TV | Pop Culture | 90s

They Were Zany To The Max, But Do You Know What They Were?

By Tanya |

If you were a child in the 90s there is no doubt in my mind that you remember the show Animaniacs and are probably humming the theme song as you read this sentence. The classic cartoon was smart, funny, and addictive and everyone watched it. The show was great because while it made the kids laugh, it would entertain the parents with all kinds of jokes that only they would understand.

Do you remember this show? There is a lot that went into making it so here some of the most interesting facts about your favorite cartoon!

Origin

They were inspired by Steven Spielberg's Tiny Toons as a sort of follow up. When Spielberg initially asked the producer's to create a new cartoon, they came up with a set of three characters that were ducks but they quickly realized that would be too similar to DuckTales and went in another direction.

They became interested in the old 1930's style of cartoons and originally had four siblings: Yakky, Smakky, Wakky and Dot. They got the okay to use the Warner name (of Warner Bros.) and eventually changed it to the three siblings we all know and love, Yakko, Wakko and Dot.

Promotion Mix Up

Their attempt at promotion highlighted a little problem they weren't anticipating. The show was getting ready for the premiere so they had decided to put a big balloon on the Warner Bros. tower of the oldest brother Yakko. Problem was, the man who ran the studio didn't know this was happening and thought it was a bad Mickey Mouse as a prank so had it taken down.

This prompted them to make some changes to their look because they didn't want people to mix them up or cause any kind of legal issues. They added whiskers to their cheeks and that was apparently all it took to differentiate the two!

So Many Inappropriate Jokes

They would CONSTANTLY be making super inappropriate jokes that kids wouldn't catch but adults were left stifling laughs. Yakko would often yell out "Goodnight Everybody!" after the really bad ones but speaking as someone who was a child watching the show, we never caught on.

Check out the next page to find out the species of these goofballs and find out more about the greatest cartoon ever!

A Whole Lot Of Characters

Whether it was Slappy and Skippy Squirrel, Rita the cat, or Mindy and Buttons, the show was jam-packed with amazing characters. Everyone had their favorites, but one of the little segments ended up getting their own series! Yes, of course I am talking about Pinky and the Brain.

Pinky And The Brain Spin Off

Their show ran from 1995-1998 and had a total of 65 episodes. Every night they would try to take over the world and it was always wonderful. Who doesn't remember the theme song to this day?

Classic Songs

The show had a lot of really good information that actually could help kids learn. There were these amazingly catchy songs each episode and they would give a lot of information in a really enjoyable way. One of the best examples of that is probably Yakko's World song.

But Seriously, What Were They?

Okay so we know how it was made, but what the heck were those things anyways? Dogs? Monkeys? Well, according to the creators of the show their official species is "Cartoonus Characterus".

Cool, that's my favorite animal!

Do you remember this show? Who were your favorite characters?

Share with someone who loved this show!

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