Interspecies love? Nicotine addiction? Adult jokes? And who is actually a genius
and actually insane? These are all things you may have missed as a kid,
but now that you’re an adult, it’s time to revisit “Pinky and the Brain” with fresh eyes.
Injecting educational topics into Saturday morning cartoons can be a real challenge,
but both "Animaniacs" and "Pinky and the Brain" were exceptionally good at doing so.
Both shows were known for using catchy musical numbers and creative humor to
teach viewers a thing or two about the world.
In one notable example, the song "A Meticulous Analysis of History"
features Pinky and the Brain describing Cleopatra, Hannibal, Attila the Hun,
Caligula, Napoleon Bonaparte, and other historical conquerors. Kids will certainly remember the
catchy tune and some famous names, even if a lot of the details may not leave an impression.
Other references are a little less obvious and take both a keen ear
and some history lessons to pick up on. The show's Christmas special sneaks in
an indelicate joke about one of the most infamous events of the 1800s.
"Look, Brain! The reindeers are inviting elves to join them for a party at Donner's house!"
"Hm. Somehow the idea of joining the Donner party is unappealing."
Needless to say, this reference to a group of cannibalistic pioneers
wasn't really meant for kids to understand.
Animated kids' shows have a long history of making pop culture references, and "Pinky and the Brain"
is certainly no exception. Kids can easily pick up on references to things like "Winnie the Pooh" and
the Macarena, but there are some things that will almost certainly go over their heads.
For instance, Bill Grates and Microsponge from the episode "Snowball" are in reference
to Bill Gates and Microsoft. The Feebles in "All You Need is Narf" parody the Beatles,
while the title of the episode pays homage to the Fab Four's "All You Need is Love."
Other kids' shows may have referenced the Beatles before, but "Pinky and the
Brain" goes a step further and spoofs John Lennon's wife Yoko Ono with the character
of Yoyo Nono. Adults watching the episode are able to pick out the real facts from
the satirical retelling of events, while kids stick around for the silly jokes.
Even Brain himself is a reference to someone that those on the younger side are unlikely to
recognize. The pint-sized genius was designed to look and sound like Orson Welles — the legendary
actor and director who passed away ten years before "Pinky and the Brain" first aired.
In nearly every single episode of the show, the Brain asks Pinky the same exact question:
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Of course, Pinky's response is always
unpredictable and usually gets a laugh from the audience. In fact, some of his quips are even a
little off-base, with some inappropriate implications popping up now and then.
Pinky's ponderings have included a plan to get a tattoo, a suggestion to marry Regis Philbin,
and multiple mentions of dressing animals in suggestive clothing.
"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so, Brain, but what if the hippopotamus won't wear the beach thong?"
To an innocent mind, these jokes might not seem so cheeky, but when it comes to the mind of an adult,
it's really easy to wind up in the gutter. Even Brain seems to recognize this himself.
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so, Brain, but I get all clammy inside the tent."
"Sigmund Freud would have had a field day with you, Pinky."
At first glance, Pinky and the Brain's relationship appears to be that of co-workers who
share the common goal of total world domination. When we take a closer look at their interactions,
however, it's clear that Pinky and the Brain actually care very deeply for one another.
The ever-faithful Pinky is always ready to go along with Brain's crazy plans,
no matter how impossible or embarrassing they might seem.
The pair's friendship is put to the ultimate test in "A Pinky and the Brain Halloween."
In the episode, Brain is forced to choose between saving Pinky's soul and achieving
his lifelong dream of ruling the world. To the audience's surprise,
Brain chooses to try and save Pinky. And even though he claims that it was only because his
cohort knows the location of their food pellets, it's obvious that things aren't quite that simple.
The two also find themselves filling parental roles in multiple episodes.
In "Two Mice and a Baby," they take on the task of raising a superhuman son,
with Pinky as the mother figure and Brain as the father. The same roles reappear in the
episode "Brinky," when this time, the couple is in charge of raising their biological offspring.
They pull off these roles with relative comfort and ease,
leaving the audience with a few questions as to the true nature of their relationship.
Brain's overly complex plans often include him and Pinky having to play
dress-up. In several episodes, they end up disguising themselves as female characters,
and they often do so quite successfully. In the episode "Brain Bogie," Brain dresses up
in a comically long-legged Cher outfit in order to compete in a golfing tournament.
On more than one occasion, the two disguise themselves as women even when it doesn't seem
like the easiest option. For example, in "Whatever Happened to Baby Brain," Brain
takes on the persona of adorable starlet Baby Brain — a character modeled after "America's
Little Darling" Shirley Temple. When it comes time for Baby Brain to sign a contract after
finally making her big break, Brain tells the producer that Pinky is her mother,
even though Pinky's gender presentation has nothing to do with the success of their plan.
In "A Little Off the Top," Pinky doesn't skip a beat when Brain orders him to dress up and
seduce Samson, distracting him so Brain can steal a ring from the biblical warrior. Then,
in "My Feldmans, My Friends," Pinky takes on the role of Brain's wife so the pair can infiltrate
their neighbor's house and steal the final piece they need for their doomsday device.
The theme song for "Pinky and the Brain" is one of the catchiest openings any cartoon has to offer,
but one line is particularly memorable: "One is a genius,
the other's insane." It seems obvious that the mouse called Brain would be the smart one:
after all, the intro sequence shows Pinky's skull nearly empty, while Brain's head is
full of moving gears. However, some fans have a theory that the truth might not be so simple.
In the episode "Pinky's Turn," Brain finally gives Pinky the chance to come up with his own
plan to take over the world. While Brain's plans almost always end in failure and humiliation,
Pinky's plan is so successful that he becomes Chairman of the Federal Reserve
and replaces the U.S. Dollar with fruit snacks. In another episode,
"Pinky's Plan," Pinky convinces the most powerful world leaders to hand
over the keys to their nations — something the so-called "genius" was never able to do.
Finally, there's that famous quote from Albert Einstein,
which could almost certainly apply to Brain:
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
We're not here to pass judgment on Pinky, but it's pretty obvious that
the guy has a thing for horses. After all, he was quick to defend Caligula's rather
intimate relationship with his horse in "A Meticulous Analysis of History."
"What's wrong with being friendly with a thoroughbred?"
Additionally, during a segment from “The Animaniacs” called "Jockey for Position,"
Pinky falls in love with a racehorse named Phar Fignewton. Evidence in later episodes of “Pinky
and the Brain” and the “Animaniacs” movie "Wakko's Wish" prove that this horse is in fact Pinky's
girlfriend — and in "The Third Mouse," Pinky isn't ashamed to defend his love for the mare.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. People are so intolerant."
To kids, this relationship may not seem all that unusual since, well, the show is a cartoon. But
many adults in the audience have recognized that Pinky and Phar Fignewton's relationship is
representative of something bigger and much more real. The writers use Pinky's quirky
love life as a vehicle for showing that diverse relationships should be acceptable in our society.
The creators of “Pinky and the Brain” loved to fill their episodes with parodies of celebrities
portrayed by professional voice actors, but some famous figures were more than happy to voice
animated versions of themselves. In "The Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special," for instance,
both Dick Clark and Dr. Joyce Brothers make appearances as unwitting accomplices to Brain's
nefarious scheme. Of course, younger viewers are unlikely to know the difference between
most of these cameos and impressions — or know who Joyce Brothers is anyway.
However, celebrities wouldn't always play versions of themselves:
sometimes they would play original fictional characters. Mark Hamill, Cary Elwes , and Pam
Grier have all shown up at one point or another as part of the sneaky, star-studded cast list.
Both of Pinky's parents are even voiced by Eric Idle of "Monty Python" fame.
It's unusual for a children’s cartoon to take on the task of conveying truly
adult issues such as drug use, sexual harassment accusations,
politics, and addiction in an honest but still entertaining manner, though that didn't stop
the team behind "Pinky and the Brain." In the award-winning episode "Inherit the Wheeze,"
Brain becomes addicted to smoking cigarettes after being tested on in the lab. When he begins
experiencing the sickly side effects firsthand, he decides to become a spokesperson to ultimately
raise awareness around the severity of health risks associated with smoking.
That's not the only time Brain deals with addiction either: in "Megalomaniacs Anonymous,"
Brain joins a support group for people addicted to trying to take over the world,
only for the meetings to have the opposite effect. On top of all of that,
the show is also no stranger to the world of politics, with names like Rush Limbaugh,
Bill Clinton, and Al Gore coming up much more often than one might expect.
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