Feelin' "Zany to the Max"

Sorry I haven't been updating this blog very often, I was busy surfin' the web. I figure now would be a good time to post my latest thoughts.

It seems I've finally got off my Disney kick for a while now. The reason? A show I was obsessed with since 1993 called... wait for it... "Animaniacs"!

Yes, that show. And get this: it's from the same studio that brought us the "Looney Tunes" cartoons, namely, Warner Bros. It stars Yakko, Wakko, and Dot - the Warner Brothers (not the studio this time) and the Warner Sister - among others, but the siblings are my favorites (with Yakko being my most favorite... and second cartoon crush). Back then, I didn't live in Portland, Oregon. As such, I didn't have the WB (long before it became the CW) once "Animaniacs" moved there from FOX in 1995. I made do, of course, recording the episodes before the network switch and whenever I visited relatives who had the WB and Cartoon Network (when the show aired in reruns there). I was even lucky to get the direct to video movie "Wakko's Wish" (VHS only) for Christmas of 1999!

Time passed and now, I've got the first three volumes of the show on DVD as well as all three volumes of its spinoff "Pinky & the Brain" featuring the two titular lab mice who plan every night to try to take over the world! I'm still waiting for the WB studio to release volume four of "Animaniacs" (which includes the final episodes) and "Wakko's Wish" on DVD. Come on, guys, we're not gettin' any younger here! However, Tom Ruegger has a blog which you can visit and comment on called "Cartoonatics". And Rob Paulsen, who voices Yakko and Pinky, has a website of his own and a twitter account just to see what he's been up to. (He's been a very busy voice actor.)

Might as well end this post with this article from "Entertainment Weekly". Looks like I'm not the only one nostalgic for the show. On that note, allow me to quote Yakko by saying: "Goodnight, everybody!"

(Oh, and Homestar Runner hasn't updated his website since Decemberween last year. So, I got him beat there.)

Not Fair for the Fair

I was in WDW for my birthday (Feb. 16th) and thus, was there on that last night that Mickey's Toontown Fair was open (Feb. 11th). Not much happened to commemorate the event for us guests, but I did see some cast members dancing with some guests joining in at the County Bounty store. I took some pics of some of the buildings and got a chance to ride the Barnstormer with my mom one last time (before it becomes "The Great Goofini"). Although there's still a Toontown in Disneyland U.S.A. and Tokyo Disneyland, and Mickey and Minnie have got new meet and greet spots in Tomorrowland, Frontierland, and the Hall of Presidents at Liberty Square (mostly Mickey on his own here) before Exhibition Hall is ready for them, I feel there will never be another Toontown experience in WDW for a while. There was a ceremony for the cast members on the last night which you can see here on YouTube. (Courtesy of crushinator.) So, for my first blog post of the year, I'd like to dedicate this moment to what will become the Storybook Circus. Toontown Fair, you will be missed. June 18, 1988 (as Mickey's Birthdayland) - February 11, 2011.