Animaniacs Interview: Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche

Hi, Michael. Hi

How are you guys doing? He's my friend. We are well. We are ready to take over the world. Yes

I was curious if you guys had anything that you've always wanted to do with these characters

or over with the broader Warners that you ever wanted to try, or maybe something was

recorded that never made it to air? I've always wanted to maybe do some kind of alternate universe episode to show what kind

of world the world would be if Brain did succeed in taking over the world

That always interested me, but then we'd lose the through line of the show, which is Brain

can't succeed. He has to come back and plan for tomorrow night

I've always been very interested in the idea of doing a feature with Pinky and the Brain

because I obviously have a selfish interest in the whole experience, but I, like Mo, we've

been doing this a long time, and I really believe that Pinky and the Brain have both

the pedigree and the strength of their characters and the way they relate that it could be a movie

So that's something I'd be very excited about. Are there any songs this season that you can tease for the audience

There are actually a couple of songs. I wish I could, well, let's believe it

I'll leave it to my friend who can sing. Yeah, well, most things actually very well

No, I don't so much carry a tune as bop it over the head and drag it

You do very well. But there are a couple of really wonderful, specific Pinky and the Brain episodes, one

of which is the Brain, it's a Groundhog Day reference, homage, and it's really quite excellent

And then there's also an episode that's kind of a sister episode to the Pinky and the Brain

Christmas special from a million years ago, which I can speak for Mo and say it is both

our favorite episode from the first batch. So there's a lot of really cool stuff in terms of music

There's an Animaniacs yackawackawandot song to motivate Santa. So anytime you can light a fire under the big red guy, it's always good for your Christmas

present circumstance. In the original show, you always had a certain satirical bent

But do you get a sense that now that you're at Hulu, that you have more creative freedom

and do the writers feel like they could kind of be a little bit sharper and more pointed

in their commentary? This iteration of the show, in terms of at least the Pinky and the Brain part, which

is the only part I play a part in, they have honored the time that's gone by since the

OG series and this series. So that Brain has spent literally 22 years not succeeding in taking over the world

I think this Brain is crankier. He's more bitter. He's less likely to use some silly distracting type plan, like the infindibulator that made

people with loose chains magnetically stick to the ground while we stepped into the breach

and take over the world. Where's the breach? I mean, this Brain is ready to use death rays

I mean, he's ready to be militaristic. Sick and tired of having not taken over the world for the past 22 years

So he's got more of an edge. Thanks so much. Thank you, Michael

Appreciate it. Bye-bye.