25 years ago, in 1993, a new animated series premiered on the WB network called "Animaniacs". Animation Geek that I was, I was an insta-fan (so was my Sister, my Mom, our friends, and my young cousins!)! We watched all of the episodes over and over, and had many of the episodes, songs, lines memorized. It was so witty, so smart, and in true Warner Bros./Looney Toons fashion, was just as much for adults as it was for kids. I was also just starting in art school, studying fine art as well as animation.
Those who knew me at the time may remember that Dot became my alter-ego. She was, after all, the "Cute One". :)
I also used the song "Yakko's World" as the try-out flag routine song when I taught at James Logan Color Guard the next year. I'm pretty sure over 100 kids auditioned to that song. I like to think that we all learned a little bit about geography from that routine. :)
In late 1993 or 1994, my Mom, our friend, Mykail, and I went to the Warner Bros Store in San Francisco to see the appearance of the actors who provided the voices for the three main characters (and so many more): Yakko, Wakko and Dot. (The Warner Brothers, and the Warner Sister, in case you didn't know)
We waited in a long line and briefly met Rob Paulsen (Yakko), Jess Harnel (Yakko) and Tess MacNeille (Dot). Not to sound like a super-fan, but it was quite a thrill. If memory serves, all three of them talked a bit to the audience, took Q & A, and then signed autographs and signed memorabilia for fans.
I brought my Original Production Cel that I had bought earlier that year. It's one of my prized possessions in my animation art collection. It's an original cel of one of the first episodes of "Animaniacs" called "De-Zanitized" and it shows a classic scene of Yakko and Wakko and Dot through the legs of "Hello Nurse". The three actors graciously signed the Certificate of Authenticity on the back of my Cel's Frame.
Anyhow, last night, my Sister and her husband, Graham, got us tickets to see "Animaniacs in Concert" at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. (Thanks, Sis!) Rob Paulsen (Yakko, Pinky, Dr Scratch and Sniff) performed with Randy Rogel, who was the composer of all of the amazing and memorable songs from the series.
The show was fantastic, and really everything that you would hope for from a performance from these two. Randy played the piano and sang the songs with Rob, and they shared stories from the series, and about the songs. It was fantastic. The venue was small and intimate. I'd guess there were fewer than 80 people in the audience.
After the show, my Mom and I decided at the last minute to wait in line to talk to Rob and Randy. I hadn't thought to bring anything for them to autograph, but I thought it would be fun to talk with them for a quick minute, and to take photos with them, especially because we had taken a photo with Rob 25 years ago. I didn't even think to bring the photo with me at the time, but my Mom managed to find it amongst all of their photos at home today.
Rob and Randy were both incredibly gracious and present with us when they talked to my Mom and me. We were near the end of the line, so I'm sure they were very tired from the performance and having talked with so many people, but I'm so grateful that they seemed genuinely happy to chat.
My Mom just sent me the photo that she found from 25 years ago of us with the three voice actors. It's fun to compare it with the photos from last night. Hard to believe that it has been 25 years since we took the first photo!
