Having always loved animation from a very early age (always will do), with Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry being the earliest and among the biggest influences/examples, would see anything animated regardless of the studio, director, style, how old it is and its critical reception, having always made a real effort to be fair and open-minded. Still love it to this day as a young adult and even more so actually.
Have always considered 'Pinky and the Brain' every bit as great as 'Animaniacs', love that show too, 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. Find it brilliant, extremely well made, cute at times and very funny and actually hilarious frequently as a child. Still think all of that as an adult, 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.
For me, this is not one of my favourite 'Pinky and the Brain' episodes. It is still great, don't get me wrong, just that the best episodes have the extra something. Other episodes are more imaginative and funnier, while also excelling in bringing out different sides to the characters and their relationships, some have surprising depth too that gives a lot of emotion.
It is not that anything exactly is inherently wrong. Would personally have liked more supporting characters even if they were pop up every now and again ones. Brain's plan, while clever and entertaining, is not among his most creative or memorable.
There is nothing to criticise the animation quality for. 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.
Music is also great. The scoring is dynamic and composed in a way that is always 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. There is zaniness, wit and surprising intelligence and has references that will delight adults especially as they are more likely to get them, while having some educational parts for children.
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 which are nowhere near as silly as one would think looking at the premise. One worries about the episode being repetitive, 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 in a way that endears (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), but it is from start to finish constantly engaging, lively in pace, clever and always structured coherently, being not being too complicated for children and not too simplistic for adults. It's easy to follow while not being childish. 'Pinky and the Brain' always excelled when it came to references and spoofs, and there is no exception here.
Alongside 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, one has to admire his spirit and perseverance.
Brain is slightly more interesting here and in the show in general, he is the infinitely smarter one of the two, 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 here and how he goes about it, nor is it impossible not to love his deadpan personality and dark sarcasm.
One of the biggest strengths of 'Pinky and the Brain' is, and always has been, the relationship/chemistry between Pinky and Brain and that is obvious in both segments, but in especially "Calvin Brain". The two have so compelling in personality, never coming over as false, 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 is more substance to it than all of that. 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 and a huge part of the show's appeal.
Cannot imagine anybody else voicing either Pinky or Brain other than Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, two of the best and most prolific voice actors around that time and in the voice acting business overall, both flawless. Particularly adore LaMarche. The life and depth they bring to the characters has always been, and always will be, loved by me, their voices suiting the characters and their personalities perfectly. The bond between them throughout 'Pinky and the Brain' has always been present and never been lost.
Overall, a great episode if not one of my favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Have always considered 'Pinky and the Brain' every bit as great as 'Animaniacs', love that show too, 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. Find it brilliant, extremely well made, cute at times and very funny and actually hilarious frequently as a child. Still think all of that as an adult, 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.
For me, this is not one of my favourite 'Pinky and the Brain' episodes. It is still great, don't get me wrong, just that the best episodes have the extra something. Other episodes are more imaginative and funnier, while also excelling in bringing out different sides to the characters and their relationships, some have surprising depth too that gives a lot of emotion.
It is not that anything exactly is inherently wrong. Would personally have liked more supporting characters even if they were pop up every now and again ones. Brain's plan, while clever and entertaining, is not among his most creative or memorable.
There is nothing to criticise the animation quality for. 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.
Music is also great. The scoring is dynamic and composed in a way that is always 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. There is zaniness, wit and surprising intelligence and has references that will delight adults especially as they are more likely to get them, while having some educational parts for children.
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 which are nowhere near as silly as one would think looking at the premise. One worries about the episode being repetitive, 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 in a way that endears (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), but it is from start to finish constantly engaging, lively in pace, clever and always structured coherently, being not being too complicated for children and not too simplistic for adults. It's easy to follow while not being childish. 'Pinky and the Brain' always excelled when it came to references and spoofs, and there is no exception here.
Alongside 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, one has to admire his spirit and perseverance.
Brain is slightly more interesting here and in the show in general, he is the infinitely smarter one of the two, 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 here and how he goes about it, nor is it impossible not to love his deadpan personality and dark sarcasm.
One of the biggest strengths of 'Pinky and the Brain' is, and always has been, the relationship/chemistry between Pinky and Brain and that is obvious in both segments, but in especially "Calvin Brain". The two have so compelling in personality, never coming over as false, 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 is more substance to it than all of that. 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 and a huge part of the show's appeal.
Cannot imagine anybody else voicing either Pinky or Brain other than Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, two of the best and most prolific voice actors around that time and in the voice acting business overall, both flawless. Particularly adore LaMarche. The life and depth they bring to the characters has always been, and always will be, loved by me, their voices suiting the characters and their personalities perfectly. The bond between them throughout 'Pinky and the Brain' has always been present and never been lost.
Overall, a great episode if not one of my favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox
