RJ Writing Ink

Remembering the Cartoon Network MMO for its 30th Birthday

I got introduced to Cartoon Network when I was around ten years old, but it was one of those moments that I remember to this day. I had no idea that there were cartoons this good outside of what I watched on Nickelodeon; I was hooked, and have remained a fan ever since. Now, that same channel’s celebrating its 30th birthday. However, instead of waxing poetic, or ripping on how Zaslav’s screwing it over, I want to talk about one of the coolest things Cartoon Network ever did. This was the mother of all crossovers; the thing that made any fan of the channel go giddy with excitement. I’m talking about the MMORPG of the 2000s, FusionFall.

FusionFall

If you’ve never heard of FusionFall, I don’t blame you. The game shut down years ago, and the fan-run clone ended at Warner Bros orders. If you were one of the people able to experience it, though, you were lucky. 

The whole game takes place on an Earth inhabited by the characters of all Cartoon Network shows. Instead of being a dream come true, though, this world’s a nightmare. Enter Planet Fuse, a wandering mass of toxic, green goo that swallows up everything in its path. And the Earth is next. Thus, most of the Cartoon Network pantheon teams up to stop this cosmic menace from wiping out our world with its army of monsters. And the players are the ones fighting on the frontlines.

A Cartoon Network Fan’s Dream

When I say that FusionFall had almost everything Cartoon Network had to offer, I meant it. Almost every character from their shows up to 2011 could be found in the game. Even if they weren’t, the shows almost certainly got represented via iconic locations. And we could interact with all of it.

Like I said, FusionFall was like every Cartoon Network fan’s dream come true. Being able to visit iconic locations like the KND Treehouse one day, only to travel to the badlands and find Samurai Jack, or meet Courage in the middle of Knowhere? Just remembering it made me giddy with excitement. It really was the ultimate Cartoon Network crossover. 

Which does beg the question: what happened to it?

I’m not fully sure myself. It may have not had made as much money as Cartoon Network or Warner Bros wanted. Not helping things was the fact that the developers of the game went bankrupt. Regardless, after being online for a little over four years, FusionFall shut down in 2013.

Four years later, a group of fans revived the game as FusionFall: Retro and FusionFall: Legacy. However, in 2020, Cartoon Network issued a DMCA takedown, shutting the projects down. Thus, FusionFall fell into memory.

Happy Birthday, Cartoon Network

Regardless of how long it did or didn’t last, I still have fond memories of FusionFall. It had a great premise, and it let fans of Cartoon Network live the dream of hanging with their favorite characters. I can’t think of a better way to honor this iconic channel than remembering the time it brought its entire pantheon into one shared world. 

Except for this. Happy birthday, Cartoon Network.

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Close Enough Season 2 Review

You know, when I saw that Season Two of Close Enough was out a month ago, I knew that I had to review it. But then I kept getting distracted by a bunch of other things in life. The things I regularly post about, reading manga, writing my fanfiction. The point is, this is overdue, and I’m sorry about that. Thankfully, I was able to sit down and watch the season over the course of the last month, and I remember some key things that I liked about it.

One: I recognize so many voice actors that did guest appearances on the show. And two, there were a boatload of movie references to be found. I counted parodies to Cast Away, Die Hard, Castaway, Point Break, Alien, Scarface, and more. Way to flex your film buff status, Quintel.

Same Formula, Different Season

So, if you’ve seen any of JG Quintel’s work, then you know that he’s got a formula for this stuff. Mundane problem needs to be solved, only for it to spiral into this insanely chaotic situation. Like, kids trying to earn money to buy a drone by selling hot sauce packs turns into a whole parody of Scarface. Or, Quintel’s stand-in character tries to man up, and then finds himself in the plot of Die Hard. These are the kind of insane, over-the-top things that Quintel does, and I love every minute of it.

Putting the pop culture references aside, there’s a reason why Close Enough may be destined to be a go-to adult show for Millennials. Our generation is all grown up and thrust into an adult world that, let’s face, we’re not entirely prepared for. Or, is it that the world wasn’t prepared for us? Regardless, many of us may still be trying to learn our way in this crazy world. Thus, it’s nice to see a show that tries (and largely suceeds) in capturing the challenges of this modern life.

Not Afraid to Pull its Punches

I think the episode that really stood out the most for me was “Where’d you go, Bridgette?” To summarize, it’s about one of the main characters, Bridgette, trying to deal with her obsession with her smart phone and how much it has control over her life. Their landlady, Pearle, flat out calls it an addiction, and forces her to undergo a phone detox. And yes, that means that Bridgette goes through the classic symptoms of withdrawal, including hallucinations of social media apps messing with her head.

While the way that the show does it is silly, it’s also a very accurate representation of just how glued we’ve become to our smartphones. A lot of people can’t even go to the bathroom without bringing it with us. And while we’re aware of how addictive it can be, the show points out that it’s up to us to say when enough’s enough.

Also, the rest of the cast freaks out when Bridgette goes off the grid and starts assuming the worst. Seeing them freak out is both endearing and hilarious at the same time.

Go Watch Close Enough

No, really. That’s all there is to this post. If you’re a Millennial, then go watch it. WATCH IT NOW!!

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Animaniacs Reboot Season 1 Review

If you could one show on TV to represent the 90s, what would it be? There were lots of greats: Bel-Air, Rugrats, Rocko, Beavis and Butthead, to name a few. However, the show that epitomized (and mocked) 90s culture had to be Animaniacs. Five years, eight Daytime Emmys, a Peabody Award, and dozens of songs; it was amazing!

The irony here is that I never got to enjoy Animaniacs in its first run. Consequence of being born mid-decade, I guess. I ended up becoming a fan of it when it came on Netflix many years later, but I never got to enjoy the show in the same way so many millennials could. Then Hulu announced they were rebooting the show in 2020, and I got on the Animaniacs band-wagon. Now, having watched the majority of the first season on Hulu, what’s my verdict on the Warner’s comeback?

Uhhh, it’s alright, but it doesn’t reach the same heights that it does in the 90s.

Cons to Animaniacs Reboot

To get them out of the way, let’s talk about the cons to this reboot, so as to make the pros look better in comparison

The World’s Crazier Than in 1998

Firstly, the biggest con to the Animaniacs returning after twenty-two years is the world they come back to. As we all know, the last few years have been, in a nutshell, crazy. Donald Trump became President, COVID-19’s running rampant, and Disney won’t stop making live action adaptations of their 90s films. When faced with the chaos of the 21st century, the Warners find themselves inadvertedly cast into a role they never thought they’d play: the sane people.

I’m not joking. In one episode where they try and learn who ate Yakko’s fancy donuts, they confront the CEO of Warner Bros (who’s now a woman) and ask if she did it. She just laughs like a madwoman and rants about not wanting to waste her chance of “reaching the singularity.” Its so disturbing even the Warners get freaked out and bail. That’s how far we’ve come, people! Society may be even crazier than the Animaniacs!

Downsized Cast

Anothero this is the now downsized cast. Back in the 90s, the show had plenty of other characters to work off of: the Goodfeathers, Slappy Squirrel, Rita and Runt, and more. The reboot boils it down to the Warners and Pinky and the Brain, which quickly leads them to get burned out. The Warners themselves lampshade this midway through the season by admitting they’re low on ideas. Silver lining: the writers give an explanation as to what happened to the rest of the cast that is pretty funny.

Too Much Political Humor, Not Enough Entertainment

So, apparently the reboot’s showrunner is someone by the name of Wellesley Wild, a former producer for Family Guy. From the looks of it, he chose to inject some of the humor of that show into the Animaniacs reboot. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since Family Guy has had some great episodes over the years. But Family Guy’s style of humor doesn’t lend well to the zaniness of the Warner Siblings.

For example, one segment, “Bun Control” has the Warners dealing with this fanatical bunny farmer who wants everyone to have as many buns as possible. It’s a thinly-veiled jab at the gun-control debate, but beyond the need to create a pun, it doesn’t really make sense.

Pros of the Animaniacs Reboot

So, the reboot doesn’t reach the heights that the show did during its original run. However, it does have a few redeeming qualities to it.

All the Original Actors Return and Give Their All

The most obvious pro is the fact that all of the original cast chose to return to their roles. And from what I’ve seen from the actor’s Twitter accounts, they gave it their all when reprising their roles. I can imagine Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, and Jess Harnell sitting in the recording booths and having the time of their lives as they play the Warners once more. Say what you will, but you can tell that this reboot isn’t being done just for the money. They’re doing it because they want to and they enjoy it. As far as I care, doing something because you want to is the best reason to do it in the first place.

They Know They’re selling out.

At the end of the reboot’s first episode, the Warners give a PSA about how reboots are a consequence of a lack of creativity in the entertainment business. They then immediately and shamelessly show off the money they got from the reboot while the narrator calls them sell-outs.

I couldn’t help but laugh my butt off at that joke. Because, as Wakko puts it, they’re well aware that they’re selling out and contributing to the problem. But what makes it acceptable and hilarious is that they’re well aware of their hypocrisy . It’s that kind of self-awareness that I enjoy seeing.

They May Bring Back the Rest of the Old Cast

Right now, the Animaniacs reboot has a contract for two seasons on Hulu. If it does well, which I think it will, then Hulu will likely give it more seasons. Which is good, because I heard about this on Twitter.

You hear that, people? If you want to help get the show grow to reach its past glory, then support it as much as you can.

A Decent Addition to the Reboots of Recent Years.

All in all, I think that the reboot of Animaniacs is pretty decent. It doesn’t hit the same highs that original did, and it relies a bit too much on contemporary humor. But there’s no denying that it’s got heart to it and is willing to grow and learn. If fans are lucky, this may be the start of a second successful run for a new generation. It worked for DuckTales! after all, so it could work for Animaniacs.

But seriously, I want them to add more of the original cast back in. I miss Slappy Squirrel!

I Give the First Season of the Animaniacs Reboot a 3.5/5

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