List of Animaniacs characters

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Animaniacs logo, featuring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, plus Pinky and the Brain.
Animaniacs logo, featuring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, plus Pinky and the Brain.

This is a list of fictional characters from the Warner Bros. animated television series Animaniacs.

[edit] A-G

  • Bumpo Bassett - The pesky grandson of Stinkbomb. Voiced by Jon Ruegger, the younger brother of Nathan Ruegger who voiced Skippy Squirrel. Appears in Smell Ya Later.
  • Stinkbomb D. Bassett - A one-off Slappy Squirrel foe who supposedly co-starred with Slappy in an old cartoon from the 1940s. Appears in Smell Ya Later.
  • Bossy Beaver - A character originally planned in pre-production but never appeared in final production.
  • Buttons and Mindy - a heroic Lassie-like dog (voiced by Frank Welker) and the accident-prone toddler (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) he is sworn to protect. The comedy of their shorts is based on the premise that, no matter what, Mindy always ends up exactly where her mother leaves her at the start of the skit, having narrowly avoided death a half dozen times, while the heroic Buttons gets berated for some minor damage he causes (i.e trampling a flower bed) while trying to keep Mindy alive. Mindy is best known for her persistent asking "Why?!", and once the other character is at the peak of irritation, her signature "Okay I love you bye-bye!" She also calls her mother "Lady" and her father "Mr. Man".
  • Candie Chipmunk - The conceited and self-centred neighbour of Slappy Squirrel who is driven insane after an argument with Slappy. Appears in I Got Yer Can.
  • Charlton Woodchuck - A one-off character who bears some resemblance to the beaver from Porky Chops. Appears in Hollywoodchuck.
  • Chicken Boo - A six-foot-tall chicken who is curiously successful at imitating humans despite minimal efforts at disguise. In his skits, only one of the characters seems to be aware of the blatantly obvious fact that Chicken Boo is a giant chicken a fact that remains curiously unbelievable to everyone else, until the barest disguise (i.e. nothing but a false beard) gets accidentally removed, at which point, everyone seems shocked at the transformation. Voiced by Frank Welker.
  • Colin (a.k.a. Randy Beaman's Pal) - A wide-eyed boy who relates improbable stories that allegedly happened to his (never-seen) friend Randy Beaman.
  • Crackers the Parrot - Pet of Mrs. Mumphead with aggressive tendencies. Appears in No Place Like Homeless, a crossover episode between Rita and Runt and Goodfeathers.
  • Mr. Director - A caricature of Jerry Lewis (voiced by Paul Rugg) who first appears in Hello Nice Warners; in later episodes he parodies Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now and appears as a clown who scares Mr. Plotz and Wakko in the episode, "Clown and Out". He is often heard uttering nonsensical words such as "freunlaven!", "flamiel!", and "hoyl!".
  • Newt Dog - a hunting dog who is always trying to catch Minerva in order to bring her pet home to his master. However, Minerva's charms always get the better of him, and his plans are foiled every time. Voiced by Arte Johnson, in a parody of his iconic Laugh-In Nazi soldier character.
  • Dot's Pet - Dot's pet is a monstrous creature always kept in her pocket inside a small white jewelery box. The creature's appearance is inconsistent, changing with every episode, though sometimes appearances recur, though not consecutively. The most common forms of the creature included a large bull-like creature, a plant parodying The Little Shop of Horrors, and a hairy form with enormous teeth (thought the color of the creature varied). Dot's pet usually appears in one of two situations, when an antagonist tries to indimidate the Warners, or following the appearance of a xenomorph from Alien, in this instance Dot's pet always has a "tongue" similar to that of the xenomorph, with another mouth and set of teeth on the end. In one of these cases, Mr. Director was her pet.
  • Codger Eggbert - Parody of Roger Ebert who gives Slappy Squirrel a poor review and faces the consequences in Critical Condition.
  • The Flame - A childlike candle flame (voiced by Luke Ruegger) who is present at important historical events such as Jefferson's authoring of The Declaration of Independence and Longfellow's writing of The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.
  • Ms. Flamiel - the Warners' prim and easily frustrated teacher. Voiced by Tress MacNeille.
  • Flavio and Marita - also known as "the Hip Hippos", a wealthy, Spanish hippo couple (voiced by Frank Welker and Tress MacNeille) obsessed with being trendy. Sometimes they have been in dangerous situations, but usually remain unaware of it and rarely suffer harm, mainly due to their large frames. They are usually pursued by a zoologist who considers the hippos an endangered species and makes attempts to protect them, often getting herself hurt in a slapstick manner. The zoologist seems unaware that the hippos can look after themselves.
  • Slam Fondelson - A conceited news anchorman for the fictious Newstime Live programme, who refused to pay Yakko, Wakko and Dot for a sandwich he'd ordered. Appears in Broadcast Nuisance.
  • Mr. Gobble - The pet turkey of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot who runs and dances to the theme of Turkey in the Straw. Appears in Turkey Jerky.
  • Goodfeathers - A trio of cartoon pigeons: Bobby, Squit and Pesto, voiced by Maurice LaMarche, John Mariano and Chick Vennera — spoofing the characters played by Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci in the movie Goodfellas. These pigeons can always be seen arguing with each other, which always culminates in them beating each other up (usually with Pesto beating up Squit). This gag in itself grew from Goodfellas; it was based on the film's famous exchange between Pesci and Liotta: "How am I funny? Like a clown? I amuse you?"

[edit] H-P

  • Mary Hartless - A pastiche of Mary Hart. She appears as a newsreader with alternating hairstyles in Hurray for Slappy, Chairman of the Bored, Bubba Bo Bob Brain and Critical Condition. Voiced by Valeri Bromfield.
  • Hello Nurse - The buxom studio nurse, voiced by Tress MacNeille, over whom Yakko and Wakko continually fawn. Her appearances almost always prompt the boys into saying "Helloooooooo, Nurse!" and jumping into her arms; Dot does likewise when an attractive man enters the picture.
  • Lene Hiskill - A film critic who gives Slappy Squirrel a poor review and pays the price in Critical Condition.
  • Sodarn Hissane - A not-too-subtle pastiche of Saddam Hussein. Appears in a cameo role in Hot, Bothered and Bedeviled and later as the antagonist in Baghdad Cafe, a crossover episode between Yakko, Wakko and Dot and Slappy Squirrel.
  • Katie Ka-Boom - A teen-aged girl, voiced by Laura Mooney, who has comically violent overreactions to trivially "embarrassing" situations in a parody of stereotypical teenage behavior, obviously modeled on the Incredible Hulk or She-Hulk. She lives with her parents and her younger brother, who appears briefly in the entire segment.
  • The King - The King of France who appears in The Three Muska-Warners (although the opening introduction of 1575 may suggest that the King is an inaccurate depiction of Henry III of France). Voiced by Jeff Bennett.
  • The Mime - A nameless mime who mainly appeared in brief clips titled "Mime Time"; the mime would usually begin a demonstration of some miming technique (e.g. "walking against the wind" or "trapped in a box"), only to be inexplicably maimed. His exploits are also narrated by Tom Bodett.
  • Mindy's Mother - A woman who briefly appeared in the Buttons and Mindy segment, and is often referred to as "Lady" by Mindy (except in Wakko's Wish, in which Mindy usually calls her "Mom"). Much like Baby Herman's mother in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and its spin-off short films, you cannot see Mindy's mother's face either.
  • Minerva Mink - An incredibly attractive mink, voiced by Julie Brown, with the ability to charm any and every male creature around her. Just as every male creature lusts after Minerva, she lusts after every handsome looking male she sees.
  • Mrs. Mumphead - An eccentric old lady who constantly hums to herself. Appears in No Place Like Homeless, a special crossover episode between Goodfeathers and Rita and Runt.
  • Pinky and the Brain - An imbecilic white mouse and his genius companion, voiced by Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche. Despite the name of the pair placing Pinky first, the Brain is clearly the leader; he continuously launches attempts to take over the world, accompanied by Pinky, but something always goes wrong with their plans (usually, it is at least partially Pinky's fault). The Brain and his environment evoke Orson Welles and Citizen Kane. The series is quite famous for Brain's line "Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" and Pinky's non sequitur replies. In 1995, their adventures were spun off into a dedicated series.
  • Thaddeus Plotz - The height-impaired CEO of the Warner Bros. Studios cartoon enterprise, voiced by Frank Welker.
  • Dr. Phrankenstein - A stubby mad-scientist bearing a strong resemblance to Bride of Frankenstein (though her musical talents owe much to Frank N. Furter of The Rocky Horror Picture Show). She pronounces her "r"s as "w"s like Elmer Fudd. Voiced by Adrienne Alexander. Appears in Phranken-Runt
  • The Protestor - A musical protestor from the 1960s who sings protest songs as a form of torture for victims of Satan. Appears in Hot, Bothered and Bedeviled.
  • Francis "Pip" Pumphandle - A dwarf-like man who annoys Yakko, Wakko, and Dot in Chairman of the Bored with a story involving Baloney sandwiches and Bob Barker. Voiced by Ben Stein.

[edit] Q-Z

  • Ralph - A dim-witted Warners Studio security guard charged with recapturing the Warners and confining them to the water tower. His voice and vocal mannerisms are reminiscent of early Warner Brothers cartoon secondary characters intended to parody the character of Lennie from the film adaptations of Of Mice and Men. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
  • Rita and Runt - A singing cat (voiced by Bernadette Peters) and a loyal but stupid dog (voiced by Frank Welker) who thinks Rita is a dog, who travel together looking for a place to call home. Rita has a world weary, cynical attitude, and a stereotypical New York twang, while Runt speaks with the vocal mannerisms made famous by Dustin Hoffmann in "Rainman".
  • Scout - Dr. Phrankenstein's creation intended to destroy the world. In truth, Scout is a playful dog who only wants to have fun. He turns on his master and Mr. Squeak when they pop his favourite ball. Voiced by Frank Welker. Appears in Phranken-Runt.
  • Dr. Otto Scratchansniff - The Austrian-accented studio psychiatrist, voiced by Rob Paulsen, who attempts to force the Warners to be less "zany". The all-but-invariable result of his efforts is that he goes "insany".
  • Mr. Skullhead - A mute skeleton, seen in the short series Good Idea/Bad Idea and featured in a parody of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. These clips were narrated by humorist and Motel 6 spokesman Tom Bodett. Mr. Skullhead first appeared on Tiny Toon Adventures as an ornament on Elmyra's bow. In one episode that featured the Warners attempting to escape from ladies asking them about a survey, the Warners enlist the aid of Mr. Skullhead to stand in front of the women and bob his head, which fools them for some time.
  • Wolf Spritzer - A newsreporter for the fictious Newstime Live programme. A parody of Wolf Blitzer. Appears in Broadcast Nuisance.
  • Mr. Squeak - Dr. Phrankenstein's faithful pet rat who speaks in high-pitched squeaking. Appears in Phranken-Runt.
  • Skippy Squirrel - Slappy's young nephew, voiced by Nathan Ruegger, whose chipper personality is the polar opposite of his aunt's.
  • Slappy Squirrel - An aging, curmudgeonly cartoon star of the same generation as the original Warner cartoons, who seems to enjoy whacking people with her purse and using high explosives, the more the better. Her catchphase is "Now that's comedy!" She is voiced by Sherri Stoner.
  • Miles Standish - The Pilgrim antagonist from the Thanksgiving special, Turkey Jerky.
  • The Survey Ladies - Two women bearing some resemblance to Laurel and Hardy who pester Yakko, Wakko and Dot with a survey involving George Went and Beans. Appear in Survey Ladies.
  • Wilford B. Wolf - A nerdy wolf who changes into a sexy Fabio Lanzoni-esque werewolf during a full moon. While his name pays tribute to Wendell T. Wolf of Taz-Mania, his mannerisms seem more reminiscent of Goofy, including his laugh. Appears in Moon over Minerva.
  • Yakko, Wakko, and Dot - the "Warner Brothers" (and the Warner Sister), voiced by Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille. Yakko (the oldest) is a fast-talking smart aleck, reminiscent at times of Groucho Marx. Wakko (the middle child) has a huge appetite and a gag bag filled with tricks (and a scouse accent modeled by Harnell after a younger Ringo Starr), and Dot (the youngest) is cute and sassy, and uses her apparent innocence to manipulate and torment those who stand in her way. The Warners are some of the few characters that actually appear in all the short skits, usually being chased by Ralph; most other characters are confined to their own segments.