Animaniacs
Animaniacs is an American slapstick-comedy musical animated television series created by Tom Ruegger, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. It aired from September 13, 1993 to November 14, 1998, with a total of 99 episodes (274 segments) across five seasons. The first two seasons aired on Fox's Fox Kids block, before moving to The WB in its Kids' WB block for the final three. In 1999, a series de facto special was released on direct-to-video film called Wakko's Wish.
Tied together with the release of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, three young, zany, dog-like animals from their imprisonment in the Warner Bros. Water Tower in the Burbank lot, a variety of characters, including Pinky and the Brain, Dr. Scratchansniff, Slappy Squirrel, the Goodfeathers, and Rita and Runt, among others, get into hijinks and misadventures.
From 2020 to 2023, a reboot/revival aired on Hulu. It involved Warner Bros. Animation, Amblin with Steven Speilberg, songwriter Randy Rogel, and much of the same cast, including Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, and Maurice LaMarche, but didn't bring back Ruegger or any of the other writers of the original series, leading to a less than authentic continuation.
Animaniacs contains a multitude of pop culture references to what came before and during the series, including the works of Hanna-Barbera, the studio which Ruegger himself was a writer for in the 1980s, even creating A Pup Named Scooby-Doo for them, which he left after the first season to work for Warner Bros. Animation to develop Tiny Toon Adventures, which in turn led to Animaniacs.
Augie Doggie
- Main article: Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Doggie and Auggie appears as one of the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Flintstones
- Main article: Flintstones (franchise)
- "Yabba Dabba Boo:" The episode title is a play on "Yabba dabba doo," Fred Flintstone's catchphrase. In the episode, the writing staff of Amblin gets a script doctor (Chicken Boo in disguise) to help with their movie scripts, which includes one for Flintstones. They need help with what happens to Fred will say after a boulder comes crashing down on him after he gets in his car. Suggestions are "Let's rock and roll" and "The boulder and the beautiful," which are turned down in favor of the hilarious idea that the script doctor gives which is just clucking. It happens again when another scene depicts Fred at a golf course and picks up a stork instead of a club, with the suggestions of what the stork says next being, "It's a living" and "It's my job," but whatever the script doctor clucks about is approved. The final scene that will get the script finished, is of Fred standing on what he thinks is a boulder, but really a dinosaur head. Deanna Oliver, the one writer not impressed, starts clucking, but it just confuses the other writers. The script doctor does his own clucking, which sends the other writers into uproarious laughter.
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Dot flies to Bedrock on a pterodactyl to summon the Flintstones and Rubbles to march at Washington for cartoons' right to vote. At the march is Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, and the Great Gazoo.
The Funky Phantom
- Main article: The Funky Phantom
- "Back in Style:" Spunky Phantom is mentioned to have lost ratings by adding the Warner siblings.
Huckleberry Hound
- Main article: Huckleberry Hound (segments)
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Huckleberry Hound is one of the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Hong Kong Phooey
- Main article: Hong Kong Phooey (TV series)
- "Back in Style:" Chun-King Fooey is mentioned to have lost ratings by adding the Warner siblings.
Jetsons
- Main article: Jetsons (franchise)
- "Bumbi's Mom:" Slappy Squirrel points out that Vina Walleen (the actress who played Bumbi's mom) dated George Jetson.
- "Space-Probed:" An alien resembling Jane Jetson shows up when one of the aliens ends up getting caught in a treadmill, similar to George's running gag in the end credits of the show.
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): George is one of the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Magilla Gorilla
- Main article: Magilla Gorilla (segments)
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Magilla is among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Ricochet Rabbit
- Main article: Ricochet Rabbit & Droop-a-long
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Ricochet Rabbit is among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Scooby-Doo
- Main article: Scooby-Doo (franchise)
- "Guardin' the Garden:" The snake reminds Slappy of a very young Scrappy-Doo.
- "Scare-Happy Slappy:" While Slappy takes her nephew trick or treating, they spot a spooky house with bats flying out, so Slappy jokes that it's the opening out of Scooby-Doo.
- "Back in Style:" The Warner Siblings were loaned off to other cartoon studios by a young Plotz as last-ditch efforts to save Warner Bros., including one run by Phil and Shmoe (parodies of Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera). One of the shows parodied is a spoof of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, titled Uhuru, Where Are You! The sound effects are there and the Warners do an impromptu rock song. Due to the Warners' interference, it's inevitably one of several HB-like shows that fail in the ratings. Frank Welker provides the voice for the Fred and Scooby stand-ins.
Screwy Squirrel
- Main article: Screwball Squirrel
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Screwy Squirrel appears on a projector screen when Dot talks to Congress about how cartoons have made it their right to be zany.
Secret Squirrel
- Main article: Secret Squirrel and Morocco Mole
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Secret Squirrel is among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Snagglepuss
- Main article: Snagglepuss (segments)
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Snagglepuss is among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Speed Buggy
- Main article: Speed Buggy (TV series)
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Speed Buggy, Tinker, Mark, and Debbie are among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Wacky Races
- Main article: Wacky Races (franchise)
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Penelope Pitstop is among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Yakky Doodle
- Main article: Yakky Doodle
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Yakky is among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Yogi Bear
- Main article: Yogi Bear (franchise)
- "Back in Style:" The Warner siblings were loaned off to other cartoon studios, including one run by Phil and Schmoe (parodies of Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera). One of the cartoon characters that the Warners met is a spoof of Yogi Bear, named Who Who Hooey, where they mock its superficial dialogue and flat backgrounds. The Warner siblings interfere in the lunchbox stealing escapades of Calhourn Capybara and his impressionable young sidekick, Lew Lew, parodies of Yogi and Boo Boo.
- "Suffragette City" (reboot series): Yogi and Boo Boo are among the activists in a march for Dot's campaign to give cartoon characters the right to vote.
Other
- Ralph the security guard was inspired by Dimwittie, from The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries episode "A Scarey Duel With a Cartoon Ghoul," written by Tom Ruegger. Ruegger remembered that Frank Welker had played the role of Dimwittie, and cast him in the role of Ralph. However, Ralph first appeared in Tiny Toon Adventures.
