Walter Wolf (cartoon character)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Walter Wolf is a fictional character in the Animaniacs animated series. Walter bears some resemblance to the protagonist in "The Trial of Mr. Wolf" (1942) — in fact, in one short, he is even a plaintiff against his enemy Slappy Squirrel, each of them telling two different accounts of the same incident and making themselves sound good (a fairly common sitcom device). This short, "...And Justice For Slappy", was heavily criticized by anti-Jewish defamation groups, as Walter is obviously Jewish and is committing perjury. A second short is also under fire by these organizations, as in it Walter fakes his death, with help from his imbecilic friends and fellow Slappy-haters Beanie the Cerebrally-Challenged Bison and Sid the Squid, to get Slappy. During her eulogy, when he had intended to destroy her, she turns the tables on Walter by repeatedly filling his coffin with explosives and blowing him to bits.

Walter first appeared in "Hooray For Slappy", as did Sid and Beanie, voiced by Frank Welker. Later Jess Harnell took over and voiced Walter through the series' run. However, Walter had a minor appearance prior to this in an original Slappy cartoon seen in the beginning in the first Slappy episode, "Slappy Goes Walnuts", and Sid and Beanie are also mentioned; it is notable that Beanie was originally referred to as "The Brain-Dead Bison"; this was later changed to "Cerebrally-Challenged" as a jab at political correctness and the retroactive alteration of past ideas that are considered offensive in modern times.