#background singer

On the 4th of July last year, I came up with an additional set of lyrics that could work for the song, "What Are We?". This is all about bats. It was kinda hard coming up with rhymes for what bats do, as I knew bats like to hang upside out and that they have fangs for teeth, so here's how the song with the added bat verse would go.

[LYRICS]

Wakko: ♪Maybe we are dogs.♪

Wakko and Background Singers: ♪Cute little dogs, with ears.♪

Wakko: Woof woof! (Pants)

♪And little tails that we can wag. Hey, let's go fetch his slippers and play tag!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: Hey, get off of me!

Dot: ♪Maybe I'm a cat.♪

Background Singer #1: A cat?

Dot: ♪What do you think of that?♪

Dot and Background Singers: ♪A lovely cat that all the word adores!♪

Dot: ♪And here's my kitty paws.♪

Background Singers: To hold!

Dot: ♪With little kitty claws.♪

Background Singers: To file!

Dot: ♪Which I like…♪

Dot and Background Singers: ♪…to sharpen on your couch!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: (Screams at the sight of his couch sliced) That's not funny!

Yakko: ♪Maybe I'm a bunny, hopping 'round here happy as I please.♪

Yakko and Background Singers: ♪Or penguins and it's cold, which makes you sneeze.♪

(Dr. Scratchansniff sneezes himself off the floor)

Yakko: ♪I've got it, of course! Maybe I'm a horse.♪

♪I can live on oats and hay, and laugh and run and jump and play, and you can ride on me all day!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: No vay [way]!

Dot: ♪Hey, maybe I'm a skunk.♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: Oh boy! You really stink!

Yakko: ♪A dinosaur might be some fun.♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: But then you'd be extinct.

Dot: ♪Maybe we're all insects.♪

Wakko: ♪Do you like bugs and bees?♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: You kids are buggy in the head.

Yakko: ♪Maybe we're giant fleas!♪

(Dr. Scratchansniff screams while running down a hallway and into another room)

Background Singer #1: ♪Maybe you're all bats! Vampire bats, with wings!♪

♪And pointy little teeth called fangs.♪

♪And clinging upside down is how you hang!♪

Dot: ♪Maybe an electric eel.♪

(Dr. Scratchansniff yelps)

Wakko: Or a seal.

Dot and Background Singers: Get real!

Dot: ♪Hey, wait a minute, I've got it now!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff (Simultaneously with Background Singer #1): You do?

Background Singer #1 (Simultaneously with Dr. Scratchansniff) ♪You do?♪

Dot: ♪Yes, I do!♪

Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Background Singers: ♪We're/They're not bees and we're/they're not cats, or bugs or horses or things like that.♪

♪What we/they are is clear and absolute!♪

Background Singer #1 (Eagerly): Really? What is it?

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot: ♪What we are dear doctor...♪♪

Dot: Is cute!

The other day, I saw this post from @thewarnerssister and how her OC was drawn into the episode "What Are We?". It inspired me to share with all of you how I would insert my "Animaniacs" OCs into the episode, "What Are We?".

Nothing really changes much as far as the beginning. I thought up until Dr. Scratchansniff asks Yakko, Wakko, and Dot "No! Vhat [What] are you kidses? Look at you! With zose [those] ears and those tails. That's not normal! I know normal! I mean vhat [what] are you?", the background singers barge into Dr. Scratchansniff's office with Background Singer #1 asking something like "Wait a minute! Hold the phone, Scratchy!" and talking for a little bit with the doctor before asking the Warners what they are supposed to be. As soon as Wakko stands and says "Well..." the song starts.

[LYRICS]

Wakko: ♪Maybe we are dogs.♪

Wakko and Background Singers: ♪Cute little dogs, with ears.♪

Wakko: Woof woof! (Pants)

♪And little tails that we can wag. Hey, let's go fetch his slippers and play tag!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: Hey, get off of me!

Dot: ♪Maybe I'm a cat.♪

Background Singer #1: A cat?

Dot: ♪What do you think of that?♪

Dot and Background Singers: ♪A lovely cat that all the word adores!♪

Dot: ♪And here's my kitty paws.♪

Background Singers: To hold!

Dot: ♪With little kitty claws.♪

Background Singers: To file!

Dot: ♪Which I like…♪

Dot and Background Singers: ♪…to sharpen on your couch!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: (Screams at the sight of his couch sliced) That's not funny!

Yakko: ♪Maybe I'm a bunny, hopping 'round here happy as I please.♪

Yakko and Background Singers: ♪Or penguins and it's cold, which makes you sneeze.♪

(Dr. Scratchansniff sneezes himself off the floor)

Yakko: ♪I've got it, of course! Maybe I'm a horse.♪

♪I can live on oats and hay, and laugh and run and jump and play, and you can ride on me all day!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: No vay [way]!

Dot: ♪Hey, maybe I'm a skunk.♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: Oh boy! You really stink!

Yakko: ♪A dinosaur might be some fun.♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: But then you'd be extinct.

Dot: ♪Maybe we're all insects.♪

Wakko: ♪Do you like bugs and bees?♪

Dr. Scratchansniff: You kids are buggy in the head.

Yakko: ♪Maybe we're giant fleas!♪

(Dr. Scratchansniff screams while running down a hallway and into another room)

Dot: ♪Maybe an electric eel.♪

(Dr. Scratchansniff yelps)

Wakko: Or a seal.

Dot and Background Singers: Get real!

Dot: ♪Hey, wait a minute, I've got it now!♪

Dr. Scratchansniff (Simultaneously with Background Singer #1): You do?

Background Singer #1 (Simultaneously with Dr. Scratchansniff) ♪You do?♪

Dot: ♪Yes, I do!♪

Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Background Singers: ♪We're/They're not bees and we're/they're not cats, or bugs or horses or things like that.♪

♪What we/they are is clear and absolute!♪

Background Singer #1 (Eagerly): Really? What is it?

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot: ♪What we are dear doctor...♪♪

Dot: Is cute!

After the song ends with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot cuddling Dr. Scratchansniff, much to his discomfort, who would show up but Wizard Waldo? As such, the score, "Witch on Roof" from "The Wizard of Oz" would play as Waldo's background music to cause nothing but trouble for our heroes. But all Waldo really does is throw a fireball at the Warners, with Wakko's tail (or even his whole butt) set on fire. Fortunately, while Yakko, Dot, and Dr. Scratchansniff dodge the fireball and hide, the background singers grab Wakko and dunk him in the fish tank Dot was previously in. Waldo says "Just you remember, helping those spineless gentlemen will be your last burning ambition!" and lets out an evil laugh. On the last note of the music, Waldo disappears in a cloud of smoke before the background singers could get a hold of him, and they all leave with the exception of the first background singer as Yakko and Dot come out of hiding. Wakko, despite his tail getting singed says how he's still not afraid of Waldo. Yakko and Dot come out of hiding and Background Singer #1 tells the doctor (who is still trembling) that Waldo's gone, allowing him to get up. But unfortunately for him, Background Singer brings up where he and the Warners left off and the rest of the cartoon ends as normal.

I have a demo recording I made in approximately 2015, but the recording was different than the lyrics that were previously typed up.

Throughout "Animanaics" (or at least my version of the series if you will), I would have it clear that Dot would have a couple of male background singers on her for her songs, or just for company even if there is no singing. One of those background singers would actually be considered Dot's human boyfriend. That background singer was Egon, who kept his relationship with Waldo hidden from his friends out of concern. But in "Wakko's Wish", Egon had to reveal his wizard background just to bring Dot back to life with his own wizard magic. It was a bold risk, but in the end, Egon had nothing to worry about, and his friends still accept him as is.

Dot also forgives Egon easily, considering the countless times he saved her from Waldo and other villains who wanted to do her and her brothers in. And after Dot's surgery, Egon would propose to Dot with a wedding ring and she accepts being Egon's wife, but not without trying to make Egon jealous one last time to prove her commitment.

I should make it clear that Yakko, Wakko, and Dot were locked up in the water tower for over 60 years, so despite not aging, they'd still technically be old enough to marry. And when I made my "Animaniacs" OCs in June 2011, my intention was to have some additional enemies to hinder Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Of course, after three days I made those background singers because I felt my villains shouldn't have all the fun.

As far as the wedding itself, after the death of King Salazar, everyone would head back home to Warner Bros. Studios where Dot and Egon would be happily married. My thought with this was if some "Looney Tunes" character like Bugs Bunny married Dot and Egon due to Bugs being a timeless Warner Bros. character.

LINK(S) TO MY TEMPLATE(S)

Last week, after seeing footage of "The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man" a couple of times, I got an idea for an "Animaniacs" 4D attraction that would've been doable for Six Flags or Warner Bros. Movie World. This is not meant to be taken seriously, and some parts of this story sound incomplete, but this is just a fanfiction for a concept I had.

ANIMATION

If possible, the 2D animation and art style would be like in "Wakko's Wish", but in a different aspect ratio (ex. 1:85:1 or 2:39:1). The models would use cel-shading.

ROUGH STORY

We see the Warner Bros. water tower as the "Animanaics" theme song cues up, only when the door opens, no Warner siblings. As a result, the focus would be on the background singers. They'd hand the audience some microphones that act as walkie-talkies. The background singers split up to search for Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, with the first one hopping on a motorcycle and driving off into the forest where Waldo lives.

We pan underground where we find ourselves in Waldo's underground fortress under his cabin. As we see Waldo's guards patrolling down the halls of a tunnel, we sneak past them and spy on Waldo in his spell room. We see Yakko, Wakko, and Dot in a cage (or one cage per Warner sibling, depending on what works better.). One of the background singers radios us, which makes Waldo stop gloating. He orders his dragorillas to search the tunnels, and after Waldo and his pets exit the room, we get the key to free Yakko, Wakko, and Dot until we end up caught by Waldo.

Waldo chases after Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and the audience until we reach the surface through a tunnel leading us to the training grounds. Waldo is about to do us in with his magic, only for the background singers to come in and rescue us. Waldo is defeated, only I don't know if either his magic should be deflected (resulting in Waldo turning into a frog) or if there should be a potion thrown which conjures a snowstorm, resulting in Waldo melting and leaving his robe, hat, and scepter behind (resulting in Waldo's guards happily singing "Ding-Dong! The Wizard's Dead" to end the ride), but either way, Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and the Background Singers would've thanked the audience for rescuing the Warner siblings.

IDEAS FOR 4D EFFECTS

Smoke effects = Useful for moments like Background Singer driving his motorcycle (which screeches as it starts). And also Wizard Waldo whenever he appears and disappears.

Fire effects = Flamethrowers could be used for when Waldo throws a fireball or two during the chase from Waldo.

Soil and stone scents = To give Waldo's underground fortress the scent of what it's like traveling under dirt and soil.

COPYRIGHTS

"Animaniacs" © Warner Bros./Amblin Partners