#patb rant

[draw-n-vent-with-imani]

One of my favorite gags to survive og Animaniacs is Brain worrying about Pinky but upon seeing Pinky not worry about it, he gets mad.

It tickles my brain because he clearly cares about Pinky but doesn't want to be vulnerable, and it's worse when he expresses it only to be met with a laugh or Pinky not acknowledging it. Because to be that vulnerable is to relinquish some control of the situation.

His anger never reads as "I hate you!" but as "I hate that you make me feel like I can be vulnerable", as "You make me feel stupid dropping down my walls" and as "Stop making me feel weak".

It never gets old and Brain never stops caring, even though he always gets mad about caring. It even made it's way into Masterclass and I hope that whatever happens to these characters next, that gag lives

[theonethatyaks93]

Extended Thoughts on Season 3 PaTB Segments+ My Problem with Complaints About Reboot Brain

Hello! After much consideration, and after a few re-watches of Season 3 episodes, I decided to add some more thoughts to the Pinky and The Brain segments. I previously reviewed these episodes in another post so check those out for my initial thoughts. However, some of those opinions are a tad outdated so go look at my initial reviews and then come here for my updated thoughts. Just a heads up, these may become severely opinionated, especially with my thoughts on "All's Fair in Love and Door" as well as a brief little mini-rant on Brain from the reboot. Alright, let's begin.

"How to: Friendship": After looking back on this segment, I noticed a few things that I failed to see on my initial watch. First off, the macaroni hearts from the storyboard made an appearance at the end when Pinky learns that Brain kept that picture! How did I not see that? But that offers up a few questions. Pinky didn't put those hearts there. Did Brain do that? Was it a continuity error with the animation team? If Brain put them there then...? Honestly, my thoughts were racing after seeing this. I also found the ending very sweet and I still think that this segment is adorable. It's not the cutest segment from the reboot anymore (you'll see in a moment what took this title) but I still think it's really fun

"Royal Flush": Not really too much to add for this one. I found Pinky's lack of knowledge when it comes to British customs very funny and the song is still great (also, Pinky has a British accent! The irony of him not understanding British things while sounding British was something that made me laugh very hard!). That one line Pinky says after Brain mentions how the situation was "too romantic" made me scream in delight! Pinky is gay! I was kind of confused initially on why this episode was more focused on Pinky compared to the poker game and Brain, but I guess they just wanted to focus on something aside from Brain since Pinky hasn't gotten too many starring episodes.

"Talladega Mice": My initial episode ranking is now outdated. After re-watching this segment and it still making me laugh for 2+ minutes after watching, I can safely say that this is the best segment from the third season of the reboot. Everything in this segment is simply perfection from the writing to the animation and expressions to the dialogue and voice acting. It all works so incredibly well. We get to see a softer, more gentle side of Brain where he actually wants to help Pinky. Pinky's stress problems are portrayed with such realism, and as someone who also suffers from minor stress problems, I saw a lot of elements I could relate to. The things that struck me the most included the ways Pinky coped with his stress being strikingly similar to the ways I cope with my own stress, Brain being incredibly supportive and reassuring to Pinky (even listening to his wants and needs may I add), Pinky's stress attack being portrayed in a realistic manner (yelling, heavy breathing, shaking.), and the sheer number of adorable interaction between the mice. Even on my second re-watch, this segment still had me in tears because I was laughing so hard. This is the hardest I've laughed at a segment since the first "Pinky's How To". Every joke just lands and every moment manages to be either cute, hilarious, or a combination of both. The tickle fight in particular has to be one of the best moments from the season. This is the cutest episode from the reboot by a landslide and I love it to pieces. I plan on watching this over and over again.

"Mad Mouse: Furry Road": I don't have too much to add that I didn't already say in my initial review. I thought the animation was expressive and fun and some of the moments were funny. I found the premise very interesting and these were some of the more unique human characters. I loved the times when Brain defended Pinky. I just thought that Brain was very cool in this segment; thankfully, he strayed away from being unlikable or cruel.

"Groundmouse Day": After going back, I found this episode to be funnier since I paid more attention to the references. I loved how Brain got more and more insane as the episode continued on. I found the scene when Brain had finally taken over the world and Pinky was being supportive so cute. The satire and dialogue truly stole the show and I feel as though these segments managed among the best in terms of writing (also the kiss!!!).

"All's Fair in Love and Door": This is going to be a controversial opinion, but I think this episode was amazing. I know, everyone was mad that the deleted storyboards shown weren't in the segment and that they would've made everything better. You have a right to be frustrated, mad, or disappointed. However, I still think that this episode works on its own. And some of the storyboards were kept in the final cut. Do I think if they'd included those storyboards that it would add to the overall segment? Yes I do. Do I think that they would've changed my ranking and my opinion for the better? I don't think so. I actually think that the "Brain is in the closet" metaphor is still present; you just need to look a little closer past the surface to see it. Pinky is clearly jealous in the final cut, as hinted by the delivery of the lines. Brain's sexuality was also hinted at due to the ending (seriously, that look and that reaction!). I have my theories on why some of these storyboards were cut, but I don't let these affect my overall viewpoint. I'll defend this episode till the very end. I won't let deleted scenes change my opinion; I just look at the segment for what we got. If you are upset about the deleted scenes, that's okay. I'm not mad at you. But this is my opinion and the way that I look at this segment and all it has. Also, I think that Brain's reasoning for making this alternate world isn't entirely true. He might've felt guilty about Julia and he might've wanted to be with someone just like him, but I still have the feeling he's hiding something. Just the way he tells Pinky not to go in there and the way he reacts after Pinky does end up in the world shows he could be using this as a place to escape from his world. I have a theory that Brain uses this world as a way to escape from his problems: the struggles with Julia, his constant failures, his possible love for Pinky. This world serves as a place that fixes these. Julia is fine, he doesn't care about world domination, and Pinky isn't included here because Brain loves him and want to keep him just the way he is. Brain doesn't want to tell Pinky because he fears that his friend might be angered by what he sees or that Pinky might mess things up. The destruction of the fictional world not only serves as Brain "coming out of the closet" so to speak, it also shows that he has finally accepted that the world he didn't make is the one he wants to live in. This explains why there's always an uneasy feeling in this fictional reality and why Brain seems to almost look uncomfortable at times, like something is wrong (for example in the wedding photo and when Julia hugs him). The moment where Brain covers Pinky up to protect him shows that Brain has chosen Pinky over Julia, therefore proving that he loves Pinky more than he ever loved that fictional Julia. The ending also shows that Brain has essentially allowed Pinky to be the only thing he cares for, as hinted by his facial expressions and tone. Even when he starts talking about getting over his ex in a better way, he says never mind after seeing Pinky, showing that something must've happened inside his mind on that day. This only a theory and the interpretation might be completely off but nonetheless, I still love this episode quite a bit. (Ps: Sorry for the rambling!)

"How The Brain Thieved Christmas": I don't really have anything else to add here. I mentioned everything in my initial review and it hasn't changed since. The only thing I failed to mention was the ending in more depth. It definitely gave off "A Pinky and The Brain Christmas" vibes with Brain receiving a meaningful gift and Pinky getting something that tied into the episode (i.e. a spellchecker since the letter to Santa probably had poor grammar and the Pinky doll since that was something Pinky wanted and it was a plot point in the episode). I honestly think this should've been the final episode. Don't get me wrong, the James Bond parody was good, but it was only a cold-opening. This should've been the final episode since it has the feeling of one of the most popular episodes from the spin-off.

"International Mouse of Mystery": I've talked about this segment before in my initial reviews and in my episode 10 rant. I literally don't have anything else to add, so go check those out.

Closing Thoughts and Reboot Brain Rant: I've been seeing a lot of hate recently for Brain from the reboot. Many call him a villain, a poor character, and a worse counterpart to his original self. Some even debate the reboot's canonicity due to these factors. This truly breaks my heart to see because I personally love reboot Brain. I think he goes through an incredible character arc and improves so much after the first season. I believe that most of this controversy is geared towards the first season, which I agree with, but I've also seen others get mad at him for things in season 3 episode 7 (the previous section explains my theory/viewpoint on the whole situation). Calling Brain a villain is a slippery slope since I rooted for him in every episode except for one. Brain is one of the characters that you want to see succeed and I think that the reboot offered a new take on the classic formula. Brain becoming more insane is likely due to the fact that he's been trying to take over the world for nearly 30 years and has failed every time. The writers were trying to emphasize this important aspect. There were a few missteps when it came to Brain's character; season 1 being the pinnacle of this. For example, the infamous "Mousechurian Candidate" segment was the only time in the reboot where Brain was portrayed as exceedingly unlikable. He manipulates Julia, mind-controls her, says things that don't align with his character at all, and never apologizes or shows remorse for any of his actions until the third season. The scene where Brain causes Julia to lose her mind was one of the worst and most uncomfortable scenes from the franchise since it was very dark and was trying to be funny to which it failed. This was Brain's worst moment in the entire history of the show; thankfully it hasn't been repeated. He improved drastically in season 2, going through a character arc where he learns to appreciate Pinky more. The development he received in certain episodes such as "Narf Over Troubled Water" helped to move his character forward. In the third season, Brain's arc continues along, and somewhat reaches its conclusion in the Christmas episode. I think that if we got a fourth season, Brain's development would come full circle. I don't fully disagree with the statements people have been saying about Brain. Sometimes he can be out of character and mean, but he never stays that way. He's almost always redeemed by either a piece of character development, a funny moment, or a great episode after a weaker one. I'd also argue that the reboot's version of Brain is more expressive and sticks to his character development more than when he did in the 90's. For example, in certain episodes of the spin-off such as "A Pinky and The Brain Christmas" and "Megalomaniacs Anonymous", Brain learns to treat Pinky with kindness and to not neglect his feelings as well as realizing that the real reason why he wants to take over the world is to make it a better place. These aspects are contradicted in other episodes were Brain mistreats his friend and where his more malicious nature is shown. Brain was stuck in a sort of character circle, meaning that he would go through some development, and would undo that development in another episode, only to essentially redo that arc again at a later time. Brain in the reboot goes through a continuous arc over the course of three seasons, seemingly keeping his development after each segment. Sure, sometimes he takes a few steps back into the character circle, but he always pulls through.

Once again, I'm not saying that if you dislike reboot Brain that you're a bad person and that your opinion isn't true. My perspectives are only my personal thoughts and others can agree or disagree with me. It's just that when people criticize him so harshly that it just hurts to see. I don't want to hate Brain. I never want to. But sometimes, it can be so difficult, especially when he does things to Pinky (my personal favorite character). I personally really like the depth that Brain has in the reboot, as well as all the development he gets such as expanding on his control issues, his impulsiveness, and his possible lack of self-confidence. I understand why he's gotten all this hate, but I do think it is a little extreme in some cases. I'll always stand up for Brain; he's one of my comfort characters and I relate to him immensely.

Whew! That was a long post! I apologize if things were a bit rant-like at some parts; I just wanted to share my frustration at things. So, those are my extended thoughts! I hope you liked season 3 (or at least liked the "Talladega Mice" segment). My next post is going to be the biggest I've ever made so, stay tuned! (Sorry for the rambling!! Here's a pic of the mice for your troubles!!😊 )

[megalomice]

thoughts on "all's fair in love and door" (more of a rant)

i tried to like it but honestly...no. i hate it. i did like that brain finally showed remorse for what he did to julia, but it just makes no sense for him to be in love with her. i can't get over that. it's completely one-sided. how could julia love him after what he put her through?? there's zero chemistry between them and idk why this pairing even exists

here's one very big issue i had with this episode - brain, when explaining his attraction to julia, states the following: "(julia)'s the only mouse i've ever met whose ambition, intelligence, and excellent bone structure match my own" WTF??

this is so backwards. julia having intelligence that rivals brain's should've been a TURN OFF for him. it's a well known fact that brain is morosexual. HE'S CANONLY ATTRACTED TO MORONS.

billie started out as a moron. billie also looks like a genderbent pinky, and brain was infatuated with her. actually, in later episodes where billie is more intelligent, brain seems less into her than he was before lmao. i'm not fond of billie, but at least brain's attraction to her, y'know, makes sense!!

trudy was also a little air-headed (at least that was how she came off). and by contrast, mousey galore was intelligent. even if brain may have flirted with her (more for the james bond parody than anything) he clearly wasn't attracted to her.

so, they should've at least made julia stupid if they wanted to make this convincing. like,, you expect me to accept this as canon? three episodes from the reboot trying to establish this weird julia/brain "romance" somehow trumps the established canon from the 90s animaniacs segments and patb spinoff? nahhh, try harder.

here's what i did like: the idea of brain trying to conform to heteronormativity and the door being a metaphor for him being in the closet. brain has always been very closed off emotionally and i agree that it's in-character for him to repress his sexuality. if the episode would've focused on that much more interesting problem instead of the same "julia goes berserk and tries to kill brain" schtick we got in the last julia episode, maybe i would've liked it more.

i also appreciate that we've gotten some pretty explicit confirmation that brain is bi this season. specific to this episode, the hand-holding with pinky, brain calling him "dear" and how pinky was clearly more important to him than the julia simulation. it was nice to see brain getting so protective of pinky in this segment. at least we got that.

sooooo yeah. mfw we get another julia episode where brain is mischaracterized:

[mr-bisk]

I discovered that Billy West, the voice of Stimpy and Fry, participated in a few PatB 'sodes and now I'm crawling to discover which ones

[themurphyzone]

Warning: certain female mouse rant incoming. 

Julia is the absolute worst thing to come out of PatB. At least you can ignore the Elmyra series. But Julia? They shoehorn her in where she doesn’t belong and her presence actively ruins Pinky and Brain’s characters. I don’t care, her episode trilogy is the worst thing to come out of the reboot, aside from the villain Brain crap. 

[hopes-memes]

I literally hate it when adults in the patb fandom get mad when minors are like “why are you posting nsfw or highly suggestive stuff on the main tag for kids to see” and then they defend themselves like “I PuT A WaRnInG” like ok?? That doesn’t stop the fact that you are a grown ass adult posting nsfw shit of characters ON A SHOW MADE F O R K I D S

I literally don’t care how old you are or how long you were a fan this is still a childrens show that is targeted for kids and you as an adult person shouldn’t be posting fucking nsfw of it

And like I’m not saying you have to make everything PG for the mice, no if you want them to have sex that’s fine but please for the love of god keep it to yourself or with your friends who are also adults

[thelittlemermage]

Wait. Imagine a patb spinoff where it’s the mice as a donestic couple.

Episode 1: Brain gets hooked on cringe boomer newspaper comics and repeats one of those “wife bad” jokes. Pinky bans him from no bake cheescakes for the night as a reaction. Romy crashes at their house from puppet college I guess and makes the whole house smell like the devil’s lettuce. /j

Oh my God noooo I can picture it.

Not Romy smoking around Pinky. You know how that sets him off.

Don't make him pull out the look.

[looney-mooney-studio]

Mice doodles ft. Les beans and ANGSTY MICE

[space--cadet-glow]

"Pinky and the Brain" Theory: The Show Was Meant to Take Place in the 1950s

Exactly what the title says. I got to over-thinking again, and I think I have waaaayyyy too much evidence that this show was supposed to take place in the 1950s, barring some odd modern-ish instances of things such as "Jeopardy" or the fact that the president was Bill Clinton.

Here's everything I can think of so far: 1. The theme song originally was supposed to be in tune to "Singing in the Rain", but they couldn't get the rights to the song and had to write their own. "Singing in the Rain" was from 1952. 2. Pinky watches, and is a huge fan of, "The Honeymooners", which began airing in 1955. 3. The very first time Pinky was shown wearing a dress was in "Noah's Lark". I bring this up because he's wearing a popular style of dress from the 1950s called the shirtwaist dress. 4. Filming things in colour started to become common in the 1950s... But this didn't stop Pinky and Brain from filming their video in "The Really Great Dictator" in black and white. 5. The soap box that Brain stands on to drive the van in "Opportunity Knox" is a box of Swan Soap, which originated from the 40s/50s. 6. Pinky mentions Lenny and Squiggy from "Laverne and Shirley" in the episode "Pinkasso". "Laverne and Shirley" took place in the 1950s/1960s. 7. The entire Godzilla incident in "Tokyo Grows"... Because Godzilla came out in the 1950s, too. Ditto for the Raymond Burr cameo-- because his "Perry Mason" show started in 1957. 8. The title of "Leave it to the Beavers" references the 1950s show, "Leave it to Beaver". 9. Pinky's song "Just Say Narf" is quite possibly another "Singing in the Rain" reference, although this time to "Make 'em Laugh"-- again from 1952. 10. In "Brain Drained", it's shown that Brain owns a Rolodex, which came out in 1958.

And you'd get another reference to the year 1958 when Brain mentions the Ziggy jet fighters being sold in "Fly". There was even another "Leave it to Beaver" reference in the spin-off series episode "Pinky's Dream House". And over-all, this could possibly explain Pinky's fascination with becoming a 50s style housewife...

And possibly the oddly consistent colour choices for Pinky's lipstick-- Revlon came out with Stormy Pink and Certainly Red in 1950 and 1951, respectively... These eerily match up with Pinky's usual two colours: the bubblegum pink that he chooses for himself and the bright red that Brain likes putting him in. If the show really did take place in the 1950s, then these would have been two readily accessible colours for them to get their hands on.

Then again, I could be completely crazy and have been noticing nothing this entire time. I don't know.

[jesswithane]

Toon Universe Headcannons:

So, if you look back at old cartoons a lot of them would smoke cigarettes from time to time for marketing campaigns or just...you know it was a super common thing!

But then when all of the regulations started with no more smoking cartoons and no portrayals in children media...and even fucking photoshopping it out of Salt Disney's hands (!!?!! The dude died of lung cancer! Come on!)....like do you think all the toons are now like former nicotine addicts trying to recover?

Like Bugs will see a non-acting toon smoke and just...heavy sigh? Or they have to hide their cigarettes?

Idk. It's a fun thing to think about I guess

[jordybuzz]

⚠️Some Animaniacs Spoilers!⚠️

Ok this is a bit of a rant because I hate the way they have Brain think of himself as a super villain. When the literal premise is he wants to make the world a better place. Literally in the patb show he says “no no I’m the good guy! I’m trying to make the world a better place!” In a very sincere voice. Though it’s a cool thing to have a show where the main characters are villains, that was not the idea they were going for in the 90s! It just makes me mad that they made Brain act like a super villain in the reboot when he just wants to make the world better. Also again I hated the patb part of episode 8 season 2. I think it’s weird that I hated episode 8 in season 1 too. And for the same reason! Brain was acting like a jerk! Maybe it was some coincidence that Brain acted way different again on the number of the same episode that he did last time, but maybe not??🤔🤔🤔Anyway I still loved season 2, more than the 1st season actually! It’s very funny and there are a whole lot of sweet moments in the Pinky and the Brain skits and the Warner’s were very cool! That was the only flaw in the entire season. I hope next season, they’ll make it even better than before! Just like season 2 :)

[draw-n-vent-with-imani]

Hot Take

I feel like there is an incredibly small subsection of Brinky shippers that equates an episode with Brinky moments to being a good episode sometimes, and that's not how any of this works.

Some of the best episodes in the spinoff and reboot have great Brinky moments, but there are also weaker episodes that have good Brinky moments.

Like the Mad Max episode; pretty weak story execution, decent Brinky moments.

The Pinky Protocol; has it's moments but is not very good imo

The alien pen pal episode; plain stupid through and through with some lovely Brinky food

And need I point out All's Fair in Love and Door?

[theonethatyaks93]

I’m Back!!! + Episode 10 Rant

Hi everyone! Sorry about the lack of posts aside from re-blogs over the past few days; I was on vacation. But, I’m back now and ready to party!

I have a pretty steep uploading schedule for the next few weeks. I plan on making a new post every day or every other day for the next month or so. Some things on the agenda include some of my extended thoughts on Season 3 along with my (pretty controversial and interesting) opinions on “All’s Fair in Love and Door” and Brain as a whole from the reboot, my ranking of every Pinky and The Brain segment from the reboot, an analysis on brinky moments from the reboot’s three seasons, and a few more posts involving my Animaniacs merchandise and some personal stories. This is going to be a lot, but I’m making up for lost time. Anyways, now that I’ve explained my absence, I need to talk about something besides my schedule. So here’s a rant on episode 10 of season 3 for you to enjoy! I’m so glad to be back! Narf!

Spoiler alert: This dives into minor spoilers for season 3, episode 10 of the reboot. Proceed at your own risk!

I’m so frustrated at this finale. So, very frustrated. This was the most disappointing thing to come from the Animaniacs franchise. I get that they ran out of time to make an adequate conclusion due to the show’s cancellation, but they still could’ve done better than this. This episode was not funny, there were a lot of false promises, the concepts were bland, and I just felt so empty after watching this. Each segment proved to be worse than the last and was underwhelming in some way. I wished the show ended on a different note and while I’m still a fan of the show, I just can’t help but feel upset.

“International Mouse of Mystery” was good, but they lied to us! It’s only a cold-opening, not a full segment. While the song was fantastic (Pinky is amazing at everything he does), the animation was expressive, and the jokes were funny, I wished that this was longer. Is this the last appearance of the mice? I hope it’s not because that would be just plain sad. This should have came earlier in the season and instead, the Christmas episode should’ve been the finale. I still liked this segment quite a bit.

“Aliens Resurrected” was a tad bit of a letdown to me. The song was good, but it wasn’t as good as “A Brief History of History.” I loved the animation and the premise, but the “International Mouse of Mystery” song and the song from the Christmas episode were better overall. This song was the last one from the reboot and that’s kind of sad. I just thought that this segment promised more than it gave us, but I still liked it enough.

I didn’t pay that much attention to “Joe”. Just a one-off segment with good animation and nothing else. That’s it.

“The Stickening” was the episode that disappointed me the most. The story was so promising with the Warners going to an amusement park and getting stuck together. Unfortunately, the segment just evolved into chaos with barely any laughs or any substance. The ending was bull-crap and it was just so unremarkable and un-funny. I hated it so much since this was the final appearance of a majority of the cast including Pinky, Brain, and Ralph. Some people may like it, but I’m just not a fan.

“Slappy’s Return” was a nice one-off segment with a funny punchline. I loved seeing Slappy again, but I wish it was longer. This was fun and I was laughing a lot at how meta it was. Not much to say here, it was just nice.

“Everyday Safety: Giant Adirondack Chair” was the worst segment from the entire season in my opinion and one of the worst segments from the reboot. It wasn’t funny, it dragged on too long, it was boring, and it gave us the stupidest ending in the history of endings. The Warners just being killed was such a lackluster way to conclude the series and I was actually screaming at my T.V. I was so angry and upset. I can’t believe that this is how it ended. I know it was rushed but come on! They can do a million times better than this!!! I never want to watch, talk, or hear about this segment ever again. I love this show, and it deserved a better ending than this.

This episode pissed me off so much. Only two segments of great quality were here while the rest ranged from okay to god-awful. I won’t be watching this episode ever again except for the cold-opening and the Slappy segment. I don’t consider this to be the finale. I much prefer Wakko’s Wish, “Star Warners”, or “The Animaniacs Suite.” Watch those instead of this, please. I can’t believe that this is real and I am so angry and mad about all the decisions made. I’m sorry if I come off as too aggressive here, but I really am truly devastated about this. I need to talk about the mice or I’m going to explode. Don’t worry, though! My next post will be way more positive (I think)!

[rottenrodentruby]

Can the PATB fandom like... just stop tearing each other up over a fucking mustache mouse please? This applies for both haters and stans. Sit the fuck down and be civil.

[mr-bisk]

Folks there doin animation and character design and I'm here drawing gay mice when my stamina us not burned AF. (/NSRS FRFR)

[zanyana626]

Ok, is it just me or is anyone else annoyed over the lack of merch for the Animaniacs reboot???

Not that I want to go off on a mini rant and sound like a spoiled brat, but think about it: We've already got the second season and so far, no clothes, no plushies, nothing!!!

Like it would kill Funko to at least consider rereleasing their vaulted Pops, cause there's no way I'm paying 50+ bucks for the PATB pops (even tho, I REALLY want 'em). Or even making those Funko Sodas of the Warners & PATB!

And even though I've outgrown my "Build-A-Bear" phase years ago, if they announced new plushies of the Warner siblings AND Pinky & The Brain, you bet your butts I'm heading running SPRINTING to the nearest store near me!