A Mink named Minerva

On October 28 1993, Moon over Minerva premiered on the
animated television series Animaniacs. I happened to miss
this moment of television history, not yet being a fan of the
show at that time. Yeah, I was a late bloomer insofar as the
Animaniacs are concerned. It wasn’t until 1996 that I became
a fan, being converted after seeing The chairman of the bored
featuring Francis Pump Handle, “But everyone calls me Pip”.
I was hooked thereafter.
By that time, Minerva Mink had already gained quite a loyal
following among a certain segment of cartoon fans, and even
achieving a cult figure like status, especially on the internet.
She was becoming an icon to furry fans everywhere.
But, I hadn’t a clue.
After seeing The chairman of the bored, I began taping the
show regularly, setting the timer to record it while I was at
work. It was upon viewing one of these tapes that I first
discovered Minerva Mink.
Yes, there IS such a thing as love at first sight! Heh.

Meet Minerva was released on February 15 1994, and was
produced by Jon McClenahan’s  STARTOONS studio, the
outfit responsible for the higher quality episodes of the
series. Directed by Kirk Tingbald (Johnny Bravo) who had
specifically asked for the assignment, and Barry Caldwell, it
defined Miss Mink’s (As Jon McClenahan refers to her)
personality to perfection, and is my personal favorite of her
two cartoon shorts.
While Meet Minerva & Moon over Minerva are the only
two shorts in which the mink was cast in the lead role, she
actually made her first appearance sometime earlier on the
show, Hercule Yakko being her introduction to the audience.
Here, Minerva’s look is influenced by the drawings of
Randy Haycock, who drew the very first character designs for
Minerva. Even though Dan Haskett is generally thought of as
her creator, several people contributed to Minerva’s look and
character, including the writers (Sherri Stoner being only one)
story board artists, and the animators themselves.
Haskett’s designs were chosen for Meet Minerva, and his
are the ones most fans are familiar with. They are certainly my
faves:) Being a Haskett fan, I am a tad biased.;)

Originally named Marilyn Mink (For obvious reasons) then
renamed Minerva, this character seems to have been engulfed in
controversy from the very onset of her creation. All things taken
into consideration, its astonishing that Minerva ever got beyond
a story pitch, much less actually making it to the small screen.
Certain executives within Warner Bros. Television Animation
would have preferred that the character had never seen the light
of day, claiming Minerva to be too politically incorrect for the
time,...  a poor role model, and far too sexy for a children’s T.V.
show. Odd, since Animaniacs was geared for a more adult
viewing audience, in the tradition of the classic Warner Bros.
cartoon shorts from days of yore. Go figure, huh?
It has been said by some on the inside that the aforementioned
executives “Felt threatened” by the Minerva character!
Again,... go figure. And of course, she was a mink.

Production went forward nevertheless, and with the release of
Moon over Minerva in 1993 and Meet Minerva in 1994,
Minerva Mink took her place in the annals of  cartoon television
history. And broke the hearts of  many a cartoon fan for sure;)
Looking back at these two little gems of ‘furry toondom’, and
especially Meet Minerva, one can see as to why certain individuals
thought the character too provocative for a younger viewing
audience.
Minerva’s overt sexuality is plain to see, indeed it is a large part
of her character, and her appeal if I may be frank ;) Heh.  The many
sexual innuendos are fairly obvious to mature viewers, however,
are they really any different from the same sort of material employed
in the classic shorts of the past?  Red Hot Riding Hood most
certainly comes to mind, (Tex Avery totally ruled!!! His stuff can
still make me laugh ‘til I can’t even breathe!! And that’s not easy to
do,.. trust me;) Pepe Lepew and his exploits, Bugs Bunny donning
the occasional dress, using sex (Or the promise of it) to foil one
of his adversary’s ... there are countless other examples.
One wonders if there would have been as much of an uproar if
Minerva had been a woman rather than a mink.
Somehow, I think not. Regardless, after her two lead shorts,
Minerva was delegated to cameo appearances for the rest of the
Animaniacs series run. Two that are worthy of mention (Well,
ANY appearance by Minerva is worthy of note! GRIN!!:) are
This Pun for hire, in which Minerva sports the peak-a-boo
bang hairstyle of  Veronica Lake, who along with Marilyn Monroe,
Jane Mansfield & Carole Lombard were major influences in the
creation of Minerva. And The Macadamia Nut, with STARTOONS
and Jon McClenahan once again at the helm. Here, Minerva shares
the spotlight with Dot Warner and Hello Nurse. Grrrrrr;) Heh.
The release of  Wakko’s Wish in February of 2000 saw the
last appearance of Minerva Mink. (Ironically, that same month
the Animaniacs comic book series was cancelled after a nearly
eight year run. Minerva was in several issues, and many of the
stories were far more risqué than anything in her cartoons.)
This direct to video offering was a disappointment to many fans
of the television show, especially to devotees of the mink who
were hoping for a larger role for the object of their affections.
Alas, it was not to be. Minerva’s screen time was limited to only
brief, spotty scenes, and short spoken lines of very few words.
At one point we are teased with a smidgen of Minerva breaking
into song, yet it too is only a single verse. OK,.. I’ll admit it.....
I love Julie Brown’s singing voice:) I’m just crazy about her
rendition of Minerva’s theme song:) SIGH
Minerva’s look was altered for the film as well,.. she was still
cute (Duh) but her sexuality was toned down drastically. Gone
were the short, tight as the proverbial drum skirts and the low
cut, cleavage revealing dresses from her earlier cartoons.
Instead, Minerva was clothed in the tattered & torn garments
of a peasant girl, which did fit the plot of the movie even if it
was rather unbecoming to Miss Mink.
Despite my criticisms, it was still a treat to see Minerva on the
screen again, either in the guise of a peasant or a fashion obsessed
valley girl. I certainly hope that it won’t be the last time she
graces the frames of a cartoon, although it appears that way:(
One can still dream, eh?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


HEY!!!!  Wake up!!!  I’m on a roll here!!  Heh heh.  Sorry, but when
it comes to Minerva Mink I can go on forever. Just ask the poor
unfortunate people who have to work with me;) GRIN!!! 
“Hey, did I ever tell you that Minerva was originally named after
Marilyn Monroe?”
“Yeah man,.. ya have. Hundreds of times!  GEEZE!!!” ;) 
“I did, eh?  Well, did I tell you about the censors objecting to her
cleavage in certain close-ups, and having it covered using white out?”
“ Yup, ya did.”
“ Oh,...what about the edits made to the infamous shower scene
from  Moon over Minerva?”
“Ditto”.
Sigh,...  ;)

********************************************************************

The reasons for Minerva’s demise are many and vary depending
upon who one asks. It is commonly said that Minerva was cast
out of the spotlight because she was too risqué for the little ones,
yet there is more to it than that.
As Minerva gained popularity on the internet, she was increasingly
being depicted as engaging in sexual acts by various so-called
“artists”. While rather tame at first, the typical sexy pose or a
topless pic, the content became more graphic in nature, with rape,
bondage, torture and lesbian sex being portrayed as well. Throw in
an occasional tentacle here and there, and you have the ingredients
for the recipe of much of all that is furry porn. Yummy,...not!!!
Warner Bros. studio and some of the artists/animators who worked
on Minerva began receiving letters requesting nude/pornographic
drawings of her. This wasn’t new as the same sort of requests were
made for characters of Tiny Toons, if you can believe that.
Artists attending various conventions were harassed by certain
rabid “fans” who demanded such smut from the talented hands of
these animators.
Indeed, even the voice actors/actresses experienced some of the
same as well. It had gotten pretty bad,.. so much so that an episode
of  Animaniacs touched upon this very thing. The Get a Life
Foundation and the character Fan boy, who was based on an
actual person who was by all accounts a real pain in the,.... well,
you know;) (With all this in mind, is it any wonder that Dan “the
man” Haskett is so reclusive?)
It seems the powers that be at Warner Bros. didn’t care to be
associated with such goings on, and in an attempt to distance
themselves from any connection to furverts or furry porn, they
decided to limit Minerva’s role to little more than walk-on bits.

It has been related to me by certain friends in the animation biz
that there were several scripts for additional Minerva Mink shorts
written, but never used. In fact, there was supposedly a spin-off
series planned, Minerva and Newt that was like-wise shelved.:(
I cannot confirm or deny any of this, nevertheless, I can only think
to myself,... “Man, what might have been!  Minerva’s very own
television series!!”  Insert a very long sigh here;)
I’ve read that Freakazoid was put into production instead of
Minerva and Newt, again, I cannot confirm this either.
Rumors and speculation about Miss Mink abound, and it is very
difficult to separate the truth from fiction at times. Only those who
knew Minerva the best, the people who created her and brought her
to the screen for the rest of us to enjoy know the complete truth.
Perhaps that is as it should be,... for part of Minerva’s allure is the
mystery surrounding so much of her origins, and the end of her
all too brief career, wouldn’t you agree?
Suffice it to say that Minerva WAS created, and for a short moment
in time, she had her place in the sun,..... and we had her.

So what does the future hold for Minerva Mink? Fred Baker wrote
on his excellent Minerva web page, “It’s unlikely another short
starring Minerva will be produced”.
Hmmmm, I’m not so certain of this. Despite Warner Bros. distaste
for any connection to the furry sub culture, and the pornographic
“art” that is so prevalent on the ‘net, they are in the business of
making money above all else. And Minerva is a potential goldmine
in the making. Nine years after the release of Moon over Minerva
she is as popular as ever, maybe more so. She continues to be a
prominent figure on the web, (Not always such a good thing in
some cases) and with reruns of  Animaniacs playing all over the
globe at one time or another, a new generation of cartoon fans are
discovering Minerva Mink just as we did. The character has a great
appeal, and there is sooo very much that could be done with her.
In capable hands, (Jon McClenahan comes to mind) Minerva could
truly shine!  The possibilities for story material & character
development are endless. Think Minerva in a Clueless sort of
plot line;) I’m certain that this hasn’t gone unnoticed by the W.B.
executives who now hold the reins of power. Why would they
refuse to sell the creative rights to Minerva if they never intended
to use the character again? The offer has been made before. No dice.
I can’t help but wonder if  W.B. is keeping Minerva locked away
in order to further enhance her mystique, and therefore her popularity,
increasing the demand for another Minerva cartoon. Perhaps they
are waiting for the right time to reintroduce her, when the P.C. fervor
isn’t so much a factor in what sort of material is deemed presentable.
Then again,.. maybe I’m indulging in little more than wishful thinking,
a pipe dream. Yeah,.. I’d say that's a pretty safe bet;) Still,.. I have this
fervent hope that W.B. sees the character as I do, and recognizes a
opportunity when it presents itself. Surely, this is the case? Eh?
You’re still with me?  Wow,.. talk about perseverance;) Well,
breathe easy now, for I’ve come to the conclusion of my time
on the soap box. When my friend, Fei Kisaragi, asked me to
contribute a written piece about Minerva Mink, I simply
could not resist the chance to rant about my beloved mink;)
(Thanks for the honor, Fei;) I hope that you folks enjoy reading
this half as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it:) I have attempted to
be as accurate as I possibly could, although there may be some
errors here and there. If so, I apologize,... they are not intentional
I assure you. (For example, I incorrectly stated that Wakko’s
Wish was released in February 2000. In fact, I bought my copy
on December 16, 1999. It was slated for release in the fall of 1999,
but the release date was advanced one month. Sorry, people.)

On a personal note:   Minerva, you hang in there, gal. There is
still the chance, however slim it may be, that you will have the
second shot at stardom you so richly deserve. Yeah, it’s been a
long nine years since your first leading role, but maybe your time
is nigh. Even if not, you will always have your fans, and they will
not allow your memory to fade away. I certainly won’t let that
happen.  Ever.

Love ya, sweetheart:)

~Newt.
(Well, what did ya expect, people? Hemmingway?) Heh heh.
That’s all, Folks!!!

Dedicated to Mr. Chuck Jones, and animators everywhere.

Animaniacs, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. © 2002 Used without permission.

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