A/N: This was originally published in June/July of 2021. I accidentally deleted the chapter in November, but luckily I had a backup of it in Google Docs. You can disregard the last part for now since Brazilian HBO Max only has the reboot so far (although they recently added Freakazoid so maybe they're considering Spielberg's other shows?). Anyway, the chapter's republished as is with no alterations or anything. Enjoy!
AKA my obsession with Animaniacs.
Ok so that first part is a lie my obsession isn't weird, but still.
Who would've thought a girl born in 2005 could be gushing over a show from 1993 huh?
But really, Animaniacs is something I didn't think I would like, but I did. A lot.
It all started in May...
Well, technically, it all started in late April, but most of it took place in May.
So here in Brazil (and to an extent, most of Latin America) there's this little known channel called Tooncast, where they air old Cartoon Network shows, Hanna-Barbera stuff, some DC cartoons and stuff from Kids WB.
That last one is very important.
So in that timeframe, they started to air Animaniacs at 8 AM and right after they aired Pinky and the Brain (a spinoff to Animaniacs), but they reran the episodes aired at 8 AM at 8 PM (so more people could watch it I guess?)
I'm someone who seems to be interested in old stuff from the 80's and 90's. I mean, have you ever heard of Windows 98? Most of you probably do, but I think some of the younger folks here don't.
Now you may be wondering...
What the actual heck is an Animaniac?
First off, let me be clear.
Animaniacs is only the show's name.
(Trust me, Jeopardy was hit HARD with this one before)
The protagonists are always referred to as "The Warner Brothers (and The Warner Sister)" or simply "The Warners".
They're three siblings who live in the WB water tower (yes really) and they're as follows:
Yakko, the motor mouthed know-it-all older sibling (voiced by Rob Paulsen);
Wakko, the middle one with an inexplicable British accent who wears a cap (voiced by Jess Harnell);
And .
Seriously, her name is Dot, apparently named after the period in the Warner Brothers logo.
Thanks for your support!
She's cute, she's cheerful, she's adorable, and I love her.
Oh, and she's voiced by Tress MacNeille.
They're always runnin' from the darned guard (also known as Ralph) who wants them trapped in the tower forever.
There are other characters who get in the way of the Warners' antics, like the "P-sychiatrist" Otto von Scratchansniff (no really, that's his actual name), the absolutely seductive Hello Nurse (named for what Yakko and Wakko say whenever they're near her, Dot is mostly not amused when this happens), CEO Thaddeus Plotz (yes. Plotz. With a Z. Huh), and many more.
The whole show is played out like a sketch comedy show of sorts, with various segments taking up the 22 minute affair.
These other segments have various characters that most fans may remember: the cranky Slappy Squirrel (and cute Skippy), the Goodfeathers (good one actually), Rita and Runt (a cat and a dog. Ok then) and the duo of Buttons (a dog, again) and Mindy (a cute little girl. Seriously, google her design. She's adorable).
And who could forget about everyone's favorite laboratory mice? Dim-witted Pinky is always helping out The Brain in... Say it with me... Taking over the world.
Yep. And apparently they were popular enough to get their own spinoff, which ran for a while after Animaniacs ended. There was also this time where Elmyra from Tiny Toon Adventures joins in, but we don't talk about that one.
The original show ran from 1993 to 1998 at a whopping 99 episodes.
Seriously, how many shows today reach that milestone?
And there was a movie. Yes, a movie. Made a year after the show ended, "Wakko's Wish" is its own little thing, with a brand new story in a brand new setting. You should check it out.
And who was the mind behind this entire thing?
Well, aside from Tom Ruegger, who created the show, guess who was in charge of these two shows.
Yes.
It's him.
The myth.
The legend.
Steven frickin Spielberg.
Yes. You heard that right. He was an executive producer on this whole thing.
Okay I rambled on quite a bit. Now let me tell you about my obsession.
So, after I saw that Tooncast would air it, I began researching. And oh boy, did I research!
I think I managed to know about the whole thing in like a day or so. And I never watched a full episode.
Yep.
While all of this was going on, i wasn't able to watch a full episode. I only watched a few segments on Tooncast (the first episode I watched was actually half of it) and clips on YouTube.
There are quite a few songs in Animaniacs as well (seriously, there's a lot). We all know about Yakko's World, right? That one song that Rob just keeps singing without fail? What about Wakko's America, which from what I heard, Jess can also sing without fail. (I actually memorized that latter song in less than two weeks)
There are other fantastic songs, up to and including the main theme, which is fantastic btw.
Anyway, yeah. I haven't watched a full episode yet and Tooncast doesn't air it anymore. (and Hulu doesn't exist where I live)
This might change, however, when I get HBO Max.
Because it was basically confirmed that both the original and the 2020 reboot would be coming to the service.
Can't wait to watch it.
Anyway, sorry that this one is longer than any of the other chapters. I just HAD to talk about this.
Also my mom had this Dot shirt which apparently she bought when she and my dad met, which from what I know was in 1992, which makes NO SENSE SINCE ANIMANIACS IS FROM 1993 AND WE IN BRAZIL GOT IT LIKE A YEAR OR TWO LATER WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON-
I'm sorry.
