Expectations were very mixed rewatching "Narfily Ever After". Fairytales and nursery rhymes have been parodied brilliantly many times in animation. After seeing "My Fair Brainy" doing a pretty watchable (by 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' standards) job parodying 'My Fair Lady'. It is a premise though that has been done to death, there was the risk of it being too childish and cutesy considering who it's heavily centered around and the show never quite clicked with me.
"Narfily Ever After" just doesn't work, 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' was very inconsistent to all over the place when it came to parodying (something that 'Animaniacs', 'Pinky and the Brain' and 'Tiny Toon Adventures' often did brilliantly) and this was incredibly unimaginative and under-baked stuff here. The premise was already very old well before "Narfily Ever After" ever came into fruition and it really does show in the very fatigued execution sadly, as much as it saddens me to say.
Loved Brain's storytelling role, that was the cleverest the episode got, and how he inserted himself into the story he tells. The character writing for him is on point, one of two things that was consistently good with the show, where he is very clever and amusingly deadpan. Maurice LaMarche does a marvellous job as Brain, the other consistently good thing, will say that the voice cast always did their best on this show but Rob Paulsen and Cree Summer never entirely shone because their material was weak.
There are some nice vibrant visuals and some charmingly detailed backgrounding, and once again there is some attempt to soften Elmyra's character as she isn't as abusive.
However, a lot is not done well. Really did not see the point of Pinky, who is given very little to do and his personality felt very dulled down throughout the show. Rudy's material is also bland and he also doesn't have a personality that's appealing or memorable. Elmyra is softened, but she is still obnoxious from having all her negative character traits seen in 'Tiny Toon Adventures' amplified to extremes. The chemistry is disconnected and doesn't make sense, and while recognising what was being parodied was fun the characters and referencing felt too random and shoe-horned in with little done with them.
Making "Narfily Ever After" feel lazy and tired. The wittier parts needed to be a lot sharper and the intended funny moments are too far and between and are neither imaginative or funny. The writing just feels very childish from trying too hard to appeal to younger audiences and is also too cute for the same reason. The premise is nothing new, the execution in the story has no energy or freshness. It also feels like one big anti-climax that takes too long to get to the point and then pretty much cops out. The animation has vibrancy but could have been a lot wilder and bigger. The music is more grating than catchy and doesn't seem in harmony with everything else.
Overall, has a few good things but this is one fairytale story that lacks charm and magic. 4/10.
"Narfily Ever After" just doesn't work, 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' was very inconsistent to all over the place when it came to parodying (something that 'Animaniacs', 'Pinky and the Brain' and 'Tiny Toon Adventures' often did brilliantly) and this was incredibly unimaginative and under-baked stuff here. The premise was already very old well before "Narfily Ever After" ever came into fruition and it really does show in the very fatigued execution sadly, as much as it saddens me to say.
Loved Brain's storytelling role, that was the cleverest the episode got, and how he inserted himself into the story he tells. The character writing for him is on point, one of two things that was consistently good with the show, where he is very clever and amusingly deadpan. Maurice LaMarche does a marvellous job as Brain, the other consistently good thing, will say that the voice cast always did their best on this show but Rob Paulsen and Cree Summer never entirely shone because their material was weak.
There are some nice vibrant visuals and some charmingly detailed backgrounding, and once again there is some attempt to soften Elmyra's character as she isn't as abusive.
However, a lot is not done well. Really did not see the point of Pinky, who is given very little to do and his personality felt very dulled down throughout the show. Rudy's material is also bland and he also doesn't have a personality that's appealing or memorable. Elmyra is softened, but she is still obnoxious from having all her negative character traits seen in 'Tiny Toon Adventures' amplified to extremes. The chemistry is disconnected and doesn't make sense, and while recognising what was being parodied was fun the characters and referencing felt too random and shoe-horned in with little done with them.
Making "Narfily Ever After" feel lazy and tired. The wittier parts needed to be a lot sharper and the intended funny moments are too far and between and are neither imaginative or funny. The writing just feels very childish from trying too hard to appeal to younger audiences and is also too cute for the same reason. The premise is nothing new, the execution in the story has no energy or freshness. It also feels like one big anti-climax that takes too long to get to the point and then pretty much cops out. The animation has vibrancy but could have been a lot wilder and bigger. The music is more grating than catchy and doesn't seem in harmony with everything else.
Overall, has a few good things but this is one fairytale story that lacks charm and magic. 4/10.