'Yakko, Wakko, and Dot', also known as '"The Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister)"', are three
cartoon characters featured on the
animated series ''
Animaniacs''. The trio of red-nosed Warner siblings were considered to be the stars of the ensemble of characters on the show. They all appear in the ''Animaniacs'' logo, and the show usually begins and ends with gags performed by them. Adding to their uniqueness is the fact that they aren't cartoon representatives of any actual animal.
As with other ''Animaniacs'' characters, the Warner siblings were part of a loosely-defined cast of players and often made appearances in other characters' segments, often as a literal
running gag, as well as hosting occasional appearances by other characters in their segments. However, the Warners' bits are generally the most beloved and respected.
Creation
Series creator Tom Ruegger initially modeled the Warners’ personalities heavily after those of his three sons.
Originally, the Warners were intended to be ducks,
but
Tom Ruegger had come to the conclusion that “...everybody had ducks” (see
Disney’s ''
DuckTales'' and ''
Darkwing Duck''), so the Warners became a type of "...generic animal creature."
Although they looked somewhat like dogs, the Warners’ specific "species" remained a mystery and was made fun of in many episodes. Ruegger had said that the Warners were cartoon characters, and that their species was "'Cartoonus characterus.'"
The image of the Warners is an homage to cartoon characters of the early 1930s.
Simple black drawings with white faces were very common in cartoons of the 1920s and 1930s, including the
DNA of
Bosko,
Felix the Cat,
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit,
Bimbo, and the early version of
Mickey Mouse.
Premise
In the series, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, Warner Brothers and the Warner Sister respectively, are the stars of some of the early Warner Bros.
animated cartoons. The Warners, however, had run amok in the Warner Bros. studio, where they were then captured and locked away in the
Warner Bros. Studios water tower in
Burbank, California. The Warners’ cartoons "which made absolutely no sense," were supposedly so insane and nonsensical that the studio executives locked the films away in vaults, never to have them released.
[1] Later into the series run, a fictional celebrity and acquaintance of the Warners had revealed that the Warners were actually quite popular in the thirties, until, as he had said: “...they the Warners pantsed
Jimmy Cagney,” at which point, “something had to be done,” so the Warners were locked away.
[2] The Warners were held in the water tower until, as said in the show, “this very day,” meaning the 1990s, when the series premiered.
Although the Warners supposedly hadn’t escaped until "this very day," Yakko, Wakko, and Dot were able to escape frequently and at will. Later episodes showed that they often escaped during various points in history, and were occasionally loaned out to other animation studios, particularly during the 70s.
[ ]
When the Warners escaped, they caused chaos in the Warner Bros. Studio. In response to the Warners escape, Studio Executive Thaddeus Plotz asked the studio psychiatrist, Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, to "de-zanitize" the Warners, or make the Warners less zany, to stop the chaos in the studio.
[3] Plotz also had also ordered the studio guard, Ralph, to capture the Warners whenever they escaped.
[4] Although the Warner siblings escape from the water tower as often as they can, they treat the water tower as their home, and always return to it when they are done wreaking mayhem.
Species representation
A running gag throughout the ''Animaniacs'' series is the question of what animals, if any, the Warners are meant to be modeled after. The series' other characters are cartoon representations of various animals such as mice, birds, and squirrels, but the Warners are intentionally ambiguous. Various charactes in the series question the Warners about this and refer to them as a variety of different animals, frequently "puppies" owing to their ears and tails and Wakko's occasional doglike behavior.
[5][6][7] The Warners themselves often use this ambiguity as a source of humor; in one episode an entire musical number is devoted to guessing their species, only to come to the conclusion that they are "cute."
[8]
Plotlines
The comedy that the trio performed can be described as an updated version of that of
The Marx Brothers and early
Bugs Bunny cartoons; each segment would usually involve them at odds with an authority-figure antagonist, defeating any attempts at control with a non-stop barrage of slapstick comedy and wit. However, one notable difference is that while Bugs was usually defending himself against an aggressor, it is characteristic for the Warners to wreak havoc only because they enjoy it. Although their initial havoc is generally good-natured, sometimes affectionate, and often merely annoying, any person who yells at them, tries to hurt them, or generally acts like a jerk will be labeled their "Special Friend," at which point the Warners exercise even less restraint with their mayhem.
The Warners were not completely without reason, however: in an episode titled "The Sound of Warners," they wouldn't fight back against a
Julie Andrews-esque nanny because she wasn't attacking them, only being excessively mothering and annoyingly saccharine — hence, establishing a sort of
moral core for the Warners. Wanting her gone but seeing their hands were tied, they asked
Slappy Squirrel to deal with her in her own explosive, violent manner. This character trait was further emphasized in the full-length episode, "Taming of the Screwy." In this episode, after being asked (and begged and pleaded) by Dr. Scratchansniff to keep their lunacy under control for one evening during an important studio banquet, the three siblings did so and were very well behaved...until they were promptly asked to leave the banquet hall ''before'' they caused any trouble. Feeling snubbed and insulted, the Warners then (justifiably) sneaked back into the banquet hall and began causing mischief in their own fashion. (It should be noted that Plotz was the one who wanted them to leave, not Dr. Scratchansniff.)
Unique characteristics
Each of the trio has a different personality and role in the group, including purpose in a skit and separate obsessions with different celebrities.
Their roles are that Yakko is the "smart one" and the leader, Wakko is the "other" one or the most insane one, and Dot is the self proclaimed "cute one".
Yakko Warner
Yakko (
Rob Paulsen) is the tallest, oldest and most verbal, and he serves as the ringleader of the two younger siblings. He has the amazing abilities to talk an unsuspecting (yet deserving) person's ear off. He's a big-time smart aleck, and can come up with a comeback to just about anything. Highly reminiscent of
Groucho Marx, he wears brown slacks with a belt in it, in which he can store and retrieve a number of improbable objects including a
Yak. He also has a tendency to pounce on attractive women, normally with his catchphrase, "Helloooooo NURSE!" Yakko can sing the names of (nearly) every
country of the world, as well as every word in the English language (although he's only shown singing words from the letters A, F (briefly), L and Z). He can even say Dot's full name without error as seen in "Cutie and the Beast". In "The Taming of the Screwy", Yakko demonstrates a proficiency in speaking (proper and actual) Japanese as well. His idol is
Michelle Pfieffer. He is considered by many fans to be "the brains of the outfit"; the wittiest and most clever of the three Warner sibs. He also has the ability to
rap. Also generally seen as the oldest (though his actual age is indeterminate), much of the show's more adult-leaning gags and one-liners are supplied by Yakko. Being the oldest, several times Yakko has shown a surprising amount of responsibility dealing with the welfare of his two younger siblings, particularly in the movie, where he was more or less the parent-like sibling. He is also, in his own words, "allergic to anything that has lactose in it."
Wakko Warner
Wakko (
Jess Harnell) wears a red cap, blue turtleneck, and no pants. He speaks with a
Scouse accent that Harnell explicitly modeled after
Ringo Starr (initially Harnell created a
John Lennon-esque voice for Wakko until he saw that the character was short, so he just raised the pitch). He's the middle child, and the most weird and absurd of the bunch. Often pulls objects from his "
Gag Bag" and also uses his "giant mallet" when situations call for it. More often than not, his tongue is sticking out of his mouth. He generally supplies the more crude humor sometimes featured on the show, typically prompting Yakko to blow a kiss to the audience and comment, "Goooodnight everybody!". He is the most physical of the three, and thus tends to lean toward physical humor, whereas Yakko (being a more talkative person) favors vocal humor. Wakko can walk backwards just as well as he can forwards, and is very flexible. Wakko has a voracious appetite, and will eat almost anything, including gum found under a seat and even rocks for shock value or perhaps simply to see how they taste. He also has a
phobic fear of clowns (cf. "Clown and Out"). He is a big fan of
Don Knotts and, like his brother Yakko, he will also hit on any pretty girl, despite his apparent young age. According to the song "Hello Nurse" he is seven years old; this was the only reference ever made to their age, and was not considered canonical by the writers. His cap is his trademark; when the Warners wear costumes, Wakko will usually keep his cap on (occasionally he'll take it off, which makes him look very similar to his brother, Yakko). He follows in Yakko's footsteps by singing all the fifty US states and their capitals, in "
Wakko's America".
Dot Warner
Dot (
Tress Macneille): The only sister, Dot wears a pink skirt and a flower tie in her hair. Also known as "Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca
Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third" (a reference to
Pippi Longstocking's long real name, Pippitotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking) or, to some fans "Princess Dot". Extremely cute and thoroughly aware of it, she is very confident. She is arguably the smartest one, and the most overtly aggressive. As she says in the first episode, "Call me Dottie, and you die." (However, she's been called Dottie a few times and the source remains unharmed, but this is not always true.) She is easily miffed at her brothers' reactions around women; afterwards she often says, "Boys: go fig." However, even though she views Yakko and Wakko's behavior around beautiful girls repugnant, she has reacted similarly to attractive men, most notably
Mel Gibson. (She said she would "marry that man"). Dot also carries around a pet, contained within a tiny box, that is revealed to be a horrifying monster much too large to have fit inside the box. In one episode, one of her pets ends up marrying a
Xenomorph. She also seems to have a sense of humor much like her brother Yakko. But, like Wakko and his hat, even when Dot is in a costume she always has a little flower in her hair (unless she is in her pajamas).
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
External links
★
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
★
Article that covers the trio's evolution during the show's preproduction
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