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.
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. 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. 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 ==