'Animaniacs' Reboot Might Take a Shot at Donald Trump

The original Animaniacs series never pulled any punches when it came to parodying popular culture, [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The original Animaniacs series never pulled any punches when it came to parodying popular culture, even if it was supposed to be a kid's show. It even referenced President Bill Clinton right in the title song. The reboot series looks to be picking up on this, as eagle-eyed viewers spotted a possible reference to President Donald Trump in the new trailer released Wednesday.

Near the end of the two-minute trailer, there is a brief, single shot of a giant cyclops with orange skin, small hands, and hair that looks just like a certain president's. The very next shot shows Yakko throwing a lightning bolt at someone in a temple, although the bolt hits someone standing inside a temple. There is also another shot of Brain inside a giant, suit-wearing robot having a press conference, likely as part of his latest attempt to take over the world.

The original Animaniacs ran from 1995 to 1998 on Fox and The WB. In the original opening credits, Clinton was featured playing the saxophone behind the line "Bill Clinton plays the sax." This was later replaced with the lines "We have wisecracks by the stacks" and "We pay tons of income tax." Clinton also appeared in the episode "Hooray for North Hollywood." When he gave Yakko some real estate advice, two secret service agents drag him away. "Did I say something wrong again? Uh oh, Hillary's going to whoop me for sure," Clinton said in the scene.

The new Animaniacs will be available on Hulu on Nov. 20 and will run 13 episodes. Earlier this month, Hulu released the first look at the new style in a parody of Jurassic Park, which was directed by Animaniacs executive producer Steven Spielberg. The new series was already given a second season, which will debut next year. The revival was confirmed in 2018 and the premiere date was announced in August. Original voice actors Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, Jess Harnell, and Maurice LaMarche are all returning.

"What really is great and what does feel the same is being with the other actors," Paulson recently told The AV Club about working on the new show. "We don't have the entire staff who was there 25 years ago. Some of them have moved on to other gigs and some of them moved on to the next mortal coil or the next plane, but being able to be in the same room with my fellow 'Brain' Maurice LaMarche, my sister 'Dot' Tress MacNeille, and my brother Jess 'Wakko' Harnell is really incredible."

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