While Animaniacs is full of fourth-wall breaks and meta gags, season 3 perfected the technique with a single joke. Animaniacs’ irreverent, flexible, tongue-in-cheek style takes no prisoners on most subjects, including surprisingly grown-up topics by way of what seems like relatively tame comedy. This has allowed the series to make jokes on a myriad of creative topics, from the entertainment industry to the internet. This creativity has spawned some of Animaniacs’ best jokes from unexpected places, including commentary on media and the show itself.Animaniacs was originally produced from 1993-1998 before it was brought back to the small screen in 2020. Both series largely utilize the same voice talent and tone as they follow the Warner siblings Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. The renewal covers the Animaniacs returning to Warner Bros. and coming to terms with how the world has changed. In terms of meta-humor, the original iteration of Animaniacs had its fair share of fourth-wall jokes, and the new series has occasionally done the same. Usually, this means referring to the previous show’s characters, speaking directly to the camera, and otherwise showing that the characters are aware that they are in a show.
Animaniacs Season 3 Has You Actually Appear In The Show (For 1 Joke)
In the revival's Animaniacs season 3, the show has taken its disregard for the fourth wall to new heights. Not only does the trio speak to the audience with their final lines, but they actively animate the viewers into the show and have the characters physically interact with them. In this case, after Yakko, Wakko, and Dot finish one of their shorts, they note that all they have to worry about now is the "all-seeing eye." Animaniacs then smashes the animated TV show's fourth wall as Yakko directs his siblings to look at the camera with full awareness that they are being watched.
From that point, the siblings comment on whether or not the viewers can see everything they do, including bodily functions, then declare that the audience is full of "weirdos" and kick the viewer's perspective off the Warner Bros. tower. Animaniacs' commitment to the single joke of entertainment as a form of voyeurism is a fascinating angle, but what sets this scene apart is allowing the siblings to physically push away the audience. While Animaniacs has had fourth-wall breaks before, never have these moments involved such interactivity with the audience.
Why Animaniacs Breaking Its Fourth Wall Even More Works For The Show
Breaking the fourth wall can be a risky move in any story, as it can disrupt audience immersion in a way that comes across as annoying instead of charming. Fortunately, this fourth-wall tactic used by the Animaniacs reboot series works perfectly. This is because the show has established its usage of meta jokes before, making the increasingly creative methods by which they flaunt the fourth wall engaging as the jokes escalate.
In this particular instance, the joke works because it is entirely in character. The Animaniacs season 3 fourth-wall gag also respects the irreverent tone of the show, while still genuinely surprising the audience with its fall from the tower. All of these tactics have kept the meta jokes, and Animaniacs itself, fresh, fun, and creative.