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For his future counterpart, see Future Brain (character).
"I am a mind — a Brain! I am the Brain!"
— The Brain, "Project B.R.A.I.N."

The Brain, or simply Brain, is an intelligent megalomaniac mouse and is one of the two major protagonists of the Pinky and The Brain segments as well as it's spin-off shows. He is a mouse that harbors a long-lasting desire to take over the world, for which he makes nightly attempts at doing. His assistant, Pinky, is more dim-witted and excitable, which often irritates Brain, though he is secretly fond of him.

He is voiced by Maurice LaMarche.

Appearance

Brain is a short, anthropomorphic white-furred mouse; in the Animaniacs reboot, his fur is more off-white. He has large ears, a red nose, and pink skin on his paws and crooked tail, as well as matching pink eyes. He doesn't often stand up straight, instead hunching his shoulders slightly. Notably, he has a very large and wide head, housing his abnormally large brain.

In the original Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain spin-off, Brain is two years old.[1] By the 2020 Animaniacs reboot, he is likely about three, as Pinky is his same age.[2]

Personality

Pinky_and_the_Brain-_Sad_Brain_Song

Pinky and the Brain- Sad Brain Song

A song about The Brain; "Sad Brain," from the spin-off episode "The Real Life."

Described in the intro as a "genius", Brain is incredibly intelligent and believes himself to be quite logical (inventing such items as the Human suit and the Noodle Noggin dolls). He tends to make himself appear unemotional and cold, and often speaks in a snarky, deadpan tone. He often makes incredibly complicated plans in hopes of taking over the world and establishing himself as its ruler. However, this plans will often fail due to an overlooked flaw, either something he neglected to notice or an incident caused by Pinky. However many times this occurs, he refuses to be deterred from his goal, and gets to work preparing for the following night's plan.

Brain Acme Labs Report

Lab Report.

Brain does not want to take over the world simply to be a dictator; he believes that he would be able to be an effective ruler due to his increased intelligence. He actually is shown to be a good leader when not focused on world domination, as he stands up to cruelty and easily inspires others.[3] However, Brain's traumatic childhood led to him gaining a control complex; he becomes nervous and upset when he does not have control over a situation and often acts rashly in an attempt to gain his position back. This can be seen in his frustration when plans go awry, and most obviously in "Welcome to the Jungle," in which his lack of ability to survive in the wild drove him into a breakdown. This also leads him to be incredibly authoritative over others, such as Pinky and Julia, often to both their detriment and his.

Despite being vastly intelligent, Brain does not have great social skills; he is often blunt, awkward or confused when talking to others. He can also become easily annoyed by what he perceives as stupid or inane actions, and will get quickly angered if insulted. He can sometimes become jealous when Pinky becomes more popular than him in the process of their night's plan, though he will later regret his actions towards his friend.

Brain is not good at showing his emotions, instead suppressing them in order to better make his plans. However, as mentioned, he is shown to panic when out of control, and he also often shows affection to those he is close to, such as Pinky (see below section) and Snowball, whom he tried to save even after their friendship had fallen apart and following multiple betrayals. He also seeks approval from parental figures, going so far as to genetically alter his biological parents in hopes of being able to communicate with them.

On occasion Brain has gained a romantic attraction, though it doesn't usually end well. He gained an attraction to Billie, another lab mouse, though she didn't return his affections. In "The Third Mouse," he attempted to give up world domination in order to pursue a relationship with a mouse named Trudy, though he ultimately failed as he realized he loved the world more. He also granted Julia intelligence so that she could pose as his wife during a scheme of his, but after he attempted to mind-control her, she was driven insane and escaped, before vowing to take over the world herself. They currently refer to each other as their ex. He's also heavily hinted to be attracted to his cagemate, Pinky (see below section).

He has a major dislike for popular culture, including sports (though in the reboot he warms up to basketball[4]) and especially television shows, which he finds to be inane drivel. In the reboot, this is updated to show a major dislike of the internet trends and webshows that Pinky seems fascinated by.

In the 2020 reboot, Brain's plans tend to escalate to more intense extremes, such as suggesting training children to build bombs.[5] According to voice actor Maurice LaMarche, the reason that the writers gave for this was that Brain had been attempting to take over the world for so long that he was "ready to use laser beams."[6] His control issues are also brought more to the forefront, as well as his issues expressing his emotions, specifically towards Pinky.

Relationship with Pinky

Pinky-and-the-brain-rare-promo-art

Brain and the Pinky

While Brain would deny it, he has a close bond with his cagemate Pinky; despite him consistently annoying him and "messing up his plans," Brain still makes an effort to include Pinky in his nightly plans and explain things to him, as well as tending to keep Pinky close to him. Even after (falsely) determining that Pinky was the source of his errors, Brain refused to rid himself of his friend, instead opting to attempt to make him smarter,[7] and when a future version of him attempted to get him to abandon Pinky, Brain adamantly refused.[8]

Brain gets annoyed by Pinky's behaviors, which he perceives as stupid; these include Pinky's repeated words such as "narf," his easily-distracted and in-the-clouds mind, his constant (usually unrelated) questions, and the fact he is, unlike Brain, very open with his emotions and physically affectionate. When Pinky does something incredibly irritating, Brain often berates him or uses him for slapstick violence; while Pinky admits he's bothered by the insults, he actually enjoys the physical pain,[9] which is shown to be true as he seems impervious to any kind of torture[10] and sometimes actively seeks out activities that could prove harmful to others.[11]

Despite this, Brain is very attached to Pinky and shows a great loyalty to him. He has been shown to be in great distress when Pinky is in danger,[12][8] and literally went to Hell and back for him, even choosing to give up the world for him.[10]

Thumbnailhulupatb52

The awkward dinner date, from the episode "Brain's Night Off"

While not directly stated in as many words, is also heavily implied that he harbors romantic feelings for Pinky. His original love interest, Billie, was incredibly similar to Pinky in both personality and appearance. Several times he and Pinky have been portrayed as spouses for one of their plans[13] or, in some cases, a full sketch.[14][15] The pair have also stood in for love interests in multiple parodies, such as North by Northwest,[9] Run Lola Run[16] and The Graduate.[17] Brain also seemed to show an attraction to Pinky Suavo, referring to himself as "hypnotized" by him,[18] and his actions towards Pinky and Phar Fignewton in Wakko's Wish could easily be read as jealousy, especially when he remarks that "Pinky needs a mousy date." There is also a specific shot in "Bride of Pinky" in which, while attempting to figure out how to comfort a crying Pinky, he seems to lean in for a kiss, before backing out at the last moment. Still, Pinky does manage to plant a peck on Brain's forehead in "Groundmouse Day" while wishing him goodnight, prompting the latter to do the same while gazing at his companion lovingly.

The two of them had a genetically-cloned child together, Romy, and an episode entitled after their relationship name, "Brinky," in which Romy refers to him and Brain as his "two dads." In one of the Pinky and the Brain comics, Pinky became upset and jealous when Brain wouldn't let him play as Romy's mother.

Things That The Brain Hates

Brain has noted his dislike for many things throughout the years. These include:

Simply put they're all the worst.

Things That The Brain Likes

  • BAAB [52]
  • Baseball[53]
  • Basketball[54][4]
  • Blonde Curls[55]
  • Fred Spinatra[56]
  • Garlic Jumbo Prawns[3]
  • Knitting Sweaters[57]
  • Onion Bagels with Cream Cheese[58]
  • Pinky
  • Putting Smiley Faces in his emails[51]
  • Reading Jackie Collins Novels[59]
  • Rhythmic Gymnastics[10]
  • Sharing Chumsicles with Pinky[54]
  • Singing[56]
  • Taking on Leadership Roles[29]
  • Tickling[9][60]

The Brain's Range of Abilities

History

Past

Pinky_and_the_Brain-_Brain’s_Childhood_and_Origin-_Sad_Scene

Pinky and the Brain- Brain’s Childhood and Origin- Sad Scene

Brain's younger days; as seen in the spin-off episode "Leggo My Ego".

The exact nature of Brain's hyperintelligence is explained in several different scenarios; whether all incidents happened/are canon or some of them are non-canon is unknown.

Babybrain leggomyego1

A young Brain as a free fieldmouse, "Leggo My Ego"

Brain was born as a regular field mouse, and lived in a rusty tin can of "World's Finest Peaches" with his parents. Unfortunately, as a child he was captured by Acme Labs scientists and sent to a research facility. Young Brain was traumatized by this incident, as well as the following brainwashing he experienced into becoming a regular lab mouse; remembering the illustration of the planet on the side of the can he had lived in, this planted in him a subconscious desire to "get the world back."[68] Brain was also put through cruel experiments which instilled in him a loss of control and a desire to gain control back.[69]

During his childhood, he became friends with another experimental animal, a hamster named Snowball, who lived in the cage near him. The two of them were put through the gene splicer, which unfortunately caused Snowball to turn evil; they later broke off their friendship based on disagreements on how best to seize power.[9]

Brain10

Brain declaring his intelligence.

Supposedly around September 9, 1995[70], Brain was put through the gene splicer again, this time with Pinky; the two of them had been selected for an experiment entitled Project BRAIN, which stood for Biological Recombinant Algorithmic Intelligence Nexus. He was chosen for this project due to his above-average intelligence and despite his aggressive behavior towards the scientists. After being placed in a cage with Pinky, Brain was inspired by his choosing his own name and decided to name himself after the project; this also caused Brain to realize how incredibly knowledgeable he had become, and he began to absorb information from the local lab computer. Deciding that humanity was worthless, he decided he should prove his intelligence and be given a position of power. Pinky then accidentally electrocuted Brain, causing the scientists to believe the experiment had made him dumber. The project was cancelled after Brain bit a manager, but the two mice were kept together, with the intention of Brain keeping Pinky company. Pinky then accidentally gave Brain the idea to take over the world, saying that then he could make everyone "wear very shiny pants."[71]

Animaniacs

PinkyBrain

Pinky and the Brain on Animaniacs

Pinky and the Brain were given their own major segment in the show Animaniacs, featuring their adventures to take over the world. Their segment would later prove so popular that they received their own spin-off show, with several elements established in Animaniacs becoming a staple of the series.

Brain was established as a genius laboratory mouse with the single-minded goal of taking over the world. He will come up with increasingly complicated plans, but often will catch an unforeseen snag that topples it all like dominoes; however, he will shrug this off and get ready to try again the next night. He is incredibly annoyed and angered by his cagemate Pinky's antics, often to the point of putting him through slapstick violence. Despite this, he always includes Pinky in his plans, and shows a soft spot for him through it all.

The mice were featured in several segments taking place during different time periods, though their usual setting was still Acme Labs, and they occasionally appeared in crossover segments with the other Animaniacs characters. In "Animaniacs Stew", Brain was paired with Mindy, who accidentally foiled his plans with her escapades, and in "Pitter Patter of Little Feet," he was accidentally adopted by the Hip Hippos.

PinkyBrain22

Pinky and the Brain in Wakko's Wish.

After receiving their spinoff, the mice appeared in Animaniacs segments less frequently, though they still had several cameos. The episode "A Hard Day's Warners," the Warner siblings used Pinky and the Brain's popularity as a distraction in order to escape several rabid fans at a convention.

They returned for the finale film Wakko's Wish, in which both mice lived in the town of Acme Falls. Brain planned to find the fallen Wishing Star and use it to make himself ruler, while dealing with Pinky along the way. After the Warners retake the throne, they appoint Brain their royal advisor, and he gives Pinky the job of royal stablehand so that he can be closer to his girlfriend, Phar Fignewton. Brain declares that he intends to take over the kingdom in the sequel.

Pinky and the Brain

Brain12

Brain in Pinky and the Brain.

After the incredible success of Pinky and the Brain's segment on Animaniacs, the two mice were given their own spin-off show. Like the previous show, each episode focuses on one of their attempts to take over the world, though they now have an extended runtime and their own recurring characters. Brain also briefly maintained his own nation, "Brainania", as part of a scheme to collect foreign aid for a larger plan.

Though the show was mainly episodic, a few recurring plot points appeared, such as slightly clarifying the Acme Labs Gene Splicer and its effects on the mice. A few plotlines followed with supporting characters, such as Snowball's attempts to take the world before Brain. Brain temporarily reunited with his parents, but after making them more intelligent in a desperate hope to gain their approval, they ended up favoring Pinky.[72] His full backstory is also slowly revealed in occasional episodes, though he still shoves his trauma aside in order to stay focused on his goal of world domination.

Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain

PinkyElmyraBrain

Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain

After the destruction of Acme Labs, Pinky and the Brain escape the burned remains and end up on the run from Wally Faust, a parody of Christopher Walken. After fleeing several labs, they ended up trapped inside a pet store, and were accidentally purchased by Elmyra Duff. Pinky and the Brain end up living in Elmyra's bedroom, while Brain continues to attempt world domination.

As of the 2020 Animaniacs reboot, this series of events is non-canon, likely due to the fact the fans, cast and crew heavily disliked the show.

Animaniacs Reboot

Pinky and the Brain returned to Animaniacs for its 2020 reboot; their absence in the last twenty-two years was explained away as Brain inventing the internet and Pinky undergoing rigorous psychotherapy, which was quickly undone. The mice continue their plans to take over the world from Acme Labs. Brain continues to come up with complex ideas that ultimately fail, though he seems to get angry a bit more often and has become a little more villainous in his attempts.

S1E4

Brain in the Animaniacs reboot.

Pinky's luck in contrast to Brain's failures is pointed out explicitly in several episodes, with several antagonists deciding that Pinky must be the real supervillain due to Brain's continued failures. This also includes a Future Brain, who believes that Pinky intentionally sabotaged all of his plans and attempts to persuade Brain to abandon him; however, Brain refuses, calling Pinky his loyal assistant.[8] Throughout the reboot, he is shown to struggle with his attachment to Pinky, doing his best to hide his emotions and yet rushing to defend Pinky if threatened. He slowly begins to open up to Pinky, first about his past[69] and then later asking forgiveness for hurting him emotionally.[73]

Pinky and the Brain gain a new antagonist, Julia; Brain genetically altered her in order to assist in one of his schemes, but after he had lost control of her, Brain desperately tried to gain it back by altering her mind. This backfired, as Julia went insane and escaped, also attempting to take over the world as well as cause problems for him. Due to this, they have a very antagonistic relationship.

In a possible dig at Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain, a recurring joke involves the two mice attempting to add a new mouse named Egwind to their friend group, only for Egwind to be comedically killed off, to their indifference.

Appearances





Other Appearances

  1. Tiny Toons Spring Break Special (cameo)
  2. Tiny Toons: Night Ghoulery (cameo)
  3. Freakazoid!: "Freakazoid is History" and "The Freakazoid"

Quotes

Animaniacs Wiki a collection of quotes related to Brain

Voices

The Brain was voiced in the original English recordings by Maurice LaMarche.

  • Albanian: Arben Derhemi[74]
  • Czech:
    • ČT1: Oldřich Vlach
    • VHS: Otakar Brousek mladší (Volumes 1-4), Bohdan Tůma (5-6)
  • French: Pierre Hatet
  • German: Jan Spitzer
  • Hebrew: Adi Weiss
  • Italian: Angelo Nicotra (Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain) Paolo Buglioni (Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain)
  • Japanese: Kenichi Ogata
  • Polish: Dariusz Odija
  • Portuguese (European): Luís Lucas
  • Romanian: Alexandru Rusu
  • Russian: Andrey Barkhudarov (STS)
  • Spanish:
    • 1993-1999: Orlando Noguera
    • 2020-2023: Ángel Mujica (speaking voice), Ángel Balam (singing voice)
  • Greek: Ντίνος Σούτης

Trivia

In-Universe

General

  • Brain is heavily based off of Orson Welles in both looks and vocal performance.
  • Brain is also modeled after Tom Minton, a writer and director for Tiny Toon Adventures.
    • When Tom Ruegger was working for Tiny Toons, his office was next to Minton and Eddie Fitzgerald's, and he would often overhear their conversations. Minton would talk in a low voice and Fitzgerald would often randomly interject with words like "NARF!" and "EGAD!"
  • When asked to describe Brain in one word, voice actor Maurice LaMarche referred to him as a "curmudgeon."[6]

Gallery

Animaniacs Wiki has a collection of images related to The Brain

See Also

Sources

  1. Episode 8 (PATB): "A Pinky and the Brain Christmas"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Episode 19B (Reboot): "Mouse Congeniality"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Episode 52 (PATB): Brain's Night Off/Beach Blanket Brain
  4. 4.0 4.1 Episode 22 (Reboot): What Is That?/Mouse Madness/Christopher Columbusted/Fake Medicines
  5. Episode 8 (Reboot): WhoDonut/Mousechurian Candidate/Starbox and Cindy
  6. 6.0 6.1 ANIMANIACS cast Q&A + SAT, JAN 16TH (2021) | 1PM PT, 4PM ET
  7. 7.0 7.1 Episode 3 (PATB): Tokyo Grows/That Smarts/Brainstem
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Episode 9C (Reboot): Future Brain
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Episode 9 (PATB): Snowball
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Episode 42 (PATB): A Pinky and the Brain Halloween
  11. Episode 61 (PATB): Brainwashed Part 3 - Wash Harder
  12. Episode 19 (PATB): Welcome to the Jungle
  13. Episode 33: Cartoons in Wakko's Body/Noah's Lark/The Big Kiss/Hiccup
  14. Episode 21A and C (Reboot): Wakkiver Twist
  15. Episode 15B (Reboot): "The Flawed Couple"
  16. Episode 16B (Reboot): Run Pinky Run
  17. Episode 25C (Reboot): Narf Over Troubled Water
  18. Episode 39A (PATB): Pinky Suavo
  19. 19.0 19.1 Episode 35B: In the Garden of Mindy
  20. Episode 63 (PATB): The Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special
  21. Episode 49 (PATB): Broadway Malady
  22. Episode 14B (Reboot): Backwards Gary
  23. Episode 22A (PATB): Two Mice and a Baby
  24. Episode 1B (Elmyra): Gee, Your Hair Spells Terrific
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Episode 52C: Yes, Always
  26. Episode 65 (PATB): Star Warners
  27. Episode 28B (PATB): Where the Deer and the Mousealopes Play
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Episode 59 (PATB): Brainwashed Part 1 - Brain, Brain, Go Away
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 Wakko's Wish
  30. Episode 38B (PATB): Calvin Brain
  31. Episode 34B: Bubba Bo Bob Brain
  32. Episode 2 (PATB): Of Mouse And Man
  33. Episode 10B (Reboot): Babysitter's Flub
  34. 34.0 34.1 Episode 46A (PATB): Operation Sea Lion
  35. Episode 28B (PATB): Pinky and the Brain...And Larry
  36. "Episode 21B (PATB): Robin Brain"
  37. Episode 22B (PATB): The Maze
  38. 38.0 38.1 Episode 2B (Reboot): How to Brain Your Dragon
  39. Episode 39B (PATB): T.H.E.Y
  40. "Episode 18B (Reboot): The Pinktator"
  41. 41.0 41.1 Episode 55 (PATB): You'll Never Eat Food Pellets In This Town Again
  42. Episode 25C (Reboot): Narf Over Troubled Water
  43. "Episode 57A (PATB): What Ever Happened to Baby Brain"
  44. Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain theme song
  45. Tiny Toons: Night Ghoulery
  46. Episode 22B (Reboot): Mouse Madness
  47. Episode 38: Spell-Bound
  48. Episode 43A: Of Nice and Men
  49. Episode 33 (PATB): "Brain Storm"
  50. "Everybody Dubba!"
  51. 51.0 51.1 Episode 16 (PATB): Plan Brain From Outer Space
  52. Episode 60 (PATB): Brainwashed Part 2 - I Am Not a Hat
  53. 53.0 53.1 Episode 48 (PATB): Pinky at the Bat/Schpiel-borg 2000
  54. 54.0 54.1 54.2 54.3 Episode 25 (PATB): Hoop Schemes
  55. Episode 57 (PATB): What Ever Happened to Baby Brain/Just Say Narf
  56. 56.0 56.1 56.2 Episode 41 (PATB): Brain's Way
  57. 57.0 57.1 Episode 20 (PATB): A Little Off the Top/Megalomaniacs Anonymous
  58. Episode 53 (PATB): The Family That Poits Together, Narfs Together
  59. Episode 1 (PATB): Das Mouse
  60. 60.0 60.1 Episode 29 (Reboot): Planet Warner/Talladega Mice: The Ballad of Pinky Brainy/D.I.WHY?
  61. Episode 30 (Reboot): Fantasy/Über Nachtmare/Mad Mouse: Furry Road
  62. Episode 18 (PATB): Brain's Song
  63. Episode 14 (PATB): It's Only A Paper World
  64. Episode 34: Clown and Out/Bubba Bo Bob Brain
  65. Episode 25 (Reboot): Warner's Ark/The Apology/Narf Over Troubled Water/The Warner's Vault
  66. Episode 7 (PATB): Napoleon Brainaparte
  67. Episode 56 (PATB): Dangerous Brains
  68. Episode 44B (PATB): "Leggo My Ego"
  69. 69.0 69.1 Episode 13B (Reboot) "Roadent Trip"
  70. The exact date varies
  71. Episode 64 (PATB): A Legendary Tail/Project B.R.A.I.N.
  72. Episode 13 (PATB): The Third Mouse/The Visit
  73. Episode 20 (Reboot): Yakko Amakko/The Longest Word/Happy Narfday!/Magna Cartoon
  74. AlbanianDubs - Arben Derhemi

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