Monday, June 20, 2011

Yakko on the Warner Bros. Studio Water Tower -- 1993

To announce the premier of "Animaniacs" in September 1993, it was decided to place an inflated-balloon replica of Yakko Warner atop the water tower at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank.  This seemed like a great idea at the time.  Unfortunately, no one clued in Bob Daly, who ran the studio.  When Bob pulled up in his car that day and saw the balloon-creature sitting on top of the tower, he thought his studio was under attack by some sort of mutant Mickey Mouse.  


The balloon figure of Yakko sat on the tower for less than 12 hours.  Paul Rugg snapped this photo, which may be the only documentation of this strange day in studio history. 


20 comments:

  1. I want that balloon! What became of the balloon?

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  2. I've seen this photo before, what ever became of the giant Yakko? Is he hiding some place?

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  3. What a fantastic publicity concept - shame it didn't last very long. Looks quite fun, actually =)

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  4. How exactly did y'all get this balloon made? Is there some sort of company that does giant custom balloons?

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  5. Yes there are companies that build custom-made items like this. I think Jean MacCurdy arranged to have this made.

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    1. that sad so yakko warner balloon is no longed sitting on water tower
      anymore forever

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  6. That. Is. AWESOME! Should've stayed up there to this day.

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  7. An awesome prank would be for someone to paint the warners inside the logo on the tower.An awesome prank would be for someone to paint the warners inside the logo on the tower.

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    1. True! I was thinking at the same thing!

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  8. I think Bob needs to come back to reality more often.

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  9. GOD, I was handsome! I could never get up that damn ladder now. Getting old sucks.

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    1. Your comment made me laugh Rob. Wait, are you really Rob Paulsen? Oh my!

      I want to tell you that I think you're a fantastic actor and a gifted singer. I loved all your characters on Animaniacs; they were all great. And congratulations on your Emmy for playing Pinky; you deserved it so much. I actually am planning an essay for Pinky and Brain, and you know that you've done well when I plan an essay for a character. Pinky is so endearing, and Brain is as well.

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    2. Okay, so I'm two years late. I'm working on Pinky and the Brain fan fiction (Pinky is adopted by the Warners after Brain kicks him out of the cage and ....let's just say, he's doing fine) . Anywho, I'm trying to create cover photos for each chapter. That's how I found this page!

      So true, Yakko, you are handsome. But you know, with age comes wisdom. That's what I tell myself anyway.

      And SOOOO true about Pinky, Marlena. He is endearing. I think it's because he's kept his patience and good humor, despite rooming with someone as dour and nasty as Brain. I couldn't do it. I would have fed that mouse to the first cat I saw.

      For real, though, Rob and Maurice created two indelible characters, (with the help of a phenomenal writing and production team, of course. No MOUSE is an Island! Narf! ) Although Brain's ego is roughly the size of a small Island.

      If you have posted your essay, Marlena, could you post a link? I'd love to read it.

      ANywho, I'm verging on Sleep depravity so I'm gonna put my chapter cover together and go to bed. Thank God for late shifts!

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  10. This is awesome! Nice find Tom!

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  11. Wow! That was amazing the first time I saw the photo! And it's still amazing! Even before seeing the photo, I can still envision Yakko, Wakko, and Dot whenever I see a photo of just the WB studio water tower. And I have a feeling I'm not alone with that thought.

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  12. Love this picture and the article. Thanks for putting this up Tom.

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  13. I don't think the studio was under attack at that time. It was telling Bob Daly the future...Anyway, love that photo! Wish I could've been born at that time to see it...:-(

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  14. What if they put up Dot and Wakko right next to yakko?

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