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Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as the shorter title 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, had proved to be a big hit among younger viewing audiences, and it had attracted a sizeable 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 brand new animated characters that were cast in the mould of Chuck Jones and Tex Avery's creations.[1]
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. Like many other animated series, it has continued to appear on television through syndication long after its original airdate. As of the start of 2007, the first 50 episodes have been released in two DVD boxsets; the remaining 49 are expected to be released by the end of the year.
The comedy of Animaniacs was a broad mix of old-fashioned wit, slapstick, pop culture references, and cartoon wackiness. The show also 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 many short skits featuring a large cast of characters. Each episode was traditionally composed of three short mini-episodes, each starring a different set of characters, and bridging segments.
Although Animaniacs had been set in Burbank, California, the series often took place in various places and periods of times. The Animaniacs characters also interacted with famous persons and creators of the past and present as well as mythological characters and characters from modern television. Animaniacs segments ranged in time, from bridging segments less than a minute long to episodes spanning the entire show length. Writer Peter Hastings had said that the varying episode lengths gave the show a "sketch comedy atmosphere"[2] Although characters from Animaniacs acted in their own segments, characters often made cameos in each other’s segments. Andrea Romano, the voice director and caster for Animaniacs, had said that the Warners had functioned to "tie the show together," introducing each show and acting as hosts to the audience.[3]
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.[4] Pinky and the Brain were two genetically altered laboratory mice that continuously plotted and attempted to take over the world.[5] Slappy Squirrel was an aged cartoon star that would easily outwit antagonists and educate her nephew, Skippy Squirrel, about cartoon techniques.[6] Animaniacs had even more characters, including Rita and Runt, Buttons and Mindy, Chicken Boo, and the Hip Hippos.
The general premise of Animaniacs and the Warner siblings were created by Tom Ruegger and other writers, and the show was executively produced by Steven Spielberg. Although Ruegger had been the senior producer for the show, many other writers and producers, such as Sherri Stoner, Nicholas Hollander, and Deanna Oliver, had also pitched ideas that had made it into the series.[2] The Animaniacs cast of characters had a wide variety of inspiration, from celebrities to family members to other writers. Executive Producer Steven Spielberg had said that the Animaniacs cast had also been inspired by the irreverence in Looney Tunes cartoons.[1]
The Warner siblings had been inspired by, as writer Peter Hastings had said, Jerry Lewis and the Marx Brothers in that they, "wreak havoc" in "serious situations."[2] Senior Producer Tom Ruegger had also modeled the Warners’ personalities heavily after those of his three sons.[7] Because the Warners were stars very early cartoons, Ruegger and other writers for Animaniacs made the image of the Warners similar to cartoon characters of the early 1930's.[7] Simple black drawings with white faces 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.
The Personalities of Pinky and the Brain had been inspired by two Tiny Toon Adventures writers, Eddie Fitzgerald and Tom Minton, respectively. Tom Ruegger said that he had thought of the premise of Pinky and the Brain when he wondered what would happen if Minton and Fitzgerald would try to take over the world.[8]
Slappy Squirrel had been 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, an older person acting like a teenager.[2] Sherri Stoner had also 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]
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 and Sherri Stoner were producers of the show. The producers of the show usually had other jobs on the show as well; Tom Ruegger, Rich Arons, and Sherri Stoner had all served as writers on the show, and Spielberg was very involved in the show’s writing, checking every script for the series.[9] Voice director Andrea Romano had said that Spielberg had also come up with story ideas, read storyboards and come to some recording sessions.[3]
Writers for Animaniacs included Paul Rugg, Sherri Stoner, John McCann, Peter Hastings, Charles Howell, Gordon Bressack, Earl Kress, Tom Minton, Randy Rogel, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Ruegger, and Deanna Oliver.[2] Many of these writers had been involved in sketch comedy, and many had been involved in Tiny Toon Adventures.[2]
Many people of the Animaniacs voice cast had come 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, had said that the casters had 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." Romano had also 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, had not been in Tiny Toons, and had said that before Animaniacs, he had had little experience in voice acting other than some roles for Disney which he "fell into."[3] Harnell had said that at the audition for the show, he had done a "John Lennon" impression and the audition "went great."[3] Slappy the Squirrel had been 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, had been 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 had also all played roles on the show at one time or another.[10]
In order to speed up the production of episodes, many different studios, both American and international, simultaneously animated Animaniacs over the corse of the show’s production. The main animation companies included Tokyo Movie Shinsha, StarToons, Wang Film Productions, Freelance Animators New Zealand, and AKOM. While these companies animated and colored Animaniacs, the backround layouts were done by a domestic studio. Most Animaniacs episodes usually had different animation from different companies in their different respective segments.
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.[11] For its music, Animaniacs used a forty-piece orchestra. The use of the large orchestra in modern Warner Bros. animation began with Animaniacs predecessor, Tiny Toon Adventures, but Spielberg had 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 MacCurdy, the executive in charge of production for the series.[11] The music for the show was composed by Richard Stone, and the lyrics for the songs were usually written by either Randy Rogel or Tom Ruegger. Ruegger had also said that writers Nicholas Hollander and Deanna Oliver had also written "alot of music."[2]
Many of the songs were parodies of classical or folk music, often with an educational twist, such as listing U.S. states.[12] One song, titled "The Presidents Song", named and described every president to the tune of the William Tell Overture.[13] Other songs were not educational, such as songs that were simply parodies of other songs,[14] songs mocking things in everyday life,[15] and songs making fun of celebrities and other media.[16] Most of the show's songs were sung by the Warners. Pinky and the Brain occasionally got songs to sing as well, and the most complicated songs in the series usually went to Rita, voiced by singer Bernadette Peters. The song "Yakko's World," with lyrics by Randy Rogel, is perhaps the series' most famous. Other well-known songs include "Wakko's America", "The Presidents Song", and "Yakko's Universe". Most of the groups of characters even had their own full theme songs for their segment on the show. The Animaniacs series theme song, which was primarily 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.[17] The music for the title sequence was composed by Richard Stone, and the lyrics were written by Tom Ruegger.
Several albums of music from the series were released, including Animaniacs, Yakko’s World, and Variety Pack. Sing-along VHS tapes, such as "Animaniacs Sing-Along: Yakko's World," were also released.
There are many catchphrases on Animaniacs, 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 at one time or another was "Helloooo, Nurse!" Other Animaniacs characters also had their own catchphrases. Pinky and the Brain had a catchphrase where, at the beginning of an episode, Brain would ask Pinky, "Are you pondering what I’m Pondering?" to which Pinky would respond with a non-sequitur. Furthermore, at the start of all Pinky and the Brain episodes Pinky asks "What we doing tonight then Brain?", to which Brain answers "The Same thing we do everynight Pinky... Try to take over the world!" This usually preceded the title sequence. Also, Skippy Squirrel had the catchphrase, "Spew!" which was used whenever something disgusting was brought up. Slappy had the catchphrase, "Now that's Comedy!" refering to 'dated' or 'classic' humour, usually involving cartoon violence or anti-poetic justice.
Running gags were also 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. Another major running gag was that characters would often 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. 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 some of these shows also made appearances in Animaniacs.
Although most Animaniacs episodes did not revolve around any central theme, episodes that premiered during or near the times of certain holidays had all or most of it’s segments set to the theme of that holiday. Such episodes include episode 21 (Fourth of July\United States of America theme), episodes 29 and 30 (Halloween theme), and episodes 49 and 50 (Christmas theme). However, some non-holiday episodes also had themes, such as episode 15 (Outer space\Alien theme) and episode 18 (Russian theme).
A great deal of Animaniacs's subversive humor and content was aimed at an adult audience. A number of Animaniacs spoofs were rather "high class", or at least above the heads of most children. The operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan, most notably Pirates of Penzance and H.M.S. Pinafore were parodied in episode 3, "HMS Yakko". Scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream and Hamlet were also parodied, with Yakko saying the lines in old English and Dot mistranslating them. Episode 10, "King Yakko" parodied the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup and the British television show Blackadder. Furthermore, many jokes as well as 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 adult jokes were more subtle. One example is the "Wheel of Morality" that appears at the end of some episodes. Looking closely, it can be seen that one of the spots on the wheel reads "Bankrupt". Not only is this a parody of Wheel of Fortune, which most children might understand, but it is also a play on the phrase "morally bankrupt". (While the wheel never landed on "Bankrupt" on the show, it did once in the comic book.) Some aspects of Animaniacs were not only aimed at an adult audience but were also of a suggestive 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.[2]
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. This segment also featured frequent allusions to The Godfather and Taxi Driver, other movies with an adult target audience.
Animaniacs often parodied popular TV shows and movies, as the Animaniacs animators made fun at everything and everyone, including their own fans.[18] Many spoofs were multi-layered, with the episode parodying one specific subject and referencing several 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.[19] Because of Steven Spielberg's involvement in the series, several of his films and even Spielberg himself were parodied numerous times. In the episode "Hooked on a Ceiling", Spielberg was even made the "eminence" of the Sistine Chapel, and the Warners also painted an E.T. picture on its ceiling.[19] Animaniacs also made fun of celebrities, major motion pictures, television shows for adults, television shows for kids, and trends in the US.
Animaniacs had become a very succesful show, gathering fans in both demographics of children and adults. The series had gained ratings larger than those of its competitors and had also won several awards, including eight Daytime Emmy Awards and one Peaboy Award. While some segments proved less popular than others, a number of popular cartoons were aired during the series.
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.[20][21] 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.[20] On "Kids' WB", Animaniacs gathered about one-million children viewers every week.[22]
Although Animaniacs was popular among younger viewers (the target demographic for Warner Bros.' TV cartoons), many adults also responded positively to the show, with 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 being 25 years or older.[23] The large adult fanbase had even led to one of the first Internet-based fandom cultures.[24] 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.[25] The online popularity of the show did not go unnoticed by the show's producers, and several of the most active participants on the newsgroup were invited to the Warner Bros. Animation studios for a gathering in August 1995[26] dubbed by those fans Animania IV.
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.[27]
Animaniacs first major award came in 1993, when the series won one Peabody Award in its debuting season.[28] 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).[29] Animaniacs had also won two Daytime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition" and "Outstanding Original Song" (Animaniacs Main Title Theme).[17] 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).[30] In 1996, Animaniacs won two Daytime Emmy Awards, one for "Outstanding Animated Children's Program" and the other for "Outstanding Achievement in Animation".[31] In 1997, Animaniacs was nominated for an Annie Award for "Best Individual Achievement: Directing in a TV Production" (Charles Visser for the episode "Noel").[32] 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".[33] 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".[34] Animaniacs also won a Daytime Emmy Award in "Outstanding Music Direction and Composition" (For the episode "The Brain’s Apprentice").[35] In 1999, Animaniacs won it’s last Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition".[36] 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.[37]
Animaniacs premiered on September 13, 1993 on "FOX Kids"; new episodes aired from 1993 through 1995 seasons. 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.[21][38] In 1994, Yakko, Wakko and Dot had also starred in the theatrical short "I'm Mad".[39] New episodes were aired on "Fox Kids" until the 65th episode aired; FOX had then ordered no more new episodes, with the exception of four episodes that had been hastily put together from unused scripts.[38] "FOX Kids" had put Animaniacs into syndication for another year, after which Animaniacs switched to the new Warner Bros. channel, "Kids' WB".
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, and new episodes were aired until 1998. 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.[22] However, Animaniacs was also successful in an unintended way, bringing in many adult viewers and viewers outside the "Kids WB" target demographic of very small children.[38] This unintended result of many 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.[38] 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.[27][38] 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.[40] 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.[41]
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! (much like Animaniacs, but focusing on American and World history, and designed to satisfy US government requirements for educational programming) and Detention (an animated sitcom of several quirky junior high kids trying to get out of after-school detention), but neither of these series found a sizable audience, and they were both eventually canceled. Warner Bros. cut back the size of its animation studio because the show Histeria! had gone over its budget,[35] and most production on further Warner Bros. animated comedy series ceased.[41]
Animaniacs, along with Tiny Toon Adventures, continued to rerun in syndication through the 1990s into the early-2000s after production of new episodes ceased. The series has run in syndication on both Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. Animaniacs has not aired on United States television since the removal, with the exception of the movie Wakko's Wish. Although the series was scheduled to re-run on Warner Bros and AOL's new broadband internet channel Toontopia TV,[42] Animaniacs is no longer a featured show on the site, possibly for the reason of stimulating DVD sales.
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.[39] The short was a musical about Yakko, Wakko, and Dot bickering during a car trip.[43] "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 audiance.[39] However, "I'm Mad" was Animaniacs only theatrical appearance. The short was later incorporated into Animaniacs episode 69.
The Warners, along with the entire Animaniacs cast of characters, also appeared in the feature-length, direct-to-video movie "Wakko's Wish". The movie takes place in a fairy-tale-like setting 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 rest of the cast), and the dictator race to get to it first.[22] Although "Wakko’s Wish" had been rated highly amongst children and adults in test-screenings,[44] Warner Bros. had decided to release it direct-to-video, rather than spend money on adverting.[45] The movie was released on VHS on December 21, 1999;[22] there has not yet been a DVD release.
Six 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 some 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.
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.[46] So far, these DVD box sets are available only in United States and Canada. Sales overseas have yet to be confirmed.
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 many TV and comics standards, such as Pulp Fiction and The X-Files, among others.
Animaniacs was soon brought into the video game industry to produce games based on the series. Some of the 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).
Because Animaniacs had many songs, with many episodes having their own original score, several 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)
Animaniacs first aired on Fox Kids from September 13, 1993 to September 8, 1995.[9] Animaniacs had then switched networks to the new Kids’ WB! on September 9, 1995, [9] and the last new episode was aired on November 14, 1998 [47] Animaniacs also aired on the WB’s sister network, Cartoon Network, from January 24, 1997 [9] until 2000 because Nickelodeon had bought the rights to air the series for 2001.[48] Animaniacs aired on Nickelodeon until 2002, when it was moved to Nicktoons Network and aired there until 2005.
The Animaniacs seasons had widely varied in length. The first season had been 65 episodes long because these episodes were ordered by FOX all at once.[38] The second season was much shorter and consisted of only 4 episodes.[38] The third season had had 13 episodes which began the new Kids' WB lineup.[38][9] The fourth season had had 8 episodes, which was reduced from 18 because of the WB's dissatisfaction with Animaniacs.[38] The last season had had 9 episodes, bringing the total number of Animaniacs episodes to 99.
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