#pretty sure the comics aren't canon but 🤫 shhhh....

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

I'm rambling about the Warners and Scratchy again

Okay so in issue #7 of the Animaniacs comics the Warners wanted to look at an executive board meeting, got carried away, Scratchy got in trouble over it because he was meant to stop them, and Dr. Scratchansniff ends up going insane:

Look at how they watch the van leave. They're literally making this face: 🥺

Poor things miss Scratchy already!

A new psychiatrist is hired, and based on the unimpressed looks on their faces they clearly want Scratchy back, even before it turns out the new guy is insanely strict (and also insane in general as the end of the story reveals).

So of course after a series of zany shenanigans the Warners do their thing and set things right by getting Scratchy back.

It's sweet (even if it's kind of in a twisted way considering they lowkey kinda guilt trip him by turning on the waterworks 😅) that even after they got him sent to a psychiatric hospital, he still misses them. This comic released in November 1995, so considering how their relationship in the show had developed by season 3 it makes sense.

I just like what this story says about the Warners' characters. Sure, when they're tormenting "special friends" they know they're being annoying. Even when they aren't and they're just interacting with people, they know that they're annoying a lot of the time, they embrace that. What others may view as annoying, they see as fun. But that's just it, they do what they do to have fun, they're snarky but not genuinely malicious (when unprovoked, at least). Just chaotic, playful and extremely boisterous, sometimes to the point that they get carried away, and that can lead to unintended consequences. This happens in the show sometimes (like in "Schnitzelbank" or "Fair Game"), but it's nice to see that aspect of their characters not 100% played for laughs.

Their actions had serious consequences that negatively impacted themselves and someone they care about. There's no punchline at the end of the story where they drive Scratchy insane all over again or anything like that, they're genuinely nice to him for the rest of the issue because (possibly purposeful pouring puppy peepers aside) they were genuinely remorseful about what they did. They're smart kids, but still kids at the end of the day, who sometimes find it hard to control themselves. This story reflects that aspect of their characters well, all the while scratch-ing (ha) that "Scratchy is the Warners' dad" itch in my brain.