Animaniacs is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until the series ended on November 14, 1998. It is the second animated series produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Animation, after Tiny Toon Adventures. It initially ran a total of 99 episodes, along with a feature-length film, Wakko's Wish. Reruns later aired on Cartoon Network from 1997 to 2001, Nickelodeon from 2001 to 2003, Nicktoons from 2003 to 2005, and Discovery Family from 2012 to 2014.
Animaniacs had a wide cast of characters; shown here are the majority of the characters from the series, among them, Ralph T. Guard, Otto Von Scratchansniff, and Hello Nurse.
The Warner siblings as platypuses, before they were changed to their dog-like visual style. The idea for the Warners to be platypuses was changed during pre-production of the series.
Yakko, Wakko and Dot shake hands with their Tiny Toon Adventures predecessors Buster and Babs Bunny and Plucky Duck, who make a cameo appearance in an episode of Animaniacs.
Parodies and caricatures made up a large part of Animaniacs. The episode "Hello, Nice Warners" introduced a Jerry Lewis caricature (left), who made occasional appearances in the series and film.
Tom Ruegger is an American animator and songwriter. Ruegger is known for his association with Disney Television Animation and Warner Bros. Animation. He also created Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Histeria!.
Ruegger at the 2023 WonderCon
