Awesome Music / Animaniacs

Cue dancing!

Animaniacs was wildly celebrated for its numerous and extremely well written songs that varied from comic parody, to completely heartwarming, and even catchy educational pieces.

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The Warners

• This list wouldn't be complete without the opening theme. Just one minute of catchy fun is all you really need to sell kids on your show. And to think, it's just the tip of the iceberg. The 2020 version retained the exact same pacing and rhyming scheme throughout the entire song, even with changes that had to be made. Here's a comparison video showcasing what got updated and what changed.
• The catchiest and most memorable song was probably "Dot-The Macadamia Nut" in which the entire cast, including Colin, join a parody video of the Macarena led by Dot. Said song has Yakko and Wakko deliver many memorable lines, along with many other incredible one-liners. And Tress MacNeille's vocals were on-point.
• "Wakko's America" in which Wakko sings all 50 states and their capitals to the tune of "Turkey in the Straw". Jess Harnell, Wakko's voice actor, remembers the whole thing over 20 years after the show ended.
• "The Ballad of Magellan", an incredibly catchy song in which the Warners sing about Ferdinand Magellan's voyage (albeit with a few inaccuracies).
• "A Quake! A Quake!", the Warners sing a song about Los Angeles, the San Andreas fault, and the constant earthquakes. Incredibly catchy, and a huge Parental Bonus in the line "kicking our ass-phalt".
• The Presidents song, one of the most popular songs, which tells all of the Presidents of the United States from George Washington until Bill Clinton (who was President at the time the song was written), also gives catchy blurbs on each one.
• "Yakko's World" where Yakko sings (almost) every country in the world at the time.^note It was written in the early 90s right after Germany reunited, but before the peaceful separation of Czechoslovakia, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the wars that caused Yugoslavia to split into its six (seven if you count Kosovo) constituent countries. Not only was it done in one take, but Rob Paulsen can sing the entire song to this day.
• In "No L", the Warners spoof "Noel" with rhymes like "know well", "no 'L'" and "no well" and it starts with Yakko telling Wakko that there's "no L" in Santa's name after he wrote "Dear Santla" in his letter to Santa.
• The Multiplication song. It looks like it's going to be a skit with a stereotypical "Everybody Hates Mathematics" feel to it, but then Yakko starts singing about how multiplication is amazing, so it can keep the nerds happy without slowing anything down. And also, the jokes leading up to the song (like Wakko thinking that the apple taught Isaac Newton "to sit someplace else") are hilarious.
• The Monkey Song. Originally by Harry Belafonte, the Warners' antics and Scratchansniff's growing annoyance manage to elevate it to really make it funny. The other stars of the other segments also help sell it doing their own little things in the background. And since this is from the very first episode of Animaniacs, it establishes each character and sets up the general tone of the show perfectly.
• "The Panama Canal", a catchy little ditty performed by (who else?) Yakko about the Panama Canal.
• "Yakko's Universe" — inspired by "The Galaxy Song" from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life — sung mainly by Yakko about the vastness of the universe and how tiny humans are in comparison. The sweeping orchestral score and Rob Paulsen's vocals are top-notch.
• "There's Only One of You", a song performed by Yakko, Wakko and Dot about how unique you are (in fact you're kind of weird, but they like you just the same).
• "Hello Nurse", a jazzy number sung by Wakko about the titular woman he has a crush on, which depicts her as The Ace (at least from Wakko's perspective).
• All three of the Warners' individual songs as the Three Ghosts from "A Christmas Plotz" are brilliant. But special mention NEEDS to go to Yakko's insanely catchy big band musical number as the Ghost of Christmas Future — complete with a HUGE Broadway-esque light-up staircase and chorus girls.
• In "Roll Over, Beethoven", we get Dot playing the third movement of the Moonlight Sonata. Even more impressively, she plays some of the notes with her ears and tail.
• "I'm Mad" perfectly encapsulates all too common annoyances from children, from petty arguments to incessant complaints, even when on the road with a gritty, fast-paced orchestra backing them up with an appropriate minor key. Paulsen even gets another great moment of flexing his role-playing and vocals with him alternating between Yakko and Scratchansniff.

Rita and Runt

Bernadette Peters voiced Rita, and delivered an epic performance with every song, often an Affectionate Parody of an opera or musical.

• "Humans Ain't What They Seem to Be", Rita's first song introduced her jaded and tragic personality.
• "Somewhere, a Place Called Home", an "I Want" Song that is heartwarming and gorgeously sung.
• "I'm Nobody's Mama", perhaps one of the most tragic, Rita sings how she's too independent to mother some kittens, but secretly likes the idea of someone loving her so much.
• "Let's Try for Two", a rare heartwarming song when Rita sings about how she and Runt will keep trying together to find their home.
• The episode long parody of Les Misérables. The sillier lyrics don't detract from the epic or heartwarming moments of the original songs, and Bernadette Peters gets to shine with every single number. Special mention to "Not in My Flat in Gay Paree", where Rita sings about a loving vegetarian chef who will adopt and love her. A dose of tragedy, because in this episode, she's about to be cooked with other cats into meat pies.

Slappy Squirrel

• "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," a rare break from the show's usual original orchestral songs, instead doing a straight-up music video to the One-Hit Wonder's original recording, which doubles as a rightfully awesome Slappy cartoon.

Wakko's Wish

Being the musical Grand Finale to the original, Wakko's Wish was certain to have more than a few fantastic songs.

• "Never Give Up Hope", sung by the entire village of Acme Fall at the beginning of the movie about how while life is currently awful there, Wakko refuses to give up hope.
• "I've Got a Ha'Penny", another Crowd Song after when Wakko comes home and reveals he got a ha'penny.
• "So Much for Wakko's Ha'Penny", the Dark Reprise for "I've Got a Ha'Penny", after the entire situation turns out to be nothing more than a Hope Spot.
• "The Wishing Star". The first part is a trio number between the Warners as they're prepared to leave, with top-notch vocals. The second part is another Crowd Song sung to the tune of the second half of Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, as the entire town is scrambling to get to the Wishing Star. The third part reprises the first part, with excellent vocals from both the Warners and King Salazar.
• "If I Could Have My Wish", a heartwarming song where the cast sings about how their wish will make them happy (as well as some hilarious lines from Ralph).
• The reprise of "Never Give Up Hope" is a Heartwarming Moment illustrating the happy ending Acme Falls got because of Wakko's wish.

Other

• The final cartoon, the Animaniacs Suite, shows the brilliance that was the late great Richard "The Great Stoneini" Stone and the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra. The suite takes every single one of the major characters' leitmotifs (including, in order, the Animaniacs theme song, the Warners' theme, Pinky and the Brain's theme, Mindy's theme, Rita's theme, the Goodfeathers' theme, and Slappy's theme) and makes them into a magnificently arranged orchestral piece.
• In 2019, the "Pinky and the Brain" theme was covered in a slow jazz style by Postmodern Jukebox. The video features Creator Cameos by Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, claiming to be Pinky and the Brain disguised as human bartenders trying to earn enough in tips to finance the Brain's latest bid for world domination.