THE 7D -- New Episodes

New "Disney's THE 7D" episodes airing this coming weekend include:  

"Shapeshifter" 
Written by Paul Dini.  Directed by Alfred Gimeno.  
And guest starring Weird Al Yankovic as the nefarious arch enemy facing off against Lotta Glamour (Queen Delightful), Agent Bash (Bashful) and the entire 007D team. 
 

And yes, Hildy and Grim get in on the action as they collaborate with "Shapeshifter."

"There's A Monkey In My Hat" 
Written by Deanna Oliver and directed by Alfred Gimeno.

When Squire Peckington goes on vacation to Toucancun,  Queen Delightful gets an alternate animal advisor in her hat -- a monkey named Nanners.  Soon, all the citizens of Jollywood want a monkey is their hats, leading to chaos complicated by Hildy Gloom masquerading as the monkey advisor in Queen D's crown.

"Animaniacs" Recording Session: April 11, 1995

I doodled the faces of Yakko, Wakko and Dot during the voice recording (and singing) session for "The Big Wrap Party" segment of Animaniacs at Monterey Post in Burbank, California, back on April 11, 1995.  Hard to believe it was 20 years ago!   

I tend to draw during almost every recording session, so these sketches aren't unusual.  What's unique about this set of doodles is that I had everyone at the session sign it.  

So, scattered around these notepad drawings of Yakko, Wakko and Dot are the signatures of just a few of the people who gave voice and sound to the "Animaniacs" series:  engineers Harry Andronis and Patrick Rodman; recording assistant Kelly Foley; casting director Leslie Lamers;  voice director Andrea Romano;  series composer and music director Richard Stone; and the voices of Yakko, Wakko and Dot, namely Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell and Tress MacNeille.  What a group!  I feel very fortunate to have worked with these great talents, and so glad to continue working with Rob, Jess and Tress, among others, on Disney's "The 7D." 

"THE 7D": The Voice Actors, Part 3

And now, the bad guys of Jollywood...the comic villains in The 7D:
 

Jess Harnell (Grim Gloom) and Kelly Osbourne (Hildy Gloom)

Calamities in Jollywood are created by The Glooms, a pair of witch and warlock hipster newlyweds who spend their days and nights hatching and executing plots to overthrow the queen, take over the kingdom, defeat the 7D, and steal all the magic jewels in the 7D's mine.   

Dim-but-doting husband Grim Gloom is played by the always-rocking Jess Harnell.   Wakko Warner on Animaniacs is just one of his previous standout roles.  

And Grim's fiery and spirited bride is played by the fiery and spirited star of Fashion Police herself, Kelly Osbourne, in her first animated role.   (She nails it.)

A new pair of Disney villains are born!

Look out, 7D -- these two are trouble.  (And they're funny, too!)

"The 7D" Premiere Date on Disney XD Has Been Set: 7/7/14

Animaniacs: "Little Drummer Warners"

One of my favorite shorts of the series, "Little Drummer Warners" casts Yakko, Wakko and Dot as shepherds "abiding in the field at night" in this rendition of the Christmas story that offers up a jazzy swing version of "Little Drummer Boy."  Many thanks to Richard Stone, Steve Bernstein and Julie Bernstein for making the music work so well.  This cartoon was beautifully directed by Lenord Robinson.  Earl Kress and I worked on the script, and the vocal performances by Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille and Jim Cummings, among others, are outstanding.

The Last "Pinky and the Brain" Script: "Star Warners"

Here's the cover page from the last "Pinky and the Brain" script:  "Star Warners."  You can see that it was quite the group effort.  At the recording session, I asked the cast and crew members on hand to sign my script...for posterity.

Cast Members from "Tiny Toon Adventures" and "Animaniacs"

In the mid-90's, we made a few "Tiny Toon Adventures" primetime specials while we were producing the "Animaniacs" series.  This photo was taken during a day when we were recording segments from both "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs."  Many of the voice actors performed roles on both shows. 

1st row, left to right:   Maurice La Marche (Dizzy Devil, Squit, the Brain),  Sherri Stoner (Slappy Squirrel, series writer, producer),  Nate Ruegger (Baby Plucky, Skippy Squirrel),  Andrea Romano (voice director),  me.  

2nd row:  Paul Rugg (voice of Mr. Director, series writer), K.C. (Sound Castle engineer),  Kelly Foley (recording editor), John Kassir (Buster Bunny).  

3rd row:  Jeff Bennett (Baloney, Charlton Woodchuck),  Jess Harnell (Wakko Warner, Walter Wolf),  Jim Cummings (Narrator, Daniel Boone),  Tress MacNeille  (Babs Bunny, Dot Warner),  Rob Paulsen  (Fowlmouth, Yakko Warner, Pinky). 

Back row:  Rich Freeman (production associate),  Harry Andronis (engineer),  Leslie Lamers (casting director),  Frank Welker (Furrball, Little Beeper, Ralph the Guard, Runt, Chicken Boo).

 

"Animaniacs" Recording Session Photo

Actors, writers, sound engineers, producers, the voice directing team, film editors, sound effect editors and series composers gather at the Sound Castle studio for an "Animaniacs" recording session.

Front Row:  Deanna Oliver, Jeff Bennett, Maurice LaMarche, Andrea Romano, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen, Rich Freeman, Mark Keats.

Middle Row:  John Mariano, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, Randy Rogel, Harry Andronis, Kelly Foley, Leslie Lamers.

Back Row:  John McCann, Jean MacCurdy, Paul Rugg (in the bright light), Peter Hastings, Nicholas Hollander, Tom Minton, Joe Gall, Julie Bernstein, Kathy Page, Richard Stone, and a Sound Castle engineer.