Transcription
[Music] Jesus, what do you want to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night, Pinky.
Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
I think so, Brian. But if we watch Mojo, will there be anything else to watch?
Of course, Pinky. Many, many things.
First of all, you'll be watching Mo, which is me. Adam. Hi, I'm Mo. I'm Maurice. My name is Joe. Mojo. Hi, my name is Rob Paulsen, and I'm the really smart one, the brains of the heart. Pinky and the Brain. Welcome to Watch Mojo, and today we're counting down the top 10 Pinky and the Brain moments. For this list, we're looking at this diabolical duo's defining moments across all incarnations, from Animaniacs to their spin-off to Animaniacs again. And we're lucky enough to have the voices behind both Pinky and the Brain here to give us some insights and behind-the-scenes factoids about their favorite moments as well. Are you pondering your favorite Pinky and the Brain moment? Let us know in the comments. Now, it's time for us to do the same thing we do every night. Try to take over the world wide web.
Number 10: Brain's Origins.
We all know that Brain wants to take over the world, but why? You're always trying to work out how to take over the world, but you've never told me why you want to take over the world, Brain. Sigmund Freud once deduced that Brain's obsession stems from childhood trauma when he was taken from his tin can home, which had an image of the world on it. There have been alternate origins too. We can say maybe it takes place in multiple universes. Certainly, this was an anachronistic episode. This one went back to the turn of the century and had Brain being treated by Freud because the plot was to infiltrate the psychotherapy of Kaiser, or somebody like that. Oh, that's right, it was something. Yes, leader. So, and then he ends up getting trapped in therapy with Freud and figuring out why he wants to take over the world. That's one version. Then there's the version. This is, of course, this is an OG episode. And then there's there is the one we were trapped in the car that opens this video. The Animaniacs reboot adds another layer to the Brain's surprisingly sad origins. Opening up to Pinky, Brain reminisces about how Acme Labs experimented on him. Presented with a plate of delicious cheese, little Brain is shocked every time he attempts to grab it. This fueled Brain's desire to seize control of his life and the world. Much like the cheese, the world is always out of his grasp. It's a tragic backstory. From that day, hence, I vowed I would be the one in control of myself, of my surroundings, of the world. Although Pinky's origins make the moment tragically hysterical, they wanted to see if mice could tell the difference between Camembert and Brie, so they fed me all these amazing cheeses, but I could not tell them apart.
Number nine: Brain Says the Incorrect Spell.
Animaniacs. This Animaniacs episode was entirely dedicated to Pinky and the Brain, demonstrating that they had the potential to carry a show. On a medieval quest, the mice survive Witch Hazel, a troll, a giant Ralph, and a dragon. Things we must cross the enchanted forest filled with witches, goblins, and ogres. Then we must climb the murky mountain and enter the lair of the horrible Red Dragon and steal some of his toenail clippings. After all that, Brain just needs to say a simple spell that will grant him control of the world. Pinky's stupidity and Brain's ego proved to be their downfall, however. Throughout the episode, Pinky struggles to complete his songs, even though the rhymes seem obvious. This is where I got to call my dragon to sleepy land, and then I couldn't come up with an obvious rhyme and a lyric. Right, right. We stroll right past a candy house made of sweets that tastes good to a mouse. This repeatedly frustrates Brain, culminating in him messing up the spell. It's hilarious that Brain would throw away all that hard work just because he couldn't let one little annoyance slide. Grant that I become he's number one. The Big Banana. Coconut. Um, Big Cheese. It rhymes with ease. Big cheese. We guess you could call it a real cheese head move. You know, right? You look like you're a fan of the Green Bay Packers. You're a cheese. I'm a cheese head.
Number eight: Brain Meets His Parents.
Pinky and the Brain. Oh, no. This one. Now, now, this is where we have the Oscar winner. This is what I was thinking of. Check this out, you guys. This will blow your mind when you find out who plays Brain's father. Check this out. It's always interesting when we learn more about the Brain's upbringing. In the spin-off, season one finale, Brain is reunited with his parents. Hey, God. What is it, Brain? Pinky, these two mice. It can't be. What? These mice are my parents? Since they're ordinary field mice, he's unfortunately unable to communicate with them. Brain invents a couple of devices that allow them to speak. Father, son. Son, look at you. Look at you. But he quickly comes to regret this. The brilliant lab mouse clearly doesn't take after his mom or dad, who are voiced by Tress MacNeille and Oscar winner Ernest Borgnine, respectively. This was Ernie's first cartoon. What? He'd never done a cartoon before, and then he went on to do a whole bunch of Spongebob, right? Listen up, you villains. I want to eat my meatloaf. If you don't get out of here, then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. If anything, they have more in common with Pinky. Any grown adult with overbearing parents will relate to Brain as his folks nitpick every facet of his life. Son, why don't you be a good boy and go gather some berries and bits of wheat? Well, I've got, I've got some food pellets right here. Ha, food pellets. Ho ho, he's got food balance. Thankfully, Brain manages to find a win-win situation by sending his parents to where all senior citizens eventually go. Florida. Florida.
Number seven: Pinky's World Domination Plan.
Pinky and the Brain. Why don't you come up with our next plan for world domination? Do you mean it, Brian? By all means, Pinky. Make a plan, and we will follow it to the letter. After numerous failed attempts to take over the world, the Brain decides to let Pinky come up with the next plan, and it works. Although Brain expects Pinky's plan to crash and burn, the road to world domination is practically rolled out like a red carpet. What starts off as an oyster petting zoo leads to Pinky becoming mayor for a day, which leads to him taking over a media empire, which leads to Bill Clinton making him chairman of the Federal Reserve. The idiot from the top with Mr. Spielberg was absolutely. Do not condescend to the audience. This is like rocking what we will it's like to like learning change. He makes you call Mr. Spielberg. He does. I get to go on Steve. Is that right? I don't know, but you both. I don't bother. As it turns out, Pinky's plan was inspired by the Brain's schemes. When you think about it, most of the Brain's ideas are nonsensical on paper. Behind the insanity, however, there is genius. Brain makes the mistake of taking over Pinky's plan, though, resulting in another failure. Today, we've discovered a force more powerful than luck or genius. What's that? Brain. Stupidity.
Number six: Larry.
Pinky and the Brain. Network. At the time, we were about to go into primetime, and one of the notes that they had was, we need to expand the cast of characters. We need more P. There needs to be a whole mouse society that Pinky and the Brain moved within. And Peter Hastings and Gordon Bressack pushed back and said, no, no, no. It's them against the world. Pinky and the Brain are a dynamic comedy duo, like Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello. So when the network pressured the creators to add another character, they responded with Larry. Tonight's plan is my masterpiece. Pinky and Larry. Hi there. In the episode, Larry is voiced by none other than Billy West. Our dear friend Billy West. Ren and Stimpy at Doug, the Red Eminem, Fry, Zoidberg. Um, yeah. Professor Zach Branigan. Oh, please don't mention that. Right. And Mom. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Tell them who you are. Oh, my Zap Branigan makes me manscaping before every mission. I don't mind that as much as the pedicures. And he's more bo, more about these more boys. Please yet sticky to meet you. But this is about Billy West. The puny human who plays Larry in this episode. Larry resembles Louis Feinberg. We suppose the Brain would be Moe, and Pinky would be Curly. Unlike the Three Stooges, however, Brain finds there isn't room for a third member, especially when with nothing to contribute. I'm going to have to hurt you, Larry. But Brian, what did I do? Nothing. Trying to introduce a Larry or a Zeppo, for that matter, just ruins a dynamic that was already perfect. So this was almost a protest episode to add, oh, just been a sacred character that just doesn't belong there, right? It's a clever meta commentary on television network interference. Although Kids' WB would eventually get their way with Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain, situations change.
Number five: Cloning a Son.
Pinky and the Brain. Raising a baby Superman didn't pan out, but Pinky and the Brain later welcomed their own son into the world. Technically, Brain clones a son whom he names Roman Numeral One, or Romy for short. We'll call it Roman Numeral One. Roman Numeral One. Rom- Rom- Romy. Since Pinky's toenail accidentally mixes with Brain's tissue, Romy is a product of both mice that just looked like Brain got birthed. What happened? It looked like he was being pulled from the birth canal of a larger brain. That was so yeah, that was great. What a visual. While Romy is smarter than Pinky, he lacks Brain's ambition to dominate the world. We're not sure if the writers were trying to make real-world commentary, but seeing two male characters raise a child was quite progressive for 1997. This was a some something of an early trailblazing episode in that, of course, two males can raise. Sure, why not? Of course, they can. Yeah. This was about the same time as Three Men and a Baby. The episode is ultimately about letting your children choose their own path. In a touching resolution, Brain accepts Romy's desire to become a ventriloquist and date a human woman. Love comes in many forms. What, pray tell, is more important than taking over the world? I don't know. Just, um, I want to be a ventriloquist. It was me being Romy. It was you as Romy. Now, to be fair, they treat my voice. They originally wanted Christian Slater and they put out an offer, but he wasn't right.
Number four: Going to Hades.
Pinky and the Brain. Just sign this contract, and you'll have no more late nights toiling to devise elaborate schemes. Following another botched plan, the Brain receives an offer from the Devil, voiced by Gary Marshall. Oh, Gary Marshall. You remember that. I do. And what was the word he had trouble saying? Stubborn. You're being very stubborn. Right. Stubborn. Very stubborn. He couldn't say stubborn. He said stubborn. And that's not the only impressive guest star featured in this episode. Planet of the Apes star Roddy McDowall also appears as recurring character Snowball. Snowball, are you pondering what I'm pondering? Oh, Brain. I certainly hope so. The late, great Roddy McDowall. He answered every question I had about Planet of the Apes. Elizabeth Taylor, Night Gallery. I mean, the guy was a pro's pro and treated us like old friends from the very beginning. Just could not have been more kind, more accepting, and like a lot of great people we've had the privilege of working with, make it about other people. In any case, Brain doesn't give in to temptation, but Pinky sells his soul to make his best friend's dream come true. Brain finally takes over the world, although it's meaningless without Pinky. Oh, you miss your little friend, do you? No, I don't miss him at all. I have the world, don't I? Well, he won't admit his affection for Pinky. Brain goes to hell for him in one of the show's most heartfelt instances. Brain not only vows to give up his place as world leader, but also his entire conquest for world domination to get Pinky back. While the Devil pulls a fast one on Brain in a rhythmic gymnastics challenge, it's Pinky's ignorance that ironically outsmarts the Prince of Darkness. Pinky, do you know what this means? He'll never be able to impress his friends at dinner parties with lovely radish rose garnishes.
Number three: Animaniacs Reunion.
Pinky and the Brain. Aside from an occasional reference, the Pinky and the Brain spin-off didn't feature many appearances from the rest of the Animaniacs crew. The series finale served as a reunion and a Star Wars parody. There you are, laughing with yourself, Pinky. Yes, I'm laughing at myself and getting paid for it. Gecko and Pinky in the same show. That's right. This is the only episode also where we are, we are the same scales as the rest of the cast. While Rita and Runt are absent, almost everyone else plays an integral role. Even Freakazoid briefly pops up. It's great seeing all of these classic characters work off each other again, especially in a creative environment like this. I love seeing the, uh, the shots with all the characters in it, all on the Star Wars bar. That's very cool. Great stuff. As per usual, though, the best interactions are between Pinky and Brain, who stand in for C-3PO and R2-D2. The episode also has what might be their most self-aware "Are you pondering?" gag. Are you pondering what I'm pondering? Um, I think so, Brain. Too. But a show about two talking lab mice? It'll never get on the air. The series doesn't end with them taking over the galaxy, but more laughs would await in the next millennium. Come, Pinky. Oh, we must catch the space shuttle back to our home planet of Acme and prepare for the next millennium. One of our best episodes.
Number two: Saving the World.
Pinky and the Brain. In an epic three-parter that practically flows like a movie, Pinky and the Brain set out to save the world so they can dominate it later. I've never watched this episode. I know it's based on The Prisoner, right? But I've never watched this triumvirate of episodes, and I found it very difficult to follow while we were recording it. I was just, I didn't. Yeah, so this is the first time I'm actually watching animation from it. The duo must thwart an intelligent cat and villainous clown who plot to drain everyone's minds with a dance song inspired by the Macarena. Drop down to your knees and try to look pretty. Chase a tail in a circle and meow like a kitty. It's as silly as it sounds, but the brainwashed trilogy also ups the stakes like never before, even resulting in Snowball's cuddly undoing. And I now play a character called Snowball. I'm Rick and Morty, and I've been searching for my testicles for several years now. Having been married for 30 years, I think I know precisely where they are. But if indeed you happen to find them, please call Justin Newman. There are my testicles, Summer. The story builds to a funny, catchy, and large-scale climax in which the mice lead presidential aide Bobby Bob in a performance that reverses the Schmierskohovin's effects. Let your fingers just in your ears. He then sticks them in your belly. Diddy. Don't be afraid if it jiggles like gelatin. Yeah, Pinky and the Brain saved the day, although their mousy worth goes unnoticed. Nevertheless, tomorrow is another night to take over the world. Now, we must prepare for tomorrow night. Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
Christopher Walken as Christopher Robin. Pinky and the Brain. Just when you thought his Annie Hall monologue couldn't get any weirder. Hello, Christopher. Hello, Pinklet. Brainy, let me confess something. We all do. We all do. On our own. Wow. Maurice and I are creating the show for Watch Mojo called The Walking Dead. Just so you know. Wow. Brain cries watching The Tiger Prince. Pinky and the Brain. Not to be confused with a certain Disney movie or Netflix docu-series. Pinky, look, my face is leaking. You're not leaking, Brain. You're you're crying. My face is lit. That's how unfamiliar with emotion I was speaking until you taught me the way. Yes. Starting a nuclear war between the U.S. and Canada. Pinky and the Brain. Hillary is still the most capable Clinton in 3502 A.D. Return fire. Destroy the Americans. Eh, you think you can mess with the Commander-in-Chief like that? I'll show you who's boss. Uh, excuse me, Hillary. We've got a situation here. I'm on it, Bill. It's me as the Canadian. Yes, I know how you're just. All I did was return to my original accent, the accent I spent decades trying to unlearn to work in the United States. Brain becomes a country music star. Animaniacs. On top of the world, looking down on creation. He's the hottest thing to hit Nashville since my mama's jalapeno yogurts. Here's Bubba Bob Ray. You remember the song? I am the light mouse. I stick from my cage. Never have a job. Never earn minimum wage. But you will respect me. Yes. Once my plan is. Inspiration from an Orson Welles outtake. Animaniacs. Suddenly, we're in the mood for frozen peas. Every July, peas grow. You really mean that? Uh, yeah. But if you could start a half second later. This episode was until fairly recently an obscure outtake of Orson Welles getting bent out of shape about being directed by some people over this the voiceover for a frozen peas. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications. All right, here's the last. All right, the last one.
Number one: Brain Reads Pinky's Letter.
Pinky and the Brain. I think that just has. I don't know if we'll ever be talked about it. No. And you guys picked exactly what we chose. Uh, we get to ask that question, uh, together and individually. And it is always the Christmas special. Pinky and the Brain will always be best known for satire, but it was the show's heart that secured this Christmas special a prime-time Emmy for outstanding animated program. Having delivered his hypnotic noodle noggin dolls around the globe, all the pieces are in place for Brain to take over. There, man, your station at the switch. The Brain could not care less about the letter Pinky forgot to send to Santa until he reads it. When we went into the studio and just cold read that script, I actually cried when I got to Brain's reading of Pinky's letter, learning that Pinky asked Santa to give all of his gifts to his best friend, Brain. And the audience are moved to tears. P.S. By any chance, do you have in that big old bag of yours the world? He's so touched that he wishes the world a Merry Christmas instead. He might not get the world, but when Brain receives an earth-shaped keychain from Pinky, we believe his heart grew three sizes. Nerf. Hillbilly. [Music] Thank you, Pinky, and Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you, Brian. That is such a profoundly great episode. Yeah. And and the fact of the matter is that life imitates art because I love my Brain just that much. Thank you for taking us down this trip down memory lane. This is incredible because even though we're making new, uh, Pinky and the Brain animation next episodes for you guys now, uh, you know, we forget. We've been doing this off and on for 20. It's incredible. 27 years. So we've won the lottery. See, Watch Mojo fans, this is why Watch Mojo is so freaking amazing because we get to look back at this stuff and say, oh my god, this was this was a big deal, and here's why. So thank you, folks. Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Watch Mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.