It’s time again for the Animanicast! Here’s episode sixty-a featuring our first discussion with Animaniacs Senior Producer Tom Ruegger!
Join your hosts Joey, Nathan and Kelly in the “Animanicast!” A podcast dedicated to the classic 90’s cartoon show Animaniacs! Today’s episode features our first interview and discussion with Animaniacs Senior Producer and Creator Tom Ruegger!
Each and every week, your hosts revisit an episode of the series in the order in which they first premiered. They discuss their favorite jokes, gags, and discuss all the cultural references they can find! Today’s episode however features an interview and discussion with none other than Tom Ruegger, the creator and Senior Producer of Animaniacs!
“This is Your Wikipedia Page”
First, Joey reads off some of Tom Ruegger’s work in the past from Tom Ruegger’s wikipedia page such as his childhood influences, his first animated project “The Premiere of Platypus Duck,” and his work with Hanna-Barbera. Tom takes some exception to the order of some of his projects and provides additional details to his work.
Tom’s first project “The Premiere of Platypus Duck” can be found below.
Pitching Animaniacs
Then, Tom describes some characters that ended up becoming some of the Animaniacs characters we love and how he pitched them to Steven Spielberg. The origins of Pinky and the Brain, Mindy and Buttons, Slappy Squirrel, and of course the Warner siblings are also discussed.
Working with Steven Spielberg
Finally, Tom goes into some detail about what it’s like to work with Steven Spielberg. He discusses the one time Spielberg found the work of Tiny Toons “unconscionable” and how he had to fly overseas to talk to the animation department to make sure that the line work was acceptable.
BONUS
You might hear Tom Ruegger drawing during today’s discussion. He was actually sketching some ducks and/or platypus ducks. Tom was nice enough to provide us a picture of the sketches. Thanks Tom!
You can follow Tom Ruegger online on twitter and make sure to check out his blog http://cartoonatics.blogspot.com/
Send in your Questions!
We will be chatting with Tom Ruegger on a regular basis! If you have any questions about the production of Animaniacs or even animation in general, send your questions to us and you just might hear Tom answer your question on a future episode! Just reach out via email, twitter, or Facebook. See the contact links below!
Today’s Sponsor: Teepublic.com!
Head over to our merchandise store to support the artists at TeePublic and our show as well! Simply check out the designs at teepublic.animanicast.com and then pick out a shirt, mug, cell phone case, or any other merchandise available!
Different ways to contact us!
First, you could email us at animanicast@retrozap.com
Then, you could like our facebook page at facebook.com/animanicast
Finally, you can follow us on twitter at twitter.com/animanicast
Different Ways to Support Our Show
If you’d like to support out show there’s lots of ways to do it! First of all, you could go onto iTunes and leave us a five-star positive review.
Don’t forget to tell a friend about the show! Your retweets and post shares help others find us.
You could also purchase some hand prepared decals from Joey HERE. (Say that you’re a listener of the Animanicast and get an extra decal!)
Interested in getting some Animanicast MERCHANDISE? It’s in stock now at TeePublic! Get yours HERE.
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The Animanicast is a podcast dedicated to the classic animated television series Animaniacs. Join your hosts Joey, Nathan and Kelly as they revisit each episode in the order in which they were released. They’ll discuss their favorite moments, jokes, characters as well as their memories of first watching the episode. Pop cultural references are also discussed in detail. (You might just learn some cool facts!) In the end, each episode receives a “Water Tower Rating” from the hosts. Cue up an episode of Animaniacs on Netflix or on DVD and then listen to the Animanicast to keep the fun going!
Cover art by @jedishua Intro Music performed by Kontra5t
The Animanicast is a podcast dedicated to the classic animated television series Animaniacs. Join your hosts Joey, Nathan and Kelly as they revisit each episode in the order in which they were released. They’ll discuss their favorite moments, jokes, characters as well as their memories of first watching the episode. Pop cultural references are also discussed in detail. (You might just learn some cool facts!) In the end, each episode receives a “Water Tower Rating” from the hosts. Cue up an episode of Animaniacs on DVD or Hulu and then listen to the Animanicast to keep the fun going! Cover art by @jedishua Intro Music performed by Kontra5t