Sooooooo, the reboot's out! And I absolutely love it. Already can't wait for season 2! :)
But anyways, I finally have a new story! And I admit it; after reading IcyAngels452's oneshot on the Warners' origin, I couldn't resist. Very big inspiration here (and by extension CartoonGeek88's "Humble Beginnings"). Hope y'all enjoy my take on it!
June 27, 1992
White.
It was everywhere. To his left, to his right, all there was was white.
He could compliment the consistency, but it was pretty bland, if you asked him. But what else could he do?
Jump.
What?
Jump.
Jump?
A simple command.. but compelling.
Jump.
Jump.
Live...
Now the urge was overwhelming.
Jump!
Jump!
Live!
Be free!
With that, he bounced into the world with not a lot of grace, stumbling and almost plopping his behind on the floor. Gaining newfound balance, he steadied himself and his eyes turned to the new world around him.
Where am I?
From the looks of it, some kind of animation studio. He didn't know how he knew, but it seemed natural to him.
Looking down, he saw his arms were covered in black fur and his hands were adorned with white gloves. He was also dressed in rather baggy brown slacks and had white paws for feet.
He felt something behind him and turned around to see a long, black tail that poked out of his slacks. He gave it a testing flick before he wagged it, a smile stretching across his face. Talk about an upgrade; first he was merely a piece of a never-ending world of white and now he was a living being.
Now that he was alive, he had a ton of questions. What awaited him in this new life? Who else would he meet? What would he do? But wait. What was he? What else did he look like? Luckily, there was a mirror nearby to answer that.
..Well, one of those questions was answered. In the mirror, he saw that he was a creature. What creature he was, though, he had no idea. He had white fur adorning his "mask" of a face and black, beady eyes. Judging by the long ears and red nose, he would guess a dog, but his paws kind of looked like a rabbit's. But not quite…
Either way, what he did know was that he was a toon. Young, he felt, too. A teenager, specifically.
He put a hand to his face. The fine texture of his fur, the soft cotton of his gloves, the twitch of his tail… He smiled again. It just felt good to actually exist.
But his smile dropped somewhat. Despite that, he still felt incomplete. Although he was a newly created toon, a part of him was missing. But what was it...?
"...eah, tell Randy I'll meet him up later."
His long ears stood up at the faint voice, breaking him out of his musings. He could hear it increasing in volume as it sounded closer to the door.
"I have to check if they're ready yet."
And out from the door was a man—a human, he recognized. He looked young, around late 30s-ish, he would say. Brown hair in a business casual-like suit. He had a cell phone to his ear, and he had a surprised expression that was shared with the toon's.
"Evidently, one of them is," he spoke. "I'll talk to you later." He hung up the phone before flashing a welcoming smile at the toon. "Hey, there. Enjoying life?" The Warner beamed back and nodded. "So, do you know who you are?"
The toon nodded again. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He tried to exercise his vocal chords again, but to no avail. He was completely mute. He frowned deeply, but, acting on instinct, he reached behind his back, dipping into an invisible, endless vortex of space. With ease, he pulled out a sign.
"My name is Yakko Warner." It read.
The man smiled, nodding in approval. "Nice to see that your hammerspace is working properly. But let me introduce myself. I'm Tom Ruegger, your creator."
The toon—now Yakko—visibly perked up in surprise, to which Tom lightly laughed at. "I didn't draw you, though. I'll leave that to the animators." He pointed behind the Warner. "But look right there."
Yakko followed his finger, seeing the table he was at when he came to life. Walking towards it, he spotted a piece of paper with pictures of him. Observing the multiple poses of him, he concluded that it was the model sheet he popped out of.
In the corner of his eye, he saw another sheet sticking out from underneath it. Curiously, he took it out and saw a toon that looked very similar to him in appearance. However, the face was yellow instead of white, the eyes were blue instead of black, there was a lone yellow spot on the stomach, and the attire consisted of only a blue bowtie. The excitable grin on the toon's face made the Warner cringe.
Tom chuckled, noticing his expression. "Oh, yeah, that was your old design." That made Yakko frown deeper in disgust. "Don't like it, huh?" The toon shook his head before pointing a finger in his mouth in a mock hacking fashion.
"Anyway, let me tell you why you're here," he started. "You are a throwback to old Warner Brothers cartoons. That's why you have access to your hammerspace already. You have other toon abilities, but we'll talk about those later. But the point is, you'll be part of another cartoon. And you won't be alone. You'll be with a whole cast of other characters, but best of all, you'll be with your siblings."
Yakko's ears pricked up again, the last word acting as a trigger. Siblings. That's why he felt so empty. He was missing his siblings! Excitedly, he pulled out another sign. "Where are my siblings?"
Tom smiled. "Right over here," he said, pointing to Yakko's right.
Following his finger again, Yakko walked over to see another animator's table. On it laid a different model sheet. Upon closer inspection, he could see two other toons, both looking similar to him. One was male, judging from the backwards cap, and the other was female, judging from the skirt.
He picked up the paper, carefully tracing the outline of the boy and girl. Another grin appeared, this time warm and loving.
So these are my sibs…
He gave the human a questioning look, to which he nodded. "You can wait right here until they pop out. I have to check in with the other producers anyway." With that, he left the room.
15 minutes later
Yakko had conjured up a stool for him to sit on and placed it a few feet away from the drawing board, restlessly waiting for his siblings to be "born". He repeatedly swung his legs and his tail couldn't help but swish with anticipation. He was going to be a big brother! He wasn't sure how, but he felt that responsibility was just made for him.
While he was waiting, his fingers were awfully twitchy as well. He took off one of his gloves and flexed his fingers, surprised to see black claws. He splayed them proudly; he could already think of the many tricks he could pull off with them.
He also found himself with new memories, but they slightly confused him. He remembered two older Warners (for lack of a better term for his species) which he assumed were his parents, but as far as he knew, he was just "born" from a sheet.
Deciding not to worry about it, he mentally shrugged. Maybe more will come to me when my sibs come out.
As if right on cue, the paper on the table began to shine a bright light, immediately getting the attention of the Warner. Soon afterward, the male toon from the sheet popped into the world, actually planting his bottom onto the wooden floor. Baby blue colored his turtleneck and red colored his hat.
After shaking himself like a dog, the younger boy looked up, brightening at the sight of the elder, who had gotten off his stool. He shakily stood up and, without hesitation, ran to Yakko and enveloped him in a hug, Yakko eagerly returning the gesture.
So good to see ya, Wakko.
His name along with the memories associated with him had just come to Yakko as if he always knew it. He wasn't sure if he had some form of telepathy, but Wakko seemed to recognize his message as he began nuzzling into his chest. When they broke away, Wakko looked up to him, beaming with his tongue sticking out. In the intense stare that they shared, Yakko could sense a deep devotion in his brother's inky eyes, and he felt the same way.
The elder signed, "Well, well, little brother, I'd say we got off on the right foot." The younger brother happily bobbed his head up and down in response. Smirking, Yakko flipped the sign around. "Are you gonna say somethin' or am I just talking to myself here?"
Wakko shrugged with an indifferent expression on his features. It seemed that he was not able to speak either. "Thought so," his brother sighed. Another turn-around. "Wonder when in the world we're gonna be able to talk. Do you have any idea how much stuff I gotta say?"
The youngest sibling let out a silent chuckle. He summoned a small sign of his own. "I'm hungry."
Yakko smirked. "Of course. Need somethin' to eat?" He reached his other hand near his hammerspace.
The younger Warner held out a hand, shaking his head politely. Using that same hand, he went behind his back and brought out a large-sized pizza box. He promptly shoved the entire food into his mouth, box included.
The elder shook his head amusedly. That's my little garbage disposal.
In the corner of their eyes, another flash of light appeared and the brothers quickly redirected their attention to the table. In no matter of time, the girl hopped from the model sheet and landed on the floor with a flourish before unceremoniously plopping on the floor like her brothers. Wakko instinctively arrived at her side to help her up.
Their sister's skirt was colored pink and her ears were tied up in a pretty little yellow flower. Indeed, she was the very definition of cute.
After she steadied herself, she looked into Wakko's eyes and smiled. Similar to the younger brother, she spared no time in gripping her immediate older sibling in an embrace. The now middle Warner was physically taken aback but returned it.
She broke away from her hug and looked to Yakko expectantly. Taking her unspoken offer, he immediately grabbed his siblings into a big hug.
Good to see you too, Dot.
The feeling of unconditional love within Yakko was strong when Wakko popped out of the page, but now that Dot was here, it was at an all-time high. All of their hearts swelled with pride and delight.
Every memory they had in their past came to them. The other two Warners that Yakko had remembered earlier were definitely their parents. They remembered their love, their security.. and their deaths.
Although the loss of their parents was a heavy toll on them, they had chosen to move on. After all, the three of them were together now. Their trio was now complete.
Soon afterward, they heard the creak of a door opening, looking up from their embrace to see Tom back inside the room. Upon seeing the younger Warners, he grinned at Yakko. "I see you've met Wakko and Dot?"
The eldest nodded. He looked to his siblings who had been peering at the human curiously. When they turned to him, he knew what they were asking and pulled out a sign that read, "Sibs, this is Tom Ruegger. He's the one responsible for creating our happy little family." Wakko and Dot turned back to Tom with intrigue.
"Thank you. Now I don't have to repeat myself. But now that all three of you are here, I can continue. Yakko, when I mentioned that you were to be part of a cartoon, I should've elaborated more. You three were created to be the stars of my next show." He pointed to a big stand-up prop. It was a shield not unlike that of the Warner Bros. studio logo with a strip across it that read "Animaniacs". All three of them were placed behind parts of the shield: Yakko in the top left, Wakko in the top right, and Dot on the bottom. Their eyes sparkled in great interest, especially the younger siblings; they hadn't had a chance to see what they actually looked like.
"I know you're itching to ask some questions, but are unable to right now. Luckily, we have your voices ready." He turned to the door, beckoning them. "Come on."
Eagerly, the Warners obliged.
(Mid Page Break)
They were brought to a medical laboratory with multiple patient chairs and other hospital equipment. Upon seeing the human nurses, both Warner brothers wagged their tails before zooming off to roughly embrace them, Yakko on one and Wakko on another. They planted a big kiss onto their respective woman and mouthed, "Hellooooo, nurse!"
Irritated, their sister hid her face in her hand, using the other to flick out a quick sign. "Boys. Go fig."
After he and his brother hopped off of the two women, Yakko pulled out another sign. "Sooo, Tom, how are these lovely nurses gonna give us our voices?" He flipped it. "As cute as they are, I don't think I want to sound like a girl."
"Oh, none of your voices will be provided by any of them," he clarified. He then walked over to the counter. "Your voices are right here."
On it, there were three small bottles, each having a sticker with the name of their respective Warner. However, inside the bottles were blue-green sparkly-looking.. things that also seemed to glow.
The siblings tilted their heads in confusion. Dot signed, "That's what a voice looks like?"
"We harness the literal essence of what a voice actor decides to do with a toon's voice in a big contraption." He put a hand to his head sheepishly. "Yeah, it's a little weird. The whole process has evolved over decades, but living toons are still a relatively new thing."
"Are we gonna drink it?" Yakko "said".
"No.. it's a bit more painful than that."
The siblings glanced back to the bottles where they saw one of the nurses handling a syringe. They winced.
"Yeah… But it won't take long."
Soon, the Warners were put into the chairs, each being attended to by a nurse, and their creator standing on the other side of the room to oversee them. They watched as they hooked each bottle to a needle and drew in the essence into the instrument. When Yakko saw his nurse approach him, he actually willed himself to not flirt with her; he surprised himself with his own self-restraint.
She rubbed his arm with a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol, the liquid momentarily making his fur bristle from the coldness. She then carefully held the voice bottle and the needle before sticking the tool in the spot that she rubbed. He cringed upon feeling the sharp object in his skin. In the midst of it, he saw his siblings go through the same emotions.
After all of the essence was injected into the toon, the nurse took the syringe out and wiped the tiny bits of blood from the wound before wrapping it in a bandage. She gave a small kiss on the bandage before smiling kindly at the toon boy, to which he eagerly grinned back. His self-restraint was worth it, he supposed.
He stood up from the chair and slowly flexed his arm. He tenderly touched the bandage and softly hissed. "That needle almost hurt just as bad as Wakko's claws…"
Immediately, he gasped, putting his hands to his mouth. He just spoke! But he needed to test it. He hummed a tune to himself before he started singing, "I am the very model of a cartoon individual, my animation's comical, unusual and whimsical…" He grinned, satisfied. "Hm. Nice fit." If he caught Tom's absolutely baffled expression at that, he might have continued the song.
Then he heard a female voice annoyedly groan. "Can you shut up?—No one wants to hear you sing."
His ears pricked up in surprise. He snapped his head to his left to see his siblings both out of their chairs. Wakko was gawking at their sister, shocked, who had also brought her hands up to her mouth. Instead of gawking as well, he felt the urge to immediately fire back, "And you know you're lyin' to yourself, sis. No need to be jealous."
Dot glared at him and crossed her arms, huffing, before her mind went back to her previous revelation. She could talk too! She also hummed to herself a few times, testing out her vocal chords. She then took a deep breath. "Brother dear, if you wish to beg for mercy, you better bow before your Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fanna Bo Besca the Third," she said with ease and a curtsy. A satisfied smile spread on her face as well. "I like this voice."
Yakko joined his siblings and smirked at Dot. "It suits a cute little girl like yourself, sister sib."
She "hmph"ed and held her head high. "And you know it."
He turned to his brother. "How do you feel, Wakko?"
The middle child only gave them a thumbs up. The lack of a verbal response made his siblings frown concernedly. "Are you still mute?" the sister asked.
His next response was a shake of his head. "Nah, I jus' don' have much to say."
Although they were relieved, his siblings raised their brows at the very noticeable Scouse accent. Dot turned to their creator and spoke up, "Uh, why is he British and Yakko and I aren't?"
Tom shrugged. "His actor thought it would be funny."
Again, the Warners tilted their heads to the side. Wakko shrugged before smiling with his tongue sticking out. "Well, I like it. I think it's faboo."
Although Yakko was happy for his little brother, he couldn't help but feel a little envious at the fact that he had a deeper voice than him.
"Speaking of which.. we should go meet them."
(Mid Page Break)
Yakko groaned. "Are we there yet?" he whined, purposefully trudging along.
His sister followed suit. "We've been walking for yearrrrrs..."
Their creator only rolled his eyes amusedly. "Luckily for all of us, we are."
At that, the Warners finally decided to end their little game and look around their new surroundings. From what they saw, it looked like an unfinished set.
As they walked further in, they spotted three other humans chatting with each other in director's chairs, two male and one female. The first male that caught their sights was remarkably young and had long, curly hair that reached past his shoulders. The other male's, on the contrary, was much shorter and had more prominent facial hair. The lone woman looked around the same age range as the second man, if not older. As Tom and the Warners came in, they redirected their conversation to the newcomers.
"Hi, Tom," the second man greeted with a hand in the air. "So they're here, huh?"
The showrunner nodded. "As you can see." He turned to the kids. "Warners, these are the actors responsible for your voices. Yakko, Rob Paulsen," he gestured to the older-looking man, "Wakko, Jess Harnell," he gestured to the other, "and Dot, Tress MacNeille."
The siblings stood in front of their respective actor, studying them. As they did, they definitely sensed some form of connection within them.
Rob noticed his toon's curious demeanor and smirked playfully. "Like whatcha see?"
Yakko quirked an eyebrow at the man, already feeling up for some snark. "My voice came outta your mouth?"
"That's right," he sing-songed. "so you better use it well, sonny."
"'Sonny'?" the Warner questioned, frowning slightly. "Who are you to tell me what to do, grandpa?"
"Well, I am the person responsible for you bein' able to yak it up, so that might be something."
His siblings chorused a teasing "ooooooh", smirking at their brother's misfortune. He gave a conceding sigh, crossing his arms. "Fine, ya got me there."
Despite that, the human gave a lighthearted smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll come up with something better."
"Yeah, yeah.." His faux defeated expression slightly shifted into that of mischievousness. "But you're gonna be my test dummy."
"Fine with me."
Yakko smirked in response. Despite being outsmarted, he found himself liking the man. He hoped to have someone other than his sibs that could keep up with his wit.
Meanwhile, Jess was awkward around his Warner. He was a novice voice actor and this was his first time not only being involved with a big-scale production, but also interacting with a toon that had his voice.
A rather uncomfortable staring contest (at least for Jess) occurred between the two before Wakko suddenly grasped him in a hug, nuzzling him. Taken aback, the younger man smiled bashfully and glanced at his fellow actors, who looked at him knowingly. "Affectionate little guy, isn't he?"
The middle Warner unlatched his face from the man's chest to look up at him, smiling. "I like your hair. You should grow it out some more."
Even though it wasn't his natural speaking voice, he did find it a bit weird to talk to himself, so to speak. "Thanks. That's what I'm tryin' to go for."
Wakko nodded. "I think it makes you look like a rock star."
"Well, I do dabble a bit into music. I wanna be in my own band one day." He raised a questioning eyebrow at the young toon. "Wanna help me?"
At that, he beamed. "Faboo!" He gave him a squeeze before hopping off of him.
With the Warner sister, she had looked at the woman with the most childlike gaze of curiosity out of the three. "Awww," the woman cooed before kneeling down to her level. "I know the showrunners said you were supposed to be the cutest thing ever, but who would've thought they'd be right?"
Dot blushed before she put on a casual bravado. "Don't worry, I get that all the time." She waved a hand nonchalantly.
Quick to butt in, Yakko deadpanned, "You literally just came to life less than an hour ago."
She snapped her head at her brother to glare at him. "Exactly! And now I know that it was written into me."
"Don't forget your vanity," he commented.
With a soft growl, she whipped out a small mallet and chucked it at the oldest, who swiftly sidestepped out of the way. (Luckily, for everyone, the mallet didn't cause damage to anyone or anything nearby.)
"Aw, don't listen to him, sweetheart," the woman appeased. "You're the cutest thing to me."
Rob side-glanced to her with a mock disapproving expression. "Don't spoil her like you do Babs."
"Oh, yeah? Who's gonna stop me?"
At that, Dot beamed. She had only been alive for a little over half an hour and saw a role model in her big brothers, but she was quickly finding another one in the woman before her. Not only was she assertive, but she had an attitude. "I like you," she kindly commented.
Tress smiled back. "I like you too, darling. You're gonna kill it on the show."
"All of you are," Rob added.
The Warners grinned happily. It brought them joy that they were already getting along with their voice actors; internally, they wondered how many toons had that pleasure.
Not only was there the feeling of joy, but there was another sensation within them. It had grown as each sibling was "born".
They were zany.
In fact, they were totally insane-y.
And they loved it.
This was going to be a promising career and a promising life.
Ahhhhh, I love these stories so much. Such a shame they're not common.