A running gag throughout the Animaniacs series is the question of what animals, if any, the Warners are meant to be modeled after. The series’ other characters are cartoon representations of various animals such as mice, birds, monkeys, and squirrels, but the Warners are intentionally ambiguous. Various characters in the series question the Warners about this and refer to them as a variety of different animals, frequently “puppy children” owing to their ears and tails or sometimes Toons because of their 1930s appearance.