History WesternAnimation / PinkyandtheBrain

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The opening to "Inherit the Wheeze" -- think strapping a mouse into what looks like a medieval torture device and forcing him to smoke cigarettes is a cartoonishly outlandish way of studying the effects of smoking that real scientists couldn't actually do? Well, take a deep breath and get used to nightmares, because that's actually ''exactly'' [[https://lifeorlunch.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/smoking-experiments-on-animals-peta-org/ how they do it]] -- all the animators did was slightly censor what the device looks like.

They're [[TheyFightCrime crime-fighting]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment lab mice]]!''

* AntiHero: Brain is constantly trying to TakeOverTheWorld -- hardly heroic -- but he is good-natured (when not hurting Pinky) and truly believes that the world would be a better, happier place if he was in charge; this is [[Main/JustifiedTrope justified]] by portraying real world's leaders as either egotistic, incompetent or plain crazy ([[BreadEggsBreadedEggs or all at once]]). Also compare to his archrival Snowball, a sadistic villain whom Brain believed would destroy the world if ''he'' ruled it.

* GrandFinale: "Star Warners", a WholePlotReference to the original ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy. Featuring [[{{Crossover}} guest appearances]] by most of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' characters, as well as [[WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}} a cameo by Freakazoid, Mo-Ron/Bo-Ron and Fanboy]]. As a trivia note, this and the last episode of ''Animaniacs'' premiered in an hour-long bundle, ''The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special''.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: "Star Warners", which originally aired as part of an ''Animanaics'' special, features the other main characters from that series; the regular episodes did not have {{Crossover}}s of this type.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: "Star Warners" features main characters from across the ''Animaniacs'' umbrella; the regular episodes did not have {{Crossover}}s of this type.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: "Star Warners" features main characters from across the ''Animaniacs'' umbrella; the regular episodes did not have {{Crossovers}} of this type.

* GrandFinale: "Star Warners", a WholePlotReference to the original ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy. Featuring [[{{Crossover}} guest appearances]] by most of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' characters, as well as [[WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}} a cameo by Freakazoid, Mo-Ron/Bo-Ron and Fanboy]]. As a trivia note, this episode also aired the same day as the final episode of ''Animaniacs''.

* VillainProtagonist: Brain can be interpreted this way, since his goal after all is to take over the world.

* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: {{Conversed|Trope}} by the Brain in the ChristmasEpisode when Pinky tells him that the reindeers are inviting elves to join them for [[{{Pun}} a party at Donner's house]].

* IsThisThingStillOn: In "Calvin Brain", Brain's latest plan for world domination is undone when a behind-the-scenes documentary crew films him unleashing a diatribe on the shallowness of the fashion industry and the brainlessness of those who follow its dictates. His last words on the video are even "is that thing on?"

** A humanoid shark that looks a lot like Ripster from ''WesternAnimation/StreetSharks'' makes a quick cameo (presumably as a CreatorInJoke by the animators at Wang) in the Cantina scene in "Star Warners".

** Creator/SteveAllen, Creator/EdMcMahon, Dr. Joyce Brothers and Creator/GavinMacLeod all appeared as themselves in the "Pinky and the Brain Reunion Special".

* LoveDodecahedron: Even if you leave out [[HoYay certain]] [[FoeYay fanon]], it's a mess. Brain and Billie had a fling, then she dumped him and started dating Snowball, ''then'' she dumped ''him'' and started chasing Pinky, who's happy with Pharfignewton (who loves him back) and seems alarmed by Billie's advances. Meanwhile, Brain still hasn't gotten over Billie...

->'''Pinky:''' Gee Brain, what do you wanna do tonight?\\

* ImAlive: In "Snowball", a suicidal Brain attempts to end all by leaving himself to be eaten by alley cats, but they reject him. He then has this reaction, complete with a triumphant laugh.

[[caption-width-right:209:''[[ExpositoryThemeTune One is a genius, the other's insane...]]'']]
->''"Gee Brain, what do you wanna do tonight?"''\\
''"The same thing we do every night, Pinky -- try to take over the world!"''

An AnimatedSeries about a super-intelligent, genetically-altered lab mouse who enlists his halfwit roommate (read: the other mouse in his cage) into his endless quest to TakeOverTheWorld. Each episode saw The Brain devise an elaborate, improbable scheme for world domination, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption only be foiled in the end]] due to some unforeseeable twist of fate, Pinky's bumbling or occasionally his own blundering arrogance. On one or two occasions he actually succeeded in taking over the world, but with some kind of unacceptable side-effect that sent him back to the drawing board. By contrast, many episodes had his schemes barely even getting off the ground, and the story centers around his attempts just to get the first step going.

** And "This Old Mouse" has Brain [[DrowningMySorrows drowning his sorrows]] in... water from the cage water bottle.

** Issue 3 of their own comic parodies ''Film/TheTerminator'', with Issue 16 parodying ''Film/Terminator2''.

** The entire episode "Pinky and The Brain... and Larry" was one big take that against the Kids WB network execs, who kept demanding that the show add a third character to the show, despite Pinky and The Brain being pretty explicitly a comedy ''duo'' who would gain nothing from a third character. To illustrate this, they made an episode where a third mouse named Larry appears, [[RememberTheNewGuy and the other two act as if he has always been there]] (he's even added to the theme song). Most of the episode's humor comes from the fact that Larry seems incredibly out of place and unnecessary to the plot, and that he keeps trying to insert himself into gags and situations where he adds nothing. Either the execs didn't get the joke, or they did and decided to take revenge on the writers, because a year later a third character (Elmyra) was forced on the show, leading to a unintentional version of the awkwardness seen in the Larry episode, and then cancellation.

* ClipShow: "Schpiel-borg 2000" starts off as this, with clips of every time Pinky and Brain saying their catchphrases.

** In [[Recap/PinkyAndTheBrainS1E2 one episode]], Brain tries to get money for a plan by getting a job and fake an accident to sue his employer for.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Brain says this almost word-for-word in "Brain Noir when he get affected by a model of his hat shrinking machine.

* ItsAWonderfulPlot: In the comic story "It's a Wonderful Narf", Brain yells at Pinky for donating the money he needed for his newest scheme to charity, causing Pinky to run away crying and attempt to throw himself off a bridge. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Realizing just how badly he's screwed up]], Brain takes it upon himself to pose as a guardian angel and show Pinky what life would be like if he didn't exist - riff raff run amok (because Pinky wasn't around to have everyone sign a petition to keep them out), Acme Labs is run down because Pinky never donated money to handle its upkeep, and Brain is lonely and depressed, with his plans never even getting off the drawing board without Pinky.

* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: In one episode, Brain tries to take over the world with an army of sea lions since he [[SpeaksFluentAnimal learned their language.]] Pinky tries speaking it too, but his phrases translate to, "Fetch me a big clown hat," a ghost story, "There's a school of overweight fish swimming near by" and "I'm a big billy goat so you'd better beat it sister."

* PerfumeCommercial: Brain's commercial for "Subjugation". Pinky's shenanigans ruins the effect.

* StealthPun: In the episode "Briany Jack", Brain is saved by a group of hippies, who he refers to as "The original cast of ''{{Theatre/Godspell}}''." He eventually decides that he will become their leader as part of the evening's plot, and proclaims their mission statement as the following:

* XRaySparks: In "Project B.R.A.I.N.", Pinky attempts to disconnect the electrodes attached to the Brain's head from a computer, only to hit the power button with his foot and shock the Brian, illuminating his skeleton.

* BritishRoyalGuard: Pinky and The Brain had to tip one over (cow tipping) to get into a club. The guard falls like a tree.
* BurgerFool: In the comic story "World Domination to go", Pinky and Brain get jobs at burger joint Da Burger in order to get their hands on the grease they need for Brain's newest plot.

** Also from "Your Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again", there's Pinky's wife Margret. Every time someone brings her up, Brain points out that Margret is Pinky's sock puppet, to which the response is a flat, "Yes?"

** "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets Again!" See trivia.