Animaniacs

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Animaniacs
Animaniacs.png
Series logo featuring (from left to right) Yakko Warner, Dot Warner and Wakko Warner
Also known asSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs
Genre
Created by Tom Ruegger
Voices of
Theme music composer Richard Stone
Opening theme"Animaniacs Theme" (performed by Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, and Jess Harnell)
Composers
  • Richard Stone
  • Steven Bernstein
  • Julie Bernstein
  • Gordon Goodwin
  • Carl Johnson
  • J. Eric Schmidt
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes99 (274 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer Steven Spielberg
Producers
Running time20–21 minutes (1–10 minutes per segment)
Production companies
Original release
Network Fox (Fox Kids)
ReleaseSeptember 13, 1993 (1993-09-13) –
November 12, 1994 (1994-11-12)
Network The WB (Kids' WB)
ReleaseSeptember 9, 1995 (1995-09-09) –
November 14, 1998 (1998-11-14)
Related

Animaniacs is an American animated comedy television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox's Fox Kids block in 1993 before moving to The WB in 1995 as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block until the series ended on November 14, 1998. It initially ran a total of 99 episodes, along with a direct-to-video film, Wakko's Wish .

Contents

Animaniacs is styled as a variety show, with short skits featuring a large cast of characters focusing on the Warner Brothers and their sister as main characters. The Warner siblings were in part inspired by the real-life Warner Bros. Water Tower on the Warner Bros. Studios lot in Burbank, California. While the show had no set format, most episodes were composed of three short mini-episodes, each starring a different set of characters and bridging segments. Elements of the series included frequent musical numbers, satire, character catchphrases, and references to historical events and figures.

The series received acclaim from critics and won multiple awards, including eight Daytime Emmy awards and a Peabody award. Animaniacs continued to rerun in syndication through the 1990s into the early 2000s after production of new episodes ceased. A revival of the series streamed on Hulu between 2020 and 2023. Additionally, nine video games based on the series were produced.

Premise

Animaniacs had a wide cast of characters; shown here are most of the characters from the series. Totallyinsaney.jpg
Animaniacs had a wide cast of characters; shown here are most of the characters from the series.

In the 1930s, the Warner siblings, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, were three cartoon stars who were locked away in the Warner Bros. Water Tower because they were seen as too zany. [1] Several decades later, the trio escapes from the tower, [1] interacting with Warner Bros. studio workers, including Ralph the Security Guard, archrival Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, and Hello Nurse. [2]

Pinky and the Brain are two genetically altered anthropomorphic laboratory mice who continuously plot and attempt to take over the world. [3] [4] The segments would begin with Brain asking, "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" before Pinky would respond with a non sequitur. [2] Slappy Squirrel is an octogenarian squirrel cartoon star paired with her nephew, Skippy. [2]

The Goodfeathers trio, Bobby, Pesto, and Squit, are pigeons from New York based on the characters Henry Hill, Jimmy Conway, and Tommy DeVito from Goodfellas (1990). [5] Buttons is a pooch who risks his life to protect his four-year-old owner, Mindy. [4] Rita and Runt are a homeless cat-and-dog duo, [4] being dropped after the first season. [6] Katie Ka-Boom is a teenager with a temper. [4] Chicken Boo is a giant chicken who wishes to live among humans. [4] [7] Additional side characters include the Hip Hippos. [1]

Episodes

SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast releasedNetwork
1 17165September 13, 1993 (1993-09-13)May 23, 1994 (1994-05-23) Fox (Fox Kids)
2 124September 10, 1994 (1994-09-10)November 12, 1994 (1994-11-12)
3 4613September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)February 24, 1996 (1996-02-24) The WB (Kids' WB)
4 228September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)November 16, 1996 (1996-11-16)
5 239September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08)November 14, 1998 (1998-11-14)
Wakko's Wish December 21, 1999 (1999-12-21) Direct-to-video

Production

The Warner Bros. Water Tower in 2022 WBTowerNew.jpg
The Warner Bros. Water Tower in 2022

Development

Following the success of Tiny Toon Adventures , Steven Spielberg offered series creator Tom Ruegger a chance to develop another television series. [8] While walking around the studio lot and seeing the Warner Bros. Water Tower, [8] [9] [10] Ruegger took inspiration from the Marx Brothers to create Yakko, Wakko, and Dot and wanted to incorporate them into a "contemporary Little Rascals' situation." [4] The personalities of the siblings were based on Ruegger's three sons. [6] [9]

Slappy Squirrel was based on a suggestion by Sherri Stoner, one of the producers and writers for Tiny Toon Adventures, that she acted like a teenager during her adulthood. [6] Other characters were based on staff members' children or experiences, cartoons, and films. [6] The Goodfeathers trio, Bobby, Pesto, and Squit, were based on Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito, Robert De Niro's Jimmy Conway and Ray Liotta's Henry Hill from Goodfellas (1990). [5]

Spielberg approved and rejected 25 sets of characters and their concepts pitched by Ruegger and his team in his home with the assistance of his children. [4] [8] [9] Four or five sets of characters were approved; several of them were rejected, including Nipsy and Russell, Bossy Beaver and Doyle, and the amoeba stars of "As the Petri Dish Turns". [9] Nearly rejected, one of Spielberg's children approved Buttons and Mindy. [9]

With the cost of $400,000 per episode, the series was produced with a budget of nearly $26 million for the first season, which was nearly $1 million more than the budget of the first season of Tiny Toon Adventures. [b] Following the end of the series, Wakko's Wish was developed. [17]

Writing

Animaniacs was written for an audience of all ages, emphasizing aspects for comedic purposes. [18] Some ideas were based on the writers' lives. [18] Cultural references were added to target a slightly older audience. [19]

Animaniacs was developed following the passage of the Children's Television Act in 1990, which required programming aimed at children to include educational content. [10] The writers worked this into the show in part by featuring segments involving the characters interacting with historical figures, and creating songs like "Yakko's World", which listed out all the countries of the world at the time, to serve as educational content. [10]

Voice actors

Rob Paulsen Photo Op Animate! Columbus 2024.jpg
Jess Harnell Picture.jpg
Tress MacNeille.png
Rob Paulsen in 2024 (left), Jess Harnell in 2014 (middle), and Tress MacNeille in 2007 (right)

Animaniacs features the voices of Rob Paulsen as Yakko and Pinky, Jess Harnell as Wakko, Tress MacNeille as Dot, and Maurice LaMarche as the Brain. [20] For voice actors to audition for the series, voice director Andrea Romano, Ruegger, and a few others called them to sit at a table in the SoundCastle studio and develop ideas for the voices of the characters. [21] Paulsen auditioned for Yakko by sounding like comedian Groucho Marx and Pinky by giving him a Cockney accent inspired by English comedians, such as the Monty Python comedy troupe and various comedians in The Goon Show , getting callbacks during an eight-week process. [22] [21] Paulsen also voiced Dr. Otto Scratchansniff. [23] Ranking as the "best stuff he has ever done", [21] Paulsen recorded his lines for four hours per episode. [23]

Having previously worked with Ruegger and Spielberg on Tiny Toon Adventures, MacNeille was invited to audition for Dot since her voice was similar to Babs. [4] [20] During the last week of auditions, Harnell was invited to audition for the series, imitating impressions while Ruegger shouted each celebrity through an almanac. [4] As Harnell showed his impressions of each band member of The Beatles, Harnell auditioned for Wakko by doing a younger impression of Ringo Starr at Romano's suggestion. [4] [24]

While auditioning for various characters, LaMarche thought the Brain resembled Orson Welles, doing an impression of "two-thirds Welles [and] one-third Vincent Price." [20] [25] LaMarche became Romano's only choice for the character. [26] LaMarche approached voicing the Brain seriously, investing its depth and a sense of morality. [27] He did a direct impression of Welles for the episode "Yes, Always". [28] Ruegger's oldest son, Nathan, voiced Slappy Squirrel's nephew Skippy. [29] Rita's voice was provided by Bernadette Peters. [7]

Designs and animation

Inspired by cartoon stars from the early 1930s, [4] [30] Ruegger and other artists drew the Warner siblings similar to the animated characters from the time period, [30] serving as inspirations included Felix the Cat, Bosko, and Foxy. [8] Yakko's design was largely inspired by Groucho Marx; Wakko's design resembled Groucho's older brother, Harpo Marx. [4] Brain's design resembled writer Tom Minton. [26]

The animation was completed in Tokyo Movie Shinsha and Seoul Movie in Japan, [6] [31] StarToons in Chicago (with ink and paint services provided by an animation studio in Seoul), [31] [32] Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, [6] [31] Freelance Animators New Zealand in New Zealand, [31] and AKOM in South Korea. [6] [31] [33] The show used more animation cels than other animated television series. [6]

Music

Spielberg originated the idea to compose an original score for every episode. [34] The series' main composer is Richard Stone. Having previously worked on Tiny Toon Adventures, Stone approached his scoring by incorporating techniques similar to Carl W. Stalling's work and scoring several parodies of Broadway musicals. [35] He also composed the theme song. [36] Other composers were contracted to write original underscores, including Steve and Julie Bernstein. [35]

Using a 29 to 32-player orchestra, the orchestra used a French horn for opera parodies, a harp for Christmas specials, and a specific instrument for individual segments. [37] In some sessions, the music score for individual segments or a full episode is finished in a day for a maximum of 22 minutes. [38] Other sessions combine the cues of the series with cues from Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid! . [39] Between 45 and 50 ending gags were individually scored for two hours in one day; each one lasted one to thirteen seconds. [39]

At Spielberg's suggestion, each segment has a specific style of music. [40] The music score of the Warner siblings' segments was inspired by early Warner Bros. cartoons and Tiny Toon Adventures. [40] The music score of "The Goodfeathers" segments was composed in the style of Martin Scorsese's films and The Godfather . [40] Stone played the mandolin in the first segments of "The Goodfeathers". [40] Ruegger incorporated Antonín Dvořák's Humoresques for the music style of the segments featuring Slappy Squirrel. [40]

Broadcast history

Animaniacs premiered on September 13, 1993, on the programming block Fox Kids, [41] continuing to air episodes until September 8, 1995. [42] During its run, Animaniacs became the second-most popular children's show among both ages 2–11 and ages 6–11 (behind Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ). [43] [44] Animaniacs became one of the top five highest-rated weekday afternoon programs. [45] As of 1995, approximately 500,000 viewers watched the series in Canada. [46]

In 1995, Warner Bros. Animation was looking to invest in additional episodes of Animaniacs past the traditional 65-episode marker for syndication. [47] Animaniacs moved to The WB's programming block Kids' WB, premiering on September 9, 1995. [42] That year, the popularity of Pinky and the Brain led to the first spin-off series, which was dropped from Animaniacs. [4] [48] It premiered on September 10, 1995, on The WB's programming block Kids' WB. [49] [50] The second spin-off series, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain , premiered on September 19, 1998, on the Kids' WB programming block. [51] The series finale aired on November 14, 1998.[ citation needed ] The series was followed by the feature-length direct-to-video movie Wakko's Wish ; it was released on VHS on December 21, 1999. [52] In 2000, Nickelodeon bought the rights to air the series for $20 million, debuting on the network in mid-2001. [53] The streaming service Netflix picked up the series in 2016. [54]

Reception

Critical response

During the original run, Animaniacs received acclaim from critics. [49] [55] Upon its debut, Jennifer Mangan of the Chicago Tribune and Diane Werts of Newsday picked the series as a highlight of the 1993–94 television season. [56] [57] Several critics lauded the humor, finding the series funny. [46] [58] Greg Kennedy of the Edmonton Journal ranked the Warner siblings as "the funniest cartoon animals since the original Looney Tunes" and stated that the series was "destined to become an animation classic." [59] The Toronto Star 's Norman Wilher compared the series to Tiny Toon Adventures , stating that Animaniacs is "less structured and a lot funnier." [60] Critics, such as Evan Levine of United Features Syndicate, [61] Joal Ryan of Pasadena Star-News , [62] and Wertz, highlighted its allusions, connections, and parodies. [57] A few critics also highlighted its appeal to kids and adults. [4] [58] In a less complimentary review, Barry Garron of The Kansas City Star said that "the silliness is [mostly] uninspired[,] and the humor [is] lacking." [63]

Most critics, such as N. F. Mendoza of The Los Angeles Times , [1] The Salt Lake Tribune 's Randy Peterson, [64] [65] and animation historian Charles Solomon of The Los Angeles Times, praised the high-quality animation and visuals. [41] Levine and Ryan deemed the animation and visuals superior to other animated television series. [61] [62] Curtis Ross of The Tampa Tribune noted that "the characters move with a fluidity too long absent from [Tiny Toons]." [4] In a divided review, Maryland-based writer Paula O'Keefe noted the inconsistency of animation, reviewing that Tokyo Movie Shinsha's animation was "excellent", AKOM and Wang Film Productions' animation was "competent", and Freelance Animators New Zealand and StarToons' animation was "sadly awkward and unappealing." [31] Some critics highlighted the music, commending the music as clever, silly, and witty. [4] [31] [59] [64]

While Levine reviewed that the "characters and plots are generally amusing", [61] Solomon said that the characters "never emerged [coherently]". [41] A few critics dismissed individual segments used in the series. O'Keefe criticized individual segments featuring Buttons and Mindy, Rita and Runt, the Goodfeathers, and the Hip Hippos. [31] Nora McArt of Brainerd Dispatch dismissed some of the segments, reviewing that they "try too hard to be sophomorically outrageous, simply end[ing] up being stupid and dull." [29]

In 2009, IGN ranked Animaniacs as the 17th-greatest animated series of all time in their own top 100 animated series of all time list. [66] Writing a retrospective review in Entertainment Weekly in 2011, John Young praised the humor and musical numbers, including references that he was unable to understand at the time. [7] In 2021, the Chicago Tribune named it the 66th-best television series of the 1990s. [67] In 2023, Vanity Fair praised the show. [8]

Awards and nominations

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Annie Awards November 12, 1994 Best Animated Television Program AnimaniacsNominated [68]
Best Achievement in Voice Acting Frank Welker as the voice of various charactersNominated
November 11, 1995 Best Animated Television Program AnimaniacsNominated [69] [70]
Best Achievement in Voice Acting Rob Paulsen as the voice of Yakko Warner Nominated
Tress MacNeille as the voice of Dot Warner Nominated
Best Achievement in Music Richard Stone Nominated
November 10, 1996 Best Animated Television Program AnimaniacsNominated [71]
Best Achievement in Music Richard Stone, Steve Bernstein, and Julie BernsteinNominated
November 16, 1997 Best Individual Achievement for Directing in a TV Production Charles Visser for the episode "Noel"Nominated [72]
November 13, 1998 Outstanding Animated Daytime Television Program AnimaniacsNominated [73]
Daytime Emmy Awards May 25, 1994 (main ceremony) Outstanding Children's Animated Program Steven Spielberg, Sherri Stoner, Rich Arons, Tom Ruegger, Michael Gerard, Alfred Gimeno, Bob Kline, Jenny Lerew, Rusty Mills, Audu Paden, Greg Reyna, Lenord Robinson, and Barry CaldwellNominated [74] [75]
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition Richard Stone and Steven BernsteinWon
Outstanding Original Song Richard Stone and Tom Ruegger for the song "Animaniacs Main Title Theme"Won
Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program John P. McCann, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Minton, Paul Rugg, Deanna Oliver, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, Randy Rogel, and Peter HastingsNominated
May 13, 1995 (Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards)
May 19, 1995 (main ceremony)		 Outstanding Children's Animated Program Steven Spielberg, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner and Rich AronsNominated [76] [77]
Outstanding Music Direction and CompositionSteven Bernstein and Richard Stone Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in AnimationRich Arons, Barry Caldwell, Michael Gerard, Alfred Gimeno, Dave Marshall, Jon McClenahan, Rusty Mills, Audu Paden, Greg Reyna, Lenord Robinson, Andrea Romano, Peter Hastings, Nicholas Hollander, John P. McCann, Tom Minton, Deanna Oliver, Randy Rogel, Paul Rugg, Tom Ruegger, and Sherri Stoner Nominated
May 18, 1996 (Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards)
May 22, 1996 (main ceremony)		 Outstanding Children's Animated Program Steven Spielberg, Tom Ruegger, Peter Hastings, and Rusty Mills Won [78] [79]
Outstanding Achievement in Animation Gordon Bressack, Charles M. Howell IV, Peter Hastings, Randy Rogel, Tom Ruegger, Paul Rugg, Liz Holzman, Audu Paden, Andrea Romano, Al Zegler, Joey Banaszkiewicz, Barry Caldwell, Brian Mitchell, John Over, Norma Rivera, Rhoydon Shishido, Marcus Williams, and Mark ZoellerWon
Outstanding Music Direction and CompositionSteven Bernstein, Carl Johnson, and Richard Stone Nominated
May 7, 1997 (Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards)
May 21, 1997 (main ceremony)		 Outstanding Children's Animated Program Steven Spielberg, Liz Holzman, Rusty Mills, Peter Hastings, Tom Ruegger, Charles Visser, Andrea Romano, Audu Paden, Jon McClenahan, Randy Rogel, John P. McCann, Paul Rugg, and Nick DuboisWon [80] [81] [82] [83]
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition Richard Stone, Steven Bernstein, and Julie BernsteinWon
May 9, 1998 (Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards)
May 15, 1998 (main ceremony)		 Outstanding Children's Animated Program Steven Spielberg, Tom Ruegger, Rusty Mills, Liz Holzman, Andrea Romano, Mike Milo, Jon McClenahan, Charles M. Howell IV, Randy Rogel, Kevin Hopps, Gordon Bressack, Nick Dubois, and Tom MintonNominated [82] [84] [85]
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition Richard Stone, Steven Bernstein, Julie Bernstein, and Gordon Goodwin Won
May 15, 1999 (Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards)
May 21, 1999 (main ceremony)		 Outstanding Children's Animated Program Steven Spielberg, Tom Ruegger, Rusty Mills, Liz Holzman, Randy Rogel, Kevin Hopps, Nick DuBois, Charles M. Howell IV, Earl Kress, Wendell Morris, Tom Sheppard, Andrea Romano, Stephen Lewis, Kirk Tingblad, Mike Milo, Nelson Recinos, Russell Calabrese, Herb Moore, and Dave PryorNominated [82] [86] [87] [88]
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition Richard Stone, Steven Bernstein, Tim Kelly, Julie Bernstein, and Gordon Goodwin Won
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards May 20, 1995 Favorite Cartoon AnimaniacsNominated [89]
May 11, 1996 Nominated [90]
April 19, 1997 Nominated [91]
Online Film & Television Association Awards 1997OFTA Television Award for Best Animated ProductionNominated [92]
Peabody Awards March 31, 1994Peabody AwardWon [93] [94]
TCA Awards July 22, 1994 Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming Nominated [95]
Young Artist Awards 1996 Best Family Animated ProductionWon [96]

Legacy

Along with Taz-Mania and Freakazoid! , Animaniacs became a popular animated series towards an adult audience, leading to fan interest and several websites dedicated to the series. [4] [97] In 1995, over 21% of audiences during weekdays and over 23% of viewers on Saturday mornings was 25 years or older; [9] a quarter of the audience were over the age of 24. [3] [5]

University of Toronto student Paul Dakhun Hendry created the internet newsgroup alt.tv.animaniacs for adult fans. [98] Averaging from 80 to 100 posts per day, the newsgroup included lists of episode titles, quotations, and cultural references. [98] Fans traded tapes, barbs, and information, [98] debated adult jokes and cultural references, [3] and wrote laundry tips on fading Animaniacs T-shirts and parody lyrics. [9] Employees of Warner Bros. downloaded 1,200 pages of comments on the newsgroup each month. [98] One episode of Animaniacs featured a caricature of the show's internet fans. [3] Since 2016, Paulsen, Harnell and MacNeille have toured as Animaniacs Live!, performing songs from the series with an orchestra. [99]

Franchise

"I'm Mad"

The theatrical short "I'm Mad" was released alongside Thumbelina in the U.S. on March 30, 1994. [100] "I'm Mad" was intended to be the first theatrical short of the series, bringing Animaniacs to a wider audience. [100] Due to the box office failure of the film, "I'm Mad" was the only Animaniacs theatrical short produced. [100] A few critics, such as Steve Persall of St. Petersburg Times and Sean P. Means of The Salt Lake Tribune , deemed the short superior to the film. [101] [102] Writing for the New York Daily News , film critic Jami Bernard lauded the animation, deeming it similar to the original Looney Tunes cartoons. [103] Paul Malcolm of LA Weekly called the short "a major disappointment". [104]

Video games

Due to the popularity of the show, a total of nine video games were based on the Animaniacs series for various consoles. [105] The list includes titles such as: Animaniacs (1994), [106] [107] Animaniacs Game Pack! (1997), [108] Animaniacs: Ten Pin Alley (1998), [109] Animaniacs: A Gigantic Adventure (1999), [110] Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt (2005) [111] and Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action! (2005). [112] [113] An additional game for the Game Boy Advance, titled Animaniacs: Hollywood Hypnotics, was produced but cancelled before release. [105]

Revival

A revival series of Animaniacs was ordered by Hulu in May 2017 for an initial two-season order, following the popularity of the original series after Netflix had added it to its library in 2016. [114] Spielberg was heavily involved with working on the revival and insisting on returning the original voice cast and its elements. [115] [116] Wellesley Wild served as the showrunner and as executive producer along with Gabe Swarr. [117] The first season was released on November 20, 2020. [118] The second season was released on November 5, 2021; [118] the third and final season was released on February 17, 2023.[ citation needed ]

Notes

  1. ↑ Credited as Warner Bros. Animation from 1993 to 1995.
  2. ↑ Attributed to multiple sources: [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mendoza, N.F. (December 26, 1993). "SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO : A sense of history and smarts set Fox's 'Animaniacs' apart". The Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Sepinwall, Alan (November 16, 2020). "'Animaniacs' Revival Misses the Zany Magic of the Original". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chaplin, Julia (July 1995). "The Looniest Toons: Wakko, Yakko, and Dot are the Animaniacs and if you let them, they'll gladly drive you totally insane". Spin . Vol. 11, no. 4. p. 32. Archived from the original on December 21, 2025. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Ross, Curtis (January 19, 1996). "It's time for Animaniacs!". The Tampa Tribune . pp. 18, 28. Archived from the original on December 29, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Jones, Ross (October 21, 1995). "Animaniacs". The Guardian . p. 199. Archived from the original on August 17, 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Johnson, Kevin (November 16, 2020). "10 episodes of Animaniacs that are zany to the max—for better and worse". The AV Club . Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Young, John (September 7, 2011). "'Animaniacs': The '90s cartoon for the adult in every child". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 King, Darryn (August 25, 2023). ""It Spoiled Us": The Mad Minds Behind 'Tiny Toon Adventures' and 'Animaniacs'". Vanity Fair . Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gates, Anita (February 14, 1995). "TELEVISION; Hey, It's Not Sondheim, but Adults Don't Care". The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 Bundel, Ani (November 20, 2020). "Hulu's 'Animaniacs' has plenty of the original's references — but little of its magic". NBC News . Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  11. ↑ Freeman, Mike (July 26, 1993). "Fox, Disney power kid's entertainment". Broadcasting & Cable . Vol. 123, no. 30. Future US. pp. 56+. Retrieved December 26, 2025– via Gale.
  12. ↑ Meisler, Andy (July 8, 1990). "TELEVISION; Steven Spielberg Promises: 'Th-Th-That's Not All, Folks'". The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  13. ↑ Rhodes, Joe (September 28, 1990). "Sufferin' Succotash! It's Looney Tunes, Take Two". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on November 28, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
  14. ↑ Miller 1990, pp. 38–39.
  15. ↑ Powell, Stan (March 25, 1991). "No Bugs in this Buster". The Sydney Morning Herald . p. 3S. Retrieved November 28, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Mann, Bill (October 10, 1990). "Very hot 'Toons'". Oakland Tribune . p. 36. Retrieved December 3, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Multilayered Humor: 'Animaniacs' Serves Up Laughs For All Age Groups". Chicago Tribune . December 23, 1999. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  18. 1 2 Boyd, Leslie (February 13, 1997). "'Animaniacs' writer offers a glimpse into his zany world". Tarrytown Daily News. p. C1. Archived from the original on January 3, 2026. Retrieved January 2, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Graham, Jefferson (March 28, 1996). "T-T-That's not all, folks!: Warner Bros. animation studio roars back to more vivid life". USA Today . p. 3D. Archived from the original on January 3, 2026. Retrieved January 2, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  20. 1 2 3 Itzkoff, Dave (November 17, 2020). "The Stars of 'Animaniacs' Speak for Themselves". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  21. 1 2 3 Lawson & Persons 2004b, p. 270.
  22. ↑ Mendoza, N.F. (December 17, 1995). "It's a Living : Voices From Within : HOW ROB PAULSEN GIVES LIFE TO HIS CARTOON CHARACTERS". The Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on December 26, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  23. 1 2 Forman, Ross (November 8, 1994). "Cartoon-voice actor is all talk". Chicago Tribune . p. 1 (Section 7). Archived from the original on December 27, 2025. Retrieved December 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Waldon, David Brian (November 22, 1994). "Jess Harnell: voice of 'Wakko'". The Columbian . p. A13. Retrieved January 9, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ Lawson & Persons 2004a, pp. 208–209.
  26. 1 2 Lawson & Persons 2004a, p. 208.
  27. ↑ Lawson & Persons 2004a, pp. 209–210.
  28. ↑ Lawson & Persons 2004a, p. 209.
  29. 1 2 McArt, Nora (January 14, 1996). "KIDS SHOWS". Brainerd Dispatch . p. 21. Retrieved December 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  30. 1 2 "TV Production: What a Character! Part II of a series: The Evolution of Animaniacs". Animation Magazine . July 1995. p. 12.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 O'Keefe, Paula (1994). "WE SAID... THE RISE OF STEVEN SPIELBERG'S ANIMANIACS". Animato! . pp. 31, 33. Retrieved December 27, 2025– via Internet Archive.
  32. ↑ Owens, John (July 5, 1992). "Drawing On Experience". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  33. ↑ Cain, Geoffrey (October 30, 2010). "South Korean Cartoonists Cry Foul Over The Simpsons". Time . Archived from the original on June 13, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  34. ↑ Schmuckler, Eric (April 17, 1995). "The new face in toontown". Mediaweek . 5 (16): 22.
  35. 1 2 Goldmark 2000, p. 225.
  36. ↑ Burlingame, Jon (March 14, 2001). "Richard Stone". Variety . Archived from the original on August 1, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  37. ↑ Goldmark 2000 , p. 230
  38. ↑ Goldmark 2000, pp. 236–237.
  39. 1 2 Goldmark 2000, p. 237.
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