novanious
Since: Feb, 2013
08/01/2014 00:00:00
Actually, back when I first watched the movie a couple months ago, none of the characters you particularly needed to know. In fact, none of the characters played big parts in the movie, barring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. However, all of your other points stand well, though I always saw the movie as giving Animaniacs a big plot while trying to keep the comedy in.
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Doesn't know if it's a parody or not...
This is an odd movie. I can't really decide who its target audience is, because it so heavily relies on the viewer knowing the show and the characters that it can be hard to follow for the new viewer — but at the same time the tone and feel of the movie is so different from the TV series that it might be off-putting to the fans, who (like me) end up comparing it negatively to the series.
Let's be clear: This is not Animaniacs at its finest. Despite some good animation (courtesy of TMS) and of course the same brilliant voice-actors, it's neither as funny nor as intelligent as the better episodes of the series. The songs aren't quite as memorable or catchy either, and the plot is far too often bogged-down with some rather cheap and unnecessary drama.
And that's the biggest problem here. Wakko's Wish can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a Sincere, Emotional and Heartwarming Feel-Good Story, or a parody of Sincere, Emotional and Heartwarming Feel-Good Stories. It tries to insert a lot of Tear Jerker scenes (of the kind that the series routinely mocked) and plays them straight... except then it inserts a lot of bits where it subverts and parodies its own drama... and then it goes back to doing more Tear Jerker scenes.... which it again subverts and tries to mock later on. And so on.
It doesn't quite work. Maybe with a sharper, wittier script it could have — but as it is, both drama and comedy feel somewhat half-hearted here. It's like the movie takes itself much too seriously, while at the same time loudly denying that it takes itself too seriously.
That's not to say the movie fails at everything. It's at its best when it just allows itself to be silly — the Warners interacting with King Salazar is for the most part pretty entertaining (though some of the Literal Genie jokes are pretty predictable), and Pinky and the Brain are probably the highlight of the movie as their sub-plot never tries to go for the dramatic at all. There's also some good dialogue scattered throughout the movie, much of it coming from Yakko.
Those parts work, and if the movie had played up the comedy more, this would have been a far more successful finale to Animaniacs. As it is, though, Wakko's Wish remains an underwhelming effort.