Will always be a big fan of animation. Have loved it from a very early age, with Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry being the earliest and among the biggest influences/examples and love it even more so actually as a young adult with a better and broader understanding of it
As brilliant a show 'Animaniacs' is, 'Pinky and the Brain' is every bit as great and surpasses it, with it having all the things that makes 'Animaniacs' such a great show while making them even better and having even more merits on its own. It is extremely well made, cute at times and very funny and actually hilarious frequently as a child. It is still the same through young adult eyes, and even more so with more knowledge of animation and understanding the humour more. Same with animation in general. 'Pinky and the Brain' is like 'Animaniacs', it has something for everybody and children and adults alike will love it, it is so much more than "just another kiddie show" and should never be dismissed as such.
Both segments comprising this episode are wonderful. As imaginative and clever "Funny, You Don't Look Rhennish" is, it is "A Meticulous Analysis of History" that fares better and to me that segment is a 'Pinky and the Brain' high point.
.There is nothing to criticise the animation quality. The setting is an atmospheric one, credit is due making a quite confined setting interesting which this, and the whole of 'Pinky and the Brain' for that matter, does really well. The characters designs have no stiffness, the backgrounds are very detailed and the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric.
Speaking of the music, the scoring is dynamic and cleverly composed, adding to the actions, expressions and gestures and doing what good music scores in animation should do in enhancing them.
'Pinky and the Brain' throughout its too short run was always superbly written. It is such smart writing, at its worst it's very funny, at its best it's not just hilarious but riotous. It is zany, witty, smart and intelligence, with beautifully incorporated references that will delight adults especially as they are more likely to get them, while having numerous educational parts for children, it's a good way to introduce one to Cleopatra, Napoleon and Hannibal. The show always excelled in the exchanges between Pinky and Brain, many of which were masterpieces of writing, the exchanges here in "A Meticulous Analysis of History" is some of the show's cleverest, best and funniest, playing to the two's character traits and chemistry brilliantly.
While somewhat formulaic (all the stories in 'Pinky and the Brain' are, but in structure, the concept was actually very original), this is a not so common example of formulaic not being a bad thing and not mattering at all, because of the cleverness, creativity and idea variety of the writing and storytelling. A lot is packed in in "A Meticulous Analysis of History" especially, but it doesn't feel too much. One worries about repetition, no worries are needed because there is a lot of freshness and variety to stop that from happening. Some of the content here is outrageous, but endearingly so (the outrageousness and creativity of Brain's plan was part of the show's charm and intentional, as is not being surprised by the outcome of Brain's plan in "Funny, You Don't Look Rhennish"), but it is from start to finish very engaging, lively in pace, clever and always structured coherently, being not being too complicated for children and not too simplistic for adults. Actually, it is a strong contender for being the most educational episode of the show, found myself learning a good amount as well, and in a way that was accessible for younger audiences. 'Pinky and the Brain' always excelled when it came to references and spoofs, and there is even a cheeky political reference that is quite bold for animation ("former governor of Arkansas")
Other than the writing, especially good are the characters. Pinky and Brain were two of the best characters on 'Animaniacs', Brain stole the show whenever he appeared, and more than deserved their own show. For me they are even more interesting and defined and one can see that here. It is hard not to endear to Pinky and his inane comments and actions, he is very stupid and one can see why he frustrates Brain. But he is one of the finest examples of stupid not falling into the trap of being obnoxious, a trap often fallen into, Pinky instead is very funny and often hysterically so and simply adorable, as well as spirited.
Brain is slightly more interesting in the show and being another episode centred around him he is much more interesting actually here with more to do, he is the infinitely smarter one of the two (obvious in his exchanges and how he is the educator in the touring of history), a genius in fact, although also the meaner and more intricate one, a very large contrast. Somehow though he is still very lovable, it is impossible not to fall in love with his scheme in "Funny, You Don't Look Rhennish" and how he goes about it, nor is it impossible not to love his deadpan personality and dark sarcasm in particularly "A Meticulous Analysis of History".
One of the biggest strengths of 'Pinky and the Brain' has always been the relationship/chemistry between Pinky and Brain and that is obvious throughout both segments but especially "A Meticulous Analysis of History". The two have such compelling personalities that feel real and there is more to them under the surface than one might think. The chemistry between the two is just a delight, fun and sometimes antagonistic but there has always been a lot of substance. It is essentially the heart of the show, it was important for it to work and it has always been one of the greatest assets of 'Pinky and the Brain'.
Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, two of the best and deservedly most prolific voice actors around that time and in the voice acting business overall, are without complaint providing Pinky and Brain's voices. Have always been particularly bowled over by LaMarche as Brain. Absolutely love, and always have loved, the life and depth they bring to the characters, their voices suiting the characters and their personalities perfectly. There has always been such an obvious bond between them which plays a large part of the show's appeal.
Summarising, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox
As brilliant a show 'Animaniacs' is, 'Pinky and the Brain' is every bit as great and surpasses it, with it having all the things that makes 'Animaniacs' such a great show while making them even better and having even more merits on its own. It is extremely well made, cute at times and very funny and actually hilarious frequently as a child. It is still the same through young adult eyes, and even more so with more knowledge of animation and understanding the humour more. Same with animation in general. 'Pinky and the Brain' is like 'Animaniacs', it has something for everybody and children and adults alike will love it, it is so much more than "just another kiddie show" and should never be dismissed as such.
Both segments comprising this episode are wonderful. As imaginative and clever "Funny, You Don't Look Rhennish" is, it is "A Meticulous Analysis of History" that fares better and to me that segment is a 'Pinky and the Brain' high point.
.There is nothing to criticise the animation quality. The setting is an atmospheric one, credit is due making a quite confined setting interesting which this, and the whole of 'Pinky and the Brain' for that matter, does really well. The characters designs have no stiffness, the backgrounds are very detailed and the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric.
Speaking of the music, the scoring is dynamic and cleverly composed, adding to the actions, expressions and gestures and doing what good music scores in animation should do in enhancing them.
'Pinky and the Brain' throughout its too short run was always superbly written. It is such smart writing, at its worst it's very funny, at its best it's not just hilarious but riotous. It is zany, witty, smart and intelligence, with beautifully incorporated references that will delight adults especially as they are more likely to get them, while having numerous educational parts for children, it's a good way to introduce one to Cleopatra, Napoleon and Hannibal. The show always excelled in the exchanges between Pinky and Brain, many of which were masterpieces of writing, the exchanges here in "A Meticulous Analysis of History" is some of the show's cleverest, best and funniest, playing to the two's character traits and chemistry brilliantly.
While somewhat formulaic (all the stories in 'Pinky and the Brain' are, but in structure, the concept was actually very original), this is a not so common example of formulaic not being a bad thing and not mattering at all, because of the cleverness, creativity and idea variety of the writing and storytelling. A lot is packed in in "A Meticulous Analysis of History" especially, but it doesn't feel too much. One worries about repetition, no worries are needed because there is a lot of freshness and variety to stop that from happening. Some of the content here is outrageous, but endearingly so (the outrageousness and creativity of Brain's plan was part of the show's charm and intentional, as is not being surprised by the outcome of Brain's plan in "Funny, You Don't Look Rhennish"), but it is from start to finish very engaging, lively in pace, clever and always structured coherently, being not being too complicated for children and not too simplistic for adults. Actually, it is a strong contender for being the most educational episode of the show, found myself learning a good amount as well, and in a way that was accessible for younger audiences. 'Pinky and the Brain' always excelled when it came to references and spoofs, and there is even a cheeky political reference that is quite bold for animation ("former governor of Arkansas")
Other than the writing, especially good are the characters. Pinky and Brain were two of the best characters on 'Animaniacs', Brain stole the show whenever he appeared, and more than deserved their own show. For me they are even more interesting and defined and one can see that here. It is hard not to endear to Pinky and his inane comments and actions, he is very stupid and one can see why he frustrates Brain. But he is one of the finest examples of stupid not falling into the trap of being obnoxious, a trap often fallen into, Pinky instead is very funny and often hysterically so and simply adorable, as well as spirited.
Brain is slightly more interesting in the show and being another episode centred around him he is much more interesting actually here with more to do, he is the infinitely smarter one of the two (obvious in his exchanges and how he is the educator in the touring of history), a genius in fact, although also the meaner and more intricate one, a very large contrast. Somehow though he is still very lovable, it is impossible not to fall in love with his scheme in "Funny, You Don't Look Rhennish" and how he goes about it, nor is it impossible not to love his deadpan personality and dark sarcasm in particularly "A Meticulous Analysis of History".
One of the biggest strengths of 'Pinky and the Brain' has always been the relationship/chemistry between Pinky and Brain and that is obvious throughout both segments but especially "A Meticulous Analysis of History". The two have such compelling personalities that feel real and there is more to them under the surface than one might think. The chemistry between the two is just a delight, fun and sometimes antagonistic but there has always been a lot of substance. It is essentially the heart of the show, it was important for it to work and it has always been one of the greatest assets of 'Pinky and the Brain'.
Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, two of the best and deservedly most prolific voice actors around that time and in the voice acting business overall, are without complaint providing Pinky and Brain's voices. Have always been particularly bowled over by LaMarche as Brain. Absolutely love, and always have loved, the life and depth they bring to the characters, their voices suiting the characters and their personalities perfectly. There has always been such an obvious bond between them which plays a large part of the show's appeal.
Summarising, brilliant. 10/10 Bethany Cox
