Airdate: May 23rd, 1994
A half-hour special centered around the in-universe history of The Warners, revealing new details on what led to their creation, and what prompt Warner Bros. management to lock the trio in the iconic water tower for the next six decades.
To the Warners' chagrin, they were dragged to the special event by Dr. Scratchnsniff as a birthday present for them. However, unbeknownst to them, a certain someone is threatening to kill them during the festivities...
The Warners' 65th Anniversary Special contains examples of:
- Anything but That!: To the Warners' chagrin, they were dragged to the live-special by Dr. Scratchnsniff as a birthday present.
- Animated Actors: Several Looney Tunes characters are interviewed for the special as if they were real actors.
- Been There, Shaped History: In those times the Warners had to be let out of the water tower for cleaning, they end up interrupting such historic events as the Yalta Summit between Allied leaders in WWII, the first appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, and the tearing down of the Berlin wall.
- Brick Joke: When the audience, except the Warners, applauds the opening stage number, Yakko comments that they’ll clap at anything, so Wakko asks loudly if they want to hear him play "Yankee Doodle" with his armpits, cue Chirping Crickets. We later learn that they already made a cartoon, which Wakko himself directed, where it was all about said act.
It was so disastrous that it ended their series of cartoons. In fact, Plotz hated it so much that he canceled their contract the moment he saw it, implying that it wasn't even shown to the public. - The Cameo: Elmyra appears to wish the Warners a happy anniversary just before the second commercial break.
- Driven to Madness: Lon Borax, the in-universe creator of the Warners, apparently "went all funny in the head" after adding the Warner siblings to one of Buddy's shorts. It's unclear if it was the Warners who did it, or if it was the stress from working all into the night. Either way, he's still nuts to this very day. But according to Memlo, he heard he was recovering.Borax: WE'RE HAVING SOUP TODAY!!!
- Driven to Villainy: Buddy has held a grudge for the Warners, believing they were responsible for derailing what he thought was a successful acting career. As a result he plotted a way to destroy them via placing a bomb under the podium where they would make their speech.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Buddy had set a bomb under the podium for the Warners, but when they call him up on stage to thank them for his support, he gladly steps to the podium and is blown up by his own bomb.
- My Greatest Failure: Played for laughs; Mr. Plotz considers giving the Warners starring roles in their own shorts one of his biggest mistakes of his life. Of course, this would be surpassed by his later decision to let Wakko direct the Warners' last one short.
- "Oh, Crap!" Smile: Buddy gives off such a face when his time bomb starts ringing right as he's standing next to it at the podium.
- Overly Long Gag: In the first short in their contract, Flies in the Ointment, the Warners somehow got flypaper stuck to their "fannys." We only get a short clip, but according to Daffy Duck…Daffy: It was okay for a short, but this went on for eight hours. Eight. hours!
- Milestone Celebration: In-Universe. A special celebrating the 65th anniversary of the creation of the Warners.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Viza Vizzelli is a parody of Liza Minnelli. The host is clearly Bob Hope. Among the interviewees are Spartacus, the Gipper, and George Bailey.
- Pants-Pulling Prank: The Warners do this to Jimmy Cagney when the latter tries to hide from them.
- Parody Product Placement: Slappy, Skippy, and Prof. Kingsfield are seen eating Branimaniacs, which was first introduced in episode 51. And every time they say the cereal is good, an arm appears from offscreen to give them wads of cash.
- The Pete Best: In-universe. Buddy was a boring and woefully unfunny character on his own. The Warners upstaged him simply by smashing him with mallets in every cartoon. He's clearly very bitter about it, as not only is he the villain but tries to kill the Warners at their tribute show.
- Porky Pig Pronunciation: From the Trope Namer himself:Porky: Pretty soon, it got so bad, people were afrai... afrai... scared to walk around the lot.
- Running Gag: Two old ladies that were former showgirls trying to remember what the Warner brothers call them ("Hello, [something]").
- Series Continuity Error: The "Newsreel of the Stars" prologue that preceded many episodes of the show established that the Warners had been locked up in 1933 for six decades (60 years). The episode claims that they were first locked up a year later in 1934, not escaping until 1994.
- Also, it's claimed that the Warners started out with a 4-cartoon contract, when previous episodes showed off that the studio had made more than that, with episode 51 providing a brief montage of the posters for shorts that weren't mentioned in this episode. Perhaps only 4 cartoons were released to the public.
- Shoot the Television: Just before the first commercial break, Buddy destroys his television set as he vows to destroy the Warners.
- Take That!:
- The writers lampoon Bob Hope with his reliance on cue cards, schlocky jokes and longevity. (When the Warners approach the stage, Dot suggests that Hope should finally retire.)
- One of the gag credits shown during the closing credits sequence is "Mark Down - Goof Troop tapes at K-Mart."
- We Interrupt This Program: Parodied.Charlton Woodchuck: My Father, the Tuna won't be seen tonight. We'll be back next week. Now let's watch the following special presentation.
