This page serves as the definitive World-Wide Web location to find the informational documents I maintain about contemporary Warner Bros. cartoons, plus links to other exceptional info sites. Many sites on the web are flashier and win awards, but lack in content unless they're linking to this site or one of the sites linked from here. By going to this site, and to the sites linked from here, you have come to the source of the most commonly requested compilations and documents, and can be assured that they truly are the most up-to-date and complete files of their type. Anyone can put up pictures and sound files; it takes real members of the Please Please Please Get-A-Life Foundation to make dynamic info sites like this one and the ones linked from here. Narf!
3 September 2007
I have added to a few pages. The foreign lyrics page now includes
Tiny Toon Adventures lyrics in Spanish, German and corrected
Japanese, plus English translations for those and for the Russian
lyrics. I have added a late Kids' WB promo song to the Animaniacs
Mega Lyrics File. A picture of a background error that had been
corrected after first broadcast has been added to the LACTOSE files.
Plus some items in the news section below.
1 March 2007
The old Voxware files section has had two of its links changed to
play MP3s. So, finally you'll be able to hear those two at least!
25 July 2006
I finally have added a working link to the
Animania
IV video on the page about
Animania
IV. I still haven't added a bunch of further Animania
events to the History of Animania Events page, though. But
hey, at least the video link works now (provided you have
Flash installed, but who doesn't these days?).
8 September 2003
September 13 will mark the 10th anniversary of the debut of Animaniacs.
The show had a profound impact on many lives. I know three married couples who
never would have met if not for Animaniacs. My fiancée and I will become
a fourth eventually. I received email recently from a young woman about to embark
on a dream job overseas, and she said she got the motivation to follow her dreams
after receiving a phone call from Jess Harnell (voice of Wakko) when she was a
teenager, in response to a letter she had written. There's even a thread on the
ToonZone forums for people reminiscing about how this show touched their lives.
So, what could I do with my web space to commemorate the 10th anniversary?
I decided to throw together a little page which reminds us that, for those who
made the show, it has been a lot more than 10 years! Hopefully there will be
more to the page in the future, but for now here it is:
Animaniacs: In The Beginning.
27 June 2003
Cleaning out my hard drive, I discovered a recording I was sent in 1996 of a
Pinky & The Brain intro from Israel, along a text file I received
in 1998 of the Hebrew lyrics from the first season of the Pinky & The Brain
series (Romanized -- not in a Hebrew font). So now, considerably late, I present
these items for your enjoyment!
The sound recording was made by holding a microphone up to a TV speaker, so
it's not great. If you can provide something better (the theme to the actual
series would be terrific), please let me know! Likewise, if you have recordings
or lyrics from other countries not yet represented, I'd love to hear and read them,
and add them to the collection. Select any of the Lyrics Files from the menu
below, then click on the Other Languages link within.
4 April 2003
A few updates today: I added a new entry to the LACTOSE files, demonstrating
a change in dialog from the original and later broadcasts of TV or Not TV.
Also, I've added some things to the foreign lyrics/recordings pages! One of the
Pinky & The Brain intros from Poland; both Pinky & The Brain intros
and the series theme from France plus an MP3 of the series theme; one of the
Pinky & The Brain intros from Japan plus an MP3 of it; an MP3 of the Pinky
& The Brain theme from Germany; and I've added an MP3 of the Season 3
Animaniacs theme from Brazil, though don't have the lyrics yet (or can't find
them 'cause I've been sitting on some of this stuff for so long). Anyway, enjoy!
Choose any lyrics file link from the menu and you'll find a further link to the
foreign-language dubs! Oh yes, and I finally made the correction to the lyrics
for Bones in the Body in the AMLF.
OK, so this site has gotten some awards over the years, despite (or maybe
because of) my ugly Unix-friendly web design:
9 May 1999
The Animaniacs Mega Lyrics File has been chosen as a
"Key Resource" at links2go.com!
30 January 1999
This site has been chosen as a "cool site" in the
Netscape Open Directory! Thanks, Mozilla!
16 January 1998
These pages have been included in some internet yellow pages books
published recently! Faboo!
The Animaniacs Mega Lyrics File has been chosen as an Entertainment "Cool Link" Surfers' Choice at Yahoo!.
The foreign lyrics page (linked to from any lyrics file menu) is listed in the March 1, 1997 issue of NetGuide Magazine as among the best "1,003 free things on the web."
3 September 2007
The new CBS series Sushi Pack featuring writing
by Tom Ruegger, Nicholas Hollander and
Gordon Bressack will debut on November 3. Ruegger
and Hollander were pulled out of producer status and
will be listed as script editors, though corporate-appointed
editors produced the final drafts of all scripts after
concerns about setting a good example for children.
21 May 2007
Former Animaniacs writers are involved in new two
shows coming out this fall. Tom Ruegger is
script editor and producer of a new CGI comedy series based on the
picture book Animalia by Graeme Base. The entire writing
staff consists of Ruegger, John P. McCann,
Deanna Oliver, Sherri Stoner and
Nicholas Hollander. The series will broadcast on
Network Ten in Australia, and in the U.S. on a yet-to-be-launched
digital cable channel, PBS Kids Go!.
In addition, Ruegger and Hollander are writing for a new cartoon called Sushi Pack that will be part of an American Greetings block on CBS.
1 March 2007
The Volume 3 DVD sets of Animaniacs and
Pinky & The Brain are expected to be
released on June 19th of this year.
27 July 2006
The Volume 2 DVD sets of Animaniacs and
Pinky & The Brain are expected to be
released in December. The bonus features this time
around are interviews with many of the writers,
including (but not limited to) Earl Kress, Gordon
Bressack, Charles M. Howell IV and Tom Minton.
25 July 2006
Volume 1 DVD sets of Animaniacs and Pinky &
The Brain were released today!
The Animaniacs set
is five discs and includes the first 25 episodes (numerical
order), complete and unedited. It also features a bonus
interview segment hosted by Maurice LaMarche (voice of The
Brain), with Rob
Paulsen, Tress MacNeille and Jess Harnell (voices of the
Warners) in one segment, Sherri Stoner (creator, writer and
voice of Slappy) in another segment, Steve & Julie
Bernstein (music composers and orchestrators) in another,
and finally Andrea Romano (voice director).
The Pinky
& The Brain set is four discs, and features the first 22
episodes of the
spinoff series, plus an interview segment with Rob Paulsen
(Pinky), Maurice LaMarche (The Brain) and Andrea Romano
(voice director), and additional comments by producers
Tom Ruegger and Peter Hastings. The story of the genesis of
Pinky & The Brain is not included, though, thanks to the
WB lawyers. The real story, as I've heard it, is that one day
at a meeting, Tom Ruegger leaned over to Peter Hastings and
said, "Can you imagine if Eddie (Fitzgerald) and (Tom)
Minton tried to take over the world?" The idea stuck.
Caricatures of the two men were
turned into mice, and their personalities infused into the
characters, creating our favorite genetically altered duo.
Each DVD set has both 5.1 English and stereo Brazilian Portuguese
audio, and subtitles in Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese.
They are Region 1 encoded.
28 December 2005
You've probably heard the rumors by now: Animaniacs
and Pinky & The Brain are coming to DVD. They
won't just be episodes slapped on a disc and sold, either;
they will have bonus features! The Animaniacs DVD is due
in July 2006, and will include interviews with the voice
talent for the Warners and Slappy (of course, Sherri Stoner
also wrote most of Slappy's episodes), and Steve &
Julie Bernstein, who wrote and orchestrated much of the
music for the show. Tom Ruegger himself also will appear,
and the host for the extras is the Brain himself, Maurice
LaMarche. The Pinky & The Brain DVD is hosted by both
the stars, Rob Paulsen and LaMarche. Producers Peter Hastings
and Ruegger also will appear. These are only partial lists
of the people who will turn up on the bonus features.
I don't yet know if a solid release date has been set for
the latter DVD. It is believed at this time that they will
not be highlight compilations, but actually present the
episodes in numerical order. Pinky & The Brain also
will be showing up on a new free streaming video service,
In2TV, along with Freakazoid! and Histeria!.
Peter Hastings is back in a production role, primarily as voice director, but also doing some story editing on a new NickToon called Catscratch produced by Doug TenNapel. Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche are among the cast. We may soon be seeing Tom Ruegger credits back on screen also; he has several projects in the works for various companies.
1 February 2004
Perhaps the largest collection of writing and acting alumni
from Animaniacs since the end of what is now called
"The Silver Age of WB Animation" appears to have
been assembled in the production of Dave the Barbarian,
a new animated series on Disney Channel. The first four episodes
have featured scripts by Tom Minton, John P. McCann
and Kevin Hopps. The regular cast includes the voice
talents of Tress MacNeille as Fang, Jeff Glen Bennett
as the announcer and Twinkles the Wonder Horse (using his Christopher
Walken impression), Frank Welker as Faffy the lightning-breathing
dragon, and Paul Rugg as the Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy.
The series is produced by Doug Langdale, who also produced the popular
Earthworm Jim series for Universal, which had rounded off the
Kids' WB! lineup in 1995 and '96.
This series has been canceled. Look for the re-runs, though!
22 July 2002
There may not be any more shows or comic books, but there
still are games in development for both Tiny Toon
Adventures and Animaniacs (which includes
Pinky and the Brain). Obviously, there have been
a lot of Tiny Toons games released over the past couple
of years which I have overlooked. But here we go with
what's new out there: Swing! Entertainment Media AG in
Germany has the rights, and has some pretty well-known
game developers writing this stuff. From Warthog,
Treasure Inc. and Conspiracy Games just released in
Europe are
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Stackers, while Tiny
Toon Adventures: Scary Dreams (called Buster's Bad
Dream in some markets -- I've seen covers for each title,
but I'm not sure which will be the U.S. version) is due for
release any day now. Coming soon for
Playstation2 and GameCube is Tiny Toon Adventures:
Defenders of the Universe, which features all-new
voiceovers by surviving cast members. Planned for later this
year from the same crew is, for Playstation2 and GameCube,
Animaniacs: Hollywood Hijinx and, for GameBoy
Advance, both Animaniacs: Lights, Camera, Action
and Pinky and the Brain: The Master Plan. Information,
pictures and movies from these titles can be had from the
Flash-infested web site, http://www.conspiracygames.com
(only broadband recommended). The Animaniacs deal,
cut in July 2001, called for four games based on the
license, so there should be one other title coming.
The German publisher's web site also has information
on the games, at http://www.swing-games.com
Look now also for Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt
on popular game consoles. It features the voices of the
original cast (not taken from the show, but all-new
recording sessions).
17 July 2001
The first live-action movie from former WBA producer
Peter Hastings wrapped up shooting last month.
The Country Bears is inspired from the DisneyWorld
attraction, and tells the story of a young bear whose
human parents tell him that he's actually adopted, so
he goes in search of his biological family in Tennessee.
There, he tries to get the old musical family together
to save the old town music hall which is in danger of
being torn down. The human baddie, who wants to tear
down the building, is played by Christopher Walken,
whom you'll recall was frequently poked fun of in later
episodes of Animaniacs and Pinky, Elmyra and
The Brain for his reputation of playing bad guys and
his intimidating face. Hastings told Daily Variety
that Walken was a perfect choice for the movie role not
only for that reason, but because he has a great sense
of humor as well. Haley Joel Osment, Charles S. Dutton
John Hiatt provide voices for the costume-and-animatronic
bears. Hiatt also wrote songs for the movie. The other
primary human roles are played by Diedrich Bader and
Daryl Mitchell. The screenplay was written by Mark Perez.
The movie should be released in 2002.
20 March 2001
I learned today that on March 9, Richard Stone passed
away from pancreatic cancer. Stone was an integral part
of the WB cartoon revival of the 1990s, coming in as a
composer during the run of Taz-Mania and Tiny
Toon Adventures, and
quickly establishing himself as a person who had
a total love and dedication to making cartoon scores.
He composed the themes and scored episodes of
Animaniacs, Pinky & the Brain,
Freakazoid!, and Histeria! among
others. Without his musical
genius, these shows would not have been the
same. He came closest to the style established by
the great Carl Stalling than perhaps anyone ever has,
throwing in recognizeable musical "cues" for
particular on-screen actions (and some
not-so-recognizeable, such as a "windshield
cue" I asked him about which he explained was
an in-joke between himself and Steve Bernstein). During
Animania IV, as the group was leaving Studio 1
following the scoring session for the Animaniacs
cartoon Bingo, I stayed behind to speak to Stone
(he also conducted the orchestra), and tell him how much
I, as a composer myself, admired what he did for the shows.
At the time, Vol. 2 of The Carl Stalling Project
just had been released, in the liner notes of
which Stone was quoted. I suggested to him that
perhaps one day someone would be compelled to
make a CD of his best cartoon scores.
If that ever happens, it sadly also will be done
posthumously. Richard Stone, who won seven Emmy
awards for his work on WB cartoons, was 47 years old.
5 December 2000
This has nothing to do with WBA today, but hey, what does
anymore? Peter Hastings, former WBA producer and creator
of Pinky & The Brain, is finishing off the
writing and casting for a new live-action comedy movie
(with talking bears) he will produce for Disney. Paul Rugg,
creator and voice of Freakazoid! while at WB,
is assisting in the writing. The film has no definite
working title yet. The two most likely are The Country
Bears and The Bears Checkin' Out. Peter says,
"It's sort of a twisted take on the Country Bears
at Disneyland who are these burnt-out faded rock stars
who have to get it back together for a benefit show."
5 August 2000
The most recent project by Sylvester & Tweety
Mysteries producer Tom Minton is due out in September.
It is a direct-to-video movie, called Tweety's
High-Flying Adventure. The movie is the WBA team's
first all-digital production (i.e., not using traditional
cel animation).
16 February 2000
Today, the final issue of the Animaniacs comic book
was published. In its place, look for a new Powerpuff
Girls comic book series to begin next month. The first
issue (and more to follow) was written by Sean Carolan and
Jennifer Moore, the authors responsible for some of the
most popular Animaniacs comic book stories.
What, like all these documents I maintain doesn't say something about my obsession with providing information to people? (I'm a journalist by profession, so I guess it's in my nature.) I am probably one of the most recognized names and faces in contemporary WBA cartoon fandom. When I go to voice tours, the actors always know my name. I've even met the production crew, when they invited some internet fans to meet them in 1995, in a nationally publicized event which we called Animania IV. Many of them -- fans and crew alike -- are active online, as readers and/or participants of the alt.tv.animaniacs newsgroup.
Surprisingly, when a friend mentioned to Rob Paulsen and Jess Harnell that he knew some of the people who were on the Animania IV trip, the first words out of Rob's mouth were, "Oh yeah, Keeper and..." -- he wasn't even there!
Rated with RSACi.