By the late nineties Warner Bros. had reached the nadir of their animated series lineup, creativity just kind of depleting into abysmal series after abysmal series. Two really bad efforts in particular mark WB’s run of awful animated series in the late nineties. The first is Histeria!, the product of censor badgering for an educational animated program (also partially resulting in the cancellation of Animaniacs), and 1998’s Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain.
While it has been made clear that all the Spielberg led animated series kind of intersect some encompassing degree, it was also pretty evident that Animaniacs and Tiny Toons were separate universes with their own concepts and designs. Tiny Toons was just a younger version of the Looney Tunes with rad and extreme nineties versions of the classic Warner characters, that ended up being surprisingly fun. Animaniacs, on the other hand, was a much more brilliant and edgy nod to classic animation with golden age cartoons wreaking havoc on the nineties, along with a slew of other unique characters.
In hindsight it only made sense that the runaway hit characters “Pinky and the Brain” from Animaniacs would inevitably spawn their own spin-off, since they were the among the most popular characters in the series. And it would only make sense that Elmyra would spawn her own spin-off since she was the stand out original character in Tiny Toons for many years. The character was meant to be obnoxious and grating and yet ended up becoming a fan favorite. So rather than allow Elmyra her own platform for a series, Warner figured that they’d simply just combine the pair of popular characters. For what reason, I’m still baffled about.
Pinky and Brain did eventually garner their own spin-off but it only lasted a few years, and when the series ended it led directly in to their crossover with Elmyra. Why in the world did Warner feel this was at all a good idea? To this day when I think of misguided and utterly confusing television spin-offs, Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain always comes to mind. What logic was behind taking these three characters and allowing them to share a series with one another? My only guess is that Warner assumed since the momentum wore off for both characters by the late nineties, they could help keep each other afloat in their own series.
By this period, all Warner offered fans was the grating Histeria! and Detention which, honestly, I don’t even remember. The lab that housed Pinky and the Brain had burnt down and they fled without a home. Running from the scientists that kept them, they retreated to a pet shop where they’re found by Elmyra. She, of course, falls for them and keeps them as pets, while Pinky and the Brain do what they do every night – try to take over the world! – and get in silly adventures with Elmyra.
Most of the series involved Pinky and the Brain plotting to rule the world, and Elmyra’s childhood troubles interfering. Brain would have to intervene, Elmyra would end an episode as a winner or loser, and Brain would decide to stall his plans one more day. Much in the way he did with Pinky, except Pinky was a normal difficulty. If the mice never intervened in the lives of their scientist owners, why would they do so with Elmyra? Elmyra began her life on Tiny Toons as a villain, a female version of Elmer Fudd, while Pinky and the Brain were never quite heroes to begin with, so the pairing feels desperate.
Were Pinky and the Brain shoehorned in to an Elmyra spin-off, or was Elmyra added as a last minute effort to keep Pinky and the Brain popular? I guess that’s a question for the ages. Whatever the case, it’s clear Warner meddled to the point where it was no longer entertaining much like they did with Animaniacs and past series that were beloved (but not by the studios). Elmyra’s addition just seems redundant mainly since she’s basically just as inept and simple minded as Pinky is.
Elmyra is that smothering pet owner that always loved animals so much they inevitably escape, so it’s out of character for Pinky and the Brain to seek shelter with her. To make the spin-off worse, Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain was lacking in quality and felt slapped together at the last minute. The animation was sub-par and none of the style and comic timing were carried over from Tiny Toons or Animaniacs. It’s as if the animators couldn’t settle on which style to stick with, so they didn’t even try to choose for the series.
The series only ran on television for six episodes total, before being spliced up and used as short segments in (another Warner show I don’t remember) The Cat & Birdy Warneroonie Pinky Brainy Big Cartoonie Show. The reaction to the show seems apathetic for nostalgia fans. People neither love it or hate it. It’s such a baffling series, that it’s more of an oddity, when you think about it. Objectively, Pinky, Elmyra & The Brain is a pathetic spin-off smacking of a last minute cash grab, and Warner thankfully never saw success with the series. As a matter of fact, once the nineties came to a close, they just stopped trying altogether.
