Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain
Also known as 'Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain'
Genre Crossover comedy
Created by Tom Ruegger
Starring Maurice LaMarche
Rob Paulsen
Cree Summer
Composer(s) Richard Stone
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Steven Spielberg
Running time 11 minutes
(22 minutes in "Teleport A Friend")
Production company(s) Warner Bros. Animation
Amblin Television
Warner Bros. Television
Release
Original network The WB
(Kids' WB!)
Picture format SD: 4:3 (broadcast/DVD release)
HD: 16:9 (streaming)
Original release September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19) – April 10, 1999 (1999-04-10)
Chronology
Preceded by Tiny Toon Adventures
The Plucky Duck Show
Animaniacs
Freakazoid!
Pinky and the Brain

Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain is the retooling of the animated television series Pinky and the Brain (itself being a spin-off from Animaniacs), with the title characters being joined by Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures. The show is executive produced by Steven Spielberg and the series was produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation, and aired from 1998 to 1999 on The WB Television Network, running for 13 episodes. It was Spielberg's last collaborative effort with Warner Bros. Animation.

Premise

The story of the series starts with Pinky and The Brain's home, Acme Labs, destroyed (due to the accident that The Brain had made during an experiment, although the episode "The Ravin!" shows a Dissy Store now occupies Acme Labs' former location), and the two mice are on the run from a man named Wally Faust. Pinky and The Brain end up in a pet store and take refuge inside a turtle named Mr. Shellbutt, and Elmyra purchases the turtle with the mice inside. In their new home, Pinky and the Brain continue to attempt new methods of trying to take over the world.

New characters

Controversy

Warner Bros. network executives had reportedly wanted Pinky and the Brain to be part of a sitcom "more like The Simpsons".[1] In a press release, Warner 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."[2] The idea was reportedly met with resistance from the producers of the series.[3] Writer and producer Peter Hastings left Warner Bros. for Disney over the decision.[3] This had followed earlier requests for an additional main character on Pinky and the Brain which led to the inclusion of a third mouse named Larry.[4]

The apparent dissatisfaction with Warner Bros.' decision to change Pinky and the Brain showed up in episodes of Pinky and the Brain. The last script that Hastings wrote before leaving Warner Bros. 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.[3]

The theme song for Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain included the lyric: "Now Pinky and the Brain share a new domain. It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?". An image during the theme showed Pinky and The Brain getting kicked out of the Warner Bros. office during the song lyric. In addition, a spoken line by The Brain towards the end of the theme states: "I deeply resent this."[3]

Nominations and awards

During its short run, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain received critical acclaim, winning major animation awards. The series 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] as well as winning a Daytime Emmy Award in 2000, for "Outstanding Children's Animated Program."[6]

Media information

Screen shot from the opening title sequence. From left to right: Pinky mouse, the Brain mouse, and Elmyra.

Broadcast history

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 Brothers cartoons.[7] The show's inclusion in The Big Cartoonie Show lasted from January to September 1999. In United Kingdom the series was fully broadcast on CITV, during 2001.

Episode lengths

Many Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain episodes had been split into two parts and aired at different times.[8] 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 2-disc complete series DVD set of the show was released by Warner Home Video on January 28, 2014.[9]

Toys

Carl's Jr. and Hardee's offered a collection of four Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain toys with meals.

Episodes

On Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1a"Patty Ann"Nelson RecinosJohn P. McCannSeptember 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)
In his robot suit, Brain poses as "Patty Ann". Despite his unconvincing appearance, Elmyra's crush, Rudy, falls head over heels for him.
1b"Gee, Your Hair Spells Terrific"Nelson RecinosTom Ruegger and Charles HowellSeptember 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)
Brain plans to clone dinosaurs from fossilized amber mosquitos. To get the money, he'll 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 CalabreseKate Donahue and Scott KreamerSeptember 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
Using an intergalactic radio Brain manages to flag down a passing alien, in hopes of trading for advanced weapons. Unfortunately the alien is driven away by an annoying Elmyra.
2b"Better Living Through Cheese"Russell CalabreseWendell Morris and Tom SheppardSeptember 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
Brain wants the prize money from a science fair and builds a high-tech device for Elmyra to show off. Rudy decides to get a cheap laugh and punches and destroys the device right before it can be judged by "Bob Quack the Science Hack."
3a"My Fair Brainy!"Nelson RecinosDoug LangdaleOctober 3, 1998 (1998-10-03)
In a parody of My Fair Lady, Brain devises a plan to take over the world from outer space through Elmyra, who's entered a contest to become the first child aboard a space shuttle.
3b"The Cat That Cried Woof"Nelson RecinosWendell Morris and Tom SheppardOctober 3, 1998 (1998-10-03)
Brain creates a formula that makes Elmyra's cat think that he is a dog.
4a"The Girl With Nothing Extra"Russell Calabrese and Rob DaviesGordon Bressack and Charles HowellNovember 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Brain tries to make Elmyra popular so that he and Pinky can work through her fame to take over the world.
4b"Narfily Ever After"Russell Calabrese and Rob DaviesGordon Bressack and Charles HowellNovember 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Brain tells Elmyra a bedtime story that closely follows the plot of Cinderella.
5a"The Icky Mouse Club"Nelson RecinosWendell Morris and Tom SheppardNovember 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.
5b"The Man From Washington"Nelson RecinosJohn P. McCannNovember 21, 1998 (1998-11-21)
Wally Faust tries to steal Brain's latest invention and kill Brain.
6a"Yule Be Sorry"Nelson RecinosJohn P. McCannDecember 12, 1998 (1998-12-12)
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 RecinosCharles Howell, Wendell Morris, and Tom SheppardDecember 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 turn all the cheese into stupid American tourists.

On The Big Cartoonie Show

Less than halfway through the series's run, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain began airing on The Big Cartoonie Show, in which one episode segment was shown at a time, rather than complete episodes.[10] The exception to this airing change was episode 10, which was shown completely on its respective airdate.[8]

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
7a"At The Hop!"Rob DaviesJohn P. McCannJanuary 16, 1999 (1999-01-16)
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, because he needs to rescue his cologne that makes people instantly attractive.
7b"Pinky's Dream House"Rob DaviesGordon BressackJanuary 23, 1999 (1999-01-23)
When Pinky dreams of living a normal family life Elmyra dresses up both he and Brain and places them in a doll house.
8a"Squeeze Play"Nelson RecinosErin Ehrlich and Alex BorsteinJanuary 30, 1999 (1999-01-30)
Rudy takes Brain's latest invention, which Brain needs to take over the world. To get it back, Brain and Pinky will have to get past Rudy's snake.
8b"The Ravin!"Nelson RecinosWendell Morris and Tom SheppardFebruary 6, 1999 (1999-02-06)
Brain reads an altered version of the Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Raven". This episode shows what happened to Acme Labs, in which the laboratory changed into a Dissy Store (a spoof of The Disney Store).
9a"Wag The Mouse"Rob DaviesKen SegallFebruary 13, 1999 (1999-02-13)
Elmyra runs for class president, but she doesn't stand a chance against the other candidates. This cartoon introduces Vanity White.
9b"A Walk In The Park"Rob DaviesGordon Bressack and Charles HowellFebruary 20, 1999 (1999-02-20)
Elmyra takes a trip to a Disney-esque theme park, and Brain makes plans to switch the looping song recording at the "Small World" ride with a hypnotic message. This fails because Brain uses the wrong tape and “Baloney's Greatest Hits” comes out instead.
10"That's Edutainment"Nelson RecinosWendell Morris and Tom SheppardFebruary 27, 1999 (1999-02-27)
Pinky and the Brain get their own children's entertainment program.
11a"Teleport A Friend"Rob DaviesJohn P. McCann and Mitch WatsonMarch 6, 1999 (1999-03-06)
The only full-length Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain cartoon. Brain's body is fused with Elmyra's, and if Brain can't reverse the transformation caused by the device he built, they will remain that way forever. Brain’s only hope is Pinky, who, unfortunately for Brain, is spending most of the cartoon chasing a pig.
11b"Mr. Doctor"Nelson RecinosJohn P. McCannMarch 13, 1999 (1999-03-13)
Elmyra takes some of her pets--Brain, Pinky, the extraterrestrial from "Cute Little Alienhead", and Mr. Pussy-Wussy--to the vet, who notices her cat is acting like a dog.
12a"Fun, Time, And Space"Rob DaviesJohn P. McCannMarch 20, 1999 (1999-03-20)
Brain creates a black hole in Elmyra's room, hoping to exploit that theory that black holes can transport someone to other universes or send someone back in time.
12b"Hooray For Meat"Rob DaviesEarl Kress, Wendell Morris, and Tom SheppardMarch 27, 1999 (1999-03-27)
Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain go to a "Meat Festival". Brain discovers a plan to take over the world using "Meats of Evil".
13a"Party Night"Nelson RecinosJohn P. McCannApril 3, 1999 (1999-04-03)
Vanity throws a party, and invites Rudy but not Elmyra. Elmyra shows up anyway thinking Vanity just forgot to invite her.
13b"The Mask of Braino"Nelson RecinosEarl Kress, Charles Howell, Wendell Morris, and Tom SheppardApril 10, 1999 (1999-04-10)
Brain becomes "Braino", a masked crimefighter, and an allusion to "Zorro".

See also

References

  1. ↑ O'Dell, Ron. "Warner Bros. Animation Chronology: 1998". The Warner Bros. Animation Archive. Toon Zone. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  2. ↑ http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/1998/01/12/kids-wb-unveils-all-new-saturday-morning-with-returning-favorites
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Platypus Comix article on Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain". Platypus Comix. Retrieved 2006-06-16.
  4. ↑ http://www.platypuscomix.net/kidzone/fuzzyheads.html
  5. 1 2 "27th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners". Annie Award Database. Archived from the original on May 31, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  6. ↑ Unnamed author. "Awards for "Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain"". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  7. ↑ Unknown author (January 11, 1999). "Toon Zone News Archives: January 1999". Toon Zone News. Toon Zone. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  8. 1 2 "Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain episodes". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
  9. ↑ Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain The Complete Series coming to DVD 2014!!!
  10. ↑ "Toon Zone News Archives: January 1999". Toon Zone News. Toon Zone. January 11, 1999. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.