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''Wakko's Wish'' (also known as ''Animaniacs: Wakko's Wish'' and originally titled as ''Wakko's Wakko Wish'') is a 1999 American
animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
-
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
direct-to-video film based on the 1993–1998 animated series ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'', serving as the
series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...
until the 2020 reboot of the series. It relocates all of the ''Animaniacs'' characters to a quasi-19th century
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
world and portrays their race to find the wishing star that will grant them a
wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. Sociology Several cu ...
. The film was first released on VHS on December 21, 1999. It contains 10 original songs and features a majority of the voice cast reprising their respective roles from the TV show.


Plot

In the town of Acme Falls within the kingdom of Warnerstock, all the people (including the
mime A mime artist, or simply mime (from Greek language, Greek , , "imitator, actor"), is a person who uses ''mime'' (also called ''pantomime'' outside of Britain), the acting out of a story through body motions without the use of speech, as a the ...
) live happily together. However, upon the death of their beloved king, William the Good, Warnerstock enters a state of civil war. Taking advantage of the situation, the neighboring kingdom of Ticktockia, led by King Salazar the Pushy, takes over Warnerstock, and makes all its people poor and miserable due to overtaxing. Three siblings, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, are particularly broke, as Dot needs an operation. Wakko finds work in another town to pay for it, but Taxman Plotz takes his pay – a ha'penny – from him for "taxes". Wakko, saddened about Dot's illness and finding no other choice, wishes upon a star. A fairy falls from the star and explains that Wakko had just chosen the only wishing star in the sky. The star itself falls shortly after in the mountains and the fairy tells Wakko that whoever touches the star gets one wish. The following morning, the siblings tell the whole town about the star in their excitement, and all rush towards the glow in the mountains. King Salazar finds out about the star, orders Plotz and Ralph to stop the Warners from reaching the star alive, and orders his troops, led by the Captain of the Guard to secure it. Plotz does not stop the Warners from reaching the star at the same time as all the other townsfolk. However, the King's army has already built a military base around the star, and an ice palace to the side of it, and the townspeople are all captured and locked up so that the King may have his wish. The Warners hint that the wishing process is not as simple as the king thinks in a desperate bluff. The King captures the Warners and tortures them in outlandish ways. After being traumatized, the Warners tell the King that any wish, which he makes, may have an ironic twist and demonstrate this to his annoyance. He orders the Warners executed, but Dot uses her "cuteness" to save them. As the King is about to make his wish (for the Warners to leave him alone), the Warners show up, and he tries shooting them himself with a cannon. The cannonball explodes after landing just short of hitting the Warners, but Dot is mortally wounded and asks Yakko to tell her the story of how she was born one last time. Dot appears to die, causing the people of Acme Falls to cry in sorrow, along with some of the royal army. The Captain of the Guard becomes furious with King Salazar and gives him an angry speech calling him out for his cruel nature. As everyone turns on the King, who seemingly appears a little remorseful, Dot reveals that she had been acting and was not actually dead; the two were buying time for Wakko, who seizes his chance to head to the star, reaching it in time. He wishes for two ha'pennies, to the delight of everyone. The Warners then lead the townspeople back to town to help them fulfill their wishes. Wakko uses the second of these to buy food and "season tickets for the Lakers". The first one pays for Dot's operation, which is merely revealed to be a plastic surgery to give her a beauty mark. Wakko's first ha'penny, however, returns prosperity to the town as the butcher, the baker, and the grocer spend the money that they earned, and the people from whom they make purchases in turn do the same. The hospital finds Yakko, Wakko, and Dot's birth certificates, and reveals they are the heirs to William the Good. They boot Salazar out of their palace, and he is attacked by his own dogs. The Warners use their newfound royal authorities to grant the citizens of Acme Falls their wishes – except for the mime (which was Yakko's wish). Taking his siblings by the hand, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot spin the Wheel of Morality one last time, which specifies the moral of the story is "Just cheer up and never ever give up hope".


Voice cast

*
Jess Harnell Jess Harnell (born December 23, 1963) is an American voice actor. His roles include Wakko Warner in ''Animaniacs'', Captain Hero in '' Drawn Together'', Jerry in the first two seasons of '' Totally Spies!'', Ironhide in the first three ''Tr ...
as Wakko Warner *
Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...
as: ** Dot Warner ** Marita Hippo ** Hello Nurse ** Mindy's mother *
Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...
as: ** Yakko Warner ** Pinky ** Dr. Otto Scratchansniff * Sherri Stoner as Slappy Squirrel * Nathan Ruegger as
Skippy Squirrel This is a list of characters in the 1993 animated series ''Animaniacs'' and its Animaniacs (2020 TV series), 2020 revival. The Warner Siblings (Animaniacs) The Warner Siblings (also known as "the Animaniacs" by fans and the media) are small, ...
*
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', The Brain on ''Animaniacs'' and its spi ...
as: ** The Brain ** Squit ** Wakko's burps *
Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...
as: ** Ralph the Guard ** Thaddeus Plotz as Baron Von Blotz ** Runt ** Buttons ** Chicken Boo ** Flavio Hippo *
Nancy Cartwright Nancy Jean Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress, best known as the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on ''The Simpsons'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award f ...
as Mindy *
Chick Vennera Francis Vincent Vennera (March 27, 1947 – July 7, 2021) was an American actor, known for his role as Joe Mondragon for Robert Redford's ''The Milagro Beanfield War'' (1988), among other movies. Vennera voiced Pesto the pigeon for the animated ...
as Pesto * John Mariano as Bobby * Bernadette Peters as Rita *
Paxton Whitehead Francis Edward Paxton Whitehead (17 October 1937 – 16 June 2023) was an English actor and theatre director. He was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance as Pellinore in the 1980 revival of '' Camelot''. Whiteh ...
as King Salazar the Pushy *
Ben Stein Benjamin Jeremy Stein (born November 25, 1944) is an American writer, lawyer, actor, comedian, and commentator on political and economic issues. He began his career as a speechwriter for U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before enter ...
as Desire Fulfillment Facilitator (a.k.a. "Pip") *
Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...
as: ** Baloney ** The Captain of the Guards *
Paul Rugg Paul Kevin Rugg is an American screenwriter, producer, voice actor, and puppeteer. He is best known for his starring roles in shows like ''Freakazoid!'', ''Pig Goat Banana Cricket'', and ''Earth to Ned''. Biography Rugg has worked extensively ...
as Mr. Director * Julie Brown as Minerva Mink * Tom Bodett as The Narrator * Steven Bernstein as himself


Production and release

Although ''Wakko's Wish'' had been rated highly amongst children and adults in test screenings, Warner Bros. decided to release it
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
rather than spending money on marketing a
wide release In the motion picture industry, a wide release (short for nationwide release) is a film playing at the same time at cinemas in most markets across a country. This is in contrast to the formerly common practice of a roadshow theatrical release in ...
. ''Wakko's Wish'' was originally slated for its VHS release in November 1998, but was pushed forward to December 21, 1999, and re-released on January 25, 2000, as part of the ''Warner Bros. Century 2000 Collection''. It is the first ''Animaniacs'' production to use digital ink and paint, and the first direct-to-video film by Warner Bros. Animation to do so. On August 25, 2008, ''Wakko's Wish'' was released for rental or purchase on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
. ''Wakko's Wish'' has also aired on cable networks such as
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
,
Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its sister premium network, HBO (Home Box ...
,
Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...
and more recently on The Hub (now
Discovery Family Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...
). It is also available to download from the
PlayStation Store PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital distribution service for users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both ...
. The film was finally released on DVD on October 7, 2014, nearly 15 years after its initial release and just after the deaths of Liz Holzman and Rusty Mills (two of the film's main directors) on August 11, 2014, and December 7, 2012, respectively. It was also Chick Vennera's final performance as Pesto before his retirement from acting in 2011 and death in 2021.


Songs

''Wakko's Wish'' features 11 original songs, composed by Julie Bernstein and Randy Rogel, with lyrics written by
Tom Ruegger 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 '' H ...
and Rogel. The score is composed by ''
Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...
'' composers
Richard Stone Sir John Richard Nicholas Stone (30 August 1913 – 6 December 1991) was an eminent British economist. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College and King's College at the University of Cambridge. In 1984, he was awarded the Nobel Memori ...
, Steve and Julie Bernstein,
Gordon Goodwin Gordon L. Goodwin (born December 30, 1954) is an American pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is the leader of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He has won three Daytime Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and 25 Grammy nomina ...
, and Tim Kelly. The compositions Stone wrote for the film were some of the last he wrote for Warner Bros. Animation prior to his death on March 9, 2001. The cast of the film also doubles as a chorus for many of the musical numbers.


Reception

Test screenings of ''Wakko's Wish'' on children and parents revealed very positive reactions to the film. In February 1999, ToonZone reported that "97% of kids and parents gave it a review of 'highly positive'", and that "98% of children screened gave the film a rating of good, very good, or excellent".


Critical reception

Wakko's Wish received generally positive reviews. Many critics praised the animation, character appearances, and music. Many comments of the film focused on the introduction of a serious tone to a series known for its off-the wall humor. Brett Rogers of AOL Hometown gave the film a positive review, saying that " ere’s a lot about this movie that will please die-hard Animaniacs fans," noting the appearances of almost all of the main characters and antagonists of the original series. Rogers pointed that the pathos not usually seen in the series may leave some ''Animaniacs'' fans distant from the film, but that the serious tone is "backed up with superb voice acting," by Paulsen and Harnell. Other reviews were not so positive. MaryAnn Johanson of FlickFilosopher wrote that " posing the kind of story and characters necessary to fill a 90-minute movie upon the ''Animaniacs'' constrains their lunacy," and that doing so left the characters boring, so much that "older kids and adult fans of the Warners et al may be sorely disappointed." Michael Stewart of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' found that the lack of the typical ''Animaniacs'' humor was positive, saying that the film "avoids the forced wackiness that plagues the television series," while "deliver ngsome laughs for both kids and adults." However, he noted a similar criticism to Johanson, saying that placing the entire ''Animaniacs'' cast into the film felt uncomfortable, and that the " rm sentiments" of the film aren't the "specialty" of ''Animaniacs''. He rated the film a "C+" overall. Michael Dequina of TheMovieReport.com gave one of the most positive reviews of the film. Praising the film's "smart, satiric in-jokes for the adults and broader slapstick for the young ones," Dequina said that the film was "one glorious example" of a family film that would appeal to the whole family, and rated the film with three and a half out of four stars.


Accolades

In 2000, ''Wakko's Wish'' was nominated for four Annie Awards: One for "Outstanding Achievement in An Animated Home Video Production", one for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature Production" (
Richard Stone Sir John Richard Nicholas Stone (30 August 1913 – 6 December 1991) was an eminent British economist. He was educated at Gonville and Caius College and King's College at the University of Cambridge. In 1984, he was awarded the Nobel Memori ...
, Steven Bernstein, Julie Bernstein,
Gordon Goodwin Gordon L. Goodwin (born December 30, 1954) is an American pianist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He is the leader of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. He has won three Daytime Emmy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and 25 Grammy nomina ...
& Timothy Kelly), one for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production" (
Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...
), and one for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production" (
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor. Across a career spanning more than four decades he has voiced Chief Quimby on Inspector Gadget, Egon Spengler on ''The Real Ghostbusters'', The Brain on ''Animaniacs'' and its spi ...
). Since its release, ''Wakko's Wish'' has been rated as one of the "Top 60 Animated Features Never Theatrically Released in the United States" by the Animated Movie Guide.


References


External links

* * {{Warner Bros. animation and comics 1999 films 1999 American animated direct-to-video films 1999 animated films 1999 children's films 1999 comedy films 1999 direct-to-video films 1990s adventure films 1990s American animated films 1990s children's animated films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s children's fantasy films 1990s fantasy comedy films 1990s musical comedy films Animated Christmas films Amblin Entertainment animated films American adventure comedy films American children's animated adventure films American children's animated comedy films American children's animated fantasy films American children's animated musical films American fantasy films American fantasy adventure films American fantasy comedy films American direct-to-video films American musical comedy films Animaniacs Animated films about mammals Animated films about orphans Animated films about siblings Animated films based on animated series Animated films about wish fulfillment Films scored by Richard Stone (composer) Films set in Europe Animated films set in Europe Warner Bros. Animation films Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated films 1990s English-language films Looney Tunes films Animated films based on animated television series Mustelidae in popular culture English-language musical comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films English-language adventure films 1999 musical films Animated films about talking animals