Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain Performers Featured at the Colorado Convention Center Over Memorial Day Weekend

DENVER, March 10, 2015 – Denver Comic Con, an educational program of Pop Culture Classroom, will be host to an Animaniacs celebration, including Pinky and the Brain during this year’s convention. Original cast members Jess Harnell, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulson and writer Randy Rogel will be on hand to for celebration activities, including an "unplugged-style" music event.

“Animaniacs programming is popular for a reason: it’s incredibly high-energy, amazingly fun and captures the nostalgia of a generation that grew up with the show,” said Denver Comic Con convention director Christina Angel. “We’re honored to have so many of these talented voice performers returning to Denver.”

Animaniacs ran from 1993 to 1998, and was a Warner Brothers animated variety show featuring the sibling characters Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner. The series blended wit, slapstick, music and pop-culture references in a number of comedic and often educational segments. It also launched another popular series, Pinky and the Brain, which ran from 1995 to 1998.

Denver Comic Con will be held at the Colorado Convention Center on Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday, May 23 through Monday, May 25.

About the Cast

Jess Harnell voices “Wakko.” He’s the winner of multiple Emmy awards including Best Animated Series and the prestigious Peabody Award, and his voice has been featured on dozens of animated series from “The Simpsons” to “Fairly Odd Parents” to” Phineas & Ferb.” Harnell is also known for his roles in feature films such as “Finding Nemo,” “The Country Bears,” the “Toy Story” franchise and “Up,” as well as being the only voice actor to voice two major characters in the “Transformers.”

Maurice LaMarche voices “The Brain,” of Animaniacs’ “Pinky and the Brain.” In addition to his work on Animaniacs he’s also known for his earlier voice-acting work as “Chief Quimby" in "Inspector Gadget" and "Egon Spengler" in "The Real Ghostbusters." More recently, LaMarche won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in Matt Groening’s "Futurama", where he plays more than seventy regular, frequently-recurring, and one-off characters.  

Tress MacNeille voices “Dot.” In addition to her work on Animaniacs, MacNeille is known for her role as “Agnes Skinner” on “The Simpsons,” “Mom” on “Futurama” and is the current voice for Wilma Flintstone and Daisy Duck. She has more than 200 credits to her name from other programs such as “Tiny Toon Adventures,” “Disney's House of Mouse,” “Chip 'n’ Dale Rescue Rangers,” and “Dave the Barbarian.”

Rob Paulson voices “Yakko,” “Dr. Scratch ‘n Sniff” and “Pinky.” Paulson is a Daytime Emmy and two-time Annie award-winning voice actor. He voiced “Raphael” in the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series, and coming full-circle, he voices “Donatello” in Nickelodeon’s “TMNT.” He’s also known for his work on “Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius,” Danny Phantom” and “Fairly Odd Parents.”

Randy Rogel wrote most of the songs and many of the scripts for Animaniacs. He began as an original writer on Warner Brothers’ “Batman: the Animated Series,” and has gone on to win three Emmy Awards (nominated for ten), a Peabody Award, two Annie Awards, three Leo Awards, and the Ovation Award. At Disney, Rogel wrote songs and scripts for the animated movies “Peter Pan – Return to Neverland,” “Cinderella,” “Cinderella II,” “Cinderella III,” “Winnie the Pooh,” “Around the World in 180 Days,” “The Three Musketeers” and “101 Dalmatians.”

For more information about Denver Comic Con programming and tickets visit www.DenverComicCon.com.

About Pop Culture Classroom

Pop Culture Classroom (PCC) is a charitable organization that educates through alternative approaches to literacy, learning, and character development. PCC creates programs for underserved students, schools and communities via comic books, graphic novels, and related media. PCC is the organizer and producer of Denver Comic Con. For more information, visit www.popcultureclassroom.org.

About Denver Comic Con

Entering its fourth year, Denver Comic Con is Denver’s premiere pop-culture fan experience, covering the worlds of comic books, film, and related media. It is also an extension of and an awareness builder for its parent organization, Pop Culture Classroom. For the latest news and information, visit www.denvercomiccon.com.

Denver Comic Con is sponsored in association with Breckenridge Brewery, Colorado Lottery, Colorado's Own Channel 2, Illegal Pete's, iHeartMedia's KBPI & KTCL, Kaiser Permanente, Westword and Xfinity.  Supported by Hard Rock Café, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and StylinOline.  With contributions from Aleph Objects, Inc, PrintNinja and Rise Above Colorado.  The Art Institute of Colorado is an Educational Partner of the Denver Comic Con.