Yakko, Wakko and Dot in Quarantine

If you need to leave the tower, be prepared!  

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2018 From Yakko, Wakko & Dot

 

 

Yakko, Wakko and Dot

The People Who Made "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs" -- Part Three

Pictured below with Yakko:  the lead film editor of both Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, Joe Gall;  and the legendary and unflappable production supervisor Kathy Page Cowan, who went on to become a producer at Warner Bros and the Hub.   I'm the one crowding the frame on the right.  Circa 1995. 
 

"Animaniacs" 20th Anniversary: Sept. 13, 1993 -- Sept 13, 2013

Happy 20th Anniversary to Animaniacs, to all its fans, and to all who made it possible!

 

  

 

 

 

 

Yakko, Wakko and Dot: The Family Portrait

Yakko Portrait

"Animaniacs" Returns To TV on Christmas Eve: 12/24/12

A six hour Christmas-themed marathon of Animaniacs episodes airs today/tonight on THE HUB.  The marathon starts at 4 PM Eastern, 1 PM Pacific, with a partial repeat later in the evening.  Faboo!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas from Yakko, Wakko and Dot, Freakazoid and Pinky & the Brain

Warner Bros Animation Studio holiday card, circa 1995

Animaniacs Marathon on Christmas Eve -- on the Hub

Daily broadcasts of Animaniacs return to your TV starting in late December 2012/early January 2013 on The Hub.    Gooooooooo, the Hub!

As a sneak peak, the Hub is running a four-hour Christmas Eve Animaniacs marathon of holiday themed episodes.  Here's the press release:


As the perfect Christmas gift, Animaniacs will join The Hub on Monday, December 24 with a marathon from 4-8 p.m. (ET).

Here are some of the episodes airing:

• “Twas the Day Before Christmas; Jingle Boo; The Holiday Concert”  – Slappy Squirrel reads a classic Christmas poem to nephew Skippy in “Twas the Day Before Christmas.” Chicken Boo dresses up as Santa Claus in “Jingle Boo.” Wakko performs “The Great Wakkorotti: The Holiday Concert,” and the Warners make mischief in “Toy Shop Terror."”
•  “A Christmas Plotz; Little Drummer Warners”  – On Christmas Eve, the Warner siblings subject Warner Bros. chief, Thaddeus Plotz, to a Dickensian nightmare in “A Christmas Plotz.” Later, the three Warners star in “Little Drummer Warners,” a musical version of the nativity.
• “My Mother the Squirrel; Oh Say Can You See; 12 Days of Christmas”  – In “My Mother the Squirrel,” the Bluebird thinks Slappy is his mother. The Flame helps Francis Scott Key write our nation’s anthem in “Oh! Say Can You See,” and the Bluebird returns to sing his version of a holiday song in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
• “Cutie and the Beast; Boo Happens; Noel”  – The Tazmanian Devil plays the Beast and Dot is Cutie in “Cutie and the Beast.” In “Boo Happens,” Chicken Boo relives the life of “Forrest Gump.” Then, the Warners have fun with puns in a Randy Rogel musical number sung to the tune of classic Christmas carol, “Noel.”
• “The Christmas Tree; Chicken Part 1; Prom Night; Chicken Part 2”  – Slappy Squirrel awakens to find her house is now “The Christmas Tree” at “Rockyfellow” Center, Katie Ka-Boom tries to negotiate a mutually acceptable curfew for “Prom Night” with her dad, and the entire cast appears on the TV news program “Punchline.”

Animaniacs Probed by "Mental Floss!"

Check out this nifty Animaniacs article at Mental Floss written by Rob Lammle. 

Animaniacs Valentines Card: Hello Nurse!

Happy Valentines Day!

Christmas Card from Warner Bros. Animation, 1999

Bugs Bunny, Scooby Doo, Superman, Taz, Buster Bunny and Babs Bunny (no relation), Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner (related), Michigan J. Frog, Pinky & the Brain, Tweety and Sylvester, Wile E. Coyote, Father Time and Big Fat Baby from "Histeria," Batman from "Batman Beyond" and the cast from "Detention" wish you Happy Holidays!

Animaniacs: "Little Drummer Warners"

The "Little Drummer Warners" cartoon from Animaniacs...as seen on YouTube:

 

Happy Holidays!

Yakko and Hello Nurse -- Best. Animaniacs. Cel. Ever.

Okay, maybe it's not the best Animaniacs animation cel ever.  But it's definitely one of the prizes of my limited collection.   The cel comes from the unedited version of "King Yakko."  While Yakko, as ruler of Anvilania, cuddled up to Prime Minister Hello Nurse throughout this half hour episode, the close encounter pictured in this particular cel set-up did not make it into the final broadcast version of the show.   

Thanks to Dave Marshall, who co-directed the episode with Alfred Gimeno, for not only saving this cell from the retake dustbin, but for framing it and sending it to me.  It hangs in a prominent location on my office wall.   Let the anvils ring! 

Animaniacs and Freakazoid Emmys -- 1996

This ad appeared in the trade papers, including Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the week after the Emmy ceremonies in May, 1996.   

The People Who Made "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs" -- Part Three

Earl Kress

Earl Kress and his wife Denise

Earl Kress was a major contributor to the writing of both Animaniacs and Pinky & the Brain.   Earl wrote or co-wrote many episodes which have become fan-favorites of the Animaniacs series, including the Slappy cartoon “Smell Ya Later” (co-starring Sherri Stoner and Jonathan Winters) and that Christmas gem "Little Drummer Warners" (directed by Lenord Robinson).  Earl was also part of the team that wrote the DVD animated feature “Wakko’s Wish.”

During the 90’s at Warner Bros, Earl also scripted some great segments for Tiny Toon Adventures (“Turtle Hurdle,” “Class Cut-up,” “Day for Knight”) and a handful of Road Rovers episodes.   Earl took home Emmy Awards for his writing on both Pinky and the Brain and  Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain.”  

I’ve known Earl since the early 80’s and have had the pleasure of working with him on a bunch of different animated series over the years, including Pound Puppies and Yogi’s Treasure Hunt during our time together at Hanna-Barbera.

Of course, Earl has worked on many cartoons outside of the Warner Bros./Hanna-Barbera spheres.  At Disney, for instance, he co-wrote the animated feature film “The Fox and the Hound.”

Earl and I grew up during the same era, and we were both big fans of the early Hanna-Barbara series starring Huck and Yogi and Quick Draw.  Earl is one of the world’s leading experts on Hanna-Barbara history and lore, and also studied voice-over acting with the legendary voice of Yogi, Huck and Quick Draw, Daws Butler.  Beyond these studies, Earl and Daws became good friends.    

You can hear some of Earl’s voice work on “Hanna-Barbera’s Pic-A-Nic Basket,” the definitive 3-CD collection of music and sfx from Hanna-Barbera shows of the late 50’s to the 70’s.  Earl not only performs on the album, he also hunted down and preserved many of the rare tracks, and produced the album as well.   

I’ve known Earl for 31 years and I’m proud to call him one of my best friends in this world of cartoons. 

 

Animaniacs Temporary Tattoos #12

These are the last two Animaniac Temporary Tattoos for now.  There are eleven more, and as soon as I find them, I'll post them.   

In the image below, Wakko seems to be turning his neck to the breaking point to take a gander at Hello Nurse.  

So, until next time...

                                                         Goodbyyyyyye, Nurse!

Animaniacs Temporary Tattoos #9

Animaniacs Temporary Tattoos #7