Gold Meddlers/Pinko and the Brain/Math-Terpiece Theater: Apples is the third episode of the Animaniacs reboot.
Synopsis[]
The Warners compete in games of skill. Brain gets busted time-travelling. Dot gives a dramatic math lesson. [1]
Theme Song[]
Variable Verse[]
Wakko: May cause migraine-ys!
Trivia[]
- At the start of the theme song, the background behind the zoomed in water tower looks different, being just the sky like the original series instead of the landscape.
Gold Meddlers[]
Animation by Snipple Animation Studios
Plot[]
The Warners are camping out, only to be camping on the torch relay of the Greek games. The champion, Nils Niedhart, throws them out of the stadium. The Warners get angry and arrive back and decide to challenge him in the Greek games. Nils tries his hardest skills, but the Warners win all the sports through zany antics. Nils throws a tantrum, while the Warners get a truckload of gold medals. While Nils cries, the Warners assume there's chocolate in the medals. After finding out it's solid gold, the Warners give their medals to Nils. The medals are too heavy, and Nils falls underground into Hell.
Crew[]
- Written by Greg White and Wellesley Wild
- Directed by Brett Varon
Trivia[]
- The Mime makes a cameo appearance.
- The Light Cavalry Overture, Yakko's World, Oh Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone and The Monkey Song make musical cameos.
- An animation test for this episode has surfaced online, from a demo reel posted by animator Edson R. Bazzarin.[2]
- The footage shows the Warners partaking in an award ceremony following the end of the tournament. The Warners; like the final cut of the segment, try to eat the medals but end up not being able to consume them. Nils jumps in and rages at the Warners over them beating him in the tournament. The Warners eventually give in and decide to give Nils their medal. Afterwards, they begin tossing him more medals until the weight of the medals causes the ground to crack, eventually causing Nils to fall down into Hell. The final cut takes place at night rather than daytime, and sees the Warners giving in all their medals with a digger. Judges were added in the final cut, alongside an added joke.
- The animation is noticeably animated smoother in quality when compared to the final version of the episode.
- A shot of this episode's ending (or the test footage) was leaked in a video uploaded by a Snipple animator in April 2019 at the 7:19 mark. [3]. A comparison is pictured here, with the leak being on top and the final shot on the bottom. The animation is similar to the final version, with the only difference being that the scene still takes place during daytime.
Gallery[]
Pinko and the Brain[]
Animation by Titmouse, Inc.
Plot[]
Pinky and the Brain are presented to a well-known senator named Garp as a gift. Brain plans to take Garp's place and blackmail every politician until he's the only one left, allowing him to take over the world. Brain tells Garp that kids are allowed to ride on the swing and Garp runs from his office. Brain goes into a mechanical human suit that he built to pose as Senator Garp. Brain arrives in the office, and an intern named Brie notices something off. Later, Brie comes into the office to find Brain talking with Pinky, causing her to drop the mug and run. Brie tells the other workers what she saw, but Brain makes an alibi that Pinky is an Italian friend of his. The other workers believe him, but Brie is suspicious. Brain as Senator Garp charges politicians who look or act like a mouse, and puts them in prison.
After Brain has succeeded in blackmailing nearly everyone in the White House, he finds Brie rummaging through his files. Brain becomes suspicious, and decides to accuse her as being a mouse at a conference, which makes Brie protest. She then wins over the favor of the congress by declaring being "anti-cheese" as anti-American. accuses Brain and Pinky being mice, but Brain pretends to prove it by showing Pinky and how he's not a mouse. Pinky gets nervous and blows his cover, making everyone shocked. Brain escapes by rocketing through the wall, and puts Pinky in his pocket. Brain says that they must prepare for the next scheme to take over the world as the two crash into the Washington Monument.
Crew[]
- Story by Jess Lacher and Andrew Barbot
- Teleplay by Kathleen Chen, Brian Polk, and Wellesley Wild
- Directed by Brett Varon and Katie Rice
Songs[]
A photo of this cartoon's recording session from Rob Paulsen's autobiography memoir Voice Lessons. From front to back: Maurice LaMarche, Rob Paulsen, Corey Burton, and Grey Griffin.
Trivia[]
- This episode parodies the Second Red Scare that took place throughout the 1940’s and 1950s in the United States, especially the practices of McCarthyism.
- The Human Suit cue from "Win Big" returns when Brain first gets into the suit.
- Pinky's remark about a "Steam Powered Giraffe" is a reference to the band of the same name.
- Phil LaMarr and Grey Griffin appear in this cartoon as No-Name and Brie, respectively. The two previously voiced the megalomaniacal world-domination-seeking characters Hector Con Carne (himself another megalomaniacal brain in a more literal sense) and Major Doctor Ghastly in the Cartoon Network series Evil Con Carne (which originated as segments in the series Grim & Evil). Maurice LaMarche also appeared in Evil Con Carne as rival megalomaniac Estroy, making this cartoon a reunion of sorts.
- Director Brett Varon also worked on Evil Con Carne.
- The character of Tedward R. Gurrowl is a parody of anchor Edward R. Murrow.
- A few of the individuals who Brain has arrested on charges of being mice are a group of kids parodying The Mickey Mouse Club.
- This is the second time Brain says "Hell." The first time was in "A Pinky and the Brain Halloween" from the Pinky and the Brain spin-off series. This time, however, he isn't cut off.
- The ending instrumental remix of the Pinky and the Brain theme song is identical to the one that was present in the Freakazoid! episode "Freakazoid is History!", where the mice made a cameo appearance.
Comparison of the Pinky and the Brain ending theme remixes from "Freakazoid is History!" and "Pinko and the Brain."
Math-Terpiece Theater: Apples[]
Animation by Titmouse
Plot[]
Dot presents a dramatic math lesson calling it a “Tale of Betrayal”. It involves a poverty-stricken woman named Nancy, who has five apples that she stole. In a chase away from a cop, she loses two apples. One apple is taken by a dog, and another is taken by her child who chucks it at the cop. How many apples does she have left? Three. As the segment draws to a close, a future problem is alluded to involving “Train A” traveling at 40 miles per hour that left the station at 2:45.
Crew[]
- Written by Jess Lacher
- Directed by Adriel Garcia
Trivia[]
- Math-Terpiece Theater is a parody of Masterpiece Theater.
- Yakko and Wakko are absent from this segment, although there is a statue of Wakko's head at the beginning.
International Releases[]
- Canada: November 20, 2020 (Teletoon)
- Latin America: August 14, 2021 (HBO Max)
- Australia: September 1, 2021 (Stan)
Production Notes[]
- This episode was rated TV-PG-LV, likely due to Brain saying the word "hell" in the segment "Pinko and the Brain". The same situation would later happen in the season finale cartoon "Hindenburg Cola."
Cast[]
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
|---|---|
| Rob Paulsen | Yakko Warner, Pinky |
| Jess Harnell | Wakko Warner |
| Tress MacNeille | Dot Warner |
| Maurice LaMarche | The Brain, Senator Garp |
| Fred Tatasciore | Nils Niedhart, Lobbyist |
| Grey Griffin | Brie |
| Carlos Alazraqui | John |
| Jon Bailey | Pegasus |
| Eric Bauza | Scientist |
| Corey Burton | Announcer, Tedward R. Gurrowl, Senator Smith |
| Carl Faruolo | Mona Lisa Sandwich |
| Danny Jacobs | Hysterical Conductor |
| Phil LaMarr | No-Name |
| Rachael MacFarlane | Nancy, Urchin |
| Nancy McKeon | Additional Vocals |
References[]