Heartwarming / Animaniacs

Moments subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned!

Face it. Being with your siblings is the best!

• Pinky and the Brain
• Wakko's Wish
• Animaniacs (2020)

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The Warners' segments

• Every time Yakko, Wakko, and Dot engage in a Security Cling. These three have it out for protecting each other from harm.
  • This behind-the-scenes photo of Rob and Jess holding onto Tress◊. Admit it, even the voices of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot have their own sibling moments.
  • Jess Harnell standing up for Tress MacNeille by telling people that a Twitter account under the actress's name is fake. Fans now understood why Tress never used social media and give great respect for her privacy and safety. Wakko really knows how to protect his baby sister.
• Admit it. The Warners are adorable when they are in a group huddle when discussing their plans. Sometimes it's Hilarious in Hindsight when fans mistaken it for a group hug, which is twice as adorable.
• While "A Very, Very, Very, Special Show" was mostly comedic, at one point Yakko, Wakko, and Dot embrace in a group hug, which is extremely rare in the entire franchise. Nevertheless, this really shows how Yakko, Wakko, and Dot really cared for each other and that no matter what they face, they'll always have each other's back. What made it more sweeter is when, while hugging his siblings, Yakko kisses Dot and Wakko on the head. Awwww...
  • This photo◊ of Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille, and Jess Harnell in a group hug.
• After spending most of the episode, "Cutie and The Beast", arguing and bickering with each other, Yakko and Wakko comfort Dot towards the end with a group hug◊. Dot may not be able to get the man she wanted but at least Yakko, Wakko, and Dot have reconciled.
• Every scene that has Yakko and Dot bonding and interacting with each other.
  • It is also Heartwarming in Hindsight given the fact that Rob and Tress knew each other forever.
  • At the end of Hooray for North Hollywood (Part 2) during the final song, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Yakko gives Dot a little kiss on the head while they are dancing.
• The ending to "Clown And Out," where, after all the abuse the Jerry Lewis-sounding clown gets throughout the short, he finally finds an audience who won't hurt him and aren't scared of him — a group of baby Martians.
  Clown: I like it here!
  • Earlier in the episode: The Warners are having a blast celebrating their brother's birthday, even though it's just the three of them.
  • Plotz hiring the clown to surprise Wakko for his birthday, in spite of being terrified of clowns himself. He had no idea Wakko was even more afraid of clowns than he was, which makes it a very generous gesture.
• Even though Yakko, Wakko, and Dot failed to sing a song in "Karaoke Dokie", which is also the first time The Warners are defeated by an antagonist, the way Ralph holds them towards the end, like a dad carrying their kids, is adorable.
• There's a scene from "Temporary Insanity", before Yakko is thrown out of Plotz's office, where Wakko is making a silly face and Dot is laughing as she watches him. They're bonding.
• The last of the "Animator's Alley" segments ends with the Warners saying good night to each other.
  Yakko: 'Night, Wakko.
  Wakko: Goodnight, Dot.
  Dot: Goodnight, Yakko.
  • For a brief moment earlier in those segments, Dot is enjoying having a water gun fight with Wakko.
• In "A Very Very Very Very Special Show", when going back to their zany selves, Wakko and Dot are seen sharing a cheesecake with each other.
• The song "There's Only One of You". It's corny, but it manages to warm a few hearts.
  • Especially the way the Warners look at the viewer when they sing: "Yes, there is nothing else exactly like you are!", which makes the line seem like Sincerity Mode from the three.
  • Don't forget It's New Year's Eve, complete with kissing and hugging.
• "Little Drummer Warners," a whole episode that's a recitation of slightly-edited versions of "Silent Night", "O Little Town of Bethlehem", "Away in a Manger", "We Three Kings" and "Little Drummer Boy." It shows the Wise Men and the Warner Brother (and Sister) Shepherds visiting the baby Jesus, with the latter giving a loud but earnestly cheerful and appreciated show.
  Warner Siblings: And He smiled at me, ba-rum-bum-bum-bum... me and my drum.
• Right after the middle and right before the ending of I'm Mad, when they start getting along. Right until the three start fighting again.
  • Scratchansniff being nice enough to take the Warners to an amusement park and keep them from fighting each other is refreshing to see considering how frustrated he normally is when around them.
    • Hell, any time they show the quasi-paternal relationship between the Warners and the doctor, since he's the closest they have to a guardian.
• "Because we love you!" from Taming of the Screwy. The Warners aren't trying to be mean to Dr Scratchansniff (trust me, if they're actually mad at you, you'll know) but they're living cartoon characters, and comedy is how they express themselves.
  • Following that, the way Scratchansniff gathers the three kids up in a big bear hug.
  • Scratchansniff clearly doesn't want to send the Warners home from the party, and even apologizes for Plotz forcing him to do so. Not to mention he doesn't exactly try very hard to contain them after Plotz orders him to catch them when they disobey.
• The Warners really get along in Garage Sale of the Century.
• The Warners deciding to give their award to Buddy at the end of their 65th Anniversary special. Sure, he was a boring dweeb and was plotting to kill them with a bomb he hid in the podium, but they genuinely liked the guy, and felt they owed it to him for his part in making them famous (i.e. by repeatedly smashing him with giant mallets). One interviewee mentions that when the studio made the decision to fire Buddy, the Warner siblings were the only ones who went to bat for him and tried to save his job. Hell, Buddy himself is touched and immediately forgets all about his revenge scheme when he overhears them talking about him and rushes onto the stage. The Warners greet him with a surprised and happy "Buddy!!" since they had no idea he'd be there. Of course, Buddy then gets blown up with his own bomb, but since he's a cartoon and gets cheered for it, it's not exactly a bad ending for him.
• Christmas Plotz.
• "Super Strong Warner Siblings"
  Yakko: Here, have a bag of money.
• The "Variety Speak" song segment ends with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot embracing in a group hug◊ and all three grinning at the camera, which is another rare moment for the entire series.
  • Similarly, the "big brother" way Yakko puts his hands on Wakko and Dot's shoulders at the end of the Macbeth sketch is just adorable!
• Dot and Yakko cheating at checkers with Death just so they can be with Wakko. And even though Death declares them all "living-impaired" via Rules Lawyering, they don't care at all as long as it means staying together.
  • And when Wakko gets a hiccup after slurping a frappé in one shot, Dot And Yakko literally goes all around the world to find a cure for him.
• During Dot's segment "I'm cute", Yakko and Wakko start as cheerful backup singers only to become progressively disgusted with their sister's vanity and false modesty. However, at the end they admit that even they find Dot "awfully cute" (when she's angry, that is) and the song ends with a happy note.
• While "Ballad of Magellan" was mainly funny, it's also heartwarming because the Warners keep encouraging Magellan to continue searching for the East Indies islands every time he ends up at the wrong location, even saying it isn't fair that he died before he finally made it and helpfully pointing Magellan's ghost to the right location. He'd pissed off the wrong natives just a few nautical miles from the real East Indies.
• "A Hard Days Warners" is a heartwarming tribute to the Animaniacs fans, even the ones who take it too far sometimes. Even if the Warners are exasperated with their fans sometimes, they're never outright rude or dismissive even to the hardcore fans (considering some of the interactions the poor voice actors of Animaniacs and Tiny Toons have had, that takes a lot of effort). Special props go to the "They Want to Laugh" song, a response to a network censor who wants the show to be a watered-down nonsense instead of actual entertainment.
• "10 Short Films About Wakko Warner" reveals that Wakko regularly volunteers at a retirement home as a sort of therapy pet for the patients there, sitting in their laps and letting himself be stroked like a kitten. It's absolutely adorable.
• In "Hooray for North Hollywood Part 2", the Warners make a fortune from the success of their movie, but realise that they miss Mr. Plotz, so they use all their money to effectively buy the Warner Brothers studio and have him rehired.
• Yakko's ending quote in Animaniacs Game Pack.
  Yakko: Goodnight, everybody! You've been a great audience!

Slappy's segments

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock
  • Adults Are Useless is completely avoided. The doctor is calm when explaining to Skippy that Slappy had a breakdown and does his best to help when it seems incurable. His teacher is worried when Skippy falls asleep in class and frantic while trying to lie that nothing is wrong. She calls social services to make sure nothing is wrong.
  • Even the social worker is sympathetic when she realizes the situation. She's been outside the house for a while and figured out no one was home. Then when Skippy comes back after school, she hears him out and is willing to listen to his side of the story. It's only when Skippy lies that Aunt Slappy is at home and busy — anyone can see that no adult is within the house— that she says he needs to go to foster care services because it's dangerous for a child to be living alone. When Slappy recovers, the social worker lets her regain custody without a fuss. That's more reasonable than how real life would act this out.
  • From what we see of Skippy's foster home, it's not terrible and looks nice. He's caught up on sleep and is being cared for well. That doesn't matter to him; he wants Aunt Slappy back, and to go back to her house.
  • At the end, Skippy's lack of presence snaps Slappy back to being her normal crazy self instead of just plain crazy. Slappy knows all too well that Skippy would never give up on her, meaning something must be wrong. She then proceeds to escape the nursing home in Cool Old Lady fashion in order to find Skippy. When the viewer sees Skippy, they get this:
  Skippy: Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight... (sniff) I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight...I wish Aunt Slappy would get better and things were like they used to be...
  Slappy: (opens door) Hey, Pinocchio...I ain't the Blue Fairy, but I think your wish just got answered!
  Skippy: Aunt Slappy!
  Slappy: Come on, kiddo. Let's go home.
  Skippy: Alright! (they embrace each other, and then the scene cuts away to them dancing into the sunset)
  • "I'll love you forever, Aunt Slappy."
• "Bumbie's Mom". Slappy takes Skippy on a plane ride all the way to the isolated home of the actress who played Bumbie's Mom (but hasn't for at least 40 years), just so Skippy could stop being so heart-broken over seeing a death in a movie they saw.
  • On the same episode, Slappy gets pissed when a Grande Dame at a movie theater snottily asks what Skippy's problem is when he was crying.
  Skippy: [crying as Slappy tries to comfort him]
  Woman: What is that child's problem?!
  Slappy: Me! And in about two seconds, you're about to share that problem!
  Woman: Well, I never!
  Slappy: Well, ya should, it's fun!
• "Soccer Coach Slappy" gives a minor moment, just that Slappy, cranky old lady she is, decides to be the coach for a little kids' soccer team. Why? For Skippy.
  Slappy: Coaching does have its small rewards.
• Skippy taking after Aunt Slappy when dealing with Duke, a bully at his school, after pacifist methods don't work. Slappy even lends Skippy some equipment and watches him dish out Revenge via Amusing Injuries.
• Slappy adopting a bird that hatched in her house in "My Mother the Squirrel". It even adopts her cranky morning behaviors.

Others

• No Time for Love. Who knew a cuckoo clock falling in love with a canary could be so tragic and heartwarming?
• The ending of the Chicken Boo Christmas Episode, where after the usual routine of everyone trying to cook him into fried chicken after his cover is blown, Chicken Boo is rescued by Santa and is given a ride in his sleigh while elves sing for him.
  Santa: Oh ho, Chicken Boo, just this once, because it's Christmas, we're giving you a happy ending.
  • In another short "The Chicken Who Kissed Me", that's a James Bond parody, the Moneypenny Expy whom James Boo kissed still loves him even after he was exposed.
• Mindy's love for Buttons. As much pain as she obliviously puts that dog through, the genuine affection she shows him is so endearing.
  • Button's love for Mindy, as well. He's saved her life probably hundreds of times, and usually had to go to hell and back to do it.
  • The ending of "Mindy in Wonderland" is so touching. "Fuzzy bunny good. Fuzzy Buttons better."
  • Also the Warners recognizing that Buttons is a Badly Battered Babysitter and give him a break by having Elmyra rescue Mindy. Buttons applauds with relief and joy.
• Rita and Runt's friendship. Some highlights:
  • Runt keeps calling Rita a "good dog," oblivious to her being a cat.
  • Rita starts out telling Runt that they're only together until she finds a home. But in subsequent cartoons, little by little she starts showing him more affection, until finally in “Puttin’ On the Blitz” she sings a song assuring him that they’ll always be together, whoch she ends by kissing him on the head.
  • In "Les Miseranimals" Runt searches for Rita the minute he escapes the pound. When he can't free her from her prison (a cage for stray cats), he immediately calls on all the Parisian dogs for help to dig the cats out, and bites the restaurant owner in the butt when the latter threatens Rita.
  • Rita jumps off a train in Nazi Poland, which would have led to her a better life with a father and his daughter, to save Runt from a brutal Wiener dog. Then she sings about how she couldn’t have gone without him, showing just how far she’s moved past her initial “Once we find a home, I dont know you, you don’t know me” attitude.
• Birdie is reunited with his real mother at the end of "Wild Blue Yonder". He's also happy to see his two younger siblings and even prevents them from mistaking aircraft for their mother like he did.
• Pretty much the entirety of "A Gift of Gold." After being tossed aside by Mindy, the sentient piece of gold wrapping paper gets reused to wrap a present for a homeless man's child. The child carefully tucks the gold piece into his pocket, giving the gold a home.
• A rare heartwarming moment for the Goodfeathers comes at the end of "West Side Pigeons," when Bobby and Pesto comfort Squit after Carloota dumps him and sing a parody of "Somewhere" assuring him that he always has a place with them. It ends in slapstick as their loud singing shatters the statue they're perched on, but it's still sweet – particularly since it shows that Pesto really does care about Squit, even though the latter is usually on the receiving end of his Hair-Trigger Temper.
• As silly, shallow and spoiled as the Hip Hippos are, it's still adorable to see how Happily Married they are, with all their Sickeningly Sweetheart pet names.
• The Flame cartoon from episode 20, which is a completely earnest telling of Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence.