Mice Don't Dance/Brain Drained is the 11th episode of the 3rd season of the Pinky and the Brain spin-off series and the 36th episode overall. It originally aired on September 26, 1997. Both cartoons in this episode are animated by Wang.
Mice Don't Dance
Plot
At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Brain attempts to lure the public under his control utilizing robotic tap-dancing pants with hypnotic dance moves.
Crew
- Written by Tom Minton
- Directed by Russell Calabrese
Songs
Trivia
- This episode's main musical number, The Pinnacle of Wits, is an adaptation of the song Puttin' on the Ritz. The ending remix of the Pinky and the Brain theme song is also set to the same tune.
- After Bojangles and Brain's pants dance-off together, Pinky laments that Shirley Temple is going to need a new dance partner. This is of course a reference to Bojangles and Shirley Temple's iconic stair dance in the 1935 film The Little Colonel.
Brain Drained
Plot
Brain, desperate for original plans, decides to look up to writers for a good plot. However, all he and Pinky get are overused plots, show formats, and just plain nonsense.
Crew
- Written by Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard
- Directed by Russell Calabrese
Songs
Trivia
- The mice's title card theme from Animaniacs is used as the title card music for this cartoon.
- Before trying to get good plan material from writers, Brain concocts new plans that are similar similar to the ones from past episodes such as "Das Mouse" (hypnotic food), "Snowball" (chain-letter scheme), "The Helpinki Formula" (infomercials), "Brain Meets Brawn" (perpetual tea-time), "Bubba Bo Bob Brain" (subliminal messages), "Of Mouse And Man" (workers compensation scam), and "Pinkasso" (giant mirror disco ball).
- The infomercial scheme may also be a reference to a later episode, "But That's Not All, Folks!", which was in production at the same time as this episode.
- Brain previously had problems trying to find a good plan to do before in the beginning of "It’s Only A Paper World" (referred to there as "conquers' block").
- During the "BrainDude and Pinkasaur" musical number, the pitch guy briefly dances the "Batusi" from the 1966 Batman pilot episode "Hi Diddle Riddle."
- "PinkyWinky and Brainy Wainy" is seemingly a parody of Teletubbies with a hint of The Smurfs.
- The appearance of the mice mirror those of Littlest Pet Shop.
- The rather large cast of "colorful" characters in the song could possibly be interpreted as another jab by the writers at Kids' WB!'s demands to add additional characters to the show, while the song itself may be a parody of their demands to alter the show's formula.
- "BrainDude and Pinkasaur" is a reference to over-the-top action-oriented brands such as Power Rangers.
- During the crazy guy's Pinky and the Brain story pitch, "Hungarian Rhapsody" can be heard playing in the background.
- At the end of the cartoon, the mice walk by the Warner Bros. lot, where the Water Tower is notably visible. Pinky wonders if they can find writers on the lot, but Brain dismisses this idea as crazy, saying that they can't afford them as they "don't have enough bananas."
- The "bananas" line may also be a reference to the 1923 novelty song "Yes! We Have No Bananas."
- The ending remix of the Pinky and the Brain theme has its names replaced with "Pinkasaur and the BrainDude" (Narfrageous!).
Production Notes
- On the Pinky and the Brain Volume 2 DVD set, the two cartoons of this episode are numbered as separate episodes inside the case in order to make the 21-episode set seem like a rounded 22-numbered set. Within the set itself, the two cartoons are still part of the same half-hour.
Soundtrack
- "Yankee Doodle"
- "Turkey in the Straw"
- "Hail to the Chief"
- "Buffalo Gals"
- "Hungarian Rhapsody" (No. 2)
- "Pop Goes the Weasel"
- "Merrily We Roll Along"
Cast
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Rob Paulsen | Pinky, Additional Voices |
| Maurice LaMarche | Brain, Additional Voices |
| John Astin | Grover Whalen |
| Dorian Harewood | Bojangles |
| Tress MacNeille | Old Woman, Additional Voices |
| Gail Matthius | Wendy |
| Michael McKean | Ponytail, Pitch guy, Additional Voices |
| Peter Scolari | Weird Guy |