Animaniacs is styled as avariety show, with shortskits featuring a large cast ofcharacters focusing on the Warner Brothers and their sister as main characters. The Warner siblings were in part inspired by the real-lifeWarner Bros. Water Tower on theWarner Bros. Studios lot inBurbank, 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 eightDaytime Emmy awards and aPeabody award.Animaniacs continued to rerun insyndication through the 1990s into the early 2000s after production of new episodes ceased. Arevival of the series streamed onHulu between 2020 and 2023. Additionally, nine video games based on the series were produced.
In the 1930s, the Warner siblings,Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, were three cartoon stars who were locked away in theWarner 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, archrivalDr. Otto Scratchansniff, and Hello Nurse.[2]
Pinky and the Brain are two genetically alteredanthropomorphic 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 anon sequitur.[2]Slappy Squirrel is anoctogenarian squirrel cartoon star paired with her nephew,Skippy.[2]
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 approvedButtons 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 ofTiny Toon Adventures.[b] Following the end of the series,Wakko's Wish was developed.[17]
Animaniacs was written for an audience of all ages, emphasizing aspects for comedic purposes. Some ideas were based on the writers' lives.[18] Cultural references were added to target a slightly older audience.[19] Several jokes were improvised in recording sessions.[20] A few segments were affected bycensorship. For three months, the production wrangled with the censors to air the scene where a parodied caricature ofElizabeth II sits on awhoopee cushion in the segment "Windsor Hassle".[20] Not finding the script funny, censors rejected the segment featuring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot tormenting a group of censors.[20]
Animaniacs was developed following the passage of theChildren's Television Act in 1990, which required programming aimed at children to include educational content. The writers worked this into the show by featuring segments involving the characters interacting withhistorical figures and creating songs like "Yakko's World" to serve as educational content.[10]
Animaniacs features the voices ofRob Paulsen as Yakko andPinky,Jess Harnell as Wakko,Tress MacNeille as Dot, andMaurice LaMarche as theBrain.[21] For voice actors to audition for the series, voice directorAndrea 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.[22] Paulsen auditioned for Yakko by sounding like comedianGroucho Marx and Pinky by giving him aCockney accent inspired by English comedians, such as theMonty Python comedy troupe and various comedians inThe Goon Show, getting callbacks during an eight-week process.[23][22] Paulsen also voicedDr. Otto Scratchansniff.[24] Ranking as the "best stuff he has ever done",[22] Paulsen recorded his lines for four hours per episode.[24]
Having previously worked with Ruegger and Spielberg onTiny Toon Adventures, MacNeille was invited to audition for Dot since her voice was similar toBabs Bunny.[4][21] During the last week of auditions, Harnell was invited to audition for the series, imitatingimpressions while Ruegger shouted each celebrity through an almanac.[4] As Harnell showed his impressions of each band member ofThe Beatles, Harnell auditioned for Wakko by doing a younger impression ofRingo Starr at Romano's suggestion.[4][25]
While auditioning for various characters, LaMarche thought the Brain resembledOrson Welles, doing an impression of "two-thirds Welles [and] one-thirdVincent Price".[21][26] LaMarche became Romano's only choice for the character.[27] LaMarche approached voicing the Brain seriously, investing it with depth and a sense of morality.[28] He did a direct impression of Welles for the episode "Yes, Always".[29] Ruegger's oldest son, Nathan, voiced Slappy Squirrel's nephew,Skippy.[30] Rita's voice was provided byBernadette Peters.[7]
Inspired by cartoon stars from the early 1930s,[4][31] Ruegger and other artists drew the Warner siblings similar to the animated characters from the time period,[31] serving as inspirations, includingFelix the Cat,Bosko, andFoxy.[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 writerTom Minton.[27]
Spielberg originated the idea to compose an original score for every episode.[35] The series's main composer isRichard Stone. Having previously worked onTiny Toon Adventures, Stone approached his scoring by incorporating techniques similar toCarl W. Stalling's work and scoring several parodies ofBroadway musicals.[36] He also composed the theme song.[37] Other composers were contracted to write original underscores, including Steve and Julie Bernstein.[36]
Using a 29- to 32-player orchestra, the orchestra used aFrench horn foropera parodies, aharp forChristmas specials, and a specific instrument for individual segments.[38] In some sessions, the music score for individual segments or a full episode is finished for a maximum of 22 minutes per day.[39] Other sessions combine the cues of the series with cues fromPinky and the Brain andFreakazoid!.[40] Between 45 and 50 ending gags were individually scored for two hours in one day; each one lasted one to thirteen seconds.[40]
At Spielberg's suggestion, each segment has a specific style of music. The music score of the Warner siblings' segments was inspired by early Warner Bros. cartoons andTiny Toon Adventures. The music score of "The Goodfeathers" segments was composed in the style ofMartin Scorsese's films andThe Godfather. Stone played themandolin in the first segments of "The Goodfeathers". Ruegger incorporatedAntonín Dvořák'sHumoresques for the theme song of the segments featuring Slappy Squirrel.[41] For several months, Ruegger battled with censors to air the song "Lake Titicaca".[20]
Animaniacs premiered on September 13, 1993, on the programming blockFox Kids,[42] continuing to air episodes until September 8, 1995.[43] During its run,Animaniacs became the second-most popular children's show among both ages 2–11 and ages 6–11 (behindMighty Morphin Power Rangers).[44][45]Animaniacs became one of the top five highest-rated weekday afternoon programs.[46] As of 1995, approximately 500,000 viewers watched the series in Canada.[47]
During the original run,Animaniacs received acclaim from critics.[50][56] Upon its debut, Jennifer Mangan of theChicago Tribune and Diane Werts ofNewsday picked the series as a highlight of the1993–94 television season.[57][58] Several critics lauded the humor, finding the series funny.[47][59] Greg Kennedy of theEdmonton Journal ranked the Warner siblings as "the funniest cartoon animals since the originalLooney Tunes" and stated that the series was "destined to become an animation classic".[60]The Toronto Star's Norman Wilher compared the series toTiny Toon Adventures, stating thatAnimaniacs is "less structured and a lot funnier".[61] Critics, such as Evan Levine ofUnited Features Syndicate,[62] Joal Ryan ofPasadena Star-News,[63] and Wertz, highlighted its allusions, connections, and parodies.[58] A few critics also highlighted its appeal to kids and adults.[4][59] In a less complimentary review, Barry Garron ofThe Kansas City Star said that "the silliness is [mostly] uninspired[,] and the humor [is] lacking".[64]
Most critics, such as N. F. Mendoza ofThe Los Angeles Times,[1]The Salt Lake Tribune's Randy Peterson,[65][66] and animation historianCharles Solomon ofThe Los Angeles Times, praised the high-quality animation and visuals.[42] Levine and Ryan deemed the animation and visuals superior to other animated television series.[62][63] Curtis Ross ofThe 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 thatTokyo Movie Shinsha's animation was "excellent",AKOM andWang Film Productions' animation was "competent", and Freelance Animators New Zealand andStarToons' animation was "sadly awkward and unappealing".[32] Some critics highlighted the music, commending it as clever, silly, and witty.[4][32][60][65]
While Levine reviewed that the "characters and plots are generally amusing",[62] Solomon said that the characters "never emerged [coherently]".[42] A few critics dismissed individual segments used in the series. O'Keefe criticized individual segments featuringButtons and Mindy,Rita and Runt, theGoodfeathers, and theHip Hippos.[32] Nora McArt of theBrainerd Dispatch dismissed some of the segments, reviewing that they "try too hard to be sophomorically outrageous, simply end[ing] up being stupid and dull".[30]
In 2009,IGN rankedAnimaniacs as the 17th-greatest animated series of all time in their own top 100 animated series of all time list.[67] Writing a retrospective review inEntertainment 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, theChicago Tribune named it the 66th-best television series of the 1990s.[68] In 2023,Vanity Fair praised the show.[8]
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 Minton
Along withTaz-Mania andFreakazoid!,Animaniacs became a popular animated series towards an adult audience, leading to fan interest and several websites dedicated to the series.[4][98] In 1995, over 21% of audiences during weekdays and over 23% of viewers on Saturday mornings were 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. Averaging from 80 to 100 posts per day, the newsgroup included lists of episode titles, quotations, and cultural references.[99] Fans traded tapes, barbs, and information;[99] debated adult jokes and cultural references;[3] and wrote laundry tips on fadingAnimaniacs T-shirts and parody lyrics.[9] Employees of Warner Bros. downloaded 1,200 pages of comments on the newsgroup each month.[99] One episode ofAnimaniacs featured acaricature of the show's internet fans.[3] Since 2016, Paulsen, Harnell, and MacNeille have toured asAnimaniacs Live!, performing songs from the series with an orchestra.[100]
The theatrical short "I'm Mad" was released alongsideThumbelina in the U.S. on March 30, 1994. "I'm Mad" was intended to be the first theatrical short of the series, bringingAnimaniacs to a wider audience. Due to the box office failure of the film, "I'm Mad" was the onlyAnimaniacs theatrical short produced.[101] A few critics, such as Steve Persall ofSt. Petersburg Times and Sean P. Means ofThe Salt Lake Tribune, deemed the short superior to the film.[102][103] Writing for theNew York Daily News, film critic Jami Bernard lauded the animation, deeming it similar to the originalLooney Tunes cartoons.[104] Paul Malcolm ofLA Weekly called the short "a major disappointment".[105]
A revival series ofAnimaniacs was ordered byHulu in May 2017 for an initial two-season order, following the popularity of the original series afterNetflix had added it to its library in 2016.[115] Spielberg was heavily involved with working on the revival and insisting on returning the original voice cast and its elements.[116][117]Wellesley Wild served as the showrunner and as executive producer along with Gabe Swarr.[118] The first season was released on November 20, 2020.[119] The second season was released on November 5, 2021;[119] the third and final season was released on February 17, 2023.[citation needed]
^abKitman, Marvin (August 23, 1995)."THE MARVIN KITMAN SHOW: Comedy Is WB Network's New Tack in Season No. 2".Newsday. pp. B2–B3, B12.Archived from the original on January 5, 2026. RetrievedDecember 27, 2025 – viaNewspapers.com.A half-hour animated comedy spin-off from the acclaimed "Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs," "Pinky & The Brain" is the story of these two mice, one of which (the brain) is obsessed with dominating the world. With all those cigarettes they smoke at the Acme Laboratory, not to mention all the cosmetics and lipstick tests, you can't expect much from them.
^"Again, Emmy eludes Lucci".Variety. May 29, 1995. RetrievedDecember 24, 2025.The honors May 19 were given in 16 categories for performances, individual shows and writing, completing an award process that began with statuettes going to winners in 41 other categories in a ceremony May 13.
^Richmond, Ray (May 12, 1997)."Two tooners win Daytime Emmys".Variety.Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. RetrievedDecember 24, 2025.A pair of winners for outstanding achievement in animation were announced Wednesday for the24th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, with color director Kexx Singleton taking an Emmy for "The Lion King'sTimon & Pumbaa — Beethoven's Wiff" and background artist Barbara Schade earning an award forABC's "The Magic Pearl."
^"Lucci unlucky as Emmy non-nom".Variety. April 4, 1994. RetrievedDecember 24, 2025.An unexpected Emmy list-crasher wasSteven Spielberg, whoseWarner Bros. animated series "Steven Spielberg Presents: Animaniacs" received four nominations. The show also yielded aPeabody Award for Spielberg the same day noms were announced (see story, page 6).