List of Animaniacs characters
This is a list of characters in the Warner Bros. animated television series, Animaniacs.
The Warner Brothers and their Sister, Dot
- Yakko Yakko is a, wise-cracking smart cat, who usually acts as the leader of the trio. He is also obsessed with girls, and is known for saying "Goodnight, everybody!" after a joke that only adult viewers will understand. Yakko wears tan pants with a black belt.
- Wakko – Wakko is a Liverpudlian cat, that has a huge appetite and a "gag bag" full of tricks. He also appears to be the least intelligent, or, although Yakko has claimed it to be "middle kid syndrome" in the episode "Survey Ladies". Wakko wears a red backwards baseball cap and a light blue turtleneck sweater. He is also very talented at burping out songs during "The Great Wakkorotti" segments
- Dot – Dot is cute, sassy and more easily cat relaxed than her brothers, but proves on numerous occasions that she can be just as zany. Her full name is "Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III". She despises being referred to as "Dottie", threatening "Call me Dottie and you die." She wears a pink skirt with a flower in her ears. While no writer or creator has confirmed the fact, it has been suggested that Dot's name comes from the period, or 'dot', found at the end of 'Warner Bros.'.
Major supporting characters
- Dr. Otto Scratchansniff – German-accented studio psychiatrist, voiced by Rob Paulsen, who attempts to force the Warners to be less zany. He often loses patience with the Warners and freaks out, once pulling his hair out until he was bald. He becomes fonder of the Warners and takes more responsibility for them, occasionally acting as a father figure. The Warners are clearly shown to be acting crazy around him on purpose, but are also fond of him.
- Hello Nurse – blonde studio nurse voiced by Tress MacNeille, over whom Yakko and Wakko fawn. Her appearance usually prompts the boys into affectionate greetings followed by leaping into her arms, although sometimes they say the same thing to other characters, leaping into their arms in the same manner. Hello Nurse appears in a few Slappy cartoons as a running gag. In Wakko's Wish, it is learned that her "mean IQ 192" and she laments that she is respected for her looks and not her mind. The phrase was initially meant to be used as a catchphrase for Buster Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures as a counterpart for Bugs Bunny's "Eh, what's up, doc?", however, the writers could not find an appropriate way for him to use the phrase organically. While this is true, the "What's up doc?" phrase still gets used in Tiny Toon Adventures. The phrase “Hellooooooo, nurse!” did not originate with Animaniacs; it had been used decades earlier in vaudeville shows. Creator Tom Ruegger shared on Twitter that the character's name is Heloise Nerz and has German heritage.
- Ralph T. Guard – A dim-witted Warner Studio security guard, voiced by Frank Welker, who is charged with recapturing the Warners and confining them to the tower. He first appeared in Tiny Toon Adventures as the Fat Guard.
- Thaddeus Plotz – Short, hot-tempered, money-grubbing CEO of Warner Bros., voiced by Frank Welker.
Pinky and the Brain
Supporting characters
- Billie – Female white mouse, voiced by Tress MacNeille, who appeared in "The World Can Wait" and "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets In This Town Again!".
- Phar Fignewton – Female white race horse who Pinky fawns over, voiced by Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker. Her name refers to Phar Lap, Fig Newtons and Fahrvergnügen, an advertising slogan used by Volkswagen.
Slappy Squirrel
- Slappy Squirrel – Grumpy cartoon veteran, voiced by series writer Sherri Stoner impersonating Penny Marshall, who lives in a tree with nephew Skippy Squirrel. The music played during her segments is an excerpt from Antonín Dvořák's "Humoresque No. 7".
- Skippy Squirrel – Voiced by Nathan Ruegger, Skippy's chipper personality is the opposite of his aunt's. His character varies, from slightly naive to innocent to complicit partner of Slappy.
Supporting characters
- Walter Wolf – Slappy Squirrel's longtime nemesis, voiced by Frank Welker in his first appearance and Jess Harnell for the remainder of the series; is a parody of the Big Bad Wolf characters of Disney and Tex Avery. In "...And Justice For Slappy", he has an adult grandson.
- Sid the Squid – Villain, voiced by Jack Burns, who appeared in five Slappy cartoons: "Hurray for Slappy", "Scare Happy Slappy", "Rest in Pieces", "Macadamia Nut", and 'Star Warners".
- Beanie the Brain-Dead Bison – Villain similar to Pete Puma, voiced by Avery Schreiber, who appeared in "Hurray for Slappy", "Scare Happy Slappy", "Rest in Pieces", "Macadamia Nut", and "Star Warners".
- Bumpo Bassett – Stinkbomb's grandson, voiced by Luke Ruegger, who appears in "Smell Ya Later".
- Stinkbomb D. Bassett – Slappy Squirrel foe, voiced by Jonathan Winters, who appears in "Smell Ya Later".
- Candie Chipmunk – Slappy's self-centred neighbour, voiced by Gail Matthius, who appears in "I Got Yer Can". An excerpt of the "Dance of the Reed Flutes", from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, plays when she appears.
- Baynarts "Charlton" Woodchuck – Cartoon director and former child actor who appears in "Nutcracker Slappy".
- Codger Eggbert – Parody of Roger Ebert, voiced by Chuck McCann in "Critical Condition" and Billy West in "Hurray for North Hollywood "
- Lene Hisskill – Parody of Gene Siskel, voiced by Maurice LaMarche in "Critical Condition"
- Doug the Dog – Large bulldog and villain, voiced by Frank Welker in "Slappy Goes Walnuts"
- Vina Walleen – Old friend of Slappy, voiced by Tress MacNeille in "Bumbie's Mom"
- Daniel Boone – Self-proclaimed "best frontiersman that ever lived", voiced by Jim Cummings in "Frontier Slappy"
- Hello Nurse – Appears in "Bumbie's Mom".
- Yakko, Wakko, and Dot – Also appears in "Bumbie's Mom" and in "Bully for Skippy", but only Yakko speaks. Rob Paulsen reprises his role.
- Duke – School bully, voiced by Corey Burton in "Bully for Skippy"
- Ms. Butley – Skippy's guidance counselor, voiced by Tress MacNeille in "Bully for Skippy
- Reef Blunt'' – A foe of Slappy's and a comedy chairman, voiced by Rob Paulsen in "Bully for Skippy"
The Goodfeathers
Supporting characters
- The Godpigeon – A pigeon who is an unintelligible parody of Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather. The bird's bulky appearance signifies Brando's massive weight gain, due to overeating habits in his later years. Bobby usually acts as interpreter for his gibberish.
- The Girlfeathers are their girlfriends. Sasha is Squit's girlfriend and Pesto's sister. Lana is Bobby's girlfriend, a parody of Cathy Moriarty's character in Raging Bull. Kiki, Pesto's girlfriend, is a stereotypical dumb blonde.
- Pipsqueak – Tiny great horned owl, voiced by Gabriel Luque
- Ma – Pesto and Sasha's mother, who lives in Miami Beach, Florida
- Steven Seagull – Pesto and Sasha's stepfather, a parody of Steven Seagal voiced by David Kaufman
Rita and Runt
Rita and Runt are a vagabond stray duo that get into so many scraps and adventures. They are often searching for a home, but are back as strays by the end of the episode.
- Rita - Rita is a funny, aloof and intelligent cat that sings.
- Runt - Runt is a dim-witted dog who thinks that Rita is also a dog like himself and who constantly uses the word, "definitely" a lot when speaking. This verbal tic, as well as Runt's speaking style, is a reference to Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man.
Supporting characters
- French Poodle Pack – Pack of Stray Poodles that once helped Runt save Rita.
- Dr. Phrankenstein – Stumpy female mad scientist, voiced by Adrienne Alexander in "Phranken-Runt"
- Scout– Dr. Phrankenstein's creation, voiced by Frank Welker in "Phranken-Runt"
- Mr. Squeak – Dr. Phrankenstein's pet rat in "Phranken-Runt"
- Pinky – Appears in a short and unnamed crossover episode of "Animaniacs Stew", in which Rita eats him, reprised by Rob Paulsen.
- Brain – Appears in "Of Nice and Men", reprised by Maurice LaMarche.
- Mrs. Mumphead – Eccentric old lady, voiced by Paul Rugg, in "No Place Like Homeless"
- Crackers the Parrot – Mrs. Mumphead's pet, voiced by Frank Welker in "No Place Like Homeless"
- Pesto – Paired with Runt in a crossover episode of "Animaniacs Stew": called"No Place Like Homeless", reprised by Chick Vennera.
- Kiki the Angry Ape – Ill-tempered gorilla, voiced by Frank Welker, who appears in "Kiki's Kitten"
- Mr. Politician – Parody of Ross Perot, voiced by Frank Welker, who appears in "Icebreakers"
- Missy "Ma" McCoy – Elderly farm cat, voiced by Tress MacNeille
Buttons and Mindy
Supporting characters
- Mindy's mother – In brief off-camera appearances, she is usually called "Lady" by Mindy in the series; in Wakko's Wish, Mindy finally calls her "Mom".
- Mindy's father – His face is also never shown, Mindy calls him "Mr. Man".
Minerva Mink
Supporting characters
- Newt – Faithful dachshund of his lazy owner, who also appears in "Puttin' on the Blitz" with Rita and Runt as "Schnappsie". Voiced by Arte Johnson and by Frank Welker.
- Wilford B. Wolf – Nerdy wolf who becomes a handsome werewolf every full moon, voiced by Peter Scolari. His werewolf alter-ego is built like a Chippendales dancer and dresses like one, and is very affectionate to Minerva. Minerva once asked him about his werewolf changes. Unfortunately, he was in his nerd alter-ego and launched into a long, boring explanation replete with mathematical diagrams and charts.
Other supporting characters
- The Baby Bluebird – Voiced by Cody Ruegger.
- Chicken Boo – Six-foot-tall chicken, voiced by Frank Welker. He wishes to live as a human, so he wears flimsy disguises, usually just a hat or a coat, which somehow always fool everyone. Unlike other animal characters, Boo cannot talk and acts almost exactly like a real chicken, making his disguises all the more absurd. At the end of each episode, his disguise falls apart, and he is exposed as a giant chicken. This causes all of his previous supporters to turn against him by saying "I told you that guy was a chicken!" and usually running him out of town.
- Steven Spielberg – The show's executive producer, often mentioned by the cast.
- Colin – Wide-eyed boy who tells improbable stories which allegedly happened to his friend, Randy Beaman. He comes out of his home with an object in hand that he fidgets with while he tells the story and starts off with "One time...okay, see, one time..." and then tells his story while playing with whatever he has. When he is finished, something will usually happen with the object that he is playing with, and the kid will finish with "'kay, bye." and walk back into his house.
- The Flame – Childlike candle flame, voiced by Luke Ruegger, who is present at important historical events and teaches fire safety.
- Flavio and Marita – Also known as the Hip Hippos, a wealthy, Spanish hippo couple voiced by Frank Welker and Tress MacNeille.
- Dr. Gina Embryo – Zoologist who studies the Hip Hippos and tries in vain to protect them, a parody of Joan Embery and Jane Goodall voiced by Tress MacNeille.
- Mr. Cory Skullhead – Mute skeleton seen in the "Good Idea-Bad Idea" segment narrated by Tom Bodett and a parody of Edward Scissorhands.
- The Mime – Nameless mime who appears in "Mime Time", also narrated by Bodett.
- Katie Ka-Boom – A teenage girl voiced by Laura Mooney, who morphs into various violent, destructive monsters when things do not go her way. She lives with her parents and her little brother named Tinker. Katie is the only member of her family who has blonde hair while the rest of her family are brunettes. The premiere Katie Ka-boom segment was also a Chicken Boo crossover, in which Katie morphs into a green Incredible Hulk-like monster when initially told her new boyfriend is a giant chicken, and then morphs into a monster made of fire when she herself realizes that he is a giant chicken and ends their relationship.
- Mary Hartless – Parody of Mary Hart, voiced by Valri Bromfield and Tress MacNeille, who appears as a newsreader with a variety of hairstyles in "Hurray for Slappy", "Chairman of the Bored", "Bubba Bo Bob Brain", and "Critical Condition".
- Death – Archetypical Grim Reaper with black robe, skeletal appearance, scythe and speaks in a Swedish accent. In "Meatballs or Consequences" the Warner siblings challenge him to a game of checkers, reminiscent of the chess game with Death in Ingmar Bergman's 1956 The Seventh Seal.
- The Narrator – Offscreen narrator whose voice resembles Cummings' voice for Winnie the Pooh, who appears in "Nighty-Night Toon", "Gift of Gold", and "Warners and the Beanstalk".
- Francis "Pip" Pumphandle a man who tells long and boring stories, and bores the Warners in "Chairman of the Bored". He also appears in the Pinky and the Brain episode "Star Warners", and returns in Wakko's Wish as a Desire Fulfillment Facilitator.
- Bugs Bunny - a bunny who likes carrots.
- Daffy Duck - a duck who laughs.