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"He knows our motivations, that's what he'd like to think! He's Dr. Scratchansniff, the studio shrink!"
Yakko, Wakko and Dot
"Das ist gut, ja?"
— Dr. Scratchansniff

Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff (usually referred to as just Dr. Scratchansniff and Scratchy by the Warners) is the psychiatrist at the Warner Bros. Studios who speaks with a thick Austrian-German accent. He is the one charged with keeping an eye on the Warner brothers (and the Warner sister). Scratchy was one of the greatest psychiatrists in Hollywood before the Warners arrived. Since then, he has been driven to the brink of insanity occasionally because of them. Sometimes, he is joined by Hello Nurse and Ralph T. Guard. In the original series, he serves Thaddeus Plotz, and in the reboot he serves Nora Rita Norita.

His voice is provided by Rob Paulsen.

Appearance

He once had gray hair, but he ripped it off due to the Warners driving him to insanity in his sessions with them, which is why he is now bald. He wears a white smock, purple pants, black shoes, and glasses. His eyes were never shown, but Dot says they are blue in The Monkey Song.

In the reboot series, he has a longer nose and pointier chin, dons a more detailed lab-coat, and has five fingers on each hand instead of four.

Personality

Animaniacs_-_Meeting_the_P-sychiatrist

Animaniacs - Meeting the P-sychiatrist

He is a regular character in the Warner sketches, usually as the victim of their antics. However, some shorts feature Scratchansniff as a sort of surrogate father to the Warner siblings, doing activities such as making them food and taking them to the circus (as shown in I'm Mad). However, he doesn't like being seen as such, insisting that he is nothing more than their psychiatrist, but the Warners will sometimes call him "father" or "daddy" just to mess around and annoy him for the fun of it. He is highly allergic to poison oak, as seen in The Sound of Warners. Scratchansniff is attracted to large women as shown in Drive-Insane and Anchors A-Warners.

He has worked at Warner Bros. for more than fifty years, implying that he must be at least in his mid-70s (possibly even older by the time of the reboot), despite his relatively spry demeanor (especially when the Warners drive him up the wall). His patients over the years have included Edward G. Robinson, Peter Lorre, Better Davis, Rex Harrison, the Invisible Man, Jack Nicholson, Cher, Clint Eastwood, Michael Keaton, and Ronald Reagan. He occasionally uses a puppet modeled after him, named Mr. Puppet Head, when treating children to help them talk about their feelings.

In the 22 years since the original Animaniacs ended, it appears that the gradual exposure to the Warners finally broke him. Come "Hindenburg Cola", Scratchansniff has become dead-set on upstaging the Warners and making them pay for their zany antics, proclaiming himself to be "the new und improved Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff". His obsession has become so dangerous that he ends up injuring himself trying to "prank" the Warners. He has also become more accustomed to lying.

It's currently unknown if his upstaging-obsession will end or continue in future episodes of the reboot. Either way, Scratchansniff will most likely continue to be subjected to comical cartoon violence.

Appearances

Animaniacs (Original Series)

Pinky and the Brain

Animaniacs (Reboot)

Film

Trivia

  • Scratchy was modeled after original series director Alfred Gimeno.
  • Dr. Scratchansniff's voice is based on Peter Sellers' portrayal of Dr. Strangelove.
    • Rob Paulsen re-used this voice in a 2005 episode of the Cartoon Network series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi for a character named The Amazing Dr. Mysto.
  • In the English version of Animaniacs, Scratchansniff often says words in German, such as "Ja", "Nein" and "Und".
  • Dr. Scratchansniff makes a cameo in "Cute First (Ask Questions Later)." Yakko and Wakko try to knock Dr. Scratchansniff off his examination chair while recreating the theme song, but fail when the producers realize that Dot has been taken.

Gallery

Artwork

Model sheets

Screenshots

References


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