Animaniacs

Animaniacs
The Animaniacs logo. From left to right:Brain, Yakko, Dot (bottom), Wakko, and Pinky
Also known as	Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs
Genre	Animation Comedy Children's
Created by	Tom Ruegger
Voices of	Rob Paulsen Jess Harnell Tress MacNeille John Mariano Chick Vennera Maurice LaMarche Frank Welker Bernadette Peters Nancy Cartwright Julie Brown Laura Mooney Sherri Stoner Nathan Ruegger Luke Ruegger Cody Ruegger Jim Cummings Tom Bodett
Theme music composer	Richard Stone
Composer(s)	Richard Stone Steve Bernstein Julie Bernstein Gordon Goodwin
Country of origin	United StatesUnited States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	99 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Steven Spielberg
Producer(s)	Tom Ruegger Rich Aarons Sherri Stoner Rusty Mills Peter Hastings
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	FOX (1993–1995) The WB (Kids' WB block) (1995–1998)
Original run	September 13, 1993 – November 14, 1998
Chronology
Related shows	Pinky and the Brain
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as Animaniacs, is an American animated television series, distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Amblin Entertainment. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation during the animation renaissance of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The studio's first series, Tiny Toon Adventures, was a success among younger viewing audiences, and it attracted a sizable number of adult viewers as well. The Animaniacs writers and animators, led by senior producer Tom Ruegger, used the experience gained from the previous series to create new animated characters that were cast in the mold of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery's creations.^[1]

The comedy of Animaniacs was a broad mix of old-fashioned wit, slapstick, pop culture references, and cartoon violence and wackiness. The show featured a number of educational segments that covered subjects such as history, math, geography, science, and social studies. Animaniacs itself was a variety show, with short skits featuring a large cast of characters. While the show had no set format, episode structure varied to suit the needs of the segments included; the majority of episodes were composed of three short mini-episodes, each starring a different set of characters, and bridging segments.

Animaniacs first aired on "FOX Kids" from 1993 until 1995 and later appeared on The WB from 1995 to 1998 as part of its "Kids' WB" afternoon programming block. The series had a total of 99 episodes and one film, titled Wakko's Wish. Like other animated series, it continued to appear on television through syndication long after its original airdate. As of June 19,2007, the first 75 episodes have been released in three DVD boxsets. The release of volume four is still undetermined.

Background

Premise

The Warner siblings and the other Animaniacs characters lived in Burbank, California.^[2] However, characters from the series had episodes in various places and periods of time. The Animaniacs characters interacted with famous persons and creators of the past and present as well as mythological characters and characters from modern television. Andrea Romano, the voice director and caster for Animaniacs, said that the Warner siblings functioned to "tie the show together," by appearing in and introducing other characters' segments.^[3] Animaniacs segments ranged in time, from bridging segments less than a minute long to episodes spanning the entire show length, and each episode usually consisted of two or three cartoon shorts.^[4] Writer Peter Hastings had said that the varying episode lengths gave the show a "sketch comedy atmosphere."^[5]

Animaniacs had a wide cast of characters. Shown here is the majority of the characters from the series.

Characters

Main articles: List of Animaniacs characters, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, Pinky and the Brain, Slappy Squirrel, Goodfeathers, Rita and Runt, Buttons and Mindy, Chicken Boo, Flavio and Marita, and Minerva Mink

Animaniacs had a large cast of characters. The large cast was separated into separate segments, with each pair or set of characters acting in its own plot. The Warners, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, were three cartoon stars from the 1930s that were locked away in the Warner Bros. water tower until the 1990s, when they escaped.^[2] Pinky and the Brain were two genetically altered laboratory mice that continuously plotted and attempted to take over the world.^[6] Slappy Squirrel was an aged cartoon star that would easily outwit antagonists and educate her nephew, Skippy Squirrel, about cartoon techniques.^[7] Additional principal characters included Rita and Runt, Buttons and Mindy, Chicken Boo, Flavio and Marita (The Hip Hippos), Katie Ka-Boom, a trio of pigeons known as The Goodfeathers and Minerva Mink.

Creation and inspiration

The general premise of Animaniacs and the Warner siblings were created by Tom Ruegger, who also came up with the concept and characters for Pinky and the Brain. Ruegger was also the senior producer and creative leader of the show. Writer Deanna Oliver contributed The Goodfeathers scripts and the character Chicken Boo.^[5] Producer and writer Sherri Stoner contributed heavily to Slappy Squirrel and Pinky and the Brain.^[5] Nicholas Hollander's Katie Kaboom was based on his teenage daughter.^[5] The Animaniacs cast of characters had a variety of inspiration, from celebrities to writer's family members to other writers. Executive Producer Steven Spielberg said that the Animaniacs cast was inspired by the irreverence in Looney Tunes cartoons.^[1]

Senior Producer Tom Ruegger had modeled the Warners’ personalities heavily after those of his three sons.^[8] Because the Warners were portrayed as cartoon stars from the early 1930s, Ruegger and other artists for Animaniacs made the images of the Warners similar to cartoon characters of the early 1930s.^[8] Simple black and white drawings were very common in cartoons of the 1920s and 1930s, including Bosko, Felix the Cat, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Bimbo, and the early version of Mickey Mouse.

Tom Ruegger created Pinky and the Brain after being inspired by the personalities of two of his Tiny Toon Adventures colleagues, Eddie Fitzgerald and Tom Minton, respectively. Ruegger thought of the premise of Pinky and the Brain when he wondered what would happen if Minton and Fitzgerald tried to take over the world.^[9]

Slappy Squirrel was created by Sherri Stoner, when another writer and friend of Stoner, John McCann, had made fun of Stoner’s career in TV movies playing troubled teens. When McCann had joked that Sherri would be playing troubled teens when she was fifty years old, Sherri had developed the idea of Slappy's characteristics as an older person acting like a teenager.^[5] Sherri Stoner liked the idea of an aged cartoon character because an aged cartoon star would know the secrets of other cartoons and "have the dirt on [them]."^[3]

Production

Producers

Steven Spielberg was the executive producer during the entire run, Tom Ruegger was the senior producer, Jean MacCurdy was the executive in charge of production, and Rich Arons, Sherri Stoner, Peter Hastings, Rusty Mills, and Liz Holzman were producers of the show. The producers of the show usually had other jobs on the series; Tom Ruegger, Rich Arons, and Sherri Stoner all served as writers, and Spielberg was very involved in the show’s writing, checking every script for the series.^[4] Voice director Andrea Romano said that Spielberg also came up with story ideas, read storyboards, and came to recording sessions.^[3]

Writers

Writers for Animaniacs included writers Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner and Paul Rugg, Deanna Oliver, John McCann, Nicholas Hollander, Peter Hastings, Charlie Howell, Gordon Bressack, Earl Kress, Tom Minton, and Randy Rogel. Writers Hastings, Rugg, Stoner, McCann, Howell, and Bressack had been involved in sketch comedy.^[5] Other writers for the series had come from cartoon backgrounds, including Kress, Minton, and Randy Rogel.^[5]

The writing for Animaniacs was not only comprised of made-up stories, as writer Peter Hastings said: "We weren’t really there to tell compelling stories... [As a writer] you could do a real story, you could recite the Star-Spangled Banner, or you could parody a commercial... you could do all these kinds of things, and we had this tremendous freedom and a talent to back it up."^[5] Writers for the series wrote into Animaniacs stories that had happened to them; the episodes "Ups and Downs," "Survey Ladies," and "I Got Yer Can" were episodes based on true stories that happened to Paul Rugg,^[10] Deanna Oliver, and Sherri Stoner,^[5] respectively. Another episode, "Bumbi’s Mom," was both an episode that parodied the film Bambi and a story based on Stoner’s childhood reaction to the film.^[3]

In an interview, writers for the series said that the writing for Animaniacs was non-restrictive and open.^[5] Writer Peter Hastings said that the format of the series had the atmosphere of a sketch comedy show because Animaniacs segments could widely vary in both time and subject.^[5] Writer Sherri Stoner said that the Animaniacs writing staff worked well as a team in that writers could consult other writers on how to write or finish a story, as was the case in the episode "The Three Muska-Warners".^[5] Writers Rugg, Hastings and Stoner said that the Animaniacs writing was free in that the writers were allowed to write about and parody subjects that would not be touched on other series.^[5]

Voicing

The Animaniacs voice cast came from Animaniacs predecessor, Tiny Toon Adventures, including the voices of Yakko and Dot, Rob Paulsen and Tress MacNeille, respectively. Andrea Romano, the voice director and caster for Animaniacs, said that the casters wanted Paulsen to play the role of Yakko: "We had worked with Rob Paulsen before on a couple of other series and we wanted him to play Yakko." Palsen also played the roles of Pinky and Dr. Scratchansniff.^[4] Romano said that the casters had "no trouble" choosing the role of Dot: "Tress MacNeille was just hilarious (...) And yet [she had] that edge."^[3] The voice of Wakko, Jess Harnell, on the other hand, was not from Tiny Toons, and said that before Animaniacs, he had little experience in voice acting other than minor roles for Disney which he "fell into."^[3] Harnell said that at the audition for the show, he did a John Lennon impression and the audition "went great."^[3] Slappy the Squirrel was played by producer and writer Sherri Stoner, who said that, when she gave an impression of what the voice would be to Spielberg, Spielberg said she should fill the role.^[3] The voice actress who played the voice of Rita, Bernadette Peters, is a professional singer and was wanted for the role by Romano herself.^[3] Other voice actors included Maurice LaMarche, the voice of the Brain and the belching segments "The Great Wakkorotti" (although Jess Harnell is commonly mistaken for the role);^[3] Frank Welker, the voice of Runt; and Jeff Bennet. Tom Ruegger's three sons also played roles on the series. Nathan Ruegger voiced Skippy Squirrel, nephew to Slappy, throughout the duration of the series; Luke Ruegger voiced The Flame in historical segments on Animaniacs; and Cody Ruegger voiced Birdie from Wild Blue Yonder.

Animation

In order to speed up the production of episodes, different studios, both American and international, simultaneously animated Animaniacs over the course of the show’s production. The animation companies included Tokyo Movie Shinsha, StarToons, Wang Film Productions, Freelance Animators New Zealand, and AKOM, and most Animaniacs episodes usually had animation from different companies in each episode's respective segments.^[11] While these companies animated and colored Animaniacs, the background layouts were done by a domestic studio.

Animaniacs was made with a higher production value than standard television animation. Rich Aarons, an Animaniacs director and producer, said that Animaniacs had a higher cel count than most television animation. Aarons said that Animaniacs was unique in that characters moved more fluently, and did not simply pose, stand still, and speak, as in other television cartoons.^[10]

Music

See also: Animaniacs Title Sequence, Yakko's World, and Wakko's America

Animaniacs was a very musical cartoon, with every episode featuring at least one original score. The idea for an original musical score in every episode came from Steven Spielberg.^[12] For its music, Animaniacs used a forty-piece orchestra, with music composed by Richard Stone and assistant composers Steve and Julie Bernstein.^[3] The use of the large orchestra in modern Warner Bros. animation began with Animaniacs predecessor, Tiny Toon Adventures, but Spielberg pushed for its use even more in Animaniacs.^[3] Although the outcome was a very expensive show to produce, every episode was given an original score, as "the sound sets us apart from everyone else in animation," said Jean MacCurdy, the executive in charge of production for the series.^[12] Assistant composers Steve and Julie Bernstein said that not only was the Animaniacs music written in the same style as that of Looney Tunes composer Carl Stalling, but that the music used the same studio and piano that Carl Stalling used.^[3] Senior producer Tom Ruegger said that writers Randy Rogel, Nicholas Hollander, and Deanna Oliver wrote "a lot of music" for the series.^[5]

Animaniacs had a variety of music types. Many Animaniacs songs were parodies of classical or folk music with an educational twist, such as "Wakko's America", which listed all the states in the U.S. and their capitals to the tune of Turkey in the Straw.^[13] Another song, titled "The Presidents", named every US president to the tune of the William Tell Overture.^[14] Non-educational songs included songs that were simply parodies of other songs, like the segment "Slippin' on the Ice", a parody of "Singin' in the Rain";^[15] songs mocking things in everyday life, such as the song "Be Careful What You Eat" that made fun of all the ingredients in junk food;^[16] and songs making fun of celebrities and other media, such as the song "Video Revue", which listed movie stars and films.^[17] Most of the show's songs were sung by the Warners. Pinky and the Brain occasionally had songs, and the most complicated songs in the series usually went to Rita, voiced by singer Bernadette Peters. Most of the groups of characters even had their own theme songs for their segment on the show.

The song "Yakko's World," with lyrics by Randy Rogel, is perhaps the series' most famous. Other songs include "Yakko's Universe", "U.N. Me", and "Schnitzelbank", among others. The Animaniacs series theme song, which was sung by the Warners, was a very important part of the show. The theme song had a variety of alternate endings and in the series' first season won an Emmy Award for best song.^[18] The music for the title sequence was composed by Richard Stone, and the lyrics were written by Tom Ruegger. Several Animaniacs albums and Sing-along VHS tapes were released, including the CDs Animaniacs, Yakko’s World, and Variety Pack, and the tape Animaniacs Sing-Along: Yakko's World.

Hallmarks and humor

The humor of Animaniacs varied in type, ranging from parody to cartoon violence. Animaniacs made parodies of television shows and films, one of which being a parody of a large Animaniacs competitor, Power Rangers.^[19] In an interview, Spielberg defended the "irreverence" of Animaniacs, saying that the Animaniacs crew has "a point of view" and does not "sit back passively and play both sides equally."^[19] Spielberg also said that Animaniacs' humor of social commentary and irreverence had been inspired by the Marx Brothers^[19] and Looney Tunes cartoons.^[1] Animaniacs, among other Spielberg-produced shows, had a large amount of cartoon violence. Spielberg defended the violence in Animaniacs by saying that the series had a balance of both violent humor and educational segments, so the series would never became either too violent or "benign."^[19] Animaniacs also made use of catchphrases, recurring jokes and segments, and "adult" humor.

Yakko, Wakko and Dot shake hands with their Tiny Toon Adventures predecessors: Buster and Babs Bunny and Plucky Duck, who make a cameo appearance in an episode of Animaniacs

Recurring jokes and catchphrases

Characters on Animaniacs had catchphrases, with some characters having more than one. Notable catchphrases include Yakko’s "Goodnight, everybody!," Wakko's "Faboo!" and Dot’s "I’m cute!" The most prominent catchphrase that was said by all of the Warners was "Hello-o-o, nurse!"^[2] Tom Ruegger said that the "Hello-o-o, Nurse!" line was intended to be a catchphrase much like Bugs Bunny's line, "What's up, doc?"^[10] Characters Pinky and the Brain had a catchphrase where Brain would ask Pinky, "Are you pondering what I’m pondering?" to which Pinky would always respond with a non-sequitur. At the start of all Pinky and the Brain episodes, Pinky asks "Gee Brain, what do you want to do tonight?", to which Brain answers "The same thing we do every night, Pinky... try to take over the world!" in a segment that preceded the theme song. Also, Brain would shout "Yes!" in response to an idea that he liked.^[6] Writer Peter Hastings said that he unintentionally created these catchphrases when he wrote the episode "Win Big," and then Producer Sherri Stoner utilized them and had them put into later episodes.^[5] Skippy Squirrel had the catchphrase, "Spew!" which was used whenever something disgusting was brought up. Slappy had the catchphrase, "Now that's comedy!" which would be said at the end of every Slappy Squirrel cartoon.^[7] Catchphrases were also found in the segments Goodfeathers and Buttons and Mindy.

Running gags and recurring segments were very common in the show. One example is the close-up of the water tower after the closing credits; right before the end of the episode, the water tower door would open, one or more of the characters would come out, say something to the audience (usually a catchphrase or a reference to one of the episodes), and the water tower door would close.^[20] Director Rusty Mills and senior producer Tom Ruegger said that recurring segments like the water tower gag, such as the segment The Wheel of Morality, were good for easier production of episodes because the same animated scenes could be used more than once.^[10] The Wheel of Morality was also used to take up time in an episode that was running short.^[10] Another running gag was that characters would appear in one another’s segments. While one set of characters would be moving along in their episode’s plot, another set of characters would make a brief appearance, and sometimes point out that they are not in the correct episode. Animaniacs even devoted an entire episode to characters and segments being switched around.^[21] Animaniacs took this recurring joke even further, and Animaniacs characters appeared in other Spielberg shows, such as Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, and Histeria. Characters from Freakazoid and Tiny Toon Adventures also made appearances in Animaniacs. Because of Steven Spielberg's involvement in the series, a running gag was that his films were mentioned in the series and a caricature of Spielberg appeared numerous times; in the episode "Hooked on a Ceiling", Spielberg was made the "eminence" of the Sistine Chapel, and the Warners also painted an E.T. picture on its ceiling.^[22]

"Adult" humor and content

A great deal of Animaniacs' humor and content was aimed at an adult audience. The comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore were parodied in episode 3, "HMS Yakko". Furthermore, jokes and statements that could be considered double entendres (such as Yakko’s song of eight of the nine planets in the Solar System, after which Wakko reminds Yakko that he forgot Uranus), were used throughout the duration of the show. These jokes are signified by Yakko blowing a kiss and shouting, "Good night, everybody!", thereby ending the sketch. Some content of Animaniacs was not only aimed at an adult audience but were suggestive in nature. For example, one character, Minerva Mink had episodes that were considered too sexually suggestive for the show's intended audience, for which she was soon de-emphasized as a featured character.^[5]

The Animaniacs characters had personalities and character traits similar to those of film stars in movies marketed to adults. The Warners personalities were made similar to those of the Marx Brothers and Jerry Lewis, in that they, according to writer Peter Hastings, "wreak havoc," in "serious situations."^[5] In addition, the show's recurring Goodfeathers segment was populated with characters based on characters from the 1990 film Goodfellas, an R-rated crime drama neither marketed nor intended for children.^[3] This segment also featured frequent allusions to The Godfather and Taxi Driver, other movies with an adult target audience.

Parodies and caricatures made up a large part of Animaniacs. The episode "Hello Nice Warners" introduced a Jerry Lewis caricature (left), who made frequent appearances on the series.

Parodies

Main article: Parodies in Animaniacs

Animaniacs parodied popular TV shows and movies and caricatured celebrities.^[10] One episode, "The Please Please Please Get a Life Foundation", even made fun of Animaniacs own Internet fans.^[23] Animaniacs spoofs were multi-layered, with the episode parodying one specific subject and referencing other subjects along the way. For instance, the episode "Hooked on a Ceiling" did not only parody The Agony and the Ecstasy, but it also featured Quasimodo shouting "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!", a direct reference to The Hunchback of Notre Dame.^[22] Animaniacs also made fun of celebrities, major motion pictures, television shows for adults, television shows for children, and trends in the US. Animaniacs also made potshots of Disney films, creating parodies of such films as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, Bambi, and others. Animaniacs Director Russell Calaberese said that not only did it become a compliment to be parodied on Animaniacs but that being parodied on the series would be taken as a "badge of honor."^[10]

Response

Animaniacs had become a very successful show, gathering fans in both demographics of children and adults. The series received ratings higher than its competitors and won eight Daytime Emmy Awards and one Peabody Award during its run.

Ratings and popularity

During its run, Animaniacs had become the second-most popular children’s show in both demographics of children ages 2–11 and children ages 6–11.^[24][25] Animaniacs, along with other animated series, helped to bring "FOX Kids" ratings much larger than those of the channel’s competitors. For instance, in November of 1993, Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures almost doubled the ratings of their rival shows, Darkwing Duck and Goof Troop, in both the 2–11 and 6–11 demographics that are very important to childrens’ networks.^[24] On "Kids' WB", Animaniacs gathered about one-million children viewers every week.^[26]

Although Animaniacs was popular among younger viewers (the target demographic for Warner Bros.' TV cartoons), adults also responded positively to the show; in 1995, more than 21 percent of the weekday audience (4 p.m., Monday through Friday) and more than 23 percent of the Saturday morning (8 a.m.) viewers were 25 years or older.^[27] The large adult fanbase had even led to one of the first Internet-based fandom cultures.^[28] During the show's prime, the Internet newsgroup alt.tv.animaniacs was an active gathering place for fans of the show (most of whom were adults) to post reference guides, fan fiction, and fan-made artwork about Animaniacs.^[29] The online popularity of the show did not go unnoticed by the show's producers, and twenty of the most active participants on the newsgroup were invited to the Warner Bros. Animation studios for a gathering in August 1995^[30] dubbed by those fans Animania IV. These people also received a sneak preview of a sketch that parodied the fans themselves, "Please, Please, Please Get a Life Foundation".^[31]

Furthermore, the series had even gained high ratings under disadvantageous circumstances. During November 1993, the Fox-affiliate channel 33 had a three-day transmitter failure; in this time period, 11,000 homes tuned in to the blank screen during the Animaniacs timeslot, which was almost double the rating of the rival KXTX-TV childrens show.^[32]

Nominations and awards

Animaniacs' first major award came in 1993, when the series won one Peabody Award in its debuting season.^[33] In 1994, Animaniacs was nominated for two Annie Awards, one for "Best Animated Television Program", and the other for "Best Achievement for Voice Acting" (Frank Welker).^[34] Animaniacs had also won two Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition" and "Outstanding Original Song" (Animaniacs Main Title Theme).^[18] In 1995, Animaniacs was nominated four times for the Annie Awards, once for "Best Animated Television Program", twice for "Voice Acting in the Field of Animation" (Tress MacNeille and Rob Paulsen), and once for "Best Individual Achievement for Music in the Field of Animation" (Richard Stone).^[35] In 1996, Animaniacs won two Daytime Emmy Awards, one for "Outstanding Animated Children's Program" and the other for "Outstanding Achievement in Animation".^[36] In 1997, Animaniacs was nominated for an Annie Award for "Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a TV Production" (Charles Visser for the episode "Noel").^[37] Animaniacs had also won two more Daytime Emmy Awards, one for "Outstanding Animated Children's Program" and the other for "Outstanding Music Direction and Composition".^[38] In 1998, the last year in which new episodes of Animaniacs were produced, Animaniacs was nominated for an Annie Award in "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Daytime Television Program".^[39] Animaniacs also won a Daytime Emmy Award in "Outstanding Music Direction and Composition" (For the episode "The Brain’s Apprentice").^[40] In 1999, Animaniacs won it’s last Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition".^[41] When Animaniacs won this award, it set a record for most Daytime Emmy Awards in the field of "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition" for any individual animation studio.^[42]

History

The Warner siblings as ducks, before they were changed to their dog-like species. The idea for the Warners to be ducks was changed during preproduction of the series.

See also: List of Animaniacs episodes

Preproduction

Before Animaniacs was put into production, various collaboration and brainstorming efforts were thought up in order to create both the characters and premise of the series. For instance, ideas that had been thrown out were Rita and Runt being the hosts of the show and the Warners being duck characters that Senior Producer Tom Ruegger had had since his college years.^[10] After the characters from the series were created, they were all shown to Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, who would decide which characters would make it into Animaniacs (the characters Buttons and Mindy were chosen by Spielberg's daughter).^[10] Characters for the series were put into various walk cycles, and the characters' designs had come from various sources, including caricatures of other writers,^[9] designs based on early cartoon characters, and characters that simply had a more modern design.^[10]

"Fox Kids" Era: Episodes 1–69

Animaniacs premiered on September 13, 1993, on "FOX Kids", and was on "FOX Kids" until September 8, 1995;^[4] new episodes aired from the 1993 through 1994 seasons. Animaniacs aired with a 65-episode first season because these episodes were ordered by FOX all at once.^[43] While on "FOX Kids", Animaniacs gained fame for its name and became the second-most popular show among children ages 2–11 and children ages 6–11, second to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.^[25][43] In 1994, Yakko, Wakko and Dot had also starred in the theatrical short "I'm Mad".^[44] New episodes were aired on "Fox Kids" until the 65th episode aired; FOX had then ordered no more new episodes, with the exception of a short, four-episode long second season that had been hastily put together from unused scripts during the Animaniacs syndication period on "FOX Kids".^[43] After "FOX Kids" had put Animaniacs into syndication for a year, Animaniacs switched to the new Warner Bros. channel, "Kids' WB".

"Kids WB" Era: Episodes 70–99

The series was popular enough for Warner Bros. Animation to invest in additional episodes of Animaniacs past the traditional 65-episode marker for syndication. Animaniacs premiered on the new "Kids' WB" line-up on September 9, 1995,^[4] with a new season of 13 episodes.^[43] During this time, the show's popular cartoon characters Pinky and the Brain, were subsequently spun-off from Animaniacs into their own TV series in 1995. While on "Kids' WB", Animaniacs gathered over one-million children viewers every week.^[26] However, Animaniacs was only successful in an unintended way, bringing in adult viewers and viewers outside the "Kids WB" target demographic of very small children.^[43] This unintended result of adult viewers and not enough very young viewers put pressure on the WB Network from advertisers and caused dissatisfaction from the WB network towards Animaniacs.^[43] Slowly, orders from the WB for more Animaniacs episodes dwindled and Animaniacs made it through a couple more short seasons, relying on leftover scripts and storyboards.^[32][43] The fourth season had had 8 episodes, which was reduced from 18 because of the WB's dissatisfaction with Animaniacs.^[43] Finally, in 1998, Animaniacs was canceled by the WB, led by executive Jamie Kellner, who has also been held responsible for the cancellations of Freakazoid! and Pinky and the Brain.^[45] The last new Animaniacs episode was aired on November 14, 1998.^[46] Animaniacs was ended one episode short of its 100th episode, having which is a milestone in television. Afterwards, Animaniacs segments were being shown along with segments from other cartoons as part of The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show.^[47] On December 21, 1999 a direct-to-video movie starring the Warners, titled Wakko's Wish, was released.^[26]

Aftermath and syndication

After Animaniacs, Spielberg collaborated with Warner Bros. Animation for a third time to produce the short-lived series Freakazoid, along with the Animaniacs spin-off series Pinky and the Brain. Warner Bros. also produced two additional "zany" series in the later half of the decade entitled Histeria!, a series focusing on American and World history, and Detention, an animated sitcom of quirky junior high kids trying to get out of after-school detention; both series were eventually canceled. Later, Warner Bros. cut back the size of its animation studio because the show Histeria! had gone over its budget,^[40] and most production on further Warner Bros. animated comedy series ceased.^[47]

Animaniacs, along with Tiny Toon Adventures, continued to rerun in syndication through the 1990s into the early-2000s after production of new episodes ceased. Animaniacs aired in syndication on the WB’s sister network, Cartoon Network, from January 24, 1997^[4] until Nickelodeon had bought the rights to air the series for spring 2001.^[48][49] Animaniacs does not currently air on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or its sister network, Nicktoons Network. Although the series was scheduled to re-run on Warner Bros and AOL's new broadband internet channel Toontopia TV,^[50] Animaniacs is no longer a featured show on the site.

Film

"I'm Mad"

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot’s first theatrical appearance was in the animated short, "I'm Mad", which opened nationwide alongside the full-length animated feature, Thumbelina, on March 30, 1994.^[44] The short was a musical about Yakko, Wakko, and Dot bickering during a car trip.^[51] "I’m Mad" was to be the first of a series of shorts, wanted by producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Ruegger, and Jean MacCurdy, to bring Animaniacs to a wider audience.^[44] However, "I'm Mad" was Animaniacs' only theatrical appearance. The short was later incorporated into Animaniacs episode 69.

"Wakko's Wish"

Main article: Wakko's Wish

The Warners, along with the entire Animaniacs cast of characters, starred in the feature-length, direct-to-video movie Wakko's Wish. The movie takes place in the fictional country of Warnerstock, in which the Warners and the rest of the cast are under the rule of a greedy dictator. When the Warners find out about a star that will grant a wish to the first person that touches it, the Warners, the villagers (the Animaniacs cast), and the dictator race to get to it first.^[26] Although Wakko’s Wish was rated highly among children and adults in test-screenings,^[52] Warner Bros. decided to release it direct-to-video, rather than spend money on advertising.^[53] The movie was released on VHS on December 21, 1999;^[26] there has not yet been a DVD release.

Merchandise

Home video

Main article: Animaniacs in Home Video

Episodes of the show have been released on DVD and VHS during and after the series run. VHS videos were released in the United States and in the United Kingdom. All of these videos are out of production, but are still available at online sellers. The episodes featured are jumbled at random and are in no particular order with the series. Each video featured four to five episodes each and accompanied by a handful of shorter skits, with a running time of about 45 minutes.

Beginning on July 25, 2006, Warner Home Video began releasing volume sets of Animaniacs episodes in order of the episodes' original airdates.^[54] Volume one of Animniacs had sold very well; over half of the product being sold in the first week made it one of the fastest selling animation DVD sets that Warner Home Video ever put out.^[55] So far, these DVD box sets are available only in United States and Canada. Sales overseas have yet to be confirmed.

Print

An Animaniacs comic book, published by DC Comics, ran from 1995 to 2000 (59 regular monthly issues, plus two specials). Initially, these featured all the characters except for Pinky and the Brain, who were published in their own comic series, though cameos were possible. Eventually, the Pinky and the Brain comic was discontinued, and was merged back into the Animaniacs series, which was then titled as Animaniacs! featuring Pinky and the Brain. The Animaniacs comic series, like the show, had parodied TV and comics standards, such as Pulp Fiction and The X-Files, among others.

An Animaniacs comic strip with art by Walter Carzon ran in the United Kingdom, but was never printed in the United States.

Video games

Animaniacs was soon brought into the video game industry to produce games based on the series. Early notable games include Play Zone!'s PC game Animaniacs Game Pack! (1997) and Konami's Animaniacs for Super Nintendo (1993). More modern games include Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt and Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action!. Other Games include Animaniacs for Sega Genesis and Game Boy; Animaniacs: A Gigantic Adventure for PC; Animaniacs: Splat Ball! for PC; Pinky and the Brain: World Conquest for PC; and Pinky and the Brain: The Master Plan for Game Boy Advance (Europe only).

Musical collections

Because Animaniacs had many songs, albums featuring songs from the show were produced. These albums include Animaniacs (1993), Yakko's World (1994), A Christmas Plotz (1995), The Animaniacs Faboo! Collection (1995), Animaniacs Variety Pack (1995), A Hip-Hopera Christmas (1997), The Animaniacs Go Hollywood (2003), and The Animaniacs Wacky Universe (2003).

See also

• List of Animaniacs episodes
• Tiny Toon Adventures
• Pinky and the Brain
• Freakazoid!
• Histeria!

References