By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The 90s were an interesting time for animation. Beavis and Butthead, Aeon Flux, Ren & Stimpy, all were pushing the medium forward in a new, adult direction while Batman: The Animated Series perfected the noir style of Batman that’s influenced a generation. None of those shows had a character banned by the studio for being too hot. Animaniacs, the after-school Warner Bros. cartoon has that distinction with a character who only appeared twice before getting yoinked off stage. Minerva Mink, a female take on Tex Avery’s classic Wolf, was too much for the adults to handle.
Minerva Mink Flipped The Script
Take one look at Minerva Mink (voiced by Julie Brown), and you can tell what the crew was going for: she’s a Hollywood bombshell, in mink form. Designed by the production team of Batman: The Animated Series, Paul Dini, and producer Sherri Stoner (the real-life model for Disney’s Ariel and Belle), Minerva’s mere presence caused male characters to lose their minds. Think the reaction from Yakko and Wakko whenever the Nurse walks by, but magnify it to include every man, oh, and heap on plenty of more innuendo.
As with most characters and plots from Animaniacs, there was another layer to the character. Minerva would also lose her mind and go crazy when she saw an attractive man. Flipping the script from the classic cartoon playbook was one thing, but then the producers went ahead and, as with the Wolf and Pepe Le Pew, turned Minerva into the villain. She’s vain, obsessed with looks, and is greedy. The concept behind the character is a good one, but she can’t help she’s drawn that way.
Under 30 Minutes Of Screentime
Minerva Mink only appeared in two shorts of her own, “Moon Over Minerva,” and “Meet Minerva,” which ironically, aired 20 episodes later. Animaniacs creator Tom Ruegger expanded on why she was cut short, explaining in interviews that the President of Warner Bros. Animation Jean MacCurdy thought “[Minerva] was too voluptuous and her storyline a but too one-note in that she was very sexy.” The choice was made, even before the segments aired, to bring down her curves and rework her cleavage lines to be more family-friendly.
Two appearances was all Minerva Mink needed to become an icon. She continued to appear in background shots, as part of the opening title sequence, and then in later Warner series, including Pink and the Brain. The Animaniacs comic turned her into a recurring character and even allowed for some character development. Not bad for under 30 minutes of screentime.
90s Animation Was Built Different
The Animaniacs revival had a chance to bring her back, but they didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Both of her appearances in the reboot were silent and background roles. It was a missed opportunity given the way the character subverts tradition, which would find her more of a fanbase today. Then again, as everyone has learned from Warner Bros. recent decisions regarding animation, they’re not fans.
We’ll never have another era of experimentation and change like we did during the 90s. Animaniacs changed what an after school cartoon could be and avant-garde sketch style animation started becoming more popular. Misfires like Minerva Mink were bound to happen here and there, but that’s the price for daring to do something different.
