The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special is the 65th episode of the original Animaniacs, and the finale to its first season. This cartoon, along with its cold open and intros were animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd.. Throughout the episode, a rare look into the Warners' careers is presented through a documentary presentation.
My Father the Tuna
Plot
Baynarts Charlton Woodchucks informs the viewers that My Father the Tuna will not be seen tonight in favor of the following special presentation...
Trivia
- One of the girls resembles Elmyra Duff.
- This short segment is likely a parody of ABC's "special program" notices where an actor from a preempted show, often in character, informed the audience about a forthcoming special.
- "My Father the Tuna" is later referenced in the Animaniacs reboot cartoon "Good Warner Hunting," and is erroneously identified as having been aired in episode 74 of the original series.
Very Special Opening
The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special
Plot
A "live" special that highlights the anniversary of the Warners' creation, from their original roles as sidekicks to the early Looney Tunes character Buddy through their golden age and their occasional breakouts prior to recent times. Behind the scenes, though, a mysterious adversary is plotting their demise.
Crew
- Story by Tom Ruegger, Paul Rugg and Sherri Stoner
- Written by Earl Kress
- Directed by Alfred Gimeno
Songs
- "Introducing the Warners"
- "Buddy's Song"
- "Make a Gookie"
- "Hurtin' Our Feet"
- "Introducing the Warners" (reprise)
Trivia
- The special is said to be hosted at the "Dorothy Chandelier Pavilion," a parody of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
- Viza Mizzelli is a parody of the famous singer "Liza Minnelli"
- Buddy is a real non-canon Leon Schlesinger Productions character who was created to replace Bosko after Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising left the studio and took the character with them. (However, Buddy was created in 1933, not 1929 (which was when the first Bosko cartoon was originally produced.) He starred in 23 Warner Bros. cartoons between 1933 and 1935, but was never well received by either Warner Bros. studios or audiences, with his final 1935 cartoon being his last appearance until this episode.
- Another thing that is off about the supposed cartoon history in this show was that Lon Borax claimed to remember drawing the Warner siblings in the morning of February 30th, which is a non-existent calendar date save for the Soviet Revolutionary calendar that was used between 1929 and 1931 in a faulty effort to improve the industry in the Soviet Union of Russia, and even then THAT calendar was preferably ignored in favor of a proper Gregorian calendar to allow Sunday rest. Then again, this crazy claim from an animator who's gone nuts could just be another in-show attempt to deny the existence of the Warners, as those who claim something happened on February 30th are usually meaning to say, in a sarcastic manner, that it never happened at all.
- The flypaper gag in Flies in the Ointment is a nod to 1934 Disney cartoon Playful Pluto.
- All celebrity caricatures who were interviewed are identified under the characters they made famous in their movies. Spartacus is a caricature of Kirk Douglas, Prof. Kingsfield is a caricature of John Houseman, the Gipper is Ronald Reagan, George Bailey is Jimmy Stewart, and Baby Jane is Bette Davis. The episode is hosted by comedian Bob Hope, although he is not referred to by name at any point in the episode.
- Bugs Bunny, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Yosemite Sam made cameos in the show, and each of them would tell about the Warners' reckless behavior. It should be noted that all of these characters were created after 1929, so it is impossible that the Warners would ever cross paths with them in the 1920s' at least.
- Chicken Boo's alias in this episode is Irving "Swifty" LaBoo, a reference to Irving "Swifty" Lazar, a famous agent whose clients ranged from Cary Grant, Cher, Ernest Hemingway, Madonna, and Richard Nixon. This is also one of the few instances Chicken Boo's disguise isn't discovered by the other characters, though he is still unceramoniously kicked out of the Warner Bros. Studios by Plotz regardless.
- The Warners' appearance on A Really Big Shew is a parody of the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The song they sing, "Make a Gookie", is a parody of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)".
- This is one of the few instances Dot does not negatively react to being referred to as "Dottie", which Bob Hope refers to her as.
- Parts of the opening and closing song for this episode would later be used (accompanying different clips of the Warner siblings) as the introduction to Cartoon Network's Animaniacs marathon celebrating the show having joined the channel's line-up in 1998.
- Dot tells Bob Hope, "Maybe you should retire". Hope did indeed retire in 1998 before dying at the age of 100 in 2003.
Goofs
- Buddy is depicted in this cartoon as having been around in 1929. In actuality, he was created in 1933.
- Tweety's name is misspelled as "Tweetie Bird".
Quotes
- Yakko: These people will clap at anything.
- Wakko: Hey, everybody! Wanna hear me play "Yankee Doodle" with my armpits?!
- [no response]
- Yakko: Uhhhhhhh, almost anything.
- Dot: Can we go now?
- Scratchansniff: Why would you want to go? This tribute is one of the entertainment industry’s greatest gifts!
- Yakko: Can we return it and get a chia pet instead?
- Memlo: The next day, we were supposed to show the cartoon to the studio brass. But I couldn’t find Lon around anywhere. Later, I found out he went all... funny in the head. But I hear he’s getting better.
[Lon is shown in the home for retired animators who went nuts]
- Borax: WE'RE HAVING SOUP TODAY!!!
- Daffy: It was an okay cartoon for a short, but this thing went on for eight hours! Eight hours!
- Tweety Pie: Ooh, Weed was awways scweaming and yewwing at dem. In fact, in da second cawtoon, if you wisten vewy cawefuwwy, you can hear Weed scweaming at Wakko.
[Another cartoon is shown with Wakko putting various ingredients into a bowl and mixing the contents with his hands]
- Memlo: NO, NO! USE THE SPOON! USE THE SPOON! NO, SPIT OUT THE SPOON! SPIT OUT THE SPOON! DON'T LOOK AT ME! DO SOMETHING! NOOOOOO! SPIT OUT THE BOWL, SPIT IT OUT!
- Bugs Bunny: Weed Memlo couldn’t handle the Warners. He could do a Buddy cartoon, sure, but when it came to the Warners, he had no idea what he was doin’.
- Memlo: It’s not that we didn’t get along, how can I put this, I hate them.
- Plotz: So I had to take Weed off the Warner cartoons. But he went on to direct hygiene films for the navy.
- Memlo: (deadpan) I won an award for How to Shampoo and the sequel, How to Rinse.
- Slappy: No director would get near the Warners. (takes a bite of Branimanicas) This cereal is so delicious. (a hand appears to give her money for endorsing the cereal) But they still had one more cartoon under their contract. That’s when Plotz made the stupidest decision of his life: he let Wakko direct. (facepalms) What a yutz.
Gallery
The Warners on their 65th special
Production Notes
- There is no theme song intro in this episode.
Cast
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Rob Paulsen | Yakko Warner, Dr. Scratchansniff, Joseph Stalin |
| Tress MacNeille | Dot Warner, Viza Vizzelli, Baby Jane, Page Sister #1 |
| Jess Harnell | Wakko Warner, Norman Feinman |
| Frank Welker | Thaddeus Plotz, Bob Hope, Chicken Boo, George Bailey, Prof. Kingsfield |
| Maurice LaMarche | Spartacus, John Wayne, Ed Sullivan |
| Jim Cummings | Buddy, Announcer, Winston Churchill, Vern Turtletaub |
| Jeff Bennett | Weed Memlo, |
| Paul Rugg | Lon Borax, Mr. Director |
| Sherri Stoner | Slappy Squirrel |
| Nathan Ruegger | Skippy Squirrel |
| Cree Summer | Elmyra Duff, Page Sister #2 |
| John Mariano | Guenther Hundhosen |
| Greg Burson | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn |
Gag Credits
- City Desk Editor: Lou Grant
- Storyboards: Bucky Beaver, Jerry Mathers as the Beaver
- Sheet Timing: Jeff Hall, Monty Hall, Kids in the Hall, Norm McCabe, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Tom Ray, Man Ray, Sting Ray, Bob & Ray, Ray Stevens, Darrin Stevens, Larry Tate.
- Slugger: Bill Knoll, Grassy Knoll.
- Louisville Slugger: Baseball Bat.
- Slug: Slimey Gooey Thing.
- B.G. Key Design: Dan McHugh, Marty Strudler, Apple Strudler, Peach Cobbler.
- B.G.s.: Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb.
- Spectrum Colors: Roy G. Biv.
- Color Key: Bunny Munns, Richard Daskas, Carolyn Guske, Robin Kane, Charles Foster Kane Chris Naylor, Eric Nordberg, Linda Redondo, Redondo Beach, Florida.
- Bathroom Key: Cannot Be Duplicated.
- Francis Scott Key: National Anthem Writer.
- Key Largo: Starring Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall.
- Mark Up: Jea DuBois, Lisa Leonardi, Valerie Walker, & Clint Walker as "Cheyenne".
- Mark Down: "Goof Troop" Tapes at K-Mart.
- Animation Checking: Jan Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Brenda Brummet, Brenda Brummet Browning, Elizabeth Brummet Browning, Jennifer Damiani, Jennifer Damiani Browning, Bunty Dranko, Elizabeth Barrett Bunty, H.M.S. Bunty, Karl Jacobs, Karl Jacobs Jingleheimer Schmidt, Howard Schwartz, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schwartz.
- Interest Free Checking: With a $2000 Deposit.
- Production Administrator: Alyson Brown, Charlie Brown, He's a Clown, That Charlie Brown.
- Copying & Shipping: Carlton Batten, Carlton Batten Browning, Carlton Batten Down the Hatches, Ana Durand, Duran Duran, Ana Duran Duran, Que Sera Sera, Whatever Will Be, Will Be, The Future's Not Ours to See, Ana Duran Duran, What Will Be, Will Be.
- Digital Production: Alan G. Brown, Sweet Georgia Brown, Sweet Elizabeht Barrett Georgia Browning.
- Guy Who Cuts Out All the Borning Stuff: Joe "Snippy, the Animator's Best Friend" Gall.
- Additional Film Editing: Al Breitenbach, Kelly Ann Foley, Theresa Gilroy-Nielson, Leslie Nielsen.
- Sound Reading: Bradley Carow, Denise Whitfield, Steve Siracusa, N.Y.
- The Sound Mix is By...
- The Trail Mix is By: Nabisco.
- Monkey Screech SFX by: Russell Brower, Robert Hargreaves, Matt Thorne, "Thorny" Thornberry, Ozzy's Zany Next Door Neighbor.
- Dialogue Editors: Mark Keatts, Mick Brooling, Bob Lacivita, Andrew I. King, Aaron L. King, Alan King, Martin Luther King, Chicken a la King, Old King Cole, Larry King Live, Don King, Don Corleone, Don Juan, Don Quixote, Don Wilson, Dondi, Dondi Duran Duran, Whatever Will Be, Will Be.
- Voice Recording Engineer: Harry Andronis, of the Chicago Androniseseseses, Danny Shaw, 2nd Engineer, Casey Jones, Train Engineer.
- Amblin Story Consultant: Douglas Wood, Mary Woods, Natalie Wood, James Woods, Ed Wood, Jr.
- Laboratory Services: C.F.I.
- Lavoratory [sic] Services: Mr. Potty Man.
- Animaniacs Nutritional Information Per Serving
| with 8 oz. milk | with 8 oz. cola | with 8 oz. Weed Memlo | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fat | 4g | 65g | 73g | 84g |
| Calories | 143 | 213 | 475 | 512 |
| Protein | 1g | 12g | 14g | 17g |
| Carbohydrate | 17g | 15g | 17g | 39g |
- Kathryn Page: Kathryn Page.
- Episode Adopted by: Bette Midler.
- Production Assistants: Geno GuBois, Dustin Foster, Bobbie Page, John Morris, Paul "Godzilla is My Friend" Trandahl.
- Donors - $10 or More: Jon McClenahan, Dave Marshall, The Gimeno Family, Nick Hollander, Kirk Tingblad, Elizabeth Barrett Tingblad.
- Organ Donors: Thomas, Baldwin, Vox, Wurlitzer.
- Favorite Lawrence Welk Quote: "When you have a minute, I want to see you right now."
- If You're Counting: This Has Been Episode #65.
- Chicken Boo Appears Courtesy of: Zacky Farms.
- Promotional Fee Paid By: "Ouchies" - The Sharp, Prickly Toy You Bathe With.
- Special Thanks to: Ojai Constorium, Memlo Memorial Archive - Mary Margret Memlo, Curator, the Smellog Foundation, Craig T. Nelson & All His "Coach" Co-Stars, The Pew Charitable Truss.
- Bean Counter: Chuck Ansel.
- Beans Counted: 235, Definitely 235.
- Announcer: "Hey, Warners, you've just finished the 65th episode of Animaniacs. What are you gonna do now?"
Warners: "We're going to Euro-Disney!" - Executive in Charge of Production: Jean MacCurdy.
- Executive in Charge of Prodding: Liza-Ann Warren.
- Executive in Charge of Bazooka: Tim Sarnoff.
- Executive in Charge of Overseas Production: Ken Duer.
- Executive in Charge of the Writers: Barbara Simon Dierks.
Transcript
See Also
- "The Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special"; a Pinky and the Brain episode with a similar concept and structure.
References