Animaniacs/Original Soundtrack - Animaniacs (CD)

All Music Guide

The first of several albums of songs from the hilarious mid-'90s cartoon show Animaniacs, this brief album is filled with surprisingly witty and often outlandish song parodies and comic tunes. Songs in the style of Gilbert Sullivan ("I Am the Very Model of a Cartoon Individual") and Tom Lehrer ("Be Careful What You Eat") show that the writers, led by music director Richard Stone, know their predecessors in comic music inside and out. Polysyllabic list songs like "Yakko's World" and "Wakko's America" fall into this tradition as well, while character-based songs like "I'm Mad" and "I'm Cute" are in a more Broadway style. Perhaps the best songs are the didactic ones like "The Planets" and "The Senses," which impart useful information in a clever, witty style not too far removed from They Might Be Giants' kid-oriented tunes. Regardless, the album as a whole is surprisingly enjoyable and often extremely funny.

- Stewart Mason, All Music Guide