Animaniacs is an American animated television series from Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation which was released on November 20, 2020 on Hulu. It is a reboot of the original series of the same name. Like the original series, this reboot received mostly positive reviews and became one of two most-watched Warner Bros. animated streaming programs, the other being Looney Tunes Cartoons.
Plot[]
The Warner brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister, Dot—three inseparable, irascible siblings—have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet. They have been locked away in the Warner Bros. water tower for a very long time, but they have found a way to escape. And escape they do—every day! Causing chaos and comic confusion, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot run loose in the city, turning the world into their personal playground. And fan-favorite characters Pinky and the Brain will also return to make appearances in each episode.
Episodes[]
Season 1 (November 20, 2020)[]
- Jurassic Lark/Suspended Animation, part 1/Of Mice and Memes/Suspended Animation, part 2
- Warners Unbound/How to Brain Your Dragon/Suffragette City
- Gold Meddlers/Pinko and the Brain/Math-terpiece Theater: Apples
- Bun Control/Ex-Mousina/Bloopf
- Good Warner Hunting/No Brainer/Ralph Cam
- The Cutening/Close Encounters of the Worst Kind/Equal Time
- Warner She Wrote/French French Revolution/Gift Rapper
- WhoDonut/Mousechurian Candidate/Starbox and Cindy
- Here Comes Treble/That's Not the Issue/Future Brain/The Incredible Gnome in People's Mouths
- Anima-Nyet/Babysitter's Flub/The Warners' Press Conference
- Phantomaniacs/Fear and Laughter in Burbank/Bride of Pinky/Things That Go Bump in the Night
- A Zit!/1001 Narfs/Manny Manspreader
- Hindenburg Cola/Roadent Trip/FLOTUS, FLOTUS: What Do You Know About Us?
Season 2 (November 5, 2021)[]
- Rome Sweet Rome/Backwards Pinky/Wakko's Short Shorts: Now Loading
- Please Submit/The Flawed Couple/Everyday Safety
- Rug of War/Run Pinky Run/The Hamburg Tickler
- Ralph World/My Super Sour Sweet Sixteen/How To: Brain Takes Over the World
- The Warners are Present/The Pinktator/Know Your Scroll
- Yakko's Big Idea/Mouse Congeniality/The Rejected Animaniacs Characters
- Yakko Amakko/The Longest Word/Happy Narfday!/The Magna Cartoon Song
- Wakkiver Twist, Part One/Plight of Hand/Wakkiver Twist, Part Two
- What is That?/Mouse Madness/Christopher Columbusted/Fake Medicines
- Cold Open: Exercise Minute/Reichenbrain Falls/Targeted Ads/Starbox and Cindy II: Bath Time
- A Brief History of the History Song/The Gnome in People's Mouths: Gerard/The Prisoners Dilemma/Math-terpiece Theater: Beach Balls
- Warner’s Ark/The Apology/Narf Over Troubled Water/The Warner’s Vault
- 80's Cats/All About the Benjamin/23 and WB
Season 3 (February 17, 2023)[]
- Previously on Animaniacs.../Season 3 and WB Part One/How To: Friendship/Season 3 and WB Part Two
- Soda-pressed/Starbox and Cindy: Dog Days/Groundmouse Day Part One
- Planet Warner/Mad Mouse: Fury Road/D.I.WHY?
- Fantasy (Cold Open)/Über Nachtmare/Talladega Mice: The Ballad of Pinky Brainy
- Teeniacs (Cold Open)/Starbox and Cindy: A Starbox is Born/Royal Flush
- Animaliens (Cold Open)/Murder Pals Part One/Groundmouse Day Again/Murder Pals Part Two/Island of Dr. Warneau/Murder Pals Part Three
- Global Warnering/Lawn in Sixty Seconds/All's Fair in Love and Door/Cute Things That Can Kill You
- WARnerGAMES/Starbox and Cindy: Bedtime/WARnerGAMES 2/Crumbly’s Moment
- How the Brain Thieved Christmas Part One/Santamaniacs/How the Brain Thieved Christmas Part Two
- International Mouse of Mystery Intro/Aliens Resurrected/Joe/The Stickening/Slappy's Return/Everyday Safety: Giant Adirondack Chair
Cast[]
- Rob Paulsen as Yakko, Pinky, and Dr. Scratchansniff
- Jess Harnell as Wakko
- Tress MacNeille as Dot
- Maurice LaMarche as The Brain
- Frank Welker as Ralph T. Guard, Chicken Boo, and Judge Plotz
- Andy Milder as Steven Spielberg
- Abby Trott as Dr. Sattler
- Stephanie Escajeda as Nora Rita Norita
- Eric Bauza as Daffy Duck, Scientist, Shaun, Officiant, and Pepé Le Pew
- Jeff Bergman as Sylvester
- Bob Bergen as Porky Pig
- Zeno Robinson as Jay-Pac Le East Tha Rapper
- Fred Tatasciore as Nils Niedhart and Benedict
- Maria Bamford as Julia
- Danny Jacobs as Starbox
- Eleanor Johnson as Cindy
- John DiMaggio as The Incredible Gnome in People's Mouths
- Peter Stormare as Nickelwise
- Randy Rogel as himself
- Chrissie Fit as Cora
- Nancy Cartwright as Animator
- Candi Milo as Flora Dora Norita and Theodora
- Alanna Ubach as Maura
- Paul Rugg as Mr. Clown
- Nancy McKeon as Additional Vocals
- Sherri Stoner as Slappy Squirrel
Additional Voices[]
- Carlos Alazraqui
- Rachael MacFarlane
- Kari Wahlgren
- Kimberly Brooks
- Jon Bailey
- Kevin Michael Richardson
Development[]
Early Events[]
In May 2017, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation were in the early stages of developing a reboot of Animaniacs. The interest in the reboot was driven by a surge of popularity for the show when it was made available on Netflix in 2016, plus numerous successful projects that have revived interest in older shows, such as Fuller House.
Announcement[]
The reboot was officially announced by the streaming service Hulu in January 2018 in partnership with Spielberg and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The reboot consists of at least two seasons which started airing in 2020. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot return, along with appearances by Pinky and the Brain each episode. The deal includes rights for Hulu to stream all episodes of Animaniacs, Pinky & the Brain, Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain, and Tiny Toon Adventures. Spielberg returned to serve as executive producer, alongside Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series, and Amblin Television co-presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. The show was produced by Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation. Hulu considers the show its first original series targeted for families.
Production[]
Wellesley Wild served as the showrunner for the series, while Carl Faruolo served as supervising director. Initial storyboarding work started around July 2018.
In October 2019, Paulsen (as Yakko and Pinky), Harnell (Wakko), MacNeille (Dot), and LaMarche (the Brain) were confirmed to be reprising their voice roles.
Scoring sessions for the reboot began on January 24, 2020.
In March 2020, several crew members behind the show confirmed on Twitter that they were now working on the show from home due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the studio. The show was also mentioned along with numerous other animated series that are still continuing production amidst the virus.
Likewise on May 2nd, 2020, Rob Paulsen confirmed on his Instagram Live stream that the cast is recording some lines from their homes. He also reaffirmed the Fall 2020 release window. It’s currently unknown if scoring is being done remotely as well.
Closer to First Season[]
On August 6, Maurice LaMarche tweeted that information on the reboot will be posted onto Hulu's Twitter page the following day. New information was indeed announced, including the release date of November 20th, 2020.
On September 6, an Animaniacs panel was held at Dragon Con. While no footage of the reboot was shown, the cast did drop a few bits about the reboot. Then it was confirmed by the Animanicast that footage for the reboot will be shown at New York Comic Con in October.
On September 9, a panel for Animaniacs was officially announced for New York Comic Con by Hulu. The logo for the reboot was also revealed by Hulu.
On September 13th, the anniversary of the first episode of the original series, a behind the scenes video was posted to Hulu’s social media accounts and Warner Bros. Kids’ YouTube channel previewing footage of the new intro, some animatics, lines and a script.
On October 2nd, new information was revealed at the Ottawa Animation Festival. This included numerous different designs for the Warners, episode structures, background paintings, and teases on what to expect. The official Twitter and Instagram pages for the show went live on October 9th. Two days later, the NYCC panel was streamed along with a preview clip spoofing Jurassic Park. The trailer was released on October 21st, along with a press release containing episode descriptions.
2021[]
On February 25, 2021, the series was renewed for a third season.
On June 8, 2021, a Teletoon section in a Corus Entertainment press-release mentioned Animaniacs would return to the channel with new episodes in the fall; putting season 2's release within that time-frame.
On August 6, 2021, the second season was announced for a November 5, 2021 release date. A press-release from SyFy mentioned that most of season 1's cast will return along with "some rejected Animaniacs characters that were left on the cutting room floor."
On October 20, 2021, the Animaniacs official Twitter account confirmed that the Season 2 trailer would be released on October 21, 2021.
On November 1, 2021, the Animaniacs social media announced a Twitter livestream for the premiere of "Ralph World/My Super Sour Sixteen/How To: Brain Takes Over The World" on November 4, 2021, and was available to watch after the premiere for three hours. Staff members were informed of the show's cancellation at an unspecified date.
2022[]
The Season 2 DVD set was released on June 21, 2022; with a release for digital purchase outlets following on July 10. The Season 2 soundtrack was released on August 19, 2022.
On December 10, 2022, Hulu announced the series' third season release date of February 17, 2023, and confirmed that the series would end after said season. Executive producer Gabe Swarr revealed that Hulu had cancelled the show by the time writing had already been completed and went into production. The crew had attempted to create an ending to the series as production would allow.
2023[]
On January 17, 2022, IGN revealed the trailer for the series' third and final season, with the official announcement from the Animaniacs social media accounts releasing an hour later.
Gallery[]
Posters[]
Artworks[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first native HD production of Animaniacs and the fourth of the Looney Tunes Franchise entry to be fully widescreen and HD production. The first was The Looney Tunes Show. Prior to the reboot, several episodes of the original show were widescreen such as I’m Mad and Variety Speak.
- Yakko and Wakko have had a slight redesign: they now have little tufts of hair on top of their heads similar to Pinky, and the amount of petals on Dot's flower were reduced from 5 to 4. Alongside those, the skin color for the Warners, Pinky and The Brain were given a warmer color. It might have been a later decision to add these small design tweaks as the teaser poster lacks these.
- While Slappy Squirrel, The Goodfeathers, Minerva Mink, Buttons, Mindy, Rita, Runt, The Hip Hippos, Chicken Boo, and Katie Ka-Boom do not have their own segments, they appear in "Good Warner Hunting". Mr. Skullhead appears in the theme song in a message board under the name "Mr. Lul Head", and the Mime made a cameo appearance in "Gold Meddlers". Slappy also appears in a comic book cover that falls out of Wakko in "Please Submit".
- Additionally, the cast and crew confirmed that these characters will return if the show gets renewed for more seasons.
- Many of the musicians from the original show are returning to score, including Bryan Pezzone.
- While the original series is rated TV–Y (later TV–Y7), this series is rated TV–PG (with occasional sub–ratings).
- When Season 2 was released in November 2021, there was an error that gave it a TV-14 rating.
- Jessica Borutski was slated to be involved with the show initially as an artist but the contract fell-through.
- The revival's theme song is the same as the original series, with modified lyrics.
- Wellesley Wild is working to honor the original show to satisfy old and new audiences with modern stuff as well as to make his children happy.
- Hello Nurse has not appeared in the reboot because of concerns about being outdated, but she was mentioned in two episodes. In "Hindenburg Cola", Dr. Scratchansniff explains that due to "joining Doctors without Borders", she no longer works at Warner Bros. Studios.
- Spielberg’s “clean-up” crew had a different role than thought, he was busy for West Side Story for a while before returning with a set of notes. The issue here wasn’t with quality but rather time. Additional support was hired to help out.
- Thaddeus Plotz retires and is not present as a new female Latina CEO (named in the end credits as Nora Rita Norita) takes over the studio.
- Plotz does make an appearance in "Wakkiver Twist, Part Two" as a judge, however.
- Paul Rugg, who wrote for the original series, was originally approached to return to write for the reboot but declined as he felt he already fulfilled his duties for writing for the original show and was more open to new talent writing for the reboot.
- Later on, it was revealed that Freakazoid won’t be on Animaniacs, but rather a different show. This was later revealed to be the crossover episode with the series Teen Titans Go! entitled "Huggbees". Freakazoid was intended to make an appearance, but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts with Rugg.
- The reboot is more comical, cartoony and slapsticky than the original show.
- Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Yakky Doodle have cameos in "Suffragette City".
- Due to the lack of Hulu in other countries, the reboot will air internationally on other channels and/or streaming services.
- The reboot will also air on Teletoon in Canada on November 21st at 9:00 am, the same day as the US release.
- In Latin America, the show airs on HBO Max as a Max Original, and is available in various languages. The Hulu Presents logo is replaced by the Max Original logo in the intro; while most Hulu-centric gags remain intact. The "distributed by Hulu" tag in the ending credits also remains, but not the ending Hulu logo animation.
- The first part of the new intro sequence was offically posted on the Animaniacs Instagram on November 10th, 2020, keeping the same melody and lyrics.
- A second season premiered on November 5, 2021.
- Unlike the original series and similar to Histeria!, Pinky and the Brain, and Pinky, Elmyra, & the Brain, there are no stingers after the end credits of each episode and cuts straight to the closing logos.
- A third season has been greenlit by Hulu which will consist of ten episodes and will premiere on February 17, 2023. It will also be the final season.
