If you're looking for the Pinky and the Brain spin-off series, go here.
Pinky and the Brain is a recurring segment on Animaniacs focusing on Pinky and The Brain, two genetically-spliced lab mice who come up with various plans to take over the world. A running gag for this segment is where Brain asks Pinky if he is pondering what he is pondering; to which Pinky usually replies with something drastically different from Brain's thoughts.
In 1995, they were later spun-off into their own series with the same title, that lasted until 1998. However, while they had their own series, they still sporadically appeared in Animaniacs.
Their spin-off series, in turn, spun-off another series called Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain (adding Elmyra Duff) which did not fare well with the audience or crew.
The segment returns in the 2020 reboot, structurally closer to the 1993 and 1995 shows with additional character developments.
Description
Pinky and the Brain are two tiny lab mice. Brain is a genius, but Pinky is just goofy. Both have the desire to take over the world [1]. But they fail each time they try.[2]
Segments
Only Animaniacs-related skits are listed here. Segments from the spin-off series are under their own Episode Guide
Animaniacs (Original Series)
- Win Big (Season 1, Episode 2C)
- Where Rodents Dare (Season 1, Episode 9B)
- Battle for the Planet (Season 1, Episode 15B)
- Pavlov's Mice (Season 1, Episode 18A)
- Opportunity Knox (Season 1, Episode 24A)
- Jockey for Position (Season 1, Episode 27C)
- Bubba Bo Bob Brain (Season 1, Episode 34B)
- Spellbound (Season 1, Episode 38)
- Puppet Rulers (Season 1, Episode 40C)
- The World Can Wait (Season 1, Episode 44B)
- When Mice Ruled the Earth (Season 1, Episode 47B)
- Yes, Always (Season 1, Episode 52C)
- Brain Meets Brawn (Season 1, Episode 54A)
- The Helpinki Formula (Season 1, Episode 56B)
- Meet John Brain (Season 1, Episode 58A)
- Cranial Crusader (Season 1, Episode 60B)
- Don't Tread on Us (Season 3, Episode 8B)
- Hercules Unwound (Season 3, Episode 9C) (Crossover with Yakko, Wakko, and Dot's segment)
- Pinky and the Ralph (Season 4, Episode 6C) (with Ralph T. Guard in place of the Brain)
- The Brain's Apprentice (Season 5, Episode 8B)
Animaniacs (Reboot)
- Of Mice and Memes (Season 1, Episode 1C)
- How to Brain Your Dragon (Season 1, Episode 2B)
- Pinko and the Brain (Season 1, Episode 3B)
- Ex-Mousina (Season 1, Episode 4B)
- No Brainer (Season 1, Episode 5B)
- Close Encounters of the Worst Kind (Season 1, Episode 6B)
- Mousechurian Candidate (Season 1, Episode 8B)
- Future Brain (Season 1, Episode 9C)
- Babysitter's Flub (Season 1, Episode 10B)
- Bride of Pinky (Season 1, Episode 11C)
- 1001 Narfs (Season 1, Episode 12B)
- Roadent Trip (Season 1, Episode 13B)
- Backwards Pinky (Season 2, Episode 1B)
- The Flawed Couple (Season 2, Episode 2B)
- Run Pinky Run (Season 2, Episode 3B)
- How To: Brain Takes Over The World (Season 2, Episode 4C)
- The Pinktator (Season 2, Episode 5B)
- Mouse Congeniality (Season 2, Episode 6B)
- Happy Narfday (Season 2, Episode 7C)
- Plight of Hand (Season 2, Episode 8B)
- Mouse Madness (Season 2, Episode 9B)
- Reichenbrain Falls (Season 2, Episode 10B)
- The Prisoner's Dilemma (Season 2, Episode 11C)
- Narf Over Troubled Water (Season 2, Episode 12C)
Other appearances
Original Series
- The Monkey Song (non-speaking cameo and first appearance in a cartoon)
- Nighty-Night Toon (cameo)
- Wally Llama (brief non-speaking cameo)
- Space Probed (brief non-speaking cameo)
- Plane Pals (brief non-speaking cameo)
- Sir Yaksalot (cameo)
- Hercule Yakko
- Noah's Lark (cameo)
- Episode 35: Animaniacs Stew, In the Garden of Mindy, and Pinky and the Cat (Season 1, Episode 35)
- The Senses Song (brief non-speaking cameo)
- T'was the Day Before Christmas (cameo)
- A Hard Day's Warners (cameo)
- A Quake! A Quake! (brief non-speaking cameo)
- Star Truck (cameo)
- The Return of the Great Wakkorotti (cameo)
- The Big Wrap Party Tonight (cameo)
- Pitter Patter of Little Feet
- Dot - The Macadamia Nut
- The Scoring Session (Cameo)
Film
Reboot
- Suffragette City (Cameo)
- Gift Rapper (Cameo)
- The Warners’ Press Conference (Cameo)
- Wakkiver Twist (Parts 1 and 2) (Cameo)
Trivia
- Nearly every animation studio who worked on the Animaniacs franchise has animated at least one Pinky and the Brain cartoon or animated the characters in another segment or production. The studios who only animated the characters in other segments or productions are Freelance Animators Co., Ltd. (who animated Pinky and the Brain in "Nighty-Night Toon" and Brain in "Of Nice and Men") and Koko Enterprises (who animated Brain in a cameo in the Freakazoid! episode "The Freakazoid"). The studios who haven't touched the characters once as of November 2021 are Varga Studio, Ltd., Philippine Animation Studio Inc., Saerom Animation, and Tonic DNA.
- In turn, Rough Draft Studios, Inc. did animation work in both of their spin-offs, but they haven't animated any other Animaniacs content as of February 2022.
- Pinky and the Brain is the first segment to have more cartoons in the Animaniacs reboot than it did in the original Animaniacs.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Pinky’s true ambitions are contradictory at best. He deduces in "Of Mice and Memes" that his and Brain’s relationship isn’t based on a shared desire to conquer the world, but rather his enabling of Brain’s systematic emotional and physical abuse. "Happy Narfday" however, shows "take over the world" is an item on Pinky's birthday list.
- ↑ Just Toys Animaniacs Bend-Ems Box Description
| List of Segments |
|---|
| Animaniacs (1993-1998) |
| Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (Wheel of Morality • The Great Wakkorotti • Animator's Alley • Useless Facts) • Pinky and the Brain • Goodfeathers • Slappy Squirrel • Buttons and Mindy • Rita and Runt • Chicken Boo • Good Idea, Bad Idea ("Skullhead Boneyhands") • Mime Time • Minerva Mink • Randy Beaman • The Hip Hippos • The Flame • Miscellaneous • Ensemble shorts |
| Animaniacs (2020-) |
| Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (Math-Terpiece Theater) • Pinky and the Brain • Starbox and Cindy • The Incredible Gnome in People's Mouths • Miscellaneous |
