Yakko, Wakko, and Dot

File:Animaniacs.jpg

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

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.

History

The first episode of Animaniacs established a backstory for Yakko, Wakko and Dot. According to the show, they were created at the Warner Bros. Studios as part of the 1930s animation boom (their character design is intentionally similar to other animation stars of the time, such as Bosko and Honey). However, the studio decided that their films, "which made absolutely no sense," would be locked in the studio vault, "never to be released." The trio themselves, who "made even less sense" and had a habit of causing mayhem throughout the studio, were locked away in the studio lot's water tower, "also never to be released." This move apparently worked well at first, but by the first episode (set in the present), 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. However, the Warner siblings consider the water tower to be their home, and always return to it when they are done wreaking mayhem.

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot's age

The Warners' age is an issue that was almost completely avoided; although they routinely acted like pre-teen children (and were frequently referred to as children, particularly by Dr. Otto Scratchansniff), they had allegedly been locked inside the water tower for more than half a century. (Although it could be argued that cartoon characters don't age, this fails to explain the senior-citizen status of Slappy Squirrel. Bugs Bunny, in Tiny Toons, claims that cartoons only age if they are not appreciated, so the fact that Slappy Squirrel got bad reviews from critics, while the Warners were feared, could possibly be the reason. Especially considering how often they got out.) Although an exact age has never been revealed, it has been revealed that Yakko is the oldest, followed up by Wakko, and finally Dot.

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) snuck 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.)

Upon orders from Thaddeus Plotz, CEO of Warner Bros. in the series, the security guard Ralph pursues the Warner siblings when they escape. Other recurring human characters include Dr. Otto Scratchansniff and Hello Nurse as the therapists who try (and inevitably fail) to civilize them, teach them manners or even understand their behavior.

Unique characteristics

Each of the trio has a different personality and role in the group:

File:Yakko Warner.JPG

Yakko

Yakko Warner

Yakko (voiced by 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 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). In "The Taming of the Screwy", Yakko demonstrates a proficiency in speaking Japanese. 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."

File:Wakko Warner.JPG

Wakko

Wakko Warner

Wakko (voiced by Jess Harnell) wears a red cap and blue shirt and speaks with a Scouse accent that Harnell explicitly modeled after Ringo Starr (Initially, he 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 subsequently the most weird and absurd of the bunch. Often pulls objects from his "Gag Bag" 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 apparant 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".

File:Dot Warner.JPG

Dot

Dot Warner

Dot (voiced by 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" 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 person is fine. This is not always true.) She gets easily miffed at her brothers' reactions around women. However, even though she views Yakko & 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.

Trivia

In the Duck Dodgers episode "Pig Planet", the Eager Young Space Cadet (Porky Pig) is shown to have two nephews and a niece, Porko, Puerco and Sow. They are voiced by the same actors who played the Warners, and have very similar characterization.

External links

• Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Article that covers the trio's evolution during the show's preproduction