Once upon a time... there was a nutty, faboo, artistic Warner named Okkay who, on a whim one day, drew herself dressed as Xena: Warrior Princess...
The story may have ended there, but Okkay's friend, Wakkanne, was a big fan of Xena: Warrior Princess. When she saw this drawing of Okkay, Wakkanne couldn't resist drawing herself as Gabrielle!
Now, that was all well and good, but Wakkanne, being super nutty, thought up this truly Wakko idea of drawing a whole bunch of Animaniacs characters in Xena costumes and giving them funny names. Okkay would become Okkra. Pharfignewton would become Okkra's horse, Phargo. Wakko would become Wakkxer. Dot became Aphrodottie. But Wakkanne had a small problem. She didn't know what to call her character in Gabrielle's outfit. This all was resolved one evening -- June 1, 1999, to be precise -- as Wakkanne chatted with her friend, LolaBunny:
LolaBunny: hmm, Wakkanne, Warner Princess? DOT: NO WAY! I'm the only Princess on this show! * Wakkanne giggles... actually, I was considering writing a fanfict based on a pic that Okkay did of herself dressed as Xena and a pic that I did of myself dressed as Gabrielle... LolaBunny: oh? Wakkanne: I'm gonna call it something like: "Okkra: Warner Warrior Princess" and her horse will be Pharfignewton, simply called, "Phargo"... :) LolaBunny: LOL LolaBunny: Don't forget to involve Pinky there or he'll never forgive you. Wakkanne: oh I know! I can include the fact that in Xena, Argo was at first thought of as a male and later a female.. kinda like, you're not sure if Pharfignewton is really a female... :) LolaBunny: LOL!!!!!!! LolaBunny: Oh, that's good * Wakkanne laughs too! ooh, thanks! Wakkanne: Next, I should draw.. Waxer? Er, Wakkser? Uh, Wakxer? Well, I know how ta say his name, but not sure how I'm gonna spell it... :) LolaBunny: You or Wakko dressed as Joxor? Wakkanne: Wakko! Wakkanne: and for Okkra's love interest... Hmmm... Yakkules? LolaBunny: droooooooooooooooooool! * Wakkanne giggles! LolaBunny: If Okkra gets Yakules, Gabrianne should get Wakolaus. Not Joxor. Wakkanne: Gabrianne! I LOVE IT! Wakkanne: You just came up with her name! Wakkanne: I was really stuck on that one... didn't know *what* to call her! LolaBunny: hehe Wakkanne: and Wakolaus... hmm.. why not? the real show's got PLEANTY of lookalikes!
And so, without even realizing it, Lola had come up with Gabrianne's name and the idea for the chracter, Wakkolaus!
Then in August 1999, Wakkanne went to her first Xena convention where she met Bruce Campbell who plays Autolycus. She showed Bruce her finished drawings of Gabrianne, Wakkxer, Aphrodottie, and an early sketch of a Chicken Boo/Autolycus character, Bootolycus. Bruce just said, "Hmmm..." when he saw it, but asked Wakkanne if she wanted him to autograph it. Why hadn't she thought of that? "Oh! Sure!" she said.
This became the start of a trend. Wakkanne decided she'd meet as many Xena actors as she could and get them to autograph the crossovers she drew of their characters!
The very next summer, Wakkanne went to her second Xena convention. This time she met Ted Raimi who plays Joxer. She was able to show him not only Gabrianne, Wakkxer, Aphrodottie, and a finished Bootolycus, but also Yakkules, Okkra (the Warner Warrior Princess herself), and Wakkolaus. Ted thoroughly enjoyed the drawings. He said "These are really cute!" and he laughed as he read, "Wakkxer!" This time Wakkanne was ready to get her Wakkxer drawing autographed. She even gave Ted a copy of her beloved Wakkxer.
Later, when Wakkanne told Okkay that both Autolycus and Joxer now knew of the exploits of OkkraWarner: Warrior Princess, Okkay exclaimed, "Wheeee! i feel like a movie star!"
So basically, no one person came up with this idea. The whole concept of the "Okkraverse" evolved though a series of crazy ideas, really cool cooincidences, and accidents thanks to some really special folks: OkkayWarner, LolaBunny, Bruce Campbell, and Ted Raimi. Faboo, huh? Wakkanne wanted to make this page to thank these awesome folks. She couldn't have done this without them.
Who will be the next person to influence Okkra's history and send her off to evolve in an entirely new direction? The fun is all in the finding out! Until then, Battle on!
Xena: Warrior Princess and all things Xena herein are (c) 1995-2000 Renaissance Pictures and MCA/Universal. The Animaniacs, characters, names, titles, and all other related indica on this page are trademarks of Warner Bros., copyright 1993-2000. No challenge of ownership to trademarked property is intended or implied.