kids encyclopedia robot

Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain
Pe&b.jpg
Genre Comedy
Crossover fiction
Created by Tom Ruegger
Starring Maurice LaMarche
Rob Paulsen
Cree Summer
Composer(s) Richard Stone
Harvey R. Cohen
Steve Bernstein
Julie Bernstein
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
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 Entertainment
Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network 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
Pinky and the Brain
Related shows The Plucky Duck Show
Animaniacs
Freakazoid!

Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain is the retooling of the American 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 was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and the series was produced by Amblin Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Animation, and aired from 1998 to 1999 on Kids' WB, running for 13 episodes. It was Spielberg's last collaborative effort with Warner Bros. Animation until the 2020 Animaniacs revival.

Premise

The series starts with ACME Labs destroyed (it would then be converted into a Dissy Store), leaving Pinky (Rob Paulsen) and the Brain (Maurice LaMarche) homeless and on the run from a man named Wally Faust. Pinky and the Brain finally end up in a pet store and take refuge inside a turtle; they are still inside the turtle when it is purchased by Elmyra Duff (Cree Summer) and named Mr. Shellbutt. In their new home, Pinky and the Brain continue to attempt new methods of trying to take over the world while at the same time enduring Elmyra's affection.

New characters

Nominations and awards

Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain 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. That same year Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain was nominated for another Annie Award, "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production," as well as winning a Daytime Emmy Award in 2000, for "Outstanding Children's Animated Program."

Voices

Additional voices

Media information

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

Episode lengths

Many Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain episodes had been split into two parts and aired at different times. 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 two-disc complete series DVD set of the show was released by Warner Home Video on January 28, 2014 (2014-01-28).

Toys

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

Episodes

Series overview

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired Network
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain 6 September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19) December 12, 1998 (1998-12-12) Kids' WB
The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show 7 January 16, 1999 (1999-01-16) April 10, 1999 (1999-04-10)

Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1a "Patty Ann" Nelson Recinos John P. McCann September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)
Using his mechanical human suit (now with girls' clothing on it), Brain poses as Patty Ann, Elmyra's cousin. Despite his unconvincing appearance, Elmyra's crush, Rudy Mookich, falls head over heels for him.
1b "Gee, Your Hair Spells Terrific" Nelson Recinos Tom Ruegger and Charles Howell September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)
Brain plans to clone dinosaurs from fossilized amber mosquitoes and use them in his latest plan to take over the world. To get the money to do this, he will 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 Calabrese Kate Donahue and Scott Kreamer September 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
Using an intergalactic radio, Brain manages to flag down a passing alien in hopes of trading for advanced weapons to use in his latest plan to take over the world. Unfortunately, the alien is driven away by an annoying Elmyra, who happens to be the first human that he comes into contact with.
2b "Better Living... Through Cheese" Russell Calabrese Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard September 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
Brain needs the prize money from a science fair to fund his latest plan to take over the world and builds a high-tech device for Elmyra to show off. Rudy, however, decides to get a cheap laugh and destroys the device right before it can be judged by Bob Quack the Science Hack.
3a "My Fair Brainy!" Nelson Recinos Doug Langdale October 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 has entered a contest in order to become the first child aboard the Space Shuttle.
3b "The Cat that Cried Woof!" Nelson Recinos Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard October 3, 1998 (1998-10-03)
Brain creates a formula that makes Mr. Pussy-Wussy, Elmyra's pet cat, think that he is a dog.
4a "The Girl with Nothing Extra" Russell Calabrese and Rob Davies Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell November 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Brain tries to make Elmyra popular so that he and Pinky can work through her fame in order to take over the world.
4b "Narfily Ever After" Russell Calabrese and Rob Davies Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell November 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Brain tells Elmyra a bedtime story that closely follows the plot of Cinderella.
5a "The Icky Mouse Club" Nelson Recinos Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard November 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 W.A.S.H.I.N.G.T.O.N." Nelson Recinos John P. McCann November 21, 1998 (1998-11-21)
Wally Faust (who is introduced in this episode and then is never seen again), an agent for a secret clandestine organization within the U.S. government, tries to steal Brain's latest invention for world domination and kill both him and Pinky, just because the two of them have almost succeeded in taking over the world more times than the organization has.
6a "Yule Be Sorry" Nelson Recinos John P. McCann December 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 Recinos Charles Howell, Wendell Morris, and Tom Sheppard December 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 will turn all the cheese into stupid American tourists.

The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show

Less than halfway through the series' run, Pinky, Elmyra and Brain began airing on The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show, in which one episode segment was shown at a time, rather than complete episodes. The exception to this airing change was episode 10, which was shown completely intact on its respective air date.

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
7a "At the Hop" Rob Davies John P. McCann January 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 just fine, because he needs to get back his cologne that makes people instantly attractive so that he can use it in his latest plan to take over the world.

Note: This cartoon introduces Vanity White.
7b "Pinky's Dream House" Rob Davies Gordon Bressack January 23, 1999 (1999-01-23)
When Pinky dreams of living a normal family life, Elmyra dresses up both him and Brain in doll's clothing and places them in a doll house.
8a "The Ravin!" Nelson Recinos Erin Ehrlich and Alex Borstein January 30, 1999 (1999-01-30)

Brain reads an altered version of the Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Raven".

Note: This episode shows what happened to Acme Labs, in which the laboratory was changed into a Dissy Store (a parody of the Disney Store).
8b "Elmyra's Music Video" Unknown Unknown Unaired (television)
January 28, 2014 (2014-01-28) (DVD)

In a parody of music videos and home movies, Elmyra and Pinky create their own music video that contains a song sung over clips from past episodes.

Note: The following episode was produced as a part of episode 8, but was never aired with the rest of the episode in the United States on either Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain or The Cat&Birdy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show. It was first made available for viewing on the DVD release of the series and can also be viewed on ITunes and Hulu with the rest of episode 8.
8c "Squeeze Play" Nelson Recinos Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard February 6, 1999 (1999-02-06)
Rudy takes Brain's latest invention, which Brain needs for his latest plan to take over the world. To get it back, Brain and Pinky will have to get past Rudy's pet snake.
9a "Wag the Mouse" Rob Davies Ken Segall February 13, 1999 (1999-02-13)
Elmyra runs for class president, but she does not stand a chance against the other candidates.
9b "A Walk in the Park" Rob Davies Gordon Bressack and Charles Howell February 20, 1999 (1999-02-20)
Elmyra takes a trip to a Disneyland-esque theme park and Brain makes plans to switch the looping song recording at the "It's a Small World"-esque ride with a hypnotic message so that he can take over the world. This latest plan fails because Brain puts in the wrong tape by mistake and Baloney's Greatest Hits plays instead.
10 "Teleport a Friend" Nelson Recinos Wendell Morris and Tom Sheppard February 27, 1999 (1999-02-27)
The only full-length Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain cartoon. Brain's body is fused together with Elmyra's and if Brain cannot reverse the transformation that was caused by the device that he built, then they will remain that way forever. Brain and Elmyra’s only hope is Pinky, who, unfortunately for both of them, is spending most of the episode chasing a pig.
11a "Mr. Doctor" Rob Davies John P. McCann and Mitch Watson March 6, 1999 (1999-03-06)
Elmyra takes some of her pets - Brain, Pinky, the alien from "Cute Little Alienhead", and Mr. Pussy-Wussy - to the vet, who notices that her cat is acting like a dog (a reference to episode 3b, "The Cat that Cried Woof!").
11b "That's Edutainment" Nelson Recinos John P. McCann March 13, 1999 (1999-03-13)
Pinky and Brain get their own children's entertainment program.
12a "Fun, Time, and Space" Rob Davies John P. McCann March 20, 1999 (1999-03-20)
Brain creates a black hole in Elmyra's bedroom, hoping to exploit the theory that black holes can transport people to other universes or send people back in time.
12b "Hooray for Meat" Rob Davies Earl Kress, Wendell Morris, and Tom Sheppard March 27, 1999 (1999-03-27)
Pinky, Elmyra, and Brain go to a "Meat Festival". Brain discovers a plan to take over the world using "Meats of Evil".
13a "Party Night" Nelson Recinos John P. McCann April 3, 1999 (1999-04-03)
Vanity throws a party and invites Rudy, but not Elmyra. Elmyra shows up anyway, thinking that Vanity just forgot to invite her.
13b "The Mask of Braino" Nelson Recinos Earl Kress, Charles Howell, Wendell Morris, and Tom Sheppard April 10, 1999 (1999-04-10)
Brain becomes Braino, a masked crimefighter and a parody of Zorro.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain para niños