Yakko Warner

Yakko has primarily black fur with a red nose and white face and feet. He wears a pair of smoky topaz slack pants that go up to his waist. The pants are held up by a large black belt with a golden square buckle. He is an anthropomorphic toon of indeterminable species. In the reboot, his face and feet are a warmer color, with his feet now having one spot instead of two. Yakko's teeth, like the other Warners, now has noticeable fangs. His slacks are less baggy and were given a more saturated color. His nose is slightly triangular, and he has grown a small tuft of hair-like fur/fur-like hair on the top of his head similar to Pinky.

William Shakespeare, To yak, Attractive women

Boredom

Yakko is the same height as Bugs Bunny. 4 ft.

In an interview with Tom Ruegger in Talkin' Toons With Rob Paulsen episode 14, he questions that Yakko might be 14 years old in a joke.

Yakko is ambidextrous. In some episodes, he is seen writing with his left hand, and in others, he is seen writing with his right hand.

A born leader, fast-talker and ideal big brother, Yakko takes the lead in one off-the-wall Animaniacs adventure after another. Described in the theme song as the one who "yaks," Yakko is mainly defined by his irony, wit, and use of wordplay for comedy. The original series pitch bible describes him as "the glib, fast-talker and sly wise-guy[...] the thinker, the planner, the schemer, and the trio's recreation director." He is indeed the talker of the group, and is playfully cocky and disrespectful, with little respect for authority, or adults in general. He is also persistent and positive, determined to complete whatever he has set his mind on. In the song "Be Like Me", Yakko describes himself as using "the pen and not the sword" and solving problems with a "clever rhyme." Yakko has a huge degree of zaniness, which often causes problems for his adversaries. He is able to manipulate "cartoon logic" to suit his needs; as he describes in his song, "I Am the Very Model of a Cartoon Individual", he is "adept at funny gags," including the summoning and use of an anvil, dynamite or mallet for slapstick gags, the changing of background sceneries, and occasional shapeshifting to suit comedic needs. He also has a hyperactive streak, as he rarely, if ever, remains still; however, he seems able to multitask while moving as such, as he is able to recite Plotz's orders in "Hearts of Twilight" despite having been shown playing paddleball while he was speaking. While he occasionally dabbles in comedic slapstick or visual gags, his zaniness is more centered around wordplay. An example of his puns can be seen in such instances as in "La La Law," when he responds to an accusation of "badgering" the witness by tossing aside a live badger, and responds to the later accusation of leading the witness by allowing her to lead in a dance.

He is fully aware of his capabilities, intentionally entering (and winning) verbal or rap battles, such as in "Morning Malaise" or "Gift Rapper," or when he showed off his fast-talking ability by listing off Dot's name when she was unable to in "Cutie and the Beast." He is known for most of the adult jokes of the show, and will often end accidental innuendos by blowing a kiss and saying, "Goodnight, everybody." He also has a large interest in girls in the original series, with him and Wakko calling "Hello, Nurse!" to women they find attractive (especially the eponymous character), and often jumping into their arms or onto their laps, much to Dot's chagrin. Yakko is particularly flirty, often asking said women out or attempting to kiss them. (Though, to be fair, he and his siblings also give kisses to everybody they greet, and their 'special friends' in the manner of Bugs Bunny.) Yakko also seems to recognize and make more intentional innuendos than his siblings, such as in "Chalkboard Bungle", in which he questioned "what else" Miss Flamiel had in her shirt, or in "A Christmas Plotz," telling the chorus girls to let him know "when those costumes get heavy." Despite this, he is not shown to be sexist, making several references to feminism and women's liberation, such as when questioned about usage of the term "sister" in "This Pun for Hire"; this makes it likely that his actions are more driven by a mixture of hormones, difficulty comprehending social cues, and general zaniness. This trait of his is toned down in the reboot. Yakko is very much a child at heart, showing a distaste for adulthood and its burdens. However, he has also shown himself to be responsible in caring for his siblings, as well as sweet, loving, warm-hearted, and kind towards them. The pitch bible also says he is "very protective" of them and loves them dearly"- this trait is seen mainly in Wakko's Wish, in which he is presented as the main caretaker of Dot during her illness.

He often is shown guiding or teaching Wakko and Dot throughout their adventures, instructing them in multiplication or the protocol of the Wheel of Morality segment. His siblings seem to see him as their authority figure, as seen in "Bun Control", where they ask his permission to keep their bunnies. But while they do love and respect him, they also will occasionally quarrel; Yakko tends to butt heads with Dot the most, as shown in their incessant bickering during "I'm Mad" and their extended argument in "Cutie and the Beast." In the latter episode, as well as the reboot episode "Gold Meddlers", his siblings also express a bit of jealousy towards him for Yakko's World's popularity (despite Wakko's America being arguably just as iconic). In said reboot, his siblings also show a tiredness at his educational segments, though Yakko defends his position as the teacher by saying he is the "smarty pants"- and, in fact, "the only pants." While Yakko presents himself as very untroubled with how others perceive him, with a complete nonchalance when their 'special friends' become outraged with them, he appears to have some form of agitation, which he hides well. This is shown in instances such as a sleeping Yakko reciting the lyrics to "Yakko's World" and then becoming afraid that he "left one out," and in the reboot episode "Fear and Laughter in Burbank", in which he has a breakdown upon not being able to yak, and quickly looking to his siblings for assurance that he's funny. He also has a trait of falling back onto performing "Yakko's World" when stressed, pressed, or attempting to make someone like him.

Yakko also has a large degree of book smarts; he featured in the iconic song "Yakko's World" by naming every current nation of the world in song form, but he also performed similar educational songs such as "Yakko's Universe", "The Planets", "Multiplication", "Panama Canal", "When You're Traveling from Nantucket", as well as the parody of "Yakko's World," "All the Words in the English Language," and several other songs shared with his siblings. (though the Multiplication song may have been retconned in the reboot, in which Yakko's siblings state he can't do math.) He also has a deep appreciation for Shakespeare, performing and/or translating several scenes in the original show and defending the bard from rapper Jay-Pac in the reboot. Yakko takes offense to the implication he doesn't comprehend the plays, as stated by a narrator, and considering the amount of references he managed to put into a presumed impromptu rap, it is suggested that he is indeed able to grasp the material.

As stated in the pitch bible, the Warners "are the world's answer to loony justice, when the unjust must be taught a lesson" and represent "what kids would like to do to the jerky adults in the world." Yakko is particularly described as taking "great pleasure in finding a deserving target for the Warner Brothers' patented style of mayhem and destruction." He is usually the one to designate their "Special Friend", and is usually fully aware of their annoyance towards him, though he will not back off until justice is served. When people become angered at their antics, while he doesn't seem to understand why they're upset, he doesn't hesitate to ramp up their irritating behavior in order to deliver their form of karma. The Warner siblings are known to abide by their own moral code; while their sketches mainly revolve around them tormenting an antagonist, they make it clear that they will not bother anyone who has not already provoked them. This sometimes causes issues for them when they are annoyed by someone who has not intentionally aggravated them, such as Pip or Prunella Flundergust, as they do not find it right to fight back during these occasions. However, they do seem to be alright with other characters doing the same thing, as in the latter case they simply called Slappy Squirrel in to deal with their nanny so they wouldn't be culpable.

Yakko and his brother Wakko are infatuated with the beautiful Hello Nurse. Whenever they spot her or another attractive lady, they react in an exaggerated manner, for example, howling like wolves and shouting "Hell-O-o, Nurse!" This is usually followed by them lunging into her arms and giving her a large smooch. While Yakko is mostly attracted to women, he has kissed a few men on occasion. Yakko once willingly kissed Dr. Scratchansniff (who was really trying to kiss his girlfriend) on the lips, embraced him, and said, "I didn't know you cared."

As wacky as he is, Yakko is still the most literate of the three. He is also shown to be capable of speaking proper and actual Japanese, as opposed to the stereotyped barely-Asian-sounding gibberish you usually get in western cartoons. He can also name every single country in the world and every word in the English language. In the 2020 reboot, he takes grave offense when a rapper disses William Shakespeare and starts a rap battle while constantly quoting "Big Willy Shakes". One interesting example is him singing all the words in the English language to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance song. He's obviously broken down when shown singing the "Z" words but refuses to quit and doesn't faint until being requested to sing all the numbers above zero.

Implied in the reboot. Before Nickelwise reveals his fear of people not finding him funny, he starts to panic when he realises he is all alone in a dark, empty office, and begs for someone to talk to him and react to his jokes. Before the quest of the Wishing Star begins, he spends much of his time caring for Dot while Wakko goes to find work. Yakko is at his most serious and brotherly, reading her bedtime stories and keeping her warm. In the climax, it's unclear if he figured out she was acting when pretending to die from cannonfire. He looks relieved when she reveals it was a ruse to buy Wakko time to reach the Wishing Star. In "Fear and Laughter in Burbank" from the reboot. When Nickelwise tries to scare Dot by showing her as a no-longer-cute old woman and Wakko with plastic food, they're both fine — Dot is excited by the prospect of seeing her future, and Wakko eats all the plastic food anyway. However, when Nickelwise lures Yakko into an empty office environment where there's nobody there to laugh with him, then doesn't react to his jokes, revealing Yakko's fear of people not finding him funny and not being able to "yack" anymore after Nickelwise ties his tongue? The kid breaks, and becomes a screaming, terrified mess. The normally confident, smart-aleck, five-steps-ahead-of-his-foes Yakko is the ONLY ONE of the Warner siblings who the clown manages to scare, and he comes very close to losing his soul before Wakko and Dot show up. He's visibly and audibly shaken by this after he comes to, and only goes back to his usual self after his brother and sister reassure him that they do think he's funny (and that they're both okay after their encounters with Nickelwise). In the 2020 revival, it is revealed that Yakko's fear is that people wouldn't find him funny.

Tends to say "Uhhhhh..." at the beginning of a sentence. Especially right before a zinger. This was actually improvised by his voice actor. Interestingly, it's also used in a Couch Gag as the only one not to include the -y suffix.