Rita and Runt: The Hidden Heart of Animaniacs 

It especially fits that Bernadette Peters herself is a longtime save-the-strays activist who helped found an animal adoption charity. Ironically though, Bernadette herself is more of a dog person.

As a fan of these two wholesomeilly adorable anthromorpic animals I must say I would have loved to see what the show would be like if Rita and Runt were the hosts of the show just imagine what that would be like

I loved these guys back in the day. Despite that they couldn't find a home without each other they stook together. Rita and Runt should've gotten their own show like Pinky and Brain did.

thank you. THANK YOU! I felt like I was the only one who liked these segments. I did watch the reboot and its disheartening that Pinky and the Brain are the ONLY segments that they have to offer. thank you for this review to help more people know about them!

Agreed. Even though I'm more of a fan with the Warner Siblings, I think Rita and Runt deserve better.

Rita and Runt deserves to have their own show

Rita always had a beautiful singing voice

Yes, I'm one of the few who thinks Rita and Runt are some of the best characters on this show. I will go as far as to say that they are my favorite characters from "Animaniacs". I love the songs, the personalities of the characters, and the fact that the story in these segments was above the jokes. It is thanks to these two that I once discovered "Animaniacs" for myself a long time ago, so they have a certain importance for me. And some of their episodes managed to bring me to tears (is this an achievement for a comedy show? ... I think ... yes). Thanks for the video, good man)

I always imagine a scene when Rita reveal to Runt she's a Cat, in a moment Runt Want to attack her, but then it realize he really didn't know any cat to get this aggression of them and he's really cool with that

I'm kinda happy it stayed the way it did. That way Rita and Runt are good as they are, without being overused or watered down.

The best segment in the entire show besides the Warner's I'm happy a video going in depth and detail about rita and runt like this exists its truly heartwarming and emotional

Yeah out there is that person that watch animaniacs not to be entertained but to feel emotions with those two, and that one was me, rediscover the series like 2 years ago and I was amazed that I didn't remember this two but I'm glad I rewatched their episodes, Rita become my favorite character instantly and something I wish to protect and race care of, always break my heart looking at how her and Runt never get a home no matter how much they try (especially in the WW II episode) I literally cry when she "Die" on the reboot, never to be seen again (not even mention in season 2) I kinda like the reboot but I miss her so hard, worst thing is she and Runt didn't get any official merchandise, the much I have are two Runt and rita figure that appears in the 90's here on Mexico on some candy boxes and my ex girlfriend made a rita plushie that is really gorgeous and I still hugging it even to this day

I always wished that Rita & Runt got their own Disney level theatrical film.

Really would enjoy full rant on your problems with new Animaniacs

I really loved Rita and Runt along with the Goodfeathers and Minerva Mink!

I absolutely adore rita and runt.

I loved Rita and Runt! Bernadette Peters was the best role for Rita! They could’ve gotten more new Broadway-style segments where they finally end up with a different family and go on amazing hilarious misadventures with them. Rita and Runt could’ve gotten love interests; Rita with a handsome Brooklyn male Tomcat and Runt with a beautiful white female husky mutt mix!

I love Animaniacs. I agree Rita and Runt is my favorite Animaniacs Segments Of The Entire Show.

I'd greatly watch a show all about these two it would be quite interesting to see

"What if you're just some sour grump who refuses to laugh at ANYTHING?" I'd recommend watching the "Animaniacs" reboot.

Rita and Runt are literally my favourite part of Animaniacs and that mama song still breaks me. I cannot.

Easily two of the shows most underrated characters. Excellent video, all your observations were spot on; It's a shame Rita and Runt never got more spotlight episodes and I'm still hoping they will come back in season 3, but even if it never happens what we ended up with is still great. Rita and Runt's adventures were a welcome break from the zany comedy, both were/are endearing characters, and their songs were outstanding.

Rita and Runt the cat and dog duo was the best thing to happen to animaniacs

the variety of this show is what makes it so great and a problem with the revival and if anyone says 'oh you're just nostalgia blind' even though i grew up in the 2000s and didn't discover it until the 2010s which i think was in 2014 i have a really terrible memory

Most of the other characters and their shorts in Animaniacs. I do have a lot of problems with (especially Buttons and Mindy, and Katie Kaboom), with the ones that I find the best being The Warners, Pinky and the Brain, Slappy Squirrel, and Rita and Runt I find Rita and Runt the most underrated out of all of them because of its characters and music

I honestly never really watched the original show as a kid as I didn't know about it until I was much older. but I loved the parody scenes of popular 90s properties like rugrats, the lion king and friends. but I love the looney tunes inspired humour.

Rita and Runt were awesome! They were my favorites next to Pinky and the Brain.

Seriously hope these two return in season 3 of the reboot.

God did i love this segment it was sooo sad to see it been gone after Season 1

Damn it now I wanna see a Rita and Runt movie!! My favorite ones are Pinky and the Brain (and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that people consider their segments to be the highlight of the reboot) precisely for being more subdued and quiet than the other louder segments. I even kinda liked their Elmyra years in spite of those episodes having WB’s corporate fingerprints all over them. But now I’m interested in watching more of Rita and Runt. Their parody of Les Miserables already won me over with great singing and amazing animation, so I wanna see what else they did before getting canned

I myself is a fan of this segment, I always think Rita and runt is an amazing segment even with the songs, tho let see be honest who wouldn't want to adopt the both of them, i myself especially want Rita, not by her looks but by her voice.

I honestly kinda liked the reboot, (not as much as the original of course, but I still enjoyed it for what it’s worth) but I still think the biggest sin it’s done is not truly bringing back side characters like Rita and Runt. I’m glad you did this video bringing attention to these two, they were some of my favorite characters from the show when I saw it as a child.

I haven’t seen the Rita and Runt stuff in years (honestly I forgot their names), but I’m tempted to seek them out now.

Rita and Runt was my favorite segments in the show :)

Great job editing the video V. The editing was really well done.

I only watched a couple of episodes on tapes, and I never saw Rita nor Runt unless they were a cameo. I always wondered about them and what they were about.

I adored Rita so much as a kid and was always happy when their segments came on. I did enjoy the Pinkie and the Brain segments a lot as well, but Rita and Runt have to be my favourite. I only watched the German dub, but even without the original singer I still loved the songs.

They're just friends through 12 segments

The only person who could traumatize Rita that much….Elmira.

Rita and runt were my favorite, with The Good feathers being 2nd

This further proves that Wellesley Wild and the rest of the team behind the Animaniacs reboot made a grave mistake by excluding most of the original show’s supporting characters and segments, including Rita & Runt! Also, a correction: Bernadette Peters’ salary is NOT why they stopped making new Rita & Runt segments after the first season! Animaniacs creator Tom Ruegger has said that the only reason why the Rita & Runt segments, which were never officially retired, stopped was because the writers just wanted to focus on the other characters. That’s all!

They were always my favorite

Great video! I was thinking of creating a cartoon about obscure and forgotten Characters that go on crazy and wacky adventures called Forgotten Tales.

I've said it before, anf I'll say it again. I was one of the kids who hated these segments. Everytime Rita and Runt came ob, I would roll my eyes amd groan. I wanted Pinky and the Brain, or Slappy Squirrel, or even the Good Feathers. R&R bored me as a kid, so I didn't appreciate it.

Honestly, Putting on the blitz is the only Rita and Runt episode I can remember.

Idea: A film starring Runt and Rita. What do you think?

i love them and also dot

I thought as a kid that was madonna voicing rita

Runt's voice sounds like Lenny from The Simpsons.

Why aren’t they in the reboot?

Honestly re-watching Animaniacs as an adult I realize how little there were of the Warner Siblings and Kinda wished they had more segments because in my opinion a lot of the other segments are very Hit or Miss. Mostly misses in my opinion. I still like all the Warner stuff and things like Mime Time and Good Idea Bad Idea as well as pinkie and the bran. But stuff like Katie Kaboom gets too formulaic and all the segments feel the same despite the wild animation. IDK it has the Rugrats effect where I liked alot of this as a kid but rewatching it now. A lot of it feels juvenile in a bad way. I'm kinda glad the reboot stuck to the Warners and Pinky and the Brain because i think those were honestly the best segments from the previous series

3:22 - 3:32 expect for Kiki's kitten, that one sucked

Rita the cat

Rita and Runt are good characters, one of Animaniacs best. If I had to rank them, they would be in place 5th right after The Warners, Pinky & the Brain, The Goodfeathers, and Slappy.

I never heard of Rita and runt but I wish have now know the fact that Bernadette Peters in it. Anything with Bernadette Peters is great in my book

Came to watch this after your Minerva Mink video. While I enjoyed Animaniacs in the 90s, I always found the Rita and Runt segments soooo boring. Then again, I'm not one for musicals. That's what made the show so great, I guess...had a bit of something for everyone. 🤷‍♀️

Honestly, I never latched onto Rita & Runt as much as some of the more popular segments like Pinky & The Brain, Slappy Squirrel, or The Warners, but I didn't entirely dislike them, either. Maybe it's because of how different in tone their segments were, (Almost in line with stuff like 'An American Tail') Some of the episodes, like 'Putting On The Bits' can really tug at you in the heart strings. Which can be tonal whiplash most of the time. At least Runt made a decent comic foil for Rita due to Frank Welker's performances. Also, having Bernadette Peters as Rita did contribute to why they didn't appear as much due to her cost. They could've easily cast Tress MacNeille as Rita, and not have to worry about paying her too much, but it did provide a change of pace for an already comedic series.

I only watched Animaniacs every so often, but Rita and Runt were one of my favorite segments(my other favorite was Buttons and Mindy). I never noticed that they only appeared in the first season, but like I said, I didn't watch Animaniacs regularly, so I guess I wouldn't notice. I was happy about the conclusion we got from them in Wakko's Wish(also very pleased that Buttons finally got the treat and recognition for being the good boy he is).

BREAKING NEWS MEDIA MEMENTOS So this user named SSJAniFan from IMDB said that my all time favorite show Animaniacs, sucks because he said that the Warner Brothers and The Warner Sister are obnoxious, he doesn’t care about Pinky and the Brain, and he absolutely no care in the world about the other characters like Slappy Squirrel and Skippy Squirrel, and Rita and Runt. and what's even worst. He also hates the movie, Wakko Wish (Which by the way is one of my all favorite animated movie) said that the songs sucks and said that the story is crap garbage. He has shattered my heart into pieces, and I was crying my eyes out. He is so devious and so offensive. That he deserves to be called the worst user I've have ever met, in fact I think he even worse as Aito H.

Rita and Runt are not a couple

Rita and Runt was my favorite segment too. I kinda stopped watching after the first session.

i don't remember Rita and Runt like at all