Skippy Squirrel

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Skippy Squirrel is a fictional cartoon squirrel in the Warner Bros. animated series Animaniacs who is the nephew of Slappy Squirrel. He is voiced by Nathan Ruegger, the son of the show's producer Tom Ruegger. In the Japanese version of the show, he is voiced by Mayumi Tanaka

It is more than likely that Skippy's name was taken from the Peanut Butter of the same name (though he bears some resemblance to one-off Looney Tunes character, Buster Rabbit), which has a squirrel on the label, and reflects the animation cliché of alliterative character names. His catchphrase in the show is "Spew!", usually a reaction to something gross or disgusting.

Skippy's characterization was somewhat inconsistent from one appearance to another, alternating between the naïve innocence of a prepubescent child and the borderline cynicism of a young teenager. While this transition could be explained by his spending time with his acidly cynical and bitter Aunt Slappy, it was not presented as a progression; rather, Skippy would regularly switch back and forth between characterizations from short to short, primarily depending on whether his role in the story was an innocent counterpoint to Slappy's crusty elder or as a co-conspirator with his aunt against the story's antagonist(s). Either way, Skippy was generally an energetic youth who eagerly spent time with his beloved aunt, for whom he had more than a little hero-worship as a star of the golden age of animation. Also, as revealed in Gimme a Break, he's a member of the Hair Club for Men.

Originally, Slappy Squirrel was billed as the sole star of the Slappy & Skippy shorts, being the only one mentioned in the brief opening sequence and theme song. Later, Skippy was added as co-star for a new opening sequence and expanded theme. Whatever his billing, Skippy was obviously always intended to be a principal character on Animaniacs, appearing in the show's opening credits as well as many sequences involving the main cast of the series.

One notable episode featuring Skippy was "Bumbie's Mom", an obvious parody of Bambi, in which Skippy is greatly disturbed after seeing "Bumbie's" Mom shot by hunters in the movie. Slappy then takes him to see the actress who played her, an old friend, to show that she is not really dead.