Animaniacs

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Animaniacs
Overview
Creator	Tom Ruegger
Starring	• Rob Paulsen • Jess Harnell • Tress MacNeille • Maurice LaMarche • Frank Welker • Sherri Stoner • Nathan Ruegger • Jeff Bennett • Paul Rugg • Nancy Cartwright • Bernadette Peters
Country of origin	United States of America
Seasons	5
Episodes	99 (Episode Guide)
Production
Executive Producer	Steven Spielberg
Producers	• Tom Ruegger • Rich Arons • Sherri Stoner • Rusty Mills • Peter Hastings
Composers	• Richard Stone • Steve Bernstein • Julie Bernstein • Gordon Goodwin • Carl Johnson • J. Eric Schmidt
Running Time	22 Minutes
Production Companies	• Warner Bros. Animation • Amblin Television
Distributor	• Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Release
Network	• Fox Kids (1993-1995) • Kids' WB! (1995-1998)
Picture Format	NTSC 480i 4:3
Audio Format	• Stereo (1993–1995) • Dolby Surround (1996–1998)
Original Release	September 13th, 1993 – November 14th, 1998
Chronology
Followed by	Animaniacs (Reboot)
Related Shows	• Tiny Toon Adventures • Pinky and the Brain • Freakazoid! • Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain
Related Movies	Wakko's Wish

For information on the 2020 reboot, see Animaniacs (2020 TV series).

For other uses of the term Animaniacs; click here.

"So just sit back and relax, you'll laugh till you collapse! We're Animaniacs!"

— Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner - Animaniacs theme song

Animaniacs is an American animated slapstick and sketch comedy series produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The show was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Warner Bros. Animation and Steven Spielberg during the Animation Renaissance of the early 1990s. The show aired from originally aired from 1993 until 1998, lasting 5 seasons and a total of 99 episodes.

The studio's first series, Tiny Toon Adventures, was a success among younger viewers, and attracted a sizable number of adult viewers as well. The Animaniacs writers and animators, led by senior producer, Tom Ruegger, took what they learned from the success of Tiny Toons to create new animated characters that were cast in the mold of Looney Tunes shorts from Chuck Jones, and Tex Avery.

The comedy of Animaniacs was a broad mix of old-fashioned wit, slapstick, pop culture references, cartoon violence, and wackiness. The show featured a number of comedic educational segments that covered subjects such as history, mathematics, geography, astronomy science, and social studies, often in musical form. Animaniacs itself was a variety show, with short skits featuring a large cast of characters.

While the show had no set format, episode structure varied to suit the needs of the segments included; the majority of episodes were composed of three short mini-episodes, each starring a different set of characters, and bridging segments. These segments were primarily headlined by the Warner Trio, a zany group of siblings who were also former cartoon stars within the show's setting. Other prominent segments included Pinky and the Brain, The Goodfeathers, Slappy Squirrel, Buttons and Mindy, Rita and Runt, and many more.

Animaniacs aired on Fox Kids from 1993 to 1995 and on Kids' WB! from 1995 to 2000. It was also aired on five other channels: Nickelodeon, Nicktoons Network, Cartoon Network, Boomerang (internationally), and the Hub Network (now known as Discovery Family). Currently, the series is available in its entirety on DVD and various digital outlets.

Throughout its original run, Animaniacs received several promotional products such as video games, a comic series published by DC Comics, merchandise, a theatrical short, special tie-ins, and a feature length direct-to-video movie. It also spawned a spin-off series focusing on the Pinky and the Brain characters in 1995, which was later retooled in 1998 to incorporate Elmyra Duff from Animaniacs' predecessor, Tiny Toons, much to the outrage of fans and the staff.

The finales of both Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain aired together on November 14, 1998 in a special hour-long broadcast: The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special.

In 2018, a reboot of the series was announced and aired on Hulu from 2020 to 2023, with most of the cast from the original show reprising their roles.

Synopsis

The Warner bros., Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister, Dot—three inseparable, irascible siblings—have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet. Considered too much of a handful, studio executives locked the siblings away in the Warner Bros. water tower, but they have found a way to escape! Causing chaos and comic confusion, Yakko, Wakko and Dot run loose in the city, turning the world into their very own personal playground in this mix of cartoon shorts, musical numbers, and comedy blackouts. They are joined by a cavalcade of crazy characters including Pinky and The Brain, Slappy Squirrel and Skippy Squirrel, the Hip Hippos, and many others.

Background

The Warner siblings and the other characters live in Burbank, California. However, characters from the series have episodes in various places and periods of time. The characters interact with famous persons and creators of the past and present as well as mythological characters and characters from modern television. Andrea Romano, the voice director and caster for the show, stated that the Warner siblings functioned to "tie the show together," by appearing in and introducing other characters' segments. Each Animaniacs episode usually consisted of two or three cartoon shorts, though some episodes had more. Animaniacs segments ranged in time, from bridging segments less than a minute long to episodes spanning the entire show length; writer Peter Hastings said that the varying episode lengths gave the show a "sketch comedy" atmosphere. The Warners currently reside, having been locked up, in the Warner Bros. trademark water tower.

Characters

Main Characters

• Yakko (voiced by Rob Paulsen)
• Wakko (voiced by Jess Harnell
• Dot (voiced by Tress MacNeille)
• Ralph T. Guard (voiced by Frank Welker)
• Dr. Scratchansniff (voiced by Rob Paulsen)
• Hello Nurse (voiced by Tress MacNeille)
• Thaddeus Plotz (voiced by Frank Welker)
• Pinky (voiced by Rob Paulsen)
• Brain (voiced by Maurice LaMarche)
• Bobby (voiced by John Mariano)
• Pesto (voiced by Chick Vennera)
• Squit (voiced by Maurice LaMarche)
• Slappy Squirrel (voiced by Sherri Stoner)
• Skippy Squirrel (voiced by Nathan Ruegger)
• Buttons (voiced by Frank Welker)
• Mindy (voiced by Nancy Cartwright)
• Rita (voiced by Bernadette Peters)
• Runt (voiced by Frank Welker)

Recurring Characters

• Chicken Boo (voiced by Frank Welker)
• Minerva Mink (voiced by Julie Brown)
• Colin (voiced by Colin Wells)
• Mr. Skullhead
• The Mime

History

Development

The prototypical design of the Warners as ducks. Their names were Wakky, Yakky and Smakky. Art by Ken Boyer and/or Alfred Gimeno.

Following the success of Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment's Tiny Toon Adventures, WBA head Jean MacCurdy and executive producer Steven Spielberg pushed creator Tom Ruegger to develop a new series.

Ruegger thought the series should have three characters as the stars, having already been planning to create a show with three protagonists (platypus ducks) inspired by his student film The Premiere of Platypus Duck.

More prototypes of the Warner Brothers -- Yakky, Smakky & Wakky -- and their sister.

Ultimately, it was determined that the characters should be changed into something other than ducks, as ducks "had been done to death" at that point. Over the next few weeks; Ruegger, Ken Boyer, Alfred Gimeno, Dan Haskett, Lynne Naylor, along with a few other artists retooled the ducks into "generic 30's-style cartoon characters" (this began by simply putting a big red nose on the bill of the duck prototype.)

One important goal for the new show was to emphasize a marquee name (per Spielberg's request). An ephpiphany Ruegger had while walking on the Warner Bros. Studio lot helped further inspire him. As he recalls, "A few days later, I’m walking across the lot, and I see the water tower, I had what you’d call a cartoon epiphany, where it’s like, well, wait, there’s my marquee." This helped to further refine the characters.

After getting clearance from Warner Bros., Ruegger gave the characters the last name "Warner." The characters consisted of three brothers: Yakky Smacky and Wakky; who were inspired by Ruegger's own sons-- Nate, Luke and Cody. A yet-unnamed female fourth sibling was also created. Yakky was inspired by Nate's own chattiness, Smakky was inspired by Luke's "slapping phase" at the time, and Wakky was presumably inspired by Cody's own energetic behavior, or perhaps all three of their own energetic behaviors. The influence of Ruegger's epiphany continued to show by making the characters live in the Warner Bros. water tower.

• Early model sheet of the Warners.
• Early model sheet of Yakko.
• Early model sheet of Wakko.
• Early model sheet of Dot.

1/4

Further retooling occurred where Yakky became Yakko, elements of both Smakky and Wakky were merged into Wakko, while the un-named girl became Dot (and presumably gaining some of Cody's traits). The sibling also received some influence from the comedy group the Marx Brothers.

As the show developed, more characters were added to complete the "variety show" feel. Ultimately, the show's supporting segments consisted of Pinky and the Brain, the Goodfeathers, Slappy Squirrel, Buttons and Mindy, Rita and Runt, Chicken Boo, Good Idea, Bad Idea, Mime Time, Randy Beaman, Minerva Mink (whose main character designer was Haskett), and Katie Ka-Boom. There were also other segment concepts that were scrapped entirely, including Bossy Beaver and Doyle. Supporting characters were also created for the segments, such as Dr. Scratchansniff for the Warners and Walter Wolf for Slappy Squirrel. The Warners also received additional sub-segments: Tower Escapes, Chases, and Returns, Wheel of Morality, Dot's Poetry Corner, The Great Wakkorotti, and Useless Facts.

Besides the show's regular cast, one-shot segements centered around other characters such as Charlton Woodchucks would air as well. The episodes also ended with stingers after the credits, where some characters would say one last joke to wrap things up.

Teaser ad from The Hollywood Reporter's 1992 Animation Special Report.

As production progressed, the show was then scheduled to premiere on September 13, 1993 on the Fox Kids network. To promote the show, a giant balloon replica of Yakko Warner sat atop the real Water Tower at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank. Then-CEO Robert A. Daly was unaware of this, and was terrified to see the Yakko balloon atop the tower. He thought Yakko looked too much like Mickey Mouse, the mascot of The Walt Disney Company.

The infamous Yakko balloon atop the water tower.

To make the siblings more distinct from Mickey, whiskers were added to Yakko and Wakko's faces. Entire episodes had to be re-edited to accommodate the changes (though some shots were left unaltered, including one in "Hello Nice Warners").

Series Run and Channel-Hop

Following the Balloon Incident, the September 1993 launch of the first season on Fox Kids began with episode 1: "De-Zanitized/The Monkey Song/Nighty-Night Toon." The series then found success with younger and older viewers alike. The show was praised for continuing the tradition of Looney Tunes-like humor (including certain jokes for older viewers), the music, and the show's writing and vocal talents.

The first season ran until May 23, 1994 with episode 65: "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special." During this time, a musical theatrical short, entitled "I'm Mad" debuted on March 30, 1994. Additionally, the overall franchise began to grow with video games, VHS releases, soundtrack albums, printed material, toys, and promotional tie-ins with brands such as McDonald's. The series also had a growing presence at the Warner Bros. Studio Store. Gradually, the show also began to circulate in various outlets internationally, such as YTV in Canada.

Poster for Kids' WB! depicting several Animaniacs characters with characters from other Kids WB! shows.

A four-episode second season, consisting of unaired season 1 material (and the "I'm Mad" short) aired from September - November 1994. This resulted from Fox Kids not ordering any new episodes for their network, as most upcoming Warner Bros. material was being sent to The WB and its programming block Kids' WB! Shortly after season 2 wrapped-up, a Christmas comic special was published by Warner's DC Comics, with a full comic series later debuting in March 1995.

Animaniacs eventually left Fox Kids in 1995 in favor of Kids WB!, with the final airing occurring on September 8th. On Kids WB! Animaniacs was positioned as the flagship show for the new block. The advertising aesthetics of the block were heavily inspired by the show's depiction of the Warner Bros. lot. Pinky and the Brain also received their own self-titled series on the channel, which debuted along with the third season of Animaniacs on September 9th. This 13-episode season ended on February 24, 1996. A month prior to this, Kids WB! began to broadcast special compilation blocks with various episodes, most of which were tied to a specific theme such as education. Additionally, many of these were an hour long. Some new episodes debuted through these compilation block programs.

The fourth season of the show debuted on September 7, 1996, and ended on November 16 with 8 episodes. Beginning in 1997, the show was also syndicated on Cartoon Network.

Cancellation

A screenshot from the show's series finale.

During the show's run on Kids WB!, the network had reportedly grown dissatisfied with the larger prominence of adult viewers over younger viewers (the block's primary target demographic), resulting in pressure from advertisers. Consequently, episode orders decreased, resulting in the last two seasons being shorter and relying largely on leftover scripts and storyboards. The 8-episode fourth season was reportedly reduced from an 18-episode order.

What would eventually turn out to be the show's fifth and final season premiered on September 8, 1997, and eventually wrapped-up on November 14, 1998 with 9 episodes. The series finale aired with Pinky and the Brain's finale, "Star Warners" (which featured most of the Animaniacs ensemble) in a one-hour broadcast entitled The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special. After this, no more episodes of Animaniacs were ordered. In addition to the WB's own dissatisfaction with what kind of viewers the show had been receiving, creator Tom Ruegger attributed the block's acquisition of the Pokémon anime series as a factor in the show's end as well. As Pokémon was already completed elsewhere, the WB just had to pay for licensing and airing for the smash-hit anime series, which was cheaper than Animaniacs. As a result, they began to invest less in original programming of their own.

Post-Series

Poster for the show's film, Wakko's Wish.

Following the end of the series, the franchise continued to receive additional entries in other media including print, video games, and even a direct-to-video feature: Wakko's Wish, in December 1999. Pinky and the Brain also received another spin-off: Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain, which was met with more mixed reception and lasted from September 1998 - April 1999. The show's DC comic series would also continue until April 2000.

Following its run, the show continued to air on Kids' WB! in reruns, including through the compilation program The Big Cartoonie Show. The series was paired with various other shows; including Pinky and the Brain, unaired episodes of Elmyra, The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Looney Tunes shorts. Eventually, the franchise left Kids' WB in August 2000.

The show was still syndicated on Cartoon Network in the USA until 2001, then making the jump to Nickelodeon / Nicktoons until 2005. After this, the entire series was released on DVD and digital outlets in four volumes from 2006 - 2013, later culminating in a complete series boxset in 2018 (for the show's 25th anniversary).

Internationally, the show has continued to circulate on many channels such as Boomerang.

From 2012-2014, the show (along with Wakko's Wish) was syndicated in the US on Hub Network. This reintroduced the show to viewers and is cited as kickstarting the show's popularity resurgence. Beginning in 2014, a special traveling live show, Animaniacs Live!, was organized by voice actor Rob Paulsen and songwriter Randy Rogel. In it, the two perform several songs from the show and another WBA series Histeria!. They are sometimes joined by additional cast-members and writers including Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, and Peter Hastings,

Netflix also streamed the series from 2016-2017, which helped the show's popularity soar even more. This regained popularity (helped especially by the live show) was instrumental in Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment's decision to begin development on a reboot of the series in 2017. The reboot was then greenlit by Hulu in 2018, and aired from 2020-2023. Additionally, the 1993-1999 productions in the franchise were available to stream on Hulu from 2018-2023.

Production

Silence, Pinky. My work begins! This article and/or section is currently under construction.  Any help to expand information on pages like these is greatly appreciated by the Animaniacs Wiki.

Voice Cast

Animaniacs utilized a very extensive voice-cast, which was directed by Andrea Romano. The primary and supporting cast consisted of Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Frank Welker, Maurice LaMarche, Sherri Stoner, Nathan Ruegger, Cody Ruegger, Luke Ruegger, Chick Vennera, John Mariano, Paul Rugg, Bernadette Peters, Julie Brown, Nancy Cartwright, Colin Wells, and Laura Mooney. The Ruegger siblings are the children of series creator of Tom Ruegger (and the initial inspirations for the Warners), and Colin Wells is the son of series writer Deanna Oliver.

In addition to the show's main cast, numerous guest stars were utilized including Ed Asner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Dan Castellaneta, Phil Hartman, Arte Johnson, Valri Bromfield, John Glover, Adam West, Kenneth Mars, Adrienne Alexander, and many more. Much of the primary, supporting, and guest casts were retained from Tiny Toon Adventures.

Writing

Animaniacs utilized a large writing staff consisting of Tom Ruegger, Paul Rugg, Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver, Randy Rogel, John P. McCann, Nicholas Hollander; and many more.

Music

At Spielberg's request, Animaniacs made great use of its musical score. The series used a 35-piece orchestra and seven composers were contracted to write original underscore for the series' run: Richard Stone, Steve Bernstein, Julie Bernstein, Carl Johnson, J. Eric Schmidt, Gordon Goodwin, and Tim Kelly.

Tiny Toon Adventures had also utilized an orchestral score, but Spielberg pushed for it to have an even greater presence in Animaniacs. As a result, the show's budget became even more expensive, and featured multiple original scores in each episode (while also borrowing from pre-existing scores). Former WBA president and executive in charge of series production Jean MacCurdy stated that "the sound sets us apart from everyone else in animation."

Much like other aspects of Animaniacs, the musical score was greatly influenced by that of Looney Tunes and composer Carl Stalling. The show's scoring sessions occurred in the Eastwood Scoring Stage, which was also used by Stalling for Looney Tunes (along with the same piano). An animated recreation of the show's scoring process would later be shown in one of the show's final segments, "The Scoring Session" from the series finale.

Animation Studios

• Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd.
• Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd.
• StarToons International, LLC.
• Akom Film Production
• Freelance Animators Co., Ltd.
• Varga Animation Studio (1 segment)
• Koko Enterprises
• Philippine Animation Studio Inc. (1 segment)

Like its predecessor show, Tiny Toon Adventures, Warner Bros. Television Animation outsourced much of the animation from Animaniacs to various other studios around the world. The production budget for the first season is estimated to be nearly $26 million, with around $400,000 used for each episode of the season.

Episodes

See Episode Guide (original Animaniacs) (standard listing) and Compilations Episode Guide (original Animaniacs) (variant listings)

Season		# of Episodes	Original Airdate
	Season 1	65	1993-1994
	Season 2	4	1994
	Season 3	13	1995-1996
	Season 4	8	1996
	Season 5	9	1997-1998

The series aired on September 13, 1993 and ended on November 14, 1998. From 1993-1995, the series aired on Fox Kids. From 1995 to 2000 (after the series finale), the series aired on Kids' WB!. Animaniacs had a total of 99 episodes and a direct-to-video-movie, Wakko's Wish. There even was a "crossover" with their spin-off show Pinky and the Brain: "Star Warners" (a Star Wars parody), which was aired with the Animaniacs finale under The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special. To some fans, this was the unofficial 100th episode, with others considering Wakko's Wish to be the 100th episode.

Home Media

For more information, see the Home Media Releases page
Currently, the series is available in its entirety on DVD and digital outlets. During its run, the show also received several VHS releases.

Syndication and Streaming

In the United States, the series bounced around to different channels following its run including Cartoon Network (where it was initially being re-ran near the end of its run), Nickelodeon and Nicktoons, and Hub Network. The show was also available on Netflix from 2016-2017. From January 2018-January 2023, the show was available to stream on Hulu in varying quality.

In Italy, the series along with Tiny Toon Adventures, Pinky and The Brain, and Freakazoid! re-ran on Mediaset and Rai.

In Japan, along with Tiny Toon Adventures and Pinky and The Brain (except for Freakazoid! that was re-ran on TV Asahi) re-ran on TV Tokyo.

In Australia, the program was reran on the 9GO! channel.

In Britain, the series ran on Cartoon Network and CITV.

In various territories around the world, the series was also shown on Boomerang.

In Argentina, it was broadcast on Tooncast until late 2020.

In Mexico, it was broadcast on Canal 5 of Televisa, along with Tiny Toons Adventures and Pinky and the Brain, and later in 2020 broadcast by Azteca 7.

In Brazil, it was broadcast on TV Colossus by Globo TV, on SBT along with Tiny Toons and Pinky and the Brain, on Warner Channel and Tooncast.

In Latin America, the show began streaming on HBO Max on June 29, 2022. It was later briefly removed in June 2023, then restored a month later. Following the channel's rebrand to just "Max" on February 27, 2024, the series made the jump to the new channel. Confusingly, only the first season was available until late March - early April; when the remaining 34 episodes were added. On both Max and its prior incarnation, all 99 episodes are consolidated under 4 "seasons" (in the US Netflix followed a similar pattern).

Controversy

The show has been noted for various examples of adult humor and innuendos that make it seem controversial for the show to have been targeted at children.

International Versions

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Danish Voice Actors

• Vibeke Dueholm - Dot Warner
• Lars Thiesgaard - Dr. Otto Scratchansniff
• Peter Røschke - Godpigeon
• Annevig Schelde Ebbe - Mindy
• Vibeke Dueholm - Halløj, Søster! (Hello Nurse)
• Julie Lund - Katie Ka-Boom
• Søren Sætter-Lassen - Pinky
• Thomas Mørk - Ralph The Guard
• Birgitte Raaberg - Rita
• Henrik Koefoed - Yakko Warner
• Peter Røschke - Wakko Warner
• Mathias Klenske - Skippy Egern
• Pauline Rehné - Slappy Egern
• Torben Sekov - Thaddeus Plotz

Gallery

Animaniacs Wiki has a collection of images related to Animaniacs.

Trivia

• In pre-production, the Warners were meant to be three platypus duck brothers, but Warner Bros. thought there were too many duck characters on television, so they were changed to an unknown species.
• Even though the Warners have dog-like qualities, what they are exactly is unknown. The closest plausible real-world species is some kind of lemur.
• The names of the Warners were originally Yakky, Wakky, and little sister Dot along with a fourth sibling named Smakky. Yakky became Yakko, Wakky and Smakky were melded to become Wakko and Dot's name was kept.
• To poke fun of the original four Warner siblings, there were three ideas of a fourth sibling to Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. The names are Sakko, Smakko, and Lakko. Sakko was featured in the Animaniacs comic. Lakko was purposed for a proposed Animaniacs movie that never came to be, and Smakko was an obvious nod to his original counterpart Smakky. However, both Lakko and Smakko have stopped making appearances.
• Bob Daley, who ran the studio in 1992, saw a balloon of Yakko on the WB water tower, he ordered it to be removed because he thought it was a misshapen Mickey Mouse. The balloon was on the tower for less than 12 hours then popped shortly after it was removed. Writer Paul Rugg took a picture to prove that it had happened.
  • After that, so the viewers wouldn't be confused with Mickey Mouse, Bob Daley had Tom Ruegger add side whiskers to Yakko and Wakko.
  • The siblings share other similarities with Mickey Mouse, such as black fur with white faces, and the early style Mickey's eyes, and wear white gloves. However, their longer, slender ears contrast strongly with Mickey's.
• Dot's head is shaped like the famous Warner Bros. shield.
• In pre-production, Dot was originally supposed to be just the Warners' friend but was changed to their little sister.
• Rita and Runt originally were going to host the show.
• Animaniacs has the second-most amount of animation studios, with a total of 9 animation studios (which would later be beaten by the Animaniacs reboot, featuring 13 animation studios).

See Also

• DC Comics series
• Brain's Plans from this show