Tunes” cast though they weren’t necessarily related. In addition the staff of the school consisted almost entirely of “Looney Tunes” alums.

Though Babs and Buster Bunny were considered the central characters of the show, it spent a lot of time telling stories involving other characters, not always centering around or even involving either of the two rabbits.

In addition to Babs and Buster the core cast of characters included Plucky Duck, Hamton J. Pig, Fifi La Fume, Dizzy Devil, Calamity Coyote, Montana Max and Elmyra Duff, two human characters that served as this generations main villains, and finally my personal favorite Gogo Dodo, among others.

The series ran for three seasons before being cancelled in favor or another Spielberg/Warner collaboration you might have heard of, “Animaniacs.” In that time they produced 98 episodes. After production halted, there were two additional specials created, rounding the number to a flat 100, as well as feature length film entitled “Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation.”

Episodes ranged from the innocent every day musings of a cartoon world to veiled messages about growing up and doing right. It’s easy to see why these collaborations were so successful and resonate with fans more than twenty years after the shows left the airwaves.

When thinking about “Tiny Toon Adventures” it didn’t seem right to watch just one, which is why today’s edition of Saturday Morning Cartoon! is a double feature. First up is “Henny Youngman Day which features three shorter clip episodes including one of my childhood favorites “The Potty Years” featuring Plucky Duck. The second episode is “Her Wacky Highness” wherein Babs runs away to Wackyland.

“Stand-Up and Deliver”

Babs decides it’s time for her to take her act on the road and gets a gig headlining an open mic night at a local club. A famous and beloved comic, Red Rad Robin Killems, arrives and steps on the stage to Babs’ horror. She freaks out because she’s terrified of having to follow him. Luckily he sees the situation he’s created and steps in to help Babs out.

“The Potty Years”

Flashback to Plucky’s early childhood, his parents are teaching him how to use the toilet, at first he’s afraid but soon he learns to enjoy using the toilet, perhaps a little too much. Wackiness ensues.

This bit was funny as a kid, enough so that it’s more vivid in my memory than almost any other segment or episode. It’s even funnier now that I’m a parent and dealt with this situation in the relatively recent past. Luckily my kid isn’t a psychotic green duck, at least as far as I know.

“Lame Joke”

In the final segment Buster, Babs, Plucky, and Hamton are all out having  a picnic and telling jokes. Buster tells a “lame joke” the joke appears as a literal embodiment and succinctly dies after Buster tells it badly.

“Her Wacky Highness”

This episode isn’t segmented and tells one longer cohesive story. The episode opens with the kids in class, Elmer Fudd is teaching a lesson on cartoon physics when he’s called out of the classroom. While he’s gone Babs mimics and mocks him resulting in her being sent to the Principal for the third time this week. She is sent home from school for the rest of the day where her Mom becomes the third person to lecture her on having self-control.

Frustrated that no one appreciates her, she runs away to Wackyland, the home of Gogo Dodo residing in uncharted cartoon territory. Wackyland seemingly exists where the rules of cartoon physics are taken to their most extreme. Babs quickly gets the hang of living there and the local population take a liking to her. She is invited to a fancy Schmancy dinner at Wackyland Palace where she is made the Queen of Wackyland.

But things don’t stay great for long and she and her friends, who’ve come to rescue her, have to escape Wackyland before it’s too late.