Rita and Runt
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Rita and Runt were the stars of several musical segments in 1993-94 in the animated television series Animaniacs. Rita (voiced by Bernadette Peters) is a sassy, smart, street-wise cat; Runt (voiced by Frank Welker) is a dumb but sweet dog, whose voice and mannerisms parody Rain Man. Like any stereotypical dog, Runt hates cats, but is not smart enough to realize that his best friend Rita is a cat.
[edit] Description
Rita and Runt first starred together in episode six, on September 21, 1993, of Animaniacs, appearing in a segment called "When Rita Met Runt." Later appearances took place in various settings and time periods, including Ancient Egypt, "Home on De-Nile", Nazi-occupied Poland around 1939, "Puttin' on the Blitz", and Salem during the infamous Salem witch trials; they also occasionally appeared in the "contemporary" era.
Rita often breaks into song, drawing on the singing talents of Peters, a Tony Award- and Grammy Award-winning singer-actress. As with many other Animaniacs segments, "Rita and Runt" sketches often parodied specific musicals; one of the pair's most lavishly scored cartoons was a spoof of the musical Les Misérables, called "Les Miseranimals" (although Peters has never appeared in Les Misérables).
In the episode "Animaniacs Stew", where the characters were mismatched, Rita was inside a cage with Acme labs, where she promptly ate Pinky. She says it is her best episode as she has a place to stay, even though she is caged. In a later short, Runt is teamed with Pesto of the Goodfeathers, both of which are homeless. Runt gets taken in by an old lady, who also owns a parrot who causes trouble for Runt. Pesto comes to Runt's defense by attacking the parrot with his infamous short temper, resulting in expulsion for both of them from the old lady's house. At the end of the episode, Runt recalls how Rita always sang for him, to which Pesto does a "la la la" humming to a classical Italian song.
Rita and Runt were absent for the latter half of the series' run. Ostensibly, this was rooted in the difficulty in creating new songs for each appearance, the dark downswing tone of the shorts (the two never found a home for long), and the high cost of keeping Peters on payroll. Welker, who voiced several other characters, remained a series regular. In addition, the show's format changed much during its first season, shifting from occasionally airing grounded, educational material, such as the "Rita and Runt" segments, to producing mainly zany parodies[citation needed].
The characters continued to appear in the opening credits, in which Rita was referred to by name. They reappeared without speaking parts in several of the Kids' WB episodes, once even stated as "Missing" on a milk carton. Peters returned in the direct-to-video movie Wakko's Wish, and both characters spoke.
[edit] Rita and Runt Episodes
| Date | Title | Story |
|---|---|---|
| September 21, 1993 | When Rita Met Runt | Initial introduction of characters, a homeless cat (Rita) and dog (Runt), forever travelling to find a home. Song: "Humans Ain't What They Seem to Be." Lyrics by Sherri Stoner, Music by Randy Rogel |
| September 27, 1993 | Les Miseranimals | Runt escapes from the pound after having being imprisoned for stealing a bone to eat. He is tracked down by the relentless Camenbert. Rita and a number of other cats are imprisoned by a tavern owner named Tristesse. When Tristesse runs out of meat for his meat pies, he decides to use the imprisoned cats. With the help of some poodles, Runt manages to free Rita and the other cats. They all travel to Paris. Songs (partial): "Camenbert" (parody of Confrontation); "At the End of My Fork" (parody of At the End of the Day); "Do You Hear the Poodles Bark?" (parody of Do You Hear the People Sing?), "Bitten In Ze Butt" (parody of Master of the House): Lyrics by Deanna Oliver, Music by Alf Clausen |
| October 5, 1993 | The Cat and the Fiddle | In 1690's Italy, Stradivarius, a violin maker, takes in Rita, but not Runt. Stradivarius hopes to use Rita to make violin strings, but
Runt finds out and rescues Rita, destroying violins. Song: "A Place Called Home": Lyrics by Nichollas Hollander, Music by Cal Scott. |
| October 19, 1993 | Home on De-Nile | Rita and Runt are in ancient Egypt. Cleopatra, seeking a cat to sacrifice, chooses Rita. Runt is forced to help build a temple. Song: "All Wrapped Up in Love" Lyrics by Marty Panzer, Music by Randy Rogel. |
| October 29, 1993 | Phranken-Runt | Songs: "Let's Try For Two"; "You Gotta Use Your Brain"; "I'm a Hands-On Kinda Girl"; "Let's Try For Three": Music and Lyrics by the Sherman Brothers (uncredited). |
| November 1, 1993 | Puttin' on the Blitz | Rita and Runt are in Warsaw, Poland during the 1939 German blitzkrieg. Rita saves Katrina, daughter of the head of the Polish underground. Rita then sees Runt being attacked by German dogs and leaps from the train in order to help him. |
| November 5, 1993 | Pinky and the Cat | Pinky asks Rita what she wants to do tonight and Rita eats Pinky. |
| November 5, 1993 | No Place Like Homeless | Pesto and Runt are homeless, so Runt gets them into an old woman's home. The woman's parrot scares Runt so Pesto beats him up. The angry old woman makes them leave. |
| November 11, 1993 | Smitten with Kittens | Runt begins playing tug-of-war with the table cloth at a restaurant, getting himself and Rita kicked out. Outside, they find three starving abandoned kittens that want Rita to be their mother, but Rita doesn't want to be responsible. The old woman from the restaurant takes care of the kittens. Songs: "Milk, Please, Mama"; "I'm Nobody's Mama": Lyrics by Deanna Oliver, Music by Jeff Moss. |
| November 17, 1993 | Of Nice and Men | En route to Monterrey, Rita and Runt wind up at Happy Bob's Bunny Ranch. Bob tries to get the bunnies to skin them for fur but Rita and Runt set the bunnies free. |
| November 18, 1993 | Kiki's Kitten | Kiki is an angry gorilla, but Rita's singing pacifies her. Researchers take Rita from the alley and give her to Kiki, who treats Rita like a baby. Rita doesn't like being Kiki's cat and escapes, but Kiki breaks out to follow her. Kiki takes a rude alley cat instead of Rita back to her lab habitat. |
| November 24, 1993 | Icebreakers | Rita and Runt meet Ross Perot in Alaska while he is running for president. Runt becomes his sled dog and Rita joins. Rita saves Perot from dangers and gives Runt the credit. They go to a boat leaving Perot behind. |
| February 18, 1994 | Up A Tree | When Rita is chased up a tree she has trouble getting down. With the help of Maybeloota Marabella Missy McCoy, she finally gets the courage to come down. Songs (partial): "Corn"; "Fraidy Cat"; "Is This My Destiny?": Lyrics by Deanna Oliver, Music by Andrew Belling |
| May 3, 1994 | Witch One | Rita and Runt are in Salem during the Salem Witch trials. Rita is accused of being a witch and is caught. As she is about to be drowned Runt helps her escape. Songs: "The Judge" "Nothing Like a Cat" "On to Boston": Lyrics by John P. McCann, based on music by Alan Menken, additional/parody music by Guy Moon. (Note: The songs are subtle parodies of Beauty and the Beast, prompting Runt to hope they won't get sued. |
