Diving into Animaniacs

In an age when any and every media property from the not-so-distant past is being optioned for a revival, it's always nice to see a reboot that is genuinely welcomed. Hulu's Animaniacs is just such a reboot, bringing a revered toon from the early '90s back to save 2020 society from getting too serious. 

Riding a wave of 90s nostalgia like Kelly Slater (he won a bunch of surfing championships in the 90s, look it up), the Warner brothers and their sister Dot are back in top form, poking fun at politics, current trends, modern technology, and plenty of celebrities. And with all the insane stuff that’s happened since they left the air last time, there’s enough joke fodder to keep the Warner siblings busy for another 25 years.

But can the wacky trio from the '90s find a home in the '20s? The show’s original audience have grown from children into adults, and their perspective on the world around them has probably changed quite a bit. Will these matured fans remain loyal to Wakko, Yakko, and Dot? And how will new audiences take to these relics from the recent past? 

Ranker Insights takes a deep dive into the audience of Hulu's Animaniacs to find out what makes them tick, discover other interests, and discern if fans are still willing to follow the water tower-dwelling trio for another round of antics.

WHAT AMERICAN AUDIENCES THINK

While they might be a pain to the WB security guards, the Warner trio are beloved by pretty much everyone else throughout the country. From coast to coast, Animaniacs delights audiences who celebrate their return to the small screen. 

The highest approval for the Warner Bros. toon is in the Mountain West region of the U.S., which includes Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, and Idaho. In those states, the animated show holds a 70% approval rate. 67% of voters on the West Coast and in Alaska approve of the show. 66% of the rest of the county — including the Midwest, the South, and the Northeast areas of the United States — counts themselves as Animaniac maniacs.

There's no doubt about it: American audiences love their Animaniacs.

WHAT ANIMANIACS FANS WATCH (AND DON'T WATCH)

It is no surprise that fans of Animaniacs often flock to toons of a similar nature — it’s almost a given that these TV viewers will watch other WB shows from the '90s. Animaniacs audiences are almost 10X more likely to watch Pinky and the Brain (who will also be having new adventures in the Animaniacs reboot), as well as Tiny Toon Adventures. Outside the WB, Animaniacs fans are also 9X more likely to watch Disney's Ducktales, ABC's Darkwing Duck, and Disney's TaleSpin, as they clearly have a sharp memory of the small-screen cartoons that defined their childhoods.  

Fans also enjoy adult comedies with a mature sense of humor. For example, followers of Yakko are 7X more likely to watch Futurama, 4X more likely to watch Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, and 3X more likely to watch HBO's Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. On the other side of the coin, Insights says that Animaniacs fans are not so into dramas like Starz' Outlander and AMC's Better Call Saul. The fact that fans are less likely to enjoy straightforward kiddy fare like Disney's Dumbo's Circus tells us that most people who love the show are adults who remember it from when it was on the air, not new generations of TV fanatics.

FANS AT THE MOVIES

When it comes to ticket buying habits, audiences for Animaniacs love animated movies that are aimed at adults. Fans are 5X more likely to enjoy classics like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Sword in the Stone, as well as 4X more likely to enjoy The Iron Giant and The Brave Little Toaster.

Fans of Animaniacs also tend to be nostalgia hounds when it comes to movies, as they’re more likely to tune into cinematic offerings from the '80s and '90s across all genres. Top watches include the original 1989 Batman, the Mel Brooks classic Spaceballs, the 90s workplace satire Office Space, and everyone’s favorite modern fairy tale, The Princess Bride.

READING IS FUN-DAMENTAL

Those devoted to Dot and her brothers enjoy the classics when it comes to literature, such as Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. But their true passion is for the funny pages. 

Animaniacs fans are more likely to pick up new issues of DC Comics than any other publisher, proving that these fans are loyal to the Warner Bros. brand. This animation-loving audience are 3X more likely to read stories about Batman, Wonderwoman, and the Joker.

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

When it comes to games, Animaniacs fans are just as nostalgic about their gaming choices as they are about movies and shows. Top games for fans include N64 classics like the Zelda series, GoldenEye 007, Donkey Kong Country, and anything and everything from the Super Mario universe.

ANIMANIACS ON RANKER

Over on Ranker, Animaniacs ranks high on several "best of" lists, despite its long absence from airwaves. The show holds the #4 spot on the list of The Best Saturday Morning Cartoons for Mid-'80s - '90s Kids, and it comes in at #7 on the list for Best Cartoons of the '90s.

Animaniacs also holds the #19 spot on our list of the Best Kids’ Cartoons of All Time and rank #24 on our Best Cartoons of All Time list. It comes in at an impressive #30 out of 486 shows on the list of Greatest Animated Series Ever Made, beating animated classics such as Family Guy, Batman Beyond, Adventure Time, and The Powerpuff Girls.

FINAL FINDINGS

If Hulu was aiming at folks who look more to the past than to the future for their entertainment needs, then Animaniacs was a safe bet. According to Ranker Insights, much of the Animaniacs fanbase look back fondly on their favorite shows from childhood and hope to recapture the magic these shows once held for them.

This audience’s tastes skew heavily towards animated shows, along with pretty much any content from the '80s and '90s. Their tendency towards nostalgia is clear from the films they watch, the games they play, and the comics they read.

When it comes to more recent offerings from Hollywood, these viewers prefer shows and movies who don’t pull punches when it comes to satirizing pop culture. As their favorite show is known for its ability to mock current crazes, politics, and public figures, Animaniacs fans are on the lookout for more content that parodies modern fads. 

And those are the facts!

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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