Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

"Gee Brain, what do you want to do today?"
 "The same thing we do every day, Pinky: endure Elmyra, then try to take over the world!"'

"It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?"

Sometime after all their failed attempts at taking over the world in their original series, Pinky and The Brain are forced out of Acme Labs when it is torn down and turned into a Disney Store. To make matters worse, a man named Wally Faust is pursuing the mice so that he can use them in his own world domination schemes. In their attempts to escape Faust, the duo end up in a pet store, where they—and a turtle named Mr. Shellbutt—are purchased by Elmyra Duff. Now stuck living in Elmyra's house, Pinky and The Brain continue planning their world domination schemes—provided, of course, they survive the distraction of their new owner.

This crossover—which marked Warner Bros Animation's final collaborative effort with Steven Spielberg—came about entirely from Executive Meddling (specifically, Jamie Kellner's insistence that Pinky and The Brain become Lighter and Softer). The writers were not at all happy with Kellner's demands—to the point that Peter Hastings wrote an episode of the original series predicting that the series' downfall would occur because of this ("You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again") and later left Warner Bros. to create Disney's One Saturday Morning—and the fans, unsurprisingly, agreed with them. Only five full episodes of Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain were aired before Warner Bros. pulled the plug, and the remaining segments were aired as part of the compilation program The Cat & Birdy Warneroonie Pinky Brainy Big Cartoonie Show. The series has since disappeared; it has never accompanied the original series in syndication reruns or DVD releases.

Tropes used in Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain include:
  • All Love Is Unrequited: Elmyra has a crush on a slob named Rudy Mookich (apparently forgetting about Montana Max), but Rudy has the hots for her cousin Patty Ann - who is really just Brain in his mechanical suit. Brain, needless to say, does not return Rudy's affections, but Elmyra seems to think "she" does.
  • Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?: In addition to the usual Running Gag, the series also included a variation that would appear in addition to or instead of the usual exchange. Brain would ask if Pinky has "Any questions?", with Pinky responding by asking a completely irrelevant question. Then, at the end of the episode, Brain gives Pinky the answer to his question. For example:

Brain: Any questions?
Pinky: Just one. If Fred Flintstone knew the giant order of ribs was going to tip over his car, why did he order them every week?
(Later)
Brain: It was an end title.
Pinky: What?
Brain: Fred Flintstone doesn't order ribs every week. That was only animated once, then music and voice tracks were added. The footage is run at the end of the show in the same spot every time. It's called an end title.

Pinky: Egad! That cat hates us meeces to pieces! Doesn't he, Mr. Pixie?
Brain: Stop calling me Mr. Pixie! This isn't funny, it's sick!

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