Funny Animated Pictures Biography
To promote Animaniacs before the show's premiere, a giant balloon in the shape of Yakko was placed on top of the water tower on the Warner Bros. lot. Unfortunately, no one told Bob Daley, who ran the studio. When he pulled into work that morning, he thought someone had put a bad Mickey Mouse balloon on the tower and ordered it removed. The inflatable Yakko was in place for less than 12 hours, and then popped shortly after he came down. Writer Paul Rugg was able to snap a photo to prove it happened.After the balloon incident, Daley worked to ensure no one else would mistake the Warners for Mickey. Daley decided that Yakko and Wakko were too smooth and rounded. So while he watched, he had Ruegger add side whiskers to the drawings, which he felt would prevent confusion - and potential legal action. Ruegger and Warner Bros. Animation president Jean MacCurdy had to rush back to the animation studio with the changes, because the cartoon was already being drawn, with some segments in the can. You can see the Before Whiskers and After Whiskers comparison below:
While Animaniacs was being developed, there were many potential supporting characters that didn't make it on the show. One idea was to bring over The Flea Family, who appeared in a few episodes of Tiny Toons, but they were cut out pretty quickly. There was also Bossy Beaver, a workaholic beaver that just wanted to build “the best damn dam ever,” but his dim-witted sidekick, Doyle, would always screw things up. Bossy was based on Ken Boyer, an artist and director on Tiny Toons who was well known and respected for his strong work ethic. Spielberg thought the idea was too close to Pinky and the Brain, though, so the beavers got trimmed.
Nipsey and Russell, a pair of con-men raccoons that prowled the neighborhood at night, also got bagged after Spielberg felt there were already enough comedic duos on the show.
Another segment that never quite worked was As the Petri Dish Turns, a soap opera melodrama played out between single-cell organisms, all viewed through the lens of a microscope.
Animaniacs premiered on Fox on September 13, 1993, and quickly became one of the highest-rated kids' shows on TV. Part of the appeal was that it was funny on two levels: Kids loved the slapstick, while their parents - and a very loyal following of college students - appreciated the wordplay and more “adult” humor peppered throughout the show. Whenever one of these risqué moments would come up, Yakko would often say, “Good night, everybody!” — almost as if he expected the show to be yanked off the air as soon as network execs heard the joke.
Here are some of the more “adult” moments in the show, including the infamous “fingerprints” joke (at 2:15):
Animaniacs moved to The WB beginning with episode 70. The Kids' WB block was aimed at a much younger audience, so even though ratings were still high, it wasn't doing well in the age group advertisers were trying to target. Orders for new episodes began to dwindle. The 99th and final episode aired on November 14, 1998.
Slappy Squirrel, the cynical, retired cartoon squirrel who has no problem airing the dirty laundry of old Hollywood, was created and voiced by Sherri Stoner. Stoner got into show business as an actress, with bit parts on Little House on the Prairie, Knots Landing, and T.J. Hooker, while studying comedy with the famous improv group, The Groundlings. She was also hired to perform live-action scenes as a reference for Disney animators drawing Ariel in The Little Mermaid and Belle in Beauty and the Beast.Slappy’s young nephew, was voiced by Nathan Ruegger, the eldest son of Tom Ruegger, and the inspiration for Yakko Warner. He was also the voice of baby Plucky Duck on Tiny Toons, who was famous for flushing various items in the toilet and watching the “water go down the hooooole.” He has since become an accomplished filmmaker with a handful of independent movies under his belt.
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