Pinky and the Brain

When I discovered that Pinky and the Brain had spun off from Animaniacs and received their own show (the first step towards world domination, no doubt), I was thrilled. The show quickly became a favorite of mine. Now that I have it on DVD many years later, I realize just what a spectacular piece of work it really is.

Children can watch this show, sure. They'll think Pinky's ridiculous remarks, physical humor, and nonsensical catch phrases like "poit!" and "narf" are hilarious. Sometimes they are. Yet I am amazed that so much of the humor is for adults. There are multiple references in every episode to pop culture (I just watched an episode with a sly Pulp Fiction allusion), politics (the same episode included caricatures of Bill and Hilary Clinton), and general observations about the world that will definitely go over kids' heads. It just makes the show all that much funnier to me now. It's definitely an experience with multiple layers. Not to mention the people writing Brain's dialog have done some research. His vocabulary is years beyond what grade school children comprehend, let alone use. Sure, there's lots of fuzzy science just for the sake of making him sound smart, but many times there are legitimate uses of math, physics, chemistry, astronomy, anatomy, etc. Heck, there's even a song that tells you the parts of the human brain. The show's downright educational.

Don't let that scare you, though. It's also consistently zany. There's plenty of the comic falling and maiming that comes standard in most cartoons. Of course a good portion of the humor comes from the concept of Pinky's stupidity as a foil for Brain's genius, and Pinky's unwittingly stumbling on the best ideas. Yet, for me, the comedy in this show comes mostly from Brain. I love the way he vents his frustration with his dense but loyal accomplice, and the way he flatly tells people his mission knowing they will never believe him. "Actually I am lab mouse involved in an elaborate scheme to take over the world" is usually greeted with laughter from the unsuspecting buffoons that populate his universe.

Well animated and superbly voiced, Pinky and The Brain entertains with the fearless abandon of the classic toons and the sharp wit of a modern satire. I highly recommend this for kids, but even more so for older teens and young adults.

A spin off from the wonderful 'Animaniacs', 'Pinky and the Brain' was one of the funniest and best cartoons of the 90s.

The show followed the exploits of two laboratory mice on a mission to take over the world. The Brain was a super-intelligent megalomaniac, and was assisted by Pinky, an idiot. Each night, The Brain would come up with a highly elaborate plan to overthrow the worlds leaders and assume control, but was always foiled at the last minute and sent back to the drawing board.

Even though the plot was the same every episode, 'Pinky and the Brain' managed to be consistently fresh and funny. The great writing was backed up by superb voice performances, particularly by Rob Paulson (Pinky) and Maurice LaMarche (Brain). The humour works on enough levels to appeal to kids and grown-ups alike, and if you've never seen an episode of this, I suggest you seek it out!

Two genetically altered lab mice, Pinky, and The Brain, spend each night following Brain's latest plan to try and take over the world. Pinky seems an addle-headed moron who is nevertheless capable of brilliant inspiration, while Brain displays an Einsteinian IQ and an insatiable desire to rule the world. But The Brain has a fatal flaw...

The premise states one mouse is a genius and the other is insane. But which is which?

65 episodes of great multi-level writing, hilarious jokes for adults and kiddies alike, exceptionally expressive animation, top-notch voice talent: this series has it all. The quality of the shows often evoke Looney Toons at their best. This wonderful creation is begging for a box-set DVD treatment. Are your listening, WB? Mr. Spielberg? Anyone?

This was one of the best animated shows ever. This show isn't just for kids. The humor of the show can be enjoyed by all ages, much like the classic Warner Brothers shorts. Pinky & the Brain also has great dialogue. The plans to take over the world are also a hoot. Many of the episodes are classic.

This was a great cartoon, following the same tradition of the equally good "Animaniacs", using a clever style of humor that made it enjoyable for kids and adults as well. Like in "Animaniacs" segments about this same two characters, the show follows the frustrated attempts of two mouses to conquer all the world.

They are Brain, the genius,and his assistant,Pinky,who is a complete idiot, but adorable at the same time.

The voices were quite good, and the script was funny and clever.

I miss the time were it was still possible to see good cartoons for the whole family like this.

I don't like very much the kid's cartoons from the recent years (Well, some are good but most of them are pretty bad).

However, "Pinky and the Brain " remains as a timeless classic.