Disasterpiece Theatre/Hercule Yakko/Home on De-Nile/A Midsummer Night's Dream is the 25th episode of the original Animaniacs. It originally aired on October 21st, 1993.
Disasterpiece Theatre
Animation by StarToons
Plot
Yakko does a parody of the program, Masterpiece Theatre, as different disasters unfurl around him. When this wraps-up, Yakko invites the viewers for a viewing of an even bigger disaster: a certain show called Animaniacs!
Trivia
- Godzilla appears, along with his actual roar from the films.
Theme Song
Last line
Yakko, Wakko and Dot:
How urbaney...
Hercule Yakko
Animation by Wang Film Production
Plot
In this parody of Agatha Christie stories, the Warners help find a diamond necklace that was presumably stolen from the Hip Hippos' ship stateroom. The trio interrogates various members of the Animaniacs ensemble as Yakko vows to get to the "bottom" of this Great Warner Caper.
Crew
- Written by Peter Hastings
- Directed by Rusty Mills and Dave Marshall
Songs
Trivia
- Hercule Yakko is a clear parody of Hercule Poirot, while his attire is taken from Sherlock Holmes.
- For a brief moment, Yakko changes into Liberace and plays the piano.
- Contains a cameo appearance by Chicken Boo and almost every main character in the series.
- Minerva Mink makes her debut appearance in this cartoon.
- Slappy Squirrel mentions that she once saw Wally Gator dance with a Smurf.
- Pinky and the Brain appear in this cartoon.
- At one point, the infamous crowded stateroom scene from the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera is parodied, to which Dot acknowledges chuckling.
- A caricature of Colombo appears.
- Contains what many consider to be one of the most inappropriate jokes that managed to work its way into an Animaniacs episode (see quote below). According to Tom Ruegger, this exchange came about from improvisation during the recording session: when Rob Paulsen as Yakko delivered the line "No no no, finger prints!" Tress MacNeille quipped, "I don't think so," in response, which somehow made it into the final episode.[1]
Quotes
- Yakko: Number one sister, dust for prints.
- (sometime later)
- Dot: I found Prince! (She is seen carrying the eponymous pop star in her arms)
- Yakko: No no no, finger prints.
- (She looks at the pop star, who smiles.)
- Dot: I don't think so.
- (She then tosses him out through the porthole.)
Home on De-Nile
Animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Ltd.
Plot
Rita and Runt are travelling to Palm Springs in search of a wealthy man called Sonny Bono since he likes strays. They mistake the place they wind up in for Palm Springs; The place is Ancient Egypt.
They come across the entrance of the palace of the Cleopatra family. Runt seemingly has to defend himself at first, until the guards notice Rita and start worshipping her. They bring Rita before Cleopatra - who’s having trouble finding a worthy cat for an upcoming festival. When she sees Rita, she literally calls her a “give from the Gods.” Rita is adopted by the palace while Runt is taken away to help build a temple in Cleopatra and Rita’s honour.
Rita heavily enjoys the treatment of the palace and forgets about Runt until it turns out they're in the same bed, to Runt’s comfort and Rita’s annoyance.
The festival comes and during a speech, Rita is held by Cleopatra above the pit of fire. Runt is happy for Rita until through listening to Cleopatra's speech and looking through a hieroglyph, does he find out that Rita is to be “sacrificed to the Gods of Harvest.” Runt jumps in and snatches Rita just as she’s thrown. He then escapes from the raged Palace.
Rita and Runt flee "Palm Springs" and begin heading to Vegas. With Runt explaining about the rescue, Rita boasts that she feels “mighty lucky” for the casinos there.
Crew
- Written by Stephen Hibbert
- Directed by Rusty Mills
Songs
Trivia
- This is the first episode to have Rita and Runt's theme song play before the episode.
- Furrball (a character from Tiny Toon Adventures) makes a cameo appearance as a possible candidate for a sacrificial cat. When he is shown before Cleopatra, he is heavily despised by the ruler and she throws him away.
- The song that Marc Antony, a general sings is a parody of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" from the 1933 Walt Disney Silly Symphony Three Little Pigs.
- This is the first episode of the segment where Rita and Runt get lost while heading somewhere. This gag would be recurring for the remainder of the segment.
- Cleopatra and Marc Antony are caricatures of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who played the characters in the 1963 Mankiewicz film. Marc Antony's singing of "Who's Afraid of Cleopatra" is a reference to Taylor and Burton's roles in the 1966 film adaptation of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
- As always, the Warners and Ralph continue their literal running gag.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Plot
Yakko acts out Puck's final monologue from A Midsummer Night's Dream, with "translation" by Dot. Meanwhile, Wakko gets a little too comfortable with a pixie in the background.
Crew
- Written by William Shakespeare and Deanna Oliver
- Directed by Rusty Mills
Trivia
- Batman and Robin make a cameo appearance driving the Batmobile.
- This is the first of three sketches that "interpret" the works of Shakespeare. Later installments would have the Warners "translating" Hamlet and Macbeth.
Soundtrack
- Rondeau from "Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper" by Jean-Joseph Mouret
- Wintermärchen by Alphons Czibulka
- Shortnin' Bread by JW Riley
- The Old Folks at Home by Stephen Foster
- Chicken Reel (Public Domain)
- Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppé
- Yankee Doodle (Public Domain)
- Humoresque by Antonín Dvorák
- The Anvil Chorus by Giuseppe Verdi
- The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa aka Be Kind To Your Web Footed Friends
- She'll Be Comin' Around the Mountain (Public Domain)
- Carry Me Back to Old Virginia by James Allen Bland
- Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4 by Johannes Brahms
- Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Cast
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Rob Paulsen | Yakko Warner, Pinky |
| Jess Harnell | Wakko Warner |
| Tress MacNeille | Dot Warner, Marita Hippo, Cleopatra, Pixie |
| Sherri Stoner | Slappy Squirrel |
| Frank Welker | Flavio Hippo, Runt, Chicken Boo, Porter, Furrball |
| Maurice LaMarche | The Brain, Marc Antony |
| Julie Brown | Minerva Mink |
| and Bernadette Peters as Rita | |
Stinger
Dot: Set three extra places!
Yakko, Wakko & Dot: We're coming over for dinner!
Yakko: Except I'm allergic to anything with lactose in it.
Trivia
- The joke about Yakko being lactose intolerant was infamously dramatized in a 2007 Animaniacs fan-fiction by Mimi0204 called Big Brother's Responsibility; which became a meme within the Animaniacs fandom in 2020-2021. The lactose joke is later referenced in the Animaniacs reboot cartoon "Santamaniacs" during the "We Could Try to Do It, Santa" musical number.
Transcript
Sources
- ↑ "‘Animaniacs’ Revival Misses the Zany Magic of the Original." Rolling Stone