Inherit the Wheeze is the 26th episode of the third season of Pinky and the Brain spin-off series and the 51st episode overall. It originally aired on February 14, 1998.
In a notably different shift from the usual kind of Pinky and the Brain cartoon, the episode tells a legitimate moral about the dangers of smoking.
Inherit the Wheeze[]
Animation by Rough Draft
Plot[]
The Brain battles a cigarette addiction after undergoing painful experiments at ACME Labs headed by a cigarette company, Paul Bunion Tobacco (manufacturer of Lumberjack Cigarettes). Brain then schemes to take advantage of the Paul Bunion Tobacco Company's own dastardly plans to aid in his quest for world domination. Pinky questions Brain's motives multiple times and has him rethink things when the plan goes too far.
Crew[]
- Story by Tom Ruegger and Earl Kress
- Written By Earl Kress
- Directed By Nelson Recinos
Songs[]
Trivia[]
- This episode is considered to be the "special episode" of Pinky and the Brain with the anti-smoking and anti-animal cruelty messages. It won a PRISM Award for its anti-smoking message.[1]
- The concept of "special shows" was previously spoofed in the Animaniacs cartoon "A Very Very Very Very Special Show" in 1996.
- Brain previously mentioned that he had loaned Pinky to a cigarette company in the episode "It's Only a Paper World."
- Pinky initially believes that Brain's "space junk" comment referred to the 1996 film Space Jam. When Brain specifies that he was referring to "actual, worthless junk"; Pinky responds "Poit! So was I!" (ouch).
- The "Lumberjacks you bought taste like cigarettes ought!" line in the "Lumberjack Cigarettes" song is a parody of the Winston Cigarettes slogan "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should!" Winston infamously did tie-in ads with The Flintstones featuring this slogan, and subsequently received backlash for advertising cigarettes with an animated series watched by many children.
- The "Brainy Cigarettes" ad campaign is a spoof of the controversial Joe Camel campaign by the Camel cigarettes brand (especially evident by Brain mentioning the "rich, cool, smooth flavor"). The campaign was criticized for luring children to cigarettes despite denials by Camel parent company R. J. Reynolds Tobacco. Much like Joe Camel; Brainy Cigarettes comes under scrutiny for being targeted towards children (which the Paul Bunion Tobacco Company representative Les Tarr attempts to bluff by claiming their ad targets "short, immature adults who happen to like cartoon characters")
- "Brainy Cigarettes" also spoofs the Lucky Charms advertising campaigns.
- Brain refers to the conductor of the Brainy the Elf broadcast as "Mr. Stone," a nod to series composer Richard Stone.
- Right at the end of the episode, the ending chorus suddenly cough, as if they inhaled the smoke.
Cast[]
| Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
| Rob Paulsen | Pinky, Additional Voices |
| Maurice LaMarche | The Brain, Additional Voices |
| Townsend Coleman | Les Tarr, T.B. Bunion |
| T'keyah Crystal Keymah | Singer |
| Michael McKean | Mel Anoma, Lumberjack, Singer, Congressman |
| Tress MacNeille | Nicky O'Tine, Singer |
| Pam Grier | Julie Auburn |
References[]
- ↑ MIRAMAX, NBC, CBS & ABC AMONG WINNERS OF PRISM Awards Which Champion Accurate Depiction Of Drug Use In Movies & On Tv. Published March 9, 1999. Archived July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2022