| Alt Name: | Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain |
| Genre: | Animated sitcom Science fiction Comedy |
| Creator: | Tom Ruegger |
| Developer: | Rusty Mills |
| Runtime: | 11 minutes (22 minutes in "Teleport a Friend") |
| Composer: | Richard Stone Harvey R. Cohen Steve Bernstein Julie Bernstein |
| Executive Producer: | Steven Spielberg |
| Starring: | Rob Paulsen Cree Summer Maurice LaMarche |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Kids' WB |
| Company: | Amblin Television Warner Bros. Television Animation |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 13 |
Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain is an American animated sitcom featuring characters from the television series Tiny Toon Adventures and Pinky and the Brain, both created by Tom Ruegger.[1] Serving as a spin-off and crossover to the two series, the series was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation and Amblin Television. It aired from 1998 to 1999 on Kids' WB, running for 13 episodes. This show would be Spielberg's final collaborative effort with Warner Bros. Animation until the 2020 revival of Animaniacs.
The series starts with ACME Labs destroyed and subsequently converted into a Dissy Store (a parody of Disney 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 shop in Shanghai 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, and later accepting and adjusting to, Elmyra's affection.
Warner Bros. network executives had reportedly wanted Pinky and the Brain to be part of a sitcom "more like The Simpsons".[2] In a press release, Warner Bros. 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".[3] The idea was reportedly met with resistance from the producers of the series.[4]
The apparent dissatisfaction with Warner Bros.' decision to change Pinky and the Brain showed up in episodes. The last script that producer Peter Hastings wrote before leaving Warner Bros. for Disney Television Animation 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.[4]
The theme song for Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain included the lyric: "So Pinky and the Brain share a new domain. It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?" The lyric is accompanied by a shot in which Pinky and the Brain get kicked out of the Warner Bros. office. In addition, a spoken line by the Brain towards the end of the theme song states: "I deeply resent this".[4]
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.[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]
Also in 1999, Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, for "Outstanding Children's Animated Program", which it lost to PBS Kids show Arthur. The next year in 2000, the show was nominated again for the award and won.[6]
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 Bros. cartoons.[7] The show's inclusion in The Big Cartoonie Show lasted from January to September 1999. In the United Kingdom, the series was fully broadcast on CITV during 2001.
On January 4, 2018, Hulu acquired the streaming rights to Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain along with Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, and Tiny Toon Adventures.[8] The series was removed in 2023.
Many Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain episodes had been split into two parts and aired at different times.[9] The split sections of these episodes were 10 to 11 minutes long, versus the standard 22 minutes for most animated cartoon series.
A two-disc complete series DVD set of the show was released by Warner Home Video on .[10]
Carl's Jr. and Hardee's offered a collection of four Pinky, Elmyra and Brain toys with their kids' meals.
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.[11] The exception to this airing change was episode 10, which was shown completely intact on its respective air date.[9]