Have made no secret numerous times of having always loved animation. Have loved it from a very early age, with Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry being the earliest and among the biggest influences/examples and still love it to this day as a young adult. Even more so actually with a better and broader understanding of it
Am, and always have been, a big fan of 'Animaniacs'. 'Pinky and the Brain' is every bit as great and surpasses it, with it having all the things that makes 'Animaniacs' such a great show while making them even better and having even more merits on its own. Find it brilliant, extremely well made, cute at times and very funny and actually hilarious frequently as a child. Still think all of that as an adult, and even more so with more knowledge of animation and understanding the humour more. Same with animation in general. 'Pinky and the Brain' is like 'Animaniacs', it has something for everybody and children and adults alike will love it, it is so much more than "just another kiddie show" and should never be dismissed as such.
"Brain Storm" is not one of my favourite 'Pinky and the Brain' episodes. It is still great, don't get me wrong, just that the best episodes have the extra something. Other episodes are more imaginative and funnier, while also excelling in bringing out different sides to the characters and their relationships, some have surprising depth too that gives a lot of emotion.
It is not that anything exactly is inherently wrong. Would personally have liked more supporting characters and the ones here are ones that one doesn't remember much of after finishing the episode.
There is nothing to find fault with the animation quality. The setting is an atmospheric one, credit is due making a quite confined setting interesting which this, and the whole of 'Pinky and the Brain' for that matter, does really well. The characters designs have no stiffness, the backgrounds are very detailed and the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric.
Similarly, the music is great. The scoring is dynamic and cleverly composed, adding to the actions, expressions and gestures and doing what good music scores in animation should do in enhancing them.
'Pinky and the Brain' throughout its too short run was always superbly written. It is such smart writing, at its worst it's very funny, at its best it's not just hilarious but riotous. "Brain Storm" has zaniness, wit and surprising intelligence and has references that will delight adults especially as they are more likely to get them, while having some educational parts for children.
While somewhat formulaic (all the stories in 'Pinky and the Brain' are, but in structure, the concept was actually very original), this is a not so common example of formulaic not being a bad thing and not mattering at all, because of the cleverness, creativity and idea variety of the writing and storytelling which are nowhere near as silly as one would think looking at the premise. One worries about repetition, no worries are needed because there is a lot of freshness and variety to stop that from happening and the setting and time period adds to the freshness. Some of the content here is outrageous, but endearingly so (the outrageousness and creativity of Brain's plan was part of the show's charm and intentional, as is not being surprised by the outcome of Brain's plan), but it is from start to finish very engaging, lively in pace, clever and always structured coherently, being not being too complicated for children and not too simplistic for adults. 'Pinky and the Brain' always excelled when it came to references and spoofs, and there are inspired ones here of 'Gone with the Wind', 'Twister' and 'The Wizard of Oz'.
Other than the writing, especially good are the characters. Pinky and Brain were two of the best characters on 'Animaniacs', Brain stole the show whenever he appeared, and more than deserved their own show. For me they are even more interesting and defined and one can see that here. It is hard not to endear to Pinky and his inane comments and actions, he is very stupid and one can see why he frustrates Brain. But he is one of the finest examples of stupid not falling into the trap of being obnoxious, a trap often fallen into, Pinky instead is very funny and often hysterically so and simply adorable, one has to admire his spirit and perseverance.
Brain is slightly more interesting in the show and being another episode centred around him he is much more interesting actually here with more to do, he is the infinitely smarter one of the two, a genius in fact, although also the meaner and more intricate one, a very large contrast. Somehow though he is still very lovable, it is impossible not to fall in love with his scheme here and how he goes about it, nor is it impossible not to love his deadpan personality and dark sarcasm.
One of the biggest strengths of 'Pinky and the Brain' is the relationship/chemistry between Pinky and Brain and that is obvious throughout "Brain Storm". The two have such compelling personalities that feel real and there is more to them under the surface than one might think. The chemistry between the two is just a delight, fun and sometimes antagonistic but there is more substance to it than all of that. It is essentially the heart of the show, it was important for it to work and it has always been one of the greatest assets and a huge part of the show's appeal.
Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, two of the best and most prolific voice actors around that time and in the voice acting business overall, are flawless providing Pinky and Brain's voices. Have always been particularly bowled over by LaMarche. Absolutely love, and always have loved, the life and depth they bring to the characters, their voices suiting the characters and their personalities perfectly. The bond between them is obvious.
Overall, a great episode if not one of my favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Am, and always have been, a big fan of 'Animaniacs'. 'Pinky and the Brain' is every bit as great and surpasses it, with it having all the things that makes 'Animaniacs' such a great show while making them even better and having even more merits on its own. Find it brilliant, extremely well made, cute at times and very funny and actually hilarious frequently as a child. Still think all of that as an adult, and even more so with more knowledge of animation and understanding the humour more. Same with animation in general. 'Pinky and the Brain' is like 'Animaniacs', it has something for everybody and children and adults alike will love it, it is so much more than "just another kiddie show" and should never be dismissed as such.
"Brain Storm" is not one of my favourite 'Pinky and the Brain' episodes. It is still great, don't get me wrong, just that the best episodes have the extra something. Other episodes are more imaginative and funnier, while also excelling in bringing out different sides to the characters and their relationships, some have surprising depth too that gives a lot of emotion.
It is not that anything exactly is inherently wrong. Would personally have liked more supporting characters and the ones here are ones that one doesn't remember much of after finishing the episode.
There is nothing to find fault with the animation quality. The setting is an atmospheric one, credit is due making a quite confined setting interesting which this, and the whole of 'Pinky and the Brain' for that matter, does really well. The characters designs have no stiffness, the backgrounds are very detailed and the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric.
Similarly, the music is great. The scoring is dynamic and cleverly composed, adding to the actions, expressions and gestures and doing what good music scores in animation should do in enhancing them.
'Pinky and the Brain' throughout its too short run was always superbly written. It is such smart writing, at its worst it's very funny, at its best it's not just hilarious but riotous. "Brain Storm" has zaniness, wit and surprising intelligence and has references that will delight adults especially as they are more likely to get them, while having some educational parts for children.
While somewhat formulaic (all the stories in 'Pinky and the Brain' are, but in structure, the concept was actually very original), this is a not so common example of formulaic not being a bad thing and not mattering at all, because of the cleverness, creativity and idea variety of the writing and storytelling which are nowhere near as silly as one would think looking at the premise. One worries about repetition, no worries are needed because there is a lot of freshness and variety to stop that from happening and the setting and time period adds to the freshness. Some of the content here is outrageous, but endearingly so (the outrageousness and creativity of Brain's plan was part of the show's charm and intentional, as is not being surprised by the outcome of Brain's plan), but it is from start to finish very engaging, lively in pace, clever and always structured coherently, being not being too complicated for children and not too simplistic for adults. 'Pinky and the Brain' always excelled when it came to references and spoofs, and there are inspired ones here of 'Gone with the Wind', 'Twister' and 'The Wizard of Oz'.
Other than the writing, especially good are the characters. Pinky and Brain were two of the best characters on 'Animaniacs', Brain stole the show whenever he appeared, and more than deserved their own show. For me they are even more interesting and defined and one can see that here. It is hard not to endear to Pinky and his inane comments and actions, he is very stupid and one can see why he frustrates Brain. But he is one of the finest examples of stupid not falling into the trap of being obnoxious, a trap often fallen into, Pinky instead is very funny and often hysterically so and simply adorable, one has to admire his spirit and perseverance.
Brain is slightly more interesting in the show and being another episode centred around him he is much more interesting actually here with more to do, he is the infinitely smarter one of the two, a genius in fact, although also the meaner and more intricate one, a very large contrast. Somehow though he is still very lovable, it is impossible not to fall in love with his scheme here and how he goes about it, nor is it impossible not to love his deadpan personality and dark sarcasm.
One of the biggest strengths of 'Pinky and the Brain' is the relationship/chemistry between Pinky and Brain and that is obvious throughout "Brain Storm". The two have such compelling personalities that feel real and there is more to them under the surface than one might think. The chemistry between the two is just a delight, fun and sometimes antagonistic but there is more substance to it than all of that. It is essentially the heart of the show, it was important for it to work and it has always been one of the greatest assets and a huge part of the show's appeal.
Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, two of the best and most prolific voice actors around that time and in the voice acting business overall, are flawless providing Pinky and Brain's voices. Have always been particularly bowled over by LaMarche. Absolutely love, and always have loved, the life and depth they bring to the characters, their voices suiting the characters and their personalities perfectly. The bond between them is obvious.
Overall, a great episode if not one of my favourites. 9/10 Bethany Cox
