De-Zanitized/The Monkey Song/Nighty-Night Toon is the first (and pilot) episode of the original Animaniacs.
It originally premiered on September 13, 1993; and features the first appearances of many series staples - such as the characters, settings, gags, and plots.
Newsreel of the Stars
Animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd..
Plot
A newsreel is shown explaining the origin of the Warner Brothers and their sister. The trio were first created in 1930 in Hollywood at the Warner Bros. then-new animation department, Termite Terrace Animation. However, they were uncontrollable and ran amok all over the Warner Bros. Studios. until they were captured. Their cartoons were locked away in a vault unreleased, and the Warners were locked away in the studio water tower unreleased. The studio would disavow any knowledge of the Warners' existence....until the present day, when the Warners escaped.
Trivia
- This is the first segment:
- of the original Animaniacs series and the franchise as a whole.
- the first cold opening of the series and the franchise.
- to feature the debut appearances of Yakko, Wakko and Dot.
- to be animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd.
- If the Newsreel is not counted, the first time would be The Monkey Song instead.
- The animation studio is named "Termite Terrace", which was the nickname of the 1935 Warner Bros. animation studio where producer Leon Schlesinger briefly placed the unit working under director Tex Avery (to hide them from director Tom Palmer so that he wouldn't suspect he was about to be fired). The "Termite Terrace" building was dubbed such by Avery and his animators because it was so old and rickety they thought no one would want to live there except the termites. The animators were only in the original "Termite Terrace" for about a year, but the name has become synonymous with that entire era of the Warner Bros. animation studio. The use of this name in 1930 is an anachronism.
- Among the animators running out of the building are caricatures of Isadore "Friz" Freleng (the bald guy) and Charles M. "Chuck" Jones (the man with freckles) (both of whom would go on to become prominent directors of the Looney Tunes series). As of 1930, Freleng was still an animator (although his caricature looks rather older than Freleng actually appeared in 1930, when he was only 24). Jones's appearance is an anachronism, as he did not actually start at Warner Bros. as an assistant animator until 1933.
- The Animaniacs Cultural References Guide claims that the two people talking in the middle of the studio are then-producer of the Looney Tunes Leon Schlesinger (whose lisp supposedly inspired Daffy Duck and Sylvester the Cat's voices) and his assistant Henry Binder. While the dark-haired man (seen only from the back) does have hair resembling contemporary Looney Tunes caricatures of Binder, the other man looks almost nothing like Schlesinger.
- While the Warners' creator bears a strong resemblance to Fred "Tex" Avery (who worked at Warners from 1935 to 1941, and directed many of the zaniest cartoons ever made), the character was later identified as animator Lon Borax in "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special."
- This cold open would be reused in many episodes of the show, including a longer version introduced in Episode 48.
- Ralph T. Guard and Hello Nurse, or maybe people who somehow look like them, are seen working for the studio in 1930. It is unclear why a nurse would be stationed in an animation studio. (Mental breakdowns? Carpel tunnel?)
- The first opening "newsreel" lineup of movie stars includes several silent film stars: Lon Chaney Sr. and (a woman who looks nothing like) Mary Philbin in 1925's The Phantom of the Opera, Harold Lloyd in 1923's Safety Last (the iconic shot of him dangling from a giant clock), Buster Keaton in 1926's The General (running from a train while carrying a railroad tie), and (an oddly white-haired) Charlie Chaplin in 1925's The Gold Rush (eating a shoe).
- The second "newsreel" lineup of stars includes an anachronistic group of actors who did not come to prominence until later in the 1930s: Clark Gable (flapping his large ears, also a frequent source of humor in contemporaneous Looney Tunes caricatures of Gable), (a woman who looks nothing like) Mae Clark and James Cagney in the famous "grapefruit" scene from 1931's Public Enemy, Bette Davis in 1941's The Little Foxes, and Humphrey Bogart (drinking whiskey, smoking a cigarette and sitting next to the Maltese Falcon statute from the 1941 film of the same name).
- Hamton J. Pig makes a cameo as a sketch on Lon Borax's desk. (If Hamton had actually been created in 1930, he would have predated the creation of his mentor Porky Pig by five years).
- The first man watching the Warners' cartoons (with dark hair and mustache) is studio head Jack Warner. The other two men bear no resemblance to his brothers Harry and Albert.
- This segment appears in the openings for original series episodes two and seven.
- The animation of the Warners going crazy before being locked in the Water Tower is based on a test animation of the Warners created before Warner Bros. ordered a full season. A similar test animation was the Warners going "choo-choo-choo-choo" like a train, seen in "The Big Candy Store" and "Puttin' on the Blitz".
Goofs
- The narrator says in this newsreel that the Warners were created in 1930, however, it would later be shown that cartoons were made starring them in 1929. This would later be referenced in the "Please Please Please Get a Life Foundation" cartoon and "The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special".
Theme Song
Variable verse
Dot: Here’s the show’s namey!
Trivia
- This is the first time the Animaniacs theme song sequence appears.
De-Zanitized
Animation by Wang Film Production
Plot
Dr. Scratchansniff explains how he first attempted to make the Warners sane after they escaped from the Water Tower, and how he lost his hair in the process. After his first encounter with the kids, the good doc is ordered by the CEO, Thaddeus Plotz, to keep the zany kids under control. After one unsuccessful try with the siblings together, he decides to talk with them separately, with no success either.
Crew
- Written by Paul Rugg
- Directed by Rusty Mills and Dave Marshall
Trivia
- This segment marks the first speaking appearances of Ralph the Guard and Hello Nurse, as well as the first appearances overall of Dr. Scratchansniff and Thaddeus Plotz.
- The "biggest star in the world" is once again Humphrey Bogart, accompanied by a Richard Stone twist on "As Time Goes By," the love theme from Casablanca. (Ralph's presence in the Bogie era again implies that either the studio employed a Ralph lookalike years earlier or that Ralph is ageless).
- In a reference to Ronald Reagan's former occupation as an actor, Dr. Scratchansniff decides "Mr. Reagan"'s delusions of grandeur are incurable upon hearing Reagan's dreams of being president.
- Photos on Dr. Scratchansniff's wall show: Edward G. Robinson, Rex Harrison (as Caesar in 1963's Cleopatra), Bette Davis, a cowboy, Peter Lorre (again with the Maltese Falcon), the Invisible Man (presumably Claude Rains from the 1933 Universal. version), Clint Eastwood (also mentioned as a current patient of Scratchansniff's), Jack Nicholson (with Scratschansniff handing him a piece of toast, referencing the scene in 1970's Five Easy Pieces in which Nicholson fights with a waitress who won't give him a side of toast because the restaurant does not do substitutions), (an inexplicably blond) Cher, and Michael Keaton as Batman (from Tim Burton's 1989 and 1992 films).
- The boardroom scene with Dr. Scratchansniff and Mr. Plotz is a parody of the boardroom scene with Howard Beale and Arthur Jensen in the 1976 film Network (one of writer Paul Rugg's favorite films[1]).
- Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck briefly cameo as portraits in Plotz's office.
- Plotz is never referred to by name in this episode. Scratchansniff and his office door merely call him the "Chairman of the Board," while the end credits list him as "C.E.O."
- Plotz says that the studio has not endured so much chaos since they made Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. This Christina Applegate-starrer was notorious for being a box office flop.
- The clip of Yakko guessing who Dr. Scratchansniff is as well as Scratchy saying, "No, you stupid kid, you don't understand!" from this cartoon is used in the opening of Rob Paulsen's podcast "Talking Toons."
- Despite that the Warners siblings are Cartoonus characterus, do have some dog-like characters, like when Hello Nurse enters Dr. Scratchansniff's office, the WB Boys Wakko and Yakko pant like a dog and briefly take on a wolf-like appearance.
- Row Row Row Your Boat is the background music for one of the thoughts of Hello Nurse and Scratchy.
- This is the first cartoon to be animated by Wang Film Productions.
- In 2020, an edited (and heavily sped up) clip of Dr. Sratchansniff explaining "monkey stuff" became an internet meme.
- In the reboot series' premiere segment "Jurrasic Lark", Dr. Sattler holds an animation cel from this segment.
Quotes
- Dot: Did ya miss us?
Dr. Scratchansniff: I hardly even know you.
Yakko and Wakko: We're the Warner Brothers!
Dot: And the Warner Sister! - Dr. Scratchansniff: What do you want?
Yakko: We asked you first!
Dr. Scratchansniff: Well, I want—hey, no, you didn't!
Dot: Well, we meant to. - Dr. Scratchansniff: Do you know who I am?
Yakko: Dr. Otto Scratchansniff, world famous psychoanalyst to the stars?
Dr. Scratchansniff: Correct!
Yakko: I won! I won! What did I win?
Dr. Scratchansniff: Nothing.
Yakko: Say, what kinda game show is this?
Dr. Scratchansniff: This isn't a game show.
Yakko: Well, I'll say it isn't. Nobody wins anything. You'll be lucky to be on the air for one week. - Dr. Scratchansniff: Nurse! Nurse!
Hello Nurse: Yes, Dr. Scratchansniff?
Dr. Scratchansniff: Get these kids out of here!
Yakko and Wakko: HELLO, NURSE! - Dr. Scratchansniff: Ah... I know vhat you kids vant, ja! You want to talk to Mr. Puppethead! "Hello kids, I'm Mr. Puppethead! Tell me why you always make the jokes. [The Warners just look at the puppet awkwardly] Why aren't you talking with Mr. Puppethead? No no, it iz very easy; watch me, watch me. Hello, Mr. Puppethead, how are you? "I am fine, Dr. Scratchansniff. How are you?" I am fine, Mr. Puppethead. Did you have a yummy breakfast? "Oh yes, yes! Very yummy, thank you. How was your breakfast?" My breakfast was yummy as vell. Now you see? Isn't that easy?
Yakko: Uhmm... are you sure you don't want to see a p-sychiatrist?
Dr. Scratchansniff: I am a p-sychi-- I mean psychiatrist! [tearing at his hair with the puppet] I AM! I AM! I AM! I AM!
Yakko: Mr. Puppethead's hungry. - Dr. Scratchansniff: Dot... may I call you "Dot"?
Dot: Yeah. But call me "Dottie" and ya die.
Dr. Scratchansniff: "Dot" is it. I'm going to show you some pictures and I want you to tell me what they look like. [shows Dot an inkblot] What do you say to this?
Dot: I'd say you're not a very good artist.
Dr. Scratchansniff: I didn't draw that.
Dot: Well, whoever did needs to go back to school.
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, it's an inkblot.
Dot: I'll say.
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, no, no. It's not supposed to look like anything!
Dot: Then you did a very good job.
Dr. Scratchansniff: [annoyed] I didn't draw it! [calms down] Doesn't it looks like a little kitty cat or a butterfly or something?
Dot: No. [takes off the inkblot and changes it into a butterfly] That's a butterfly. - Dr. Scratchansniff: Now then, Wakko, let's you and I talk, hmm?
Wakko: Okay.
Dr. Scratchansniff: Good. What's on your mind?
Wakko: My hat.
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, no, no. Your hat is on your head. What is on your mind?
Wakko: My... skin?
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, that's on your head. What's on your mind?
Wakko: Oh, I got it! My hair!
Dr. Scratchansniff: Your hair is on your head! [tears off some of his hair] This is hair! This is hair! It is not on my mind! It is on my head!
Wakko: No, it's in your hand. - Dr. Scratchansniff: Now then, Yakko, let us do a little word association, hmm? I'll say a word, and you say any word that you think of; any word that comes to mind.
Yakko: Brain.
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, no. We haven't started.
Yakko: Begun.
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, wait.
Yakko: Yield.
Dr. Scratchansniff: No, stop!
Yakko: Cease.
Dr. Scratchansniff: SILENCE!
Yakko: Quiet.
Dr. Scratchansniff: ENOUGH!!
Yakko: Plenty.
Dr. Scratchansniff: Would - You - Please - Listen?
Yakko: Hear.
Dr. Scratchansniff: NO, YOU STUPID KID! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!
Yakko: Comprehend.
Dr. Scratchansniff: [screams in frustration and carries Yakko to the door] Get out, get out, get OUT!
Yakko: Leave, leave, leave.
Dr. Scratchansniff: [kicks him out and slams the door, huffing and puffing] THOSE KIDS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!
Yakko: [pops his head through the door] Insane. Unhinged. Demented.
The Monkey Song
Animation by Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd.
Plot
Dr. Scratchansniff, the Warners, and the Hip Hippos sing a re-written version of "The Monkey Song" about the Warners. Squit tries to play the flute throughout the song, but keeps getting beat up by Pesto.
Crew
- Written by Norman Span and Irving Burgie (both uncredited)
- Adapted by Tom Ruegger
- Directed by Gary Hartle and Rich Arons
Songs
Trivia
- The original version of the song, "Monkey," appeared on Harry Belafonte's 1961 album Jump Up Calypso. The lyrics and arrangement are very similar to the Animaniacs version (and, unlike most Animaniacs song parodies, the tune is identical)
- This cartoon marks the first appearance of many of the main characters that would be a staple part of the series for the next 98 episodes, including: Bobby, Pesto, Squit, Flavio, Marita, The Mime, Slappy, Skippy, Pinky, The Brain, Mindy and Buttons.
- Main characters that don't appear in this segment include: Rita, Runt, Chicken Boo, Minerva Mink and Katie Ka-Boom, though Rita and Runt appear in the very next sketch.
- This cartoon also features what may be considered the first instance of hidden innuendo on the show. when Hello Nurse sings, "I don't know what to say, the monkeys won't do!" Yakko sings, "For a nickel I'll give ya a clue."
- Other than the Warners, Squit, Pesto and the Hip Hippos, the other characters are doing something in the background:
- Slappy Squrrial - Gleefully pops the balloons carrying Buttons and Mindy, making them land on the Mime.
- Pinky and Brain - Stealing a mouse trap containing cheese. The trap later sets off on Brain's forehead.
- The Mime - Failing to keep a sleepy Skippy entertained before being crushed by a tree.
- Mindy and Buttons - Riding balloons.
- The face that Dr. Scratchansniff makes at the beginning resembles the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch.
- This is the first non-cold open or intro cartoon to be animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha.
Nighty-Night Toon
Animation by Freelance Animators Co., Ltd.
Plot
In a parody of Goodnight, Moon, a narrator (voiced by Jim Cummings, impersonating Pooh Bear) says nighty-night to all of the characters of the series (who are all in the water tower).
Crew
- Written by Nicholas Hollander
- Directed by Rusty Mills
Trivia
- This short was the first televised speaking appearance of Pinky, Brain, Slappy and the first appearance of Rita and Runt, though Rita doesn't speak.
- Junior Bear, Mama Bear and Papa Bear, who appeared in several Chuck Jones-directed Looney Tunes cartoons, are seen in a portrait on the wall, in reference to the picture of "three little bears sitting in chairs" from the original book.
- This short was available on the 1994 VHS of Animaniacs: Helloooo, Holidays!
- This is the first segment to be animated by Freelance Animators Co. Ltd.
Cast
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
|---|---|
| Rob Paulsen | Yakko Warner, Pinky, Dr. Scratchansniff, Porky Pig |
| Jess Harnell | Wakko Warner, Humphrey Bogart |
| Tress MacNeille | Dot Warner, Hello Nurse, Marita Hippo |
| Frank Welker | Ralph the Guard, Thaddeus Plotz, Flavio Hippo, Buttons, Runt, Ronald Reagan, Newsreader |
| Maurice LaMarche | The Brain, Squit |
| Chick Vennera | Pesto |
| Sherri Stoner | Slappy Squirrel |
| Jim Cummings | Narrator ("Nighty-Night Toon") |
Stinger
Yakko, Wakko and Dot: "Goodbye, nurse!"
Transcript
References