- "You wanna make it to the top and be the cream of the crop? You can't lose, If you learn how to schmooze!"
- — Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner
"Hooray for North Hollywood" is a special musical two-part event from the original Animaniacs. It originally aired on January 3, 1998 on Kids' WB!. The two-part episodes follow Yakko, Wakko and Dot as they try to find a studio that would produce their movie script. Along the way, the siblings journey through the trials-and-tribulations of Hollywood, and learn how to "schmooze" with the big-wigs. Warner Bros. CEO Thaddeus Plotz passes on the script, which sets the Warners on a much bigger journey than they had anticipated.
It was initially going to be made into a film before various elements from the film concept were consolidated into two episodes of the series. [1]
Episodes
Songs
- "We're On Our Way to Go See Mister Plotz"
- "You Gotta Do the Schmooze"
- "There's Only One of You"
- "Variety Speak" (2nd version)
- "Jam-A-Lot"
- "L.A. Dot"
- "It's New Year's Eve"
- "We're On Our Way to Go See Mr. Plotz" (Version 2)
Gag Credits
- Part 1: Kids' WB Is #1; Ha! Ha! Just Kidding!
- Part 2: Our New Year's Resolution; No More Sarcastic Comments About The Brilliant WB Network...Oops!
Synopsis
Press Release
STEVEN SPIELBERG'S ANIMANIACS SING A NEW SONG WHILE RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR Saturday, January 3 or Sunday, January 4 on Kids' WB!
(December 18, 1997) -- The Warner brothers -- Yakko, Wakko -- and their sister -- Dot, are singing sensations as they ring in 1998 with an all-new animated celebration entitled, "Hooray for North Hollywood," in which old acquaintances are forgotten and New Year's Eve is well-remembered on "Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs" Saturday, January 3 or Sunday, January 4 at 11:00 AM, (check local listings).
The episode follows the trio as they try tirelessly to sell their first feature film script to tinseltown. But, after encountering big time Hollywood studio executives, haughty-taughty celebrities and temperamental producers, they begin to lose all hope that their movie dreams will ever come true -- until, they meet a major Hollywood "player" (could it be Spielberg himself?).
"Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs," executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, is produced and animated by Warner Bros. Television Animation under the creative supervision of senior producer Tom Ruegger, supervising producer Rusty Mills and producer Liz Holzman for Kids'WB!, The WB Television Network's children's programming service.[2]
Plot
During a morning in the Water Tower, Yakko finishes writing a script for a movie named "Hooray for North Hollywood", which was written by him, Wakko and Dot. Wanting to turn their script into a movie, the Warners go to Thaddeus Plotz's office to pitch their new movie script. ("We're On Our Way to Go See Mr. Plotz")
During an extensive waiting line, Yakko and Dot teach Wakko how to "schmooze" ("You Gotta Do the Schmooze"). The Warners eventually meet with Plotz, and pitch their movie script. In their pitch, the Warners ask for a large scale budget to produce their film, alongside a song ("There's Only One of You"). Plotz rejects their script, prompting the Warners to seek another producer to produce their script. After reading a Variety article ("Variety Speak"), The Warners find out that a New Years' Eve party with important people of the movie industry is happening in Beverly Hills, prompting them to attend the party themselves in hopes to get their script produced.
The Warners hobnob with celebrities at a gala event in order to sell their script. After encountering Plotz, whose producer is unable to find a good script to produce, Plotz is shocked and angered to find the Warners there and tries to capture them with Ralph. During a chase sequence, Dot drops the script, which falls inside a meal tray. The producer, a certain Pressberg Katzeneisnerman, is served with the script, and is impressed with it. While Plotz evicts the Warners from the Studio Lot and tries to crush their hopes of getting a producer to make their movie, the producer is impressed by the script and decides to make the movie. Hooray for North Hollywood eventually releases to becoming a critical and commercial success, becoming the #1 movie all over the world and winning various awards. ("L.A. Dot")
The public eventually embarrases Plotz for rejecting the script, who instead produced a movie called Jam-a-Lot, which bombed ("Jam-A-Lot"). Plotz watches various reviews of Hooray for North Hollywood, with some clips being shown in some reviews. The movie wins a Schmoscar and outgrosses all Warner Bros.' movies from the past 5 years, which eventually gets the attention of the Chairman of the Board, who fires Plotz, therefore becoming a poor man.
Several months later at Christmas, the Warners, having become tired of having fame and success, decide to bring Plotz back by buying Warner Bros. using all their money made from the movie. On New Year's Eve, a poor and miserable Plotz is seen on the streets begging to run a studio, until a van passes by him and kidnaps him. Plotz escapes the bag, and is welcomed back to the studio by the Chairman of the Board, who reveals that the Warners became Warner Bros.' majority shareholders and decided to rehire Plotz, and reappoints him as CEO.
The people then celebrate and sing a song about New Years ("It's New Year's Eve"), which is revealed afterwards to be the ending of the script for their next movie, "Son of Hooray for North Hollywood" and head back to Plotz' office to pitch their movie. ("We're On Our Way to Go See Mr. Plotz (Version 2)")
Between the beginning and ends of the first part, the Goodfeathers bicker over sights in the sky.
Cast
Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
Rob Paulsen | Yakko Warner, Joe Eszterhas, Joel Schumacher, Chairman of the Board, Additional Voices |
Jess Harnell | Wakko Warner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Newsstand Owner, Michael Jordan, Additional Voices |
Tress MacNeille | Dot Warner, Ms. Hoffelmeyer, Reporter, Additional Voices |
Frank Welker | Thaddeus Plotz, Ralph T. Guard, Chicken Boo, Steven Spielberg, Bill Clinton |
John Mariano | Bobby |
Chick Vennera | Pesto |
Maurice LaMarche | Squit, Wakko's Burps, Count Laszlo de Almásy, CEO |
Nathan Ruegger | Skippy Squirrel |
Roger Rose | David Letterman |
Lori Alan | Sharon Stone, Additional Voices |
Townsend Coleman | Pressberg Katzeneisnerman, Clint Eastwood |
Billy West | Codger Eggbert |
Elizabeth Lamers | Chorus Member #1 |
Julie Bernstein | Chorus Member #2 |
Steve Bernstein | Chorus Member #3 |
Crew
- Directed by Kirk Tingblad (Parts 1 and 2), Stephen Lewis (Part 1), Herb Moore (Part 1), and David Pryor (Part 1, "There's Only One of You" segment)
- Written by Randy Rogel and Tom Ruegger
Trivia
- Going off the press-release, there was initially some plans to air the special on January 4, 1998 if it could not make the January 3 air-date.
- The two-parter was teased by Tom Ruegger in an alt.tv.animaniacs post from his "Trtoonswba" account on July 31, 1997.[3]
Gallery
Promotional Material
See Also
- Pinky and the Brain: Brainwashed- a three-part Pinky and the Brain event
References
- ↑ Cartoonatics- Animaniacs Movie Poster #5: "Hooray for Hollywood." By Tom Ruegger. Published December 4, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2022
- ↑ Steven Spielberg's Animaniacs Sing A New Song While Ringing In The New Year Saturday, January 3 or Sunday, January 4 on Kids' WB! - Warner Bros. Press. Published December 18, 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2022
- ↑ Tom Ruegger's post on alt.tv.animaniacs. Published July 31, 1997. Retrieved June 27, 2022.