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Animaniacs (2020 TV series)

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Animaniacs
Animaniacsposter2020bluepurplebackground.jpeg
Poster Courtesy of Hulu
Picture format 1080p 16:9 Widescreen
Running time 22-26 Minutes
Creator Tom Ruegger (Original Concept and Characters)
Country of origin United States of America
Production company Amblin Television
Warner Bros. Animation
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Hulu, LLC
Teletoon (Canada)
No. of episodes 13 (List of episodes)
Related shows Animaniacs
Pinky and the Brain
Freakazoid!
Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain

For information on the original show, see Animaniacs

"Quantum mechanics. Quinoa wraps. Queen Bey! We’ve missed so much!"- Yakko Warner

Animaniacs is an animated slapstick comedy series for Hulu, produced by Amblin Entertainmentand Warner Bros. Animation. It is a revival of the 90s television series of the same name. The series sees the return of Yakko, Wakko and Dot as they wreck havoc in Warner Bros. Studios and more places, and Pinky and The Brain as they try to take over the world.

Plans for a revival began as early as 2017, where Amblin and Warner Bros. were interested in reviving multiple old properties. The reboot was officially announced in 2018 for a two-season run on Hulu alongside said service acquiring the streaming rights for Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Pinky and the Brain and Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain. The 1st season was released on November 20, 2020, with the second season expected to premiere in 2021.

Synopsis

They're back! have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet. After returning to their beloved home, the Warner Bros. Water Tower, the Animaniacs waste no time in causing chaos and comic confusion as they run loose through the studio and beyond, turning the world into their personal playground. Joining will also return to continue their quest for world domination in each of the 13 episodes.[1][2]

Segments

Cast (Main and supporting characters)

Episodes

Animation Studios

The following studios were confirmed to be animating the show at the Ottawa Animation Festival:

Crew

Crew-members who worked on the original show are bolded in desktop mode.

Showrunner

Executive Producers

Co-Executive Producer

  • Gabe Swarr

Production Managers

  • Leigh Culbertson (Senior APM)
  • Ryan Ramsey (Assistant Production Manager)

Storyboard Arists

  • Kyle A. Carozza
  • Tony Craig
  • Karl Hadrika
  • Brett Varon (Also Director)
  • Zach Smith
  • Meg Syverud
  • Katie Rice (Also a Director)
  • Gene Goldstein
  • Ernie Ochoa
  • Nick Sumida
  • Lisa Vandenberg
  • Wolf-Rüdiger Bloss
  • Brock Gallagher
  • Kevin Cannarile
  • Andrew Scherman[3]
  • Jenny Kang[4]
  • Nicolette Wood[5]
  • Matthew Yang[6]

Writers

  • Randy Rogel
  • Roddy Hart (also a songwriter)
  • Tommy Reilly (also a songwriter)
  • Greg White
  • Jordan VanDina
  • Andrew Barbot
  • Matthew Yang
  • Ned Goldreyer

Directors

  • Katie Rice
  • Brett Varon
  • Scott O'Brien[7] (also animation supervisor)

Prop Designer

  • Will Terrell

Character Designers

  • Genevieve Tsai[8] (Main character redesigner and supervising character designer)
  • Ernesto Ochoa[9]
  • Shaun Bryant[10]

BG Artists

  • Pablo Leon
  • Katrien Verbiest
  • Randol Eagles
  • Tony Mora[11]
  • Tristin Cole[12]

Freelance Animators

  • Lorenzo Estrada[13]
  • June Kind[14]
  • Ashley McGivern[15]
  • Erica Estrada[16]
  • Miscellaneous crew
  • Ryan Burkhand (animation editor)

Confirmed Crew-Members With Unspecified Job

  • Tony Cervone (Presumably storyboards, directing and producing)

Music

  • Steven Bernstein
  • Julie Bernstein
  • Roddy Hart (songs)
  • Tommy Reilly (songs)

Development

Early Events

In 2017, there was an announcement that Animaniacs is getting a reboot expected to be led by Steven Spielberg and made by Amblin TV and Warner Bros. Entertainment, as before.[17] A contributing factor is due to the show experiencing a popularity surge on Netflix. On October 1st, 2017, Netflix removed the original show to make room for other titles (it is commonly theorized they removed the show due to losing the bidding-war for reboot rights to Hulu) . In addition, Rob Paulsen and Randy Rogel’s successful Animaniacs Live! concerts were also instrumental in reviving the series as it helped keep the show popular.

Announcement

In 2018, Amblin announced that Animaniacs was renewed for two more seasons which will air on Hulu.[18] If the show has good viewership ratings, more may be picked up later. In the meantime, Warner Bros. has given streaming rights to Hulu for Tiny Toon Adventures (The Plucky Duck Show included), Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain, all of which were available for streaming on Netflix in different territories at some point until 2017. However, Freakazoid!, another Spielberg/WB cartoon, was not included in the deal.

Production

As of early June 2018, [19] the pilot episode's script was completed and as of July 12th, 2018, [20] storyboarding and production has officially started. On August 9th, 2018, an interview with Rob Paulsen revealed that there will be 26 new half-hour episodes of the show, and the new season would most likely air in the Fall of 2020. [21] At the time, it was stated that it was unknown whether the original voice actors would return or their roles would be recast.

In the 157th episode of the fan podcast "Animanicast" on August 18th, 2019; new details were revealed on how the process was coming along.[22] According to a summed-up version,[23] it's planned that the reboot will be released in September 14, 2020 as opposed to the Fall, Randy Rogel has returned to write (most likely songs) for the show, Steve and Julie Bernstein have returned to compose, and two new songwriters have been hired and have tweeted their involvement. There has been no mention of Slappy Squirrel or Goodfeathers segments being included yet, but there are some new "Good Idea, Bad Idea"-like segments, the original voice actors possibly being involved due to strong hints from Paulsen and LaMarche (but still unconfirmed at the time due to NDA), and an Instagram post from Carlos Alazraqui with him in a recording studio with Paulsen, Jess Harnell and Tress MacNeille that may indicate him being involved in the reboot as well.

On October 8th, 2019, in Paulsen's book "Voice Lessons", [24] it was confirmed that he, Harnell, MacNeille and LaMarche were working on the show and returned to provide voices for it, including for Yakko, Wakko, Dot, Pinky and the Brain. On January 25, 2020, Steve Bernstein returned to conduction with the show’s first scoring session, with a leaked image of the new Animaniacs. The show is mostly scored at the same Eastwood Soundstage as the original.

In March 2020, several crew members behind the show confirmed on Twitter that they were now working on the show from home due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic shutting down the studio. [25] The show was also menitoned along with numerous other animated series that are still continuing production amidst the virus in a Deadline article. [26]

Likewise on May 2nd, 2020, Rob Paulsen confirmed on his Instagram Live stream that the cast is recording some lines from their homes. He also reaffirmed the Fall 2020 release window. It’s currently unknown if scoring is being done remotely as well.

Closer to Release

On June 11, 2020, Rob Paulsen said in an Ask Fandom livestream that the estimated release window as of now is September-October, but no exact date due to COVID-19. He also confirmed the show is a revival and that the Warners have been locked away in the tower since the 90s ("They are self-aware that they had been locked-down for 25 years"). [27] [28]

In an interview with Animation Magazine, Rob Paulsen confirmed that as of July 2020 the show is now in post-production. He also confirmed that Squit and Dr. Scratchansniff will be returning. New ancillary characters will also be introduced.[29]

On July 19th, 2020, more reboot news dropped courtesy of Animanicast‘s sources. [30]

The following was revealed:

  • Theme song is the same as the original with modified lyrics.
  • First season is decent with ups and downs with a “spectacular” second season.
  • Pilot episode is stellar.
  • Pinky and the Brain in particular have some of the strongest episodes as the main characters.
  • The Goodfeathers will seemingly have cameos, so far only Squit is confirmed to be voiced.
  • Wellesley Wild is working to honor the original show to satisfy old and new audiences with modern stuff as well as to make his children happy.
  • Slappy, Skippy, Hello Nurse, Minerva Mink, Buttons, Mindy, Rita, and Runt will not appear.
    • However, the showrunners and voice actors have said that those characters might return if the reboot gets renewed for more seasons.
  • Spielberg’s “clean-up” crew had a different role than thought, he was busy for West Side Story for a while before returning with a set of notes. The issue here wasn’t with quality but rather time. Additional support was hired to help out.
  • Thaddeus Plotz will retire and not be present as a new female Latina CEO will take over the studio. [31]

On August 6, Maurice LaMarche tweeted that information on the reboot will be posted onto Hulu's Twitter page the following day. New information was indeed announced, including the release date of November 20th, 2020.

On September 6, a Animaniacs panel was held at Dragon Con. While no footage of the reboot was shown, the cast did drop a few tibits about the reboot.

The Animanicast did confirm that footage for the reboot will be shown at New York Comic Con in October.

On September 9, a panel for Animaniacs was officially announced for New York Comic Con by Hulu. The logo for the reboot was also revealed by Hulu.

On September 13th, the anniversary of the first episode of the original series, a behind the scenes video was posted to Hulu’s social media accounts and Warner Bros. Kids’ YouTube channel previewing footage of the new intro, some animatics, lines and a script.

On October 2nd, new information was revealed at the Ottawa Animation Festival. This included numerous different designs for the Warners, episode structures, background paintings, and teases on what to expect. [32] The official Twitter and Instagram pages for the show went live on October 9th. Two days later, the NYCC panel was streamed along with a preview clip spoofing Jurassic Park. [33] The trailer went live on October 21st (it can be viewed in the video gallery below), along with a press release containing episode descriptions. [34]

Assorted Rumors

  • Although he isn’t writing for the show, there is speculation that Paul Rugg will be guest-starring as either Mr. Director or Freakazoid. On December 11th, 2019, he posted to Instagram that he was on his way to the Warner Bros. lot to record some dialogue for a character he never thought he’d voice again. He proceeded to do some “wooshing”-type noises as a vocal warmup very similar to one of Freakazoid’s noises. [35] Later on, it was revealed that Freakazoid won’t be on Animaniacs, but rather a different show. [36] This was later revealed to be the crossover episode with the series Teen Titans Go! entitled "Huggbees".[37] Freakazoid was intended to make an appearance, but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts with Rugg.[38]

Paul Rugg working on the Warner Bros lot on December 11th, 2019.

Notes/Trivia

  • Animaniacs (2020) is the first native HD production in the Animaniacs franchise and the first entry to be fully widescreen. Prior to the reboot, several episodes of the original show were widescreen such as I’m Mad and Variety Speak.
  • Yakko, Wakko and Dot recieve slight redesigns: Yakko and Wakko now have tufts of hair on top of their heads similar to Pinky, and the amount of petals on Dot's flower were reduced from 5 to 4. Alongside those, the skin color for the Warners, Pinky and The Brain were given a warmer color. It might have been a later decision to add these small design tweaks as the teaser poster lacks these.
  • In pre-production Amazon, Netflix, Hulu and Apple were in a bidding-war for streaming rights to the reboot. Ultimately, Hulu won. [39]
  • Due to the lack of Hulu in other countries, it’s currently unknown if the revival will air internationally on other channels or streaming services.
    • On 11/12/20 it was confirmed that the show will debut in Canada via Teletoon on the same day as the American release. [40]
  • Maurice LaMarche has teased that Brain has become a little more bitter having not taken over the world after all these years since the original shows ended. The time-skip of course will be acknowledged (go to around 14:23-ish).[41]
  • Most of the original voice cast has been confirmed to return including Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche and Frank Welker. Jeff Bennett was also present in a photo confirming the cast’s return and was later confirmed to be in Episode 7 of the reboot.
    • Frank Welker confirmed at a convention that he'll be reprising his role as Ralph T. Guard. He also reprised his role as Chicken Boo. Thaddeus Plotz didn’t return due to the presence of a new CEO, Nora Rita Norita.
  • Paul Rugg, who wrote for the original series, was originally approached to return to write for the reboot but declined as he felt he already fulfilled his duties for writing for the original show and was more open to new talent writing for the reboot. As mentioned above in the “Assorted Rumors” tab however, there was speculation that he will be guest-voicing.
  • While Slappy, Skippy, the Goodfeathers, Minerva Mink, Buttons, Mindy, Rita, Runt, The Hip Hippos, Chicken Boo, Katie Ka-Boom, and The Mime do not have their own segments, they appear in Good Warner Hunting.
  • Kyle A. Carrozza, creator of Cartoon Network's Mighty Magiswords whom also storyboarded for the series, and Scott O'Brien, animation director, are technically some of the few original Animaniacs artists to return for the reboot. Kyle initially did clean-ups and inbetweens for the episode "Episode 92: It/Dot - The Macadamia Nut/Bully for Skippy" when he visited Startoons, the studio that animated the episode. Scott did freelance for the series, coincidentally on the same episode. [42] [43]
  • Many of the musicians from the original show return to score, including Bryan Pezzone.
  • While the original series is rated TV–Y (later TV–Y7), this series is rated TV–PG (with occasional sub–ratings)
  • Jessica Borutski was slated to be involved with the show initially as an artist but the contract fell-through.
  • A screenshot leak was discovered on the YouTube Page of an animator on April 2019 who worked for Snipple Animation Studios, one of the animation studios on the show (picture appears around 7:18 in the video). [44] The picture is also in the gallery below. The shot was later discovered to be a frame from Episode 3.
  • Acording to Rob Paulsen in Hey Fandom!, the revival will keep an adult-edge similar to that of the original show. [45]
  • According to Jess Harnell, Wakko calls a “prominent political leader” a psychopath in the first episode. (29:13 in the video) [46]
  • According to Gabe Swarr, the updated design aspects of the Warners were not only streamlined but were influenced from Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd.'s depiction of the characters in the original series.[47]
  • A second season is expected to premiere sometime in 2021.[48]

Gallery

Videos

Early Promotional Material

These are earlier promotional materials.

Production Material

Leaks

Leaks related to the show, both of series screenshots and promotional materials.

More Recent Promotional Material

Promotional material made closer to (and during) the release of the show such as posters and prints.

External Links

References

  1. ↑ https://amblin.com/tv/animaniacs-2/
  2. ↑ https://press.hulu.com/shows/animaniacs/
  3. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-scherman
  4. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-kang-99818790/
  5. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolette-wood-6303b158/
  6. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-yang-83320252/
  7. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-o-brien-animation
  8. ↑ https://twitter.com/gabe_swarr/status/1291811932484169728
  9. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernesto-ochoa-2b86a32b/
  10. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunbryant/
  11. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymora
  12. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristin-cole-4b45402b
  13. ↑ https://twitter.com/Lozoescartoons/status/1290109103147106306
  14. ↑ https://twitter.com/FtK_Artist/status/1305193843416084481
  15. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyqmcgovern
  16. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeev96/
  17. ↑ http://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/animaniacs-reboot-steven-spielberg-amblin-1201817336/
  18. ↑ https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/04/hulu-is-resurrecting-animaniacs-and-streaming-previous-seasons
  19. ↑ https://twitter.com/animaniacsquote/status/1003070398521643014
  20. ↑ https://twitter.com/karl_hadrika/status/1017295883002568704
  21. ↑ https://www.metro.us/things-to-do/boston/rob-paulsen-animaniacs-reboot
  22. ↑ https://www.retrozap.com/animanicast-157-exclusive-reboot-news-and-a-review-of-animaniacs-issue-16/
  23. ↑ https://twitter.com/KateFerrandino/status/1163237292598865921
  24. ↑ https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/2019/10/08/animaniacs-original-voice-cast-returning-reboot-hulu-2020/
  25. ↑ https://twitter.com/leighsnamehere/status/1239246790873845761?s=21
  26. ↑ https://deadline.com/2020/03/animation-tv-series-continue-coronavirus-challenges-1202890786/amp/
  27. ↑ https://twitter.com/animaniacswba/status/1271173063640481792?s=21
  28. ↑ https://twitter.com/animaniacswba/status/1271175204094595081?s=21
  29. ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/animated-people/rob-paulsen-gives-us-the-scoop-on-upcoming-animaniacs-reboot/
  30. ↑ https://animanicast.libsyn.com/182-more-exclusive-animaniacs-reboot-news?tdest_id=398551
  31. ↑ https://twitter.com/hardel_john/status/1242029887621382156?s=21
  32. ↑ https://www.cartoonbrew.com/streaming/how-the-creators-of-hulus-animaniacs-reboot-subtly-updated-the-look-of-the-series-197301.html
  33. ↑ https://youtu.be/928aGZhVCpo
  34. ↑ https://press.hulu.com/shows/animaniacs/
  35. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B58IOFLDdZu/?igshid=ooel3oh2rviz
  36. ↑ https://twitter.com/animanicast/status/1289245715055616000?s=21
  37. ↑ https://twitter.com/pkrugg/status/1326185147394215937
  38. ↑ https://collider.com/animaniacs-producers-interview-hulu-freakazoid/
  39. ↑ https://collider.com/rob-paulsen-voices-book-animaniacs-reboot/
  40. ↑ https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/teletoon-east-hd/10331/2020-11-20
  41. ↑ https://youtu.be/O4XlkUuSNCg
  42. ↑ https://twitter.com/optimusscotto/status/881635330067058688
  43. ↑ https://twitter.com/optimusscotto/status/1332914913405112320?s=21
  44. ↑ https://youtu.be/26jCehmYTBM
  45. ↑ https://www.fandom.com/articles/rob-paulsen-animaniacs-ninja-turtles-hey-fandom
  46. ↑ https://youtu.be/64ePyCO7JDA
  47. ↑ https://twitter.com/gabe_swarr/status/1291841939516530688
  48. ↑ ‘Animaniacs’ Reboot Sets Hulu Premiere Date - Variety
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