Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish (1999)

I have loved the show Animaniacs for like forever, it is so cute, fun, witty and just something I really loved watching. Wakko's Wish is inferior to the show, but it is definitely not bad. In fact, it is decent, it is just lacking in that extra something that made the show so good. It is very cute and charming, with a touching ending and some off-the-wall humour to satisfy kids. Plus it is vibrantly animated, with some beautiful colours and above average character designs. The voice cast also do really well, Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulson, Jess Harnell and Tress MacNeille all do great jobs as does everybody else. And the characters are at least likable, Pinky is still his funny, stupid and adorable self and Dot is cute here. King Salazar is pretty entertaining if rather unexceptional as a villain. The writing is mostly good, some parts are clichéd but there are some entertaining and heartwarming parts, that I really appreciated and the film moves along quickly. However, Wakko's Wish isn't without problems. While the plot has its moments there are other parts where it is disjointed, and although Wakko is supposed to be the main character according to the title Wakko doesn't get that much screen time disappointingly. While the incidental music was brilliant, I cannot say the same for the songs, they are forgettable at best and one or two of them don't seem to move the story forward. This is a shame because the music was one of the many components that made the show so entertaining. Overall, decent if not great swansong to Animaniacs. 7/10 Bethany Cox