The series starts with ACME Labs destroyed and subsequently converted into a Dissy Store (a parody of Disney Store), leaving Pinky (Rob Paulsen) and the Brain (Maurice LaMarche) homeless and on the run from a man named Wally Faust. Pinky and the Brain finally end up in a pet shop in Shanghai and take refuge inside a turtle; they are still inside the turtle when it is purchased by Elmyra Duff (Cree Summer) and named Mr. Shellbutt. In their new home, Pinky and the Brain continue to attempt new methods of trying to take over the world while at the same time enduring, and later accepting and adjusting to, Elmyra's affection.
Taylor Tyler, Hoovie and Billy (voiced by Jason Marsden)
Clarence (voiced by Julianne Beuscher)
Chorus members (voiced by Steve Bernstein and Bob Joyce)
Development
Warner Bros. network executives had reportedly wanted Pinky and the Brain to be part of a sitcom "more like The Simpsons".[2] In a press release, Warner Bros. stated that the new series was "a fresh approach to popular favorites as Pinky & The Brain move from ACME Labs to America's suburbs when they are adopted by the extremely excitable Elmyra".[3] The idea was reportedly met with resistance from the producers of the series.[4]
The apparent dissatisfaction with Warner Bros.' decision to change Pinky and the Brain showed up in episodes. The last script that producer Peter Hastings wrote before leaving Warner Bros. for Disney Television Animation was the episode "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again!", in which the demise of Pinky and the Brain is caused by network decisions to change the show.[4]
The theme song for Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain included the lyric: "So Pinky and the Brain share a new domain. It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?" The lyric is accompanied by a shot in which Pinky and the Brain get kicked out of the Warner Bros. office. In addition, a spoken line by the Brain towards the end of the theme song states: "I deeply resent this".[4]
Nominations and awards
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain won an Annie Award in 1999, for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production." Both Rob Paulsen for his voicing of Pinky and Cree Summer for her voicing of Elmyra were nominated in the category, with Paulsen winning the award.[5] That same year Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain was nominated for another Annie Award, "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production."[5]
The series's initial run was from 1998 to 1999 with a total of six episodes. The rest of the episodes were split up into segments as part of The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show along with segments from other Warner Bros. cartoons.[7] The show's inclusion in The Big Cartoonie Show lasted from January to September 1999. In the United Kingdom, the series was fully broadcast on CITV during 2001.
Many Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain episodes had been split into two parts and aired at different times.[9] The split sections of these episodes were 10 to 11 minutes long, versus the standard 22 minutes for most animated cartoon series.
Home video
A two-disc complete series DVD set of the show was released by Warner Home Video on January 28, 2014 (2014-01-28).[10]
Toys
Carl's Jr. and Hardee's offered a collection of four Pinky, Elmyra and Brain toys with their kids' meals.
Using his mechanical human suit (now with girls' clothing on it), Brain poses as Patty Ann, Elmyra's cousin. Despite his unconvincing appearance, Elmyra's crush, Rudy Mookich, falls head over heels for him.
Brain plans to clone dinosaurs from fossilized amber mosquitoes and use them in his latest plan to take over the world. To get the money to do this, he will have to somehow get Elmyra to win a spelling bee, but the only way to make that work is to help her cheat.
2a
"Cute Little Alienhead"
Russell Calabrese
Kate Donahue and Scott Kreamer
September 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
Using an intergalactic radio, Brain manages to flag down a passing alien in hopes of trading for advanced weapons to use in his latest plan to take over the world. Unfortunately, the alien is driven away by an annoying Elmyra, who happens to be the first human that he comes into contact with.
2b
"Better Living... Through Cheese"
Russell Calabrese
Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard
September 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
Brain needs the prize money from a science fair to fund his latest plan to take over the world and builds a high-tech device for Elmyra to show off. Rudy, however, decides to get a cheap laugh and destroys the device right before it can be judged by Bob Quack the Science Hack.
In a parody of My Fair Lady, Brain devises a plan to take over the world from outer space through Elmyra, who has entered a contest in order to become the first child aboard the Space Shuttle.
3b
"The Cat Who Cried Woof!"
Nelson Recinos
Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard
October 3, 1998 (1998-10-03)
Brain creates a formula that makes Mr. Pussy-Wussy, Elmyra's pet cat, think that he is a dog.
4a
"The Girl with Nothing Extra"
Russell Calabrese and Rob Davies
Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell
November 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Brain tries to make Elmyra popular so that he and Pinky can work through her fame in order to take over the world.
4b
"Narfily Ever After"
Russell Calabrese and Rob Davies
Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell
November 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Brain tells Elmyra a bedtime story that closely follows the plot of Cinderella.
5a
"The Icky Mouse Club"
Nelson Recinos
Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard
November 21, 1998 (1998-11-21)
Brain decides that he should organize the neighborhood kids into a gang, and when they grow up they will still see him as their leader.
Wally Faust (who is introduced in this episode and then is never seen again), an agent for a secret clandestine organization within the U.S. government, tries to steal Brain's latest invention for world domination and kill both him and Pinky, just because the two of them have almost succeeded in taking over the world more times than the organization has.
Christmas episode. After Brain gets angry at Pinky and wishes that Pinky was never his friend, he has a dream that shows him what things would really be like if they were in Acme Labs with Elmyra instead.
6b
"How I Spent My Weekend"
Nelson Recinos
Charles Howell, Wendell Morris, and Tom Sheppard
December 12, 1998 (1998-12-12)
Elmyra narrates the story of Brain's plan to build a giant robot that will fly to France and shoot out laser beams that will turn all the cheese into stupid American tourists.
The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show
Less than halfway through the series' run, Pinky, Elmyra and Brain began airing on The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show, in which one episode segment was shown at a time, rather than complete episodes.[7] The exception to this airing change was episode 10, which was shown completely intact on its respective air date.[9]
Elmyra wants to go to the school dance with Rudy, but Rudy actually wants to go with Patty Ann, which is actually Brain in disguise. This suits Brain just fine, because he needs to get back his cologne that makes people instantly attractive so that he can use it in his latest plan to take over the world.
Note: This cartoon introduces Vanity White.
7b
"Pinky's Dream House"
Rob Davies
Gordon Bressack
January 23, 1999 (1999-01-23)
When Pinky dreams of living a normal family life, Elmyra dresses up both him and Brain in doll's clothing and places them in a doll house.
8a
"The Ravin!"
Nelson Recinos
Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard
January 30, 1999 (1999-01-30)
Brain reads an altered version of the Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Raven".
Note: This episode shows what happened to Acme Labs, in which the laboratory was changed into a Dissy Store (a parody of the Disney Store).
8b
"Elmyra's Music Video"
Unknown
Unknown
February 6, 1999 (1999-02-06)
In a parody of music videos and home movies, Elmyra and Pinky create their own music video that contains a YMCA parody sung over clips from past episodes.
Rudy takes Brain's latest invention, which Brain needs for his latest plan to take over the world. To get it back, Brain and Pinky will have to get past Rudy's pet snake.
9a
"Wag the Mouse"
Rob Davies
Ken Segall
February 13, 1999 (1999-02-13)
Elmyra runs for class president, but she does not stand a chance against the other candidates.
9b
"A Walk in the Park"
Rob Davies
Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell
February 20, 1999 (1999-02-20)
Elmyra takes a trip to a Disneyland-esque theme park and Brain makes plans to switch the looping song recording at the "It's a Small World"-esque ride with a hypnotic message so that he can take over the world. This latest plan fails because Brain puts in the wrong tape by mistake and Baloney's Greatest Hits plays instead.
10
"Teleport a Friend"
Nelson Recinos
Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard
February 27, 1999 (1999-02-27)
The only full-length Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain cartoon. Brain's body is fused together with Elmyra's and if Brain cannot reverse the transformation that was caused by the device that he built, then they will remain that way forever. Brain and Elmyra’s only hope is Pinky, who, unfortunately for both of them, is spending most of the episode chasing a pig.
Elmyra takes some of her pets - Brain, Pinky, the alien from "Cute Little Alienhead", and Mr. Pussy-Wussy - to the vet, who notices that her cat is acting like a dog (a reference to episode 3b, "The Cat that Cried Woof!").
Brain creates a black hole in Elmyra's bedroom, hoping to exploit the theory that black holes can transport people to other universes or send people back in time.
12b
"Hooray for Meat"
Rob Davies
Earl Kress, Wendell Morris, and Tom Sheppard
March 27, 1999 (1999-03-27)
Pinky, Elmyra, and Brain go to a "Meat Festival". Brain discovers a plan to take over the world using "Meats of Evil".
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 617–619. ISBN978-1476665993.
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