This past May , Rob Lammle tell apart youmore than you ever wanted to sleep with aboutAnimaniacs . Now , we ’re back to tell you evenmoreabout Yakko , Wakko , Dot , and the rest of the animated work party . The show ’s remaining episodes hit DVD tomorrow inAnimaniacs : Volume 4 , so we sat down withAnimaniacscreator Tom Ruegger and Rob Paulsen , the voice of Yakko , Pinky and many others , to get behind - the - scene details about the show ’s final episodes . relish the show !
EPISODE 77: “THIS PUN FOR HIRE” / “STAR TRUCK” / “GO FISH” / “MULTIPLICATION SONG”
“ This Pun for Hire ”
TOM RUEGGER : This was written and executed about the time that Steven [ Spielberg ] was partnering up with Jeffrey [ Katzenberg ] to make DreamWorks . After the first time of year , I ’d say this was Steven ’s number one favourite toon because it was jam - pack with laugh and pun non - stop . It never stopped with its play on words and it also ended with “ the stuff that DreamWorks are made of . ” A very cute conclusion . I think it ’s one of our good .
“ Star Truck ”
ROB PAULSEN : That was Maurice LaMarche doing a spot - on impression of William Shatner , which he ’s been known to do quite often . As a matter of fact , he created on his own something bid International Talk Like William Shatner Day , which Bill Shatner has sort of comprehend .
“ Multiplication Song ”
RP : Yet another of Randy Rogel ’s amazing nuggets . Every meter Randy came up with another song , the bar was elevate higher and mellow . It was n’t like he was [ giving us harder songs ] to throw us a breaking ball . He would just fare up with something more and more and more spectacular . In fact , there may even be something in the kit and boodle with me and Randy doing his euphony live . We did a few live shows in Los Angeles and multitude really loved it . We ’ll see what happens .
EPISODE 78: “THE SOUND OF WARNERS” / “YABBA DABBA BOO”
“ The Sound of Warners ”
RB : Tress MacNeille played “ Julie Andrews ” and one of the birdcall include the lyrics “ the hills are alive in the Ithiel Town of Burbank . ” How can you not enjoy that ? Tress really did a capital impression of Julie Andrews with that A-one unfermented take on how she would phrase lyrics . Everyone live how great [ twist ] is playing Dot , but it ’s nice to see her do some other characters in the show as well .
EPISODE 79: “MY MOTHER THE SQUIRREL” / “THE PARTY” / “OH! SAY CAN YOU SEE” / “THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS SONG”
TR : This is the only half - hour ofAnimaniacsthat all three of my sons perform in . “ Oh ! Say Can You See ” is with The Flame and my mediate son Luke did the vox for The Flame in all the cartoon . On “ My Mother The Squirrel ” my oldest son Nathan did Skippy and my youngest Logos Cody did the bird .
“ The Party ”
RP : If I ’m not misguided , that ’s the one with the parody of Christopher Walken . “Why wo n’t anyone babble out to me ? I ’m Christopher Walken . Why wo n’t anyone say hello?“It ’s really peculiar because , since then , we ’ve all had the pleasure of at least knowing someone who has worked with Christopher Walken and , as much as we eff him , they do say he ’s kind of an eccentric fellow . [ Laughs ]
“ The Twelve Days of Christmas Song ”
TR : This is a little isolated bit of trivia that I do n’t thinkanyonebut the mass puzzle out on the show would know . This song is where the little naughty dame comes out and sing “ The Twelve twenty-four hours of Christmas ” in this very bizarre way where everything was polo-neck doves and the last one is a gigantic , king - sized turtle dove . So , one day , my little son Cody comes home from school and he enunciate , “ I learned a Christmas Christmas carol today . ” So I say , “ Oh , let ’s pick up it . ” And he talk itexactlythe fashion it is in this cartoon . I forthwith said , “ Well , I ’m picking you up from schooling tomorrow because we have a recording session . ” So the next day I pick him up and impart him into the recording booth , put him in front of the mic and said , “ Sing me that song you sing . ” There was no thinking or committal to writing or any intellectual recitation . We just said , “ have ’s just record this and do it . ” And that ’s how the episode come up about .
EPISODE 80: “DOT’S ENTERTAINMENT” / “THE GIRL WITH THE GOOGILY GOOP” / “GUNGA DOT”
“ Dot ’s Entertainment ”
RP : Just the fact that they came up with Andy Lloyd Webby is screaming to me . This was right during the time that Andrew Lloyd Webber ’s gambol were all doing amazing business . I imply , every meter he came out with a musical , it was a smasher . Mr. Webber ’s predisposition to being a moment of a diva , I mean , was lend to bear in that sketch with , arguably , pretty hysterical results .
“ The Girl with the Googily Goop ”
RP : Part of the charm of the show was that , often , Tom Ruegger and Steven Spielberg and the relief of the bunch would compensate homage to these grand honest-to-goodness cartoons , and that gaveAnimaniacsthe form of vibe that the Warners had been around for a farseeing prison term . They create this mythology around theAnimaniacsthat they were produce years and year ago and were mesh up in the water pillar . It was fun that they did these piddling tips of the hat , which served two purposes . They gave the sure-enough sketch the credit they merit , but they lend another aura of legitimacy to the ethos and the mythology of the Warner brothers . It really consecrate the cartoon a timelessness that does n’t go away .
TR : Desiree Goyette act as Googily Goop in this , and she was , in fact , the same actress who , at that time , was play the part of Betty Boop in some cartoons . We did n’t have to work on too strenuously to cast that one .
EPISODE 81: “SOCCER COACH SLAPPY” / “BELLY BUTTON BLUES” / “OUR FINAL SPACE CARTOON, WE PROMISE” / “VALUABLE LESSON”
“ Soccer Coach Slappy ”
TR : A yr or two before this cartoon , we had made “ Bumbi ’s mum , ” where Skippy Squirrel is brought to the pic theatre by Slappy to watch Bumbi and [ is ] traumatise by the death of Bumbi ’s mom and plaint and cry . So , my son Nate had been performing Skippy , and a lot of “ Soccer Coach Slappy ” has to do with Skippy taking a association football glob in the side repeatedly and wailing afterward . He ’s shout out like a infant .
The day before my son Nate was record , he basically tell , “ I refuse to play this role ! ” I said , “ What ? ” He was draw in a total prima donna , Redd Foxx in a situation comedy modus operandi . “ I ’m not reading this dogshit ! ” [ Laughs ] He said , “ I do n’t need Skippy to cry . He ’s old . He ’s uprise up and he should n’t be squall anymore . ” So it was quite the negotiation to get him to do it . I think I even pulled some crying from another episode because he really , really balked at it .
EPISODE 82: “WAKKO’S 2-NOTE SONG” / “PANAMA CANAL” / “HELLO NURSE” / “THE BALLAD OF MAGELLAN” / “THE RETURN OF THE GREAT WAKKOROTTI” / “THE BIG WRAP PARTY TONIGHT”
“ The Ballad of Magellan ”
RP : I intend this was John McCann and Paul Rugg who put the lyrics to this vocal . That was the genius of those two guy taking this innocuous American folk song and putting these wondrous goose lyrics to it . It was also one of the times Jess , Tress , and myself get to do a really gracious three - part harmony on a song . Really fun small composition .
Music was an integral part of the whole show , which is one of the reason that when the show was do along and try out , I was really frantic . Not only were there going to be all new characters , there was going to be all brand raw tonic music . You know , 35 , 40 man for every half - hour , which is absolutely never done anymore because it ’s so expensive . And it paid off .
To this day , one of the reason people loveAnimaniacs , in big part , is because of the music .
“ The Big Wrap Party Tonight ”
TR : This is one that I wrote and it definitely is … I would n’t really say it ’s a parody , but I would say that it ’s inspired by a Cab Calloway song . I was mind to a lot of Cab Calloway at that time . There was something promise “ Everybody Eats When They occur to My House ” that was one of his strain that I think , melodically and medicine - wise , this has something similar to that .
EPISODE 83: “ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO CLOCK”
“ One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock ”
TR : The inspiration behind “ One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock ” came from when I was a petty small fry . My Aunt K was in a retreat rest home . She was n’t addle the fashion that Slappy catch addled here , but we decidedly press the gasbag here . We went for some heart and some emotion , which we had never done with Slappy . Some people did n’t desire us to do that , but I think it was worth at least explore and , ultimately , it turns into kind of fun and slapstick . There are some moments , though , where Skippy is put through the wringer emotionally .
EPISODE 84: “CUTIE AND THE BEAST” / “BOO HAPPENS” / “NOEL”
“ Cutie and the Beast ”
RP : The Tasmanian Devil is voiced by Jim Cummings . To this daytime I believe , whenever they employ the Tasmanian Devil , they apply Jim . One of the capital things about Jim , that many hoi polloi know , is that he ’s also the phonation of Tigger and Winnie the Pooh . The guy wire ’s got incredible range .
Jim , Maurice LaMarche , and I work together on a show calledTaz - Mania , about a yr beforeAnimaniacshit the airwave . So , by that time , Jim was really well established at the Tasmanian Devil .
I love the fact that Warner Bros. can satirise a Disney show with characters that they have in their catalog and it ’s totally credible as a parody . I really dig that .
“ Noel ”
RP : Another genius Randy Rogel birdcall . It opened on Wakko writing a alphabetic character to Santa and he misspells Santa by writing S - A - N - T - L - A. Incredible material .
The episode ’s ending is also funny as it ’s done in silhouette with Yakko , Wakko , and Dot search at the acknowledgment . It was veryMystery Science Theater 3000with the three of us go , “ Rob Paulsen ? Who ’s that jerk ? Tress MacNielle ? Oh my God . Diva diva diva . She needs her own limousine . ” All that kind of stuff . We just use up the piss out of everybody on the show , let in ourselves .
EPISODE 86: “A VERY VERY VERY VERY SPECIAL SHOW” / “NIGHT OF THE LIVING BUTTONS” / “SODA JERK”
“ A Very Very Very Very Special Show ”
RP : I call back that because we had won the George Foster Peabody Award , in real life , which of course is a very honored award for any cartoon to win — or reallyanybodyto win . I think , as a result of that , they tried to do something that was means over the top and very saccharin and maudlin . Funny stuff — but that was a big sight for us to gain that award .
EPISODE 87: “FROM BURBANK WITH LOVE” / “ANCHORS A-WARNERS” / “WHEN YOU’RE TRAVELING FROM NANTUCKET”
“ When You ’re Traveling From Nantucket ”
RP : Another Randy Rogel masterpiece . When Randy and I did our little show , peoplefreaked outbecause it ’s not only stuff that they ’d already heard but then they pick up it again twenty year afterward and they go , “ Oh my God . This is brilliant ! ” We even do some songs that never made it to the air that are every bit as astonishing , but we basically ran out of display . Randy wrote a song about the spice trade and the chronicle of war . It ’s really spectacular .
Randy could do anything . The bones in the consistency . Countries of the world . You know , he ’s actually write a new verse now that admit all of the novel countries of the reality and the way the world has shift since he wrote that twenty years ago . He ’s got Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and Macedonia and Ivory Coast . Absolutely incredible . We do it together . It ’s great .
EPISODE 89: “TEN SHORT FILMS ABOUT WAKKO WARNER” / “NO TIME FOR LOVE” / “THE BOO NETWORK”
“ The Boo connection ”
RP : I worked on Chicken Boo . That was averyodd cartoon . Really unusual and fun . It was Deanna Oliver who came up with this really outlandish , probably medicinal drug - induce , melodic theme about a elephantine talking chicken .
EPISODE 91: “MOOSAGE IN A BOTTLE” / “BACK IN STYLE” / “BONES IN THE BODY”
“ off-white in the Body "
RP : More Randy Rogel . I run out of elevation . The guy rope is not only an incredible songster , but he ’s also won seven or eight Emmy Awards . He was originally at Warner Bros. because of his writing skills onBatman : The Animated Series . He write some really unbelievable drama and I think he won an Emmy for some of those . Then , whenAnimaniacswas coming along , he knew he had this melodious acquisition , but he had to convince Warner Bros. to hire him . They thought he was just the guy that could write dramatic event . They were n’t sure he could do melodious comedy . He said , “ I can do that . ” So his sense of hearing piece was“Yakko ’s World”—the song about all the state of the earth . Crazy . And then he win a pile of Emmys for writing all those Sung dynasty . He is the consummate overachiever .
EPISODE 92: “IT” / “DOT – THE MACADAMIA NUT” / “BULLY FOR SKIPPY”
TR : I felt that we really got back in the groove and strike a home test with episode 92 . This integral half - hour was completely animize in Chicago by a company called StarToons led by a associate named John McClenahan and it ’s a beautiful half - minute .
“ Dot – The Macadamia Nut ”
RP : It was a moderately close parody of “ Macarena ” and it was middling cute . I remember when that “ Macarena ” song came out and I get sick of of it in about 30 second , so it was lovely that the Warner Bros. folk were able to come up with a really cute pasquinade .
TR : We got Warner Bros. to get us a permit for the euphony and I rewrote all the lyrics so it would just be a nuttyAnimaniacsversion of “ Macarena . ”
“ Bully for Skippy ”
TR : This one was , perhaps , the most political thing I ever wrote . It was in reaction to the FCC mandating that there be a very specific and heavy amount of hr per Clarence Day in the TV schedule that ’s educational for shaver , which ultimately impact the sort of toon that communication channel could put on the air . The head of the FCC at that distributor point was a feller nominate Reed Hundt so we came up with this character named Reef Blunt . We animated him and had our characters at some Washington , DC hearing and Reef Blunt basically say , “ We ’re go to have educational cartoons and I ’m going to be watching you ! ” He repoint at the Animaniacs characters and says , “ Especially you , Miss Squirrel ! ” [ Laughs ] It ’s really one of my favorites of the whole serial publication . It ’s a really queer cartoon .
EPISODE 93: “CUTE FIRST (ASK QUESTIONS LATER)” / “ACQUAINTANCES” / “HERE COMES ATTILA” / “BOO WONDER”
“ acquaintance "
RP : I was playing ice hockey at that meter . One of my teammates was Matthew Perry fromFriends , and I remember telling him that we were satirise his show and he sound out , “ Oh my God , I love [ Animaniacs ] ! I really want to do it . ” Unfortunately , we never did get him on the show because we were done before he draw a probability to do it . I do n’t think he missed anything because he was making a million dollars a calendar week , so I cerebrate he was ok . [ Laughs ]
EPISODE 94: “MAGIC TIME” / “THE BRAIN’S APPRENTICE”
“ The Brain ’s Apprentice ”
TR : This was ourSorcerer ’s Apprenticecartoon and , again , animize by StarToons in Chicago .
RP : That was the last “ Pinky and The Brain ” section in the context of the show , but then we get a spinoff . FromTiny Toon Adventuresin the late 1980s toTaz - ManiatoAnimaniacstoPinky and The BraintoHisteria!toFreakazoid — all these things that I get to work on [ at Warner Bros.]—it was like an 11 - year passion fest . I was there two or three day every single week . The masses that I worked with are still my Friend to this day . We advance Emmys . We had a groovy time . We all find our basis on that show and the stars really aligned for us .
I remember telling Tress MacNielle , “ You ’re going to need to take a picture of this because , unless you ’re onThe Simpsons , it just does n’t get any better than this . You ’re working with the best people on both sides of the glassandSteven Spielberg and the giant orchestra , Richard Stone , Randy Rogel , and all these great people . It ’s career defining .
I tell masses in interviews thatTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesreally exchange my career , butAnimaniacsreally changed mylife . I ’m improbably grateful .
EPISODE 95: “HOORAY FOR NORTH HOLLYWOOD (PART I)” and EPISODE 96: “HOORAY FOR NORTH HOLLYWOOD (PART II)”
“ Hooray for North Hollywood ”
RP : I remember that Mr. Plotz was let go a twosome of times on the show . He was even fuel by his boy at one point in a segment call in “ A Christmas Plotz ” which was our take onA Christmas Carol . Interestingly , the guys who were the head teacher of the studio apartment at the metre , Bob Daly and Terry Semel , really used to get a kick out of the fact that the Warner chum would lampoon the studio apartment heads . It ’s kind of nerveless when you have the multitude that are signal the curb every week to do these very expensive animated cartoon , are willing to let you take the piss out of them . [ Laugh ] That just shows you how their self-importance did n’t get in the way .
EPISODE 97: “THE CARPOOL” / “THE SUNSHINE SQUIRRELS”
“ The Sunshine Squirrels ”
TR : Phyllis Diller was in this one . It was n’t one of herlastperformances , but I ’m really glad that I had a chance to work with her .
EPISODE 98: “THE CHRISTMAS TREE” / “PUNCHLINE (PART I)” / “PROM NIGHT” / “PUNCHLINE (PART II)”
“ The Christmas Tree ”
TR:[This is ] the last Slappy animated cartoon . One of the things I ’ve noticed in watching some of these over the preceding few weeks — they did this kind of Rockefeller Center Christmas Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree inflammation ceremony in the cartoon back in the mid 90s , which is 15 or 16 years ago now . Al Roker was doing the ceremony back then , and he’sstilldoing it . So you think some of these references are going to be dated really quickly and , certainly some of them are , but in that case it ’s not .
EPISODE 99: “BIRDS ON A WIRE” / “THE SCORING SESSION” / “THE ANIMANIACS SUITE”
“ The Scoring Session”and“The Animaniacs Suite ”
TR : These two toon are all about the music and Richard Stone . “ The Scoring Session ” was basically Richard having a much - postulate rest at Camarillo , which was a genial institution out here in California at the metre . [ Laughs ] So he ’s being occupy in at the scoring academic session by a composer make Nevel Nosenest ( vocalize by Michael McKean ) , a rhino . The full mould is in this and the Warners add up and ruin the scoring academic session .
Here ’s averyobscure choice morsel : Nevel Nosenest ’s name was created the night that my tiddler and I observe , and then were driving home from , the Spielberg cartoonAn American Tail : Fievel Goes West . Nievel Nose Nest . That ’s where we got the name from .
RP : I remember Richard Stone , God rest his soul , who call me and say , “ Hey , we ’re doing the last scoring session . ” They were always held at the Clint Eastwood Scoring Stage over on the Warner Bros. lot , which is the same stage that Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn and all those guy wire used to do the original Warner Bros. cartoon . They even used the same piano that Carl Stalling used . The shade in that studio are awing .
For some reason , though , they had to switch to the really big scoring studio at 20th Century Fox and Richard called me and say , “ Hey , just so you know , we fuck the show is ending and I ’m doing thisAnimaniacsSuite . Do you require to get along and see it ? ” And I ’m say you what , adult male . I was in tears because Richard did thisbeautifulrendition of a pastiche of theAnimaniacstheme with different style and it was justbeautiful . I was in tear watching it .
It was really interesting because , not long after that , Richard develop pancreatic cancer and passed away far too untried . I remember at his memorial service , which was hold on the grading level at Warner Bros. , we were all there tattle our praises of this great man . The word “ genius ” gets thrown around a lot , but in his case it ’s not hyperbole . He really was a genius and an awful guy wire . It was almost as if he knew that he had to get all this stuff done because he knew he was n’t pop off to experience very long . Richard ’s untimely death put a really unplumbed , sweet time period at the last of this whole matter . We knew it would never pass again with this group . It was very distressing , but very sweet and a very appropriate way for the whole series to terminate .
Animaniacs : mass 4arrives on DVD February 5 .
All icon from Animaniacs : Volume 4 .
