Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

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. Serving as a spin-off and crossover to the two series, the series was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and produced by Warner Bros. 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.

Premise
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.

New characters

 * Wally Faust (voiced by Jeff Bennett)
 * Rudy Mookich (voiced by Nancy Cartwright)
 * Vanity White (voiced by Jane Wiedlin)
 * Andrew Loam (voiced by Pamela Segall)
 * Ms. Entebbe (voiced by Andrea Martin)
 * Principal Cheevers (voiced by John Vernon)
 * Shad Equipo (voiced by David Paymer)
 * Mr. Pussy Wussy (voiced by Frank Welker)
 * Dr. Glen Tarantella (voiced by Fred Willard)
 * Lloyd Oldtire (voiced by Ed Begley, Jr.)
 * Rockin' John (voiced by Ben Stein)
 * Claude Gristle (voiced by Townsend Coleman)
 * Nurse Gland (voiced by T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh)
 * Ziff Twyman (voiced by Jack Carter)
 * Taylor Tyler, Hoovie and Billy (voiced by Jason Marsden)
 * Clarence (voiced by Julianne Beuscher)
 * Chorus members (voiced by Steve Bernstein and Bob Joyce)

Development
Warner Bros. network executives had reportedly wanted Pinky and the Brain to be part of a sitcom "more like The Simpsons". 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". The idea was reportedly met with resistance from the producers of the series.

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.

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".

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."

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.

Voices

 * Rob Paulsen as Pinky
 * Cree Summer as Elmyra Duff
 * Maurice LaMarche as the Brain

Additional voices

 * Ed Begley, Jr. - Lloyd Oldtire
 * Jeff Bennett - Baloney the Dinosaur, Jimmy, Wally Faust, Roberto, Baloney
 * Julie Bernstein - Janson Singer, Singer
 * Steve Bernstein - Chorus Member, Singer
 * Julianne Beuscher - Clarence
 * Charlotte Caffey - Way Cool #1
 * Jack Carter - Ziff Twyman
 * Nancy Cartwright - Rudy Mookich
 * Larry Cedar - Salesman
 * Jim Cummings - Manager
 * Tim Curry - Monkman
 * Blake Ewing - Janson Singer
 * Lisa Jenio - Way Cool #2
 * Bob Joyce - Chorus Member, Singer
 * T'Keyah Crystal Keymah - Nurse Gland
 * Tress MacNeille - Marie Maria, Jackie, Gloria Allgreen, French Woman
 * Jason Marsden - Taylor Tyler Hoovie
 * Andrea Martin - Ms. Entebbe
 * Gail Matthius - American Tourist
 * Michael McKean - Grocer
 * Pat Musick - Old Woman, Weasel
 * Bobbi Page - Singer
 * David Paymer - Shad Equipo
 * Pamela Segall - Andrew Loam
 * Yeardley Smith - Gert
 * Ben Stein - Johnny Hot
 * Ashley Tisdale - Janson Singer
 * John Vernon - Principal Cheevers
 * Janet Waldo - Old Lady
 * Frank Welker - Parrot, Pussy Wussy, Tunk, Penny
 * Jane Wiedlin - Vanity White
 * Fred Willard - Dr. Glen Tarantella

Broadcast history
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. 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. The series was removed in 2023.

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.

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

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.