Next month, the beloved 1990s cartoon Animaniacs will return with new episodes for the first time in over two decades. With a new home on Hulu, the revival series will feature many of the original voice actors in their classic roles, including Rob Paulsen (Yakko and Pinky), Jess Harnell (Wakko), Tress MacNeille (Dot) and Maurice LaMarche (Brain).

However, one glaring omission from the list of returning talent is Animaniacs creator Tom Ruegger. Along with the rest of the original writing team, Ruegger has not been invited back for the revival series -- and he's apparently not happy about it.

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Hulu recently released the first clip of the Animaniacs reboot, and Ruegger’s son, Nate (who also voiced Skippy Squirrel in the original series), was quick to tweet his disappointment. Spoofing a classic scene from the original Jurassic Park, the clip shows paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler marveling over the reappearance of the long-extinct Animaniacs. Paraphrasing his iconic line, the lawyer exclaims, “We’re gonna make a fortune with this show.”

While acknowledging the reference, Nate Ruegger points out the distaste of such a statement, claiming “the naked greed on display here to reboot a series without involving any of the original creative team so they can make *more* money, & then joke about it, is gross.” While Tom Ruegger has so far remained silent on the latest announcement, he did retweet his son’s statement, seemingly expressing his agreement. Ruegger has also retweeted similar sentiments from fans going as far back as 2018. In January 2018, Ruegger shared a tweet from fan Adam Cole reading, “It is absurd that @tomruegger isn't involved in the #Animaniacs reboot. He created something truly special and it won't be the same without him.”

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TV animaniacs universe

While Animaniacs is far from the first cartoon to be rebooted without the involvement of its creators, Ruegger’s situation is unique in that he has actively advocated for the return of the original creative team. In 2017, Ruegger told the Animaniacs-related podcast, Animanicast, “My hope is that Warner Bros. and Amblin basically do the right thing and get as many of the original creators, artists, writers and musicians involved.”

As the series’ creator, Ruegger expresses not only a pride in ownership but also a sense of duty to the fans:

I wouldn’t want to make the show without the brilliant writers and artists that came up with it. I think the fans will love a reboot if it really captures the essence and fun and anarchy and zaniness of the original. I truly believe that can be achieved with getting the band back together but I don’t think you can just find someone off the street and say, "Make more Animaniacs" and expect it to work out. I would love to make new Animaniacs, but it would have to be under conditions that are guaranteed not to fail.

Despite the protests of Ruegger and his son Nate, Hulu is, for the time being, moving forward with a new set of writers and showrunner. Fans, meanwhile, continue to express their disappointment via Twitter and have even started a petition to bring the original creative team back on board. While Hulu’s failure to involve Ruegger certainly seems like a missed opportunity, fans will ultimately have to wait until the Animaniacs reboot’s November release to fully gauge the wisdom of that decision.

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