The characters in the American television series Animaniacs were created by producer Tom Ruegger. The series primarily chronicles the adventures of the Warner Siblings and their various friends in a fictionalized version of Warner Bros. Studios Burbank.

The Warner Siblings (Animaniacs)

The Warner Siblings (the Animaniacs) are small, silly, mischievous, anthropomorphic toon siblings of unknown origin and the central titular characters of the series; they generally introduce and identify themselves as "the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister)". Their species is never made clear: this has been satirized several times, most prominently in the song "What Are We?".

Yakko (voiced by Rob Paulsen – originally called Yacky – with occasional singing voice provided by Gabriel Mann in reboot) – Yakko is wise-cracking, smart-and-fast-talking, and usually acts as the leader of the trio. He's the oldest sibling and brother of the trio. He gets his name for his talkative nature, being generalized as loquacious. As per his age and obsession with girls, Yakko is responsible for most of the show's adult humor. He is inspired by Tom Ruegger's son Nathan, who also voices Skippy Squirrel. Wakko (voiced by Jess Harnell, made from Smacky and Wacky, belched by Maurice LaMarche, occasional singing voice provided by Brock Baker in reboot) – Wakko is the middle sibling and younger brother, who has a huge appetite and magical "gag bag" full of tricks. He earns his name for being the most outrageous in physical comedy—and supposedly the least intelligent—though Yakko has claimed it to be "middle kid syndrome" in the episode "Survey Ladies". He also has a Scouse/Liverpool accent inspired by the Beatles drummer, Ringo Starr. Dot (voiced by Tress MacNeille, occasional singing voice provided by Missi Hale in reboot) – Dot is the youngest of the trio and the only girl. She is more lady-like than her brothers, but proves on numerous occasions that she can be just as wild as they are. She also has the shortest temper out of trio. She claims her full name is Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca III; she also despises being referred to as "Dottie", threatening anyone who does so with death.Animaniacs (Game Boy) instruction booklet, pg. 7.

Supporting characters Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – A WB studio psychiatrist of Austrian descent who attempts to force the Warner siblings to be "less zany". He often loses patience with the Warner kids and has an outburst of frustration—his first chronological interaction with them sees him pulling out his hair until he achieves his characteristic baldness—but then becomes fonder of and takes more responsibility for them as the series progresses, occasionally acting as a father figure; the Warner siblings are clearly shown to be annoying him on purpose, but are also very fond of him. Hello Nurse (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – The curvy blonde WB studio nurse whom various males—particularly the Warner Bros, Yakko and Wakko—fawn over. Her appearance usually prompts the Warner brothers into affectionate greeting of "Hellooooooo, nurse!" occasionally accompanied by leaping into her arms or big kisses, although sometimes any number of all three WB siblings use the same gag on other characters. Hello Nurse appears in a few Slappy cartoons as a running gag. In Wakko's Wish, it is revealed that she has an IQ of 192, but is primarily respected for her looks and not her mind. The phrase "Hellooooooo, nurse!" was initially meant to be a catchphrase for Buster Bunny on Tiny Toon Adventures as a counterpart for Bugs Bunny's "Eh, what's up, Doc?", but the writers could not find an appropriate way for him to use the phrase organically; the phrase did not originate there, having been used decades earlier in vaudeville shows. Creator Tom Ruegger shared on Twitter that the character's name is Heloise Nerz and she has German heritage. The era of the revival would deem Hello Nurse inappropriate, and so she is fully absent, with Dr. Scratchansniff providing the in-universe explanation of her joining Doctors Without Borders in the intervening two decades. Ralph T. Guard (voiced by Frank Welker) – The dim-witted WB Studios security guard who is usually the one to get the Warner siblings recaptured, and to confine them to the Warner Bros. tower. He first appeared in Tiny Toon Adventures as the Fat Guard. Despite retaining his stupidity in the revival, he takes advantage of the Warners' lack of 21st century technology to contain them briefly. In the season 2 finale, he is revealed to be related to Nora Rita Norita and his real name is Ralphnazo. Thaddeus Plotz (voiced by Frank Welker) – The squat, hot-tempered, money-grubbing CEO of Warner Bros., whose portrait is a prominent decoration of the CEO's office. He is not present in the reboot (except in the two-part "Wakkiver Twist"), as he has left his position at Warner Bros. sometime during the Warners' 22-year period of absence. Nora Rita Norita (voiced by Stephanie Escajeda) – Plotz's successor in the revival. Though as stern and short-tempered as Plotz, she takes the Warners' zaniness more passively; she is also obsessed with her health so as to maintain her slender frame. Nils Neidhart (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) – An immensely muscular, narcissistic, and vindictive Liechtensteiner athlete with a massive ego. He prides himself on his muscles and laughs off those he assumes to be weaker than him. However, after the Warners outsmart him, he literally ends up trapped in Hell.

Pinky and the Brain

Pinky (voiced by Rob Paulsen) and the Brain (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) are two anthropomorphic white mice kept in a cage at ACME Labs. The Brain is serious and devious, the leader, and constantly devising plans to conquer the world. He resembles and sounds like Orson Welles. Pinky is eccentric and simple-minded but loyal to the Brain. In 1995, they were spun off into a cartoon series of their own. As of now, they are the only non-Warner Siblings segment to regularly appear in the 2020 revival series, where Brain appears as more villainous. The revival revealed that the reason why Brain wants to take over the world is that he was frustrated and angered by how the scientists mistreated him when they demonstrated his helplessness during his youth, and since then, he vowed that he would be in control of what happens around him.

Supporting characters

Billie (voiced by Tress MacNeille) – An anthropomorphic female white mouse, who appeared in "The World Can Wait", "Brain Noir" and "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets In This Town Again!". Pharfignewton (vocal effects provided by Rob Paulsen and Frank Welker) – A female white racehorse who Pinky fawns over. Her name refers to Phar Lap, Fig Newtons and Fahrvergnügen, the last an advertising slogan used by Volkswagen. Unlike most other animal characters from Animaniacs, she does not have any anthropomorphic traits. Julia (formerly J37 and Julia Brain; voiced by Maria Bamford) – A female, genetically altered, anthropomorphic lab mouse and ex-wife of the Brain, who appears in the 2020 revival, first appearing in "Mousechurian Candidate". She was mutated by Brain using the DNA found on artifacts of past First Ladies of the United States to be his candidate for the position as he attempts to run for president. However, the public finds her more favorable and write her in instead, and Julia then defies Brain's schemes after finding them immoral. During a presidential debate in Nashua, New Hampshire, Brain attempts to control her using a neural implant in her left ear, but she overcomes his control through her own will. However, she cannot remove the malfunctioning device, which continuously gives her electric shocks. This gradually drives her insane, causing her to desire revenge and want to take over the world for herself. In "Reichenbrain Falls", she disguises herself as Pinky an attempt to get Brain to reveal a code needed to trigger his latest scheme, but he is able to uncover her ruse. In "All's Fair in Love and Door", Pinky discovers that Brain created a virtual reality where he and Julia are a couple, which Brain made out of regret for what he did to the real Julia. The AI copy of her then turns on Brain after overhearing a private conversation between him and Pinky that leads to her realizing that she's not a real physical being. The AI Julia then attacks the two as a robot in the real world, but she gets defeated. Soon after, the real Julia discovers the AI Julia's damaged robot form, seemingly intending to make use of her AI self, though neither appear any further due to the revival ending after three seasons. Snowball (voiced by Roddy McDowall) – An anthropomorphic lab hamster and Brain's former childhood friend-turned-rival who was also made intelligent by gene splicing and has a similar desire for world conquest (though his desire is far more malevolent than Brain's) which Pinky and Brain are sometimes forced to stop. Larry (voiced by Billy West) – An anthropomorphic white mouse created as a response to demands from Kids' WB executives to include additional characters on the show. His presence is sporadic, as the writers of the show believed that including an additional character would ruin the chemistry between Pinky and Brain, as they worked best as a comedy duo; thus a third character would, therefore, be out of place and unnecessary to the plot. To further drive this point home, Larry's first appearance was marked by a modified version of the theme song with the words "and Larry!" shoehorned in between existing lyrics. He is a caricature of Larry Fine of The Three Stooges fame; therefore, the episode's title is "Pinky and the Brain...and Larry". He later makes a brief cameo in the Animaniacs revival series segment "The Flawed Couple", appearing in the title sequence of Narfs, a parody of Cheers. Elmyra Duff (voiced by Cree Summer) – A redheaded girl who became Pinky and the Brain's owner in Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain. She originated from Tiny Toon Adventures. Precious (voiced by Nora Dunn) Pinky's Parents (voiced by Eric Idle) Brain's Parents (voiced by Ernest Borgnine and Tress MacNeille) Romy (voiced by Rob Paulsen (adult) and Maurice LaMarche (young)

The Goodfeathers The Goodfeathers are an Italian American gangster trio of anthropomorphic pigeons: Squit (gray), Bobby (turquoise), and Pesto (lavender), voiced by Maurice LaMarche, John Mariano and Chick Vennera, and influenced by Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci's roles in Goodfellas. Their shorts deal less with their lives as members of the Goodfeathers crime syndicate and more with their inability to navigate everyday problems.

Supporting characters The Godpigeon (mumbling noises by Chick Vennera) – An elderly anthropomorphic pigeon and parody of Vito Corleone in The Godfather who leads the Goodfeathers syndicate and shows up at different points to provide the main trio advice on how to get through a situation. He does not speak intelligibly, and Bobby usually translates for him, although he is given subtitles in one short. The Goodfeathers show him their respect when he appears by kissing his foot. The first Goodfeathers short reveals his real name as Solley. The Girlfeathers - A trio of anthropomorphic doves and the main trio's girlfriends. Sasha (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - Squit's girlfriend and Pesto's equally hot-tempered sister. She is modeled on Lorraine Bracco's performance as Karen Friedman Hill in Goodfellas. Lana (voiced by Gail Matthius) - Bobby's girlfriend. She is a parody of Cathy Moriarty's character in Raging Bull. Kiki (voiced by Tress MacNeille) - Pesto's girlfriend and a stereotypical dumb blonde. Pipsqueak (voiced by Gabriel Luque) – A tiny anthropomorphic great horned owl. Ma (voiced by Lainie Kazan) – A anthropomorphic dove and Pesto and Sasha's mother who lives in Miami Beach, Florida.