There's multiple reasons why "Pinky and the Brain", both as a series and as characters, have greatly lived on over the years (to the point of being prominently featured in the Animaniacs reboot). Much like "Phineas and Ferb" a decade later, the formula and catchphrases manage to be so instantly memorable, and the dynamic between the titular mice hit just the right balance of being classically simplistic and refreshingly nuanced. The world the show takes place in is grounded enough for the biting social satire to leave an impact, but exaggerated enough for one to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of what goes on. It also boasted a more cynical, subversive tone than what you would normally see from Animaniacs. Right from the getgo, the crew and viewers seemed to fall in love with them, to the point where it was no surprise that they would get their own spinoff series upon the WB's launch in 1995.
And I'd say one of the biggest improvements Pinky and the Brain took when given a slot of their own was their ability to capture more emotional and complex stories. The majority of the plots were still witty and lighthearted 'take over the world' schemes, but every once in a while you'd get a story that would try something different. You have "Welcome to the Jungle", where the Brain becomes completely lost in an unfamiliar environment, or "This Old Mouse" where he reaches a mid-life crisis upon the realization his efforts may be all in vain.
But the pinnacle of this, and probably one of the biggest signs of what "Pinky and the Brain" was truly capable of in a 22-minute format, was their 9th aired episode of the series - the Christmas episode, to be specific. It was so good, it won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, and it was also the only episode of the series to be animated by TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha) - after WB stopped commissioning the studio full-time.
So let's see what makes this so special, both as a story and as an animated experience.
The fact this episode was animated by TMS is made immediately clear by how this bit of slapstick plays out. While Wang prefers to focus more on the facial expressions and imprint than the actual windup, here just Pinky hopping on the line and flying off it proves fun to watch in and of itself.
One of the biggest plot points of the episode, Pinky's letter to Santa, is continually foreshadowed across the episode like a lot of Pinky and the Brain stories tend to do as a means of keeping the audience guessing what specifically what cause everything to come crumbling down. They're very smart by having this be all we actually see of the letter for now, and they're surprisingly subtle about that detail too.
At one point, they reminisce about their previous world domination plans involving Christmas, including Brain posing as a mall Santa. The image of this little kid squishing Brain like this is funny enough but then it cuts to this *hilarious* second image that goes by extremely fast. Also, I'd like to know about when they "time traveled to Bethlehem" as Pinky briefly brings up.
This innocent expression may seem unremarkable, but it works so well in-context. Pinky gets excited over the prospect of going to the North Pole, leading to Brain insisting he stop "acting like a child". Pinky says "because... why?" It honestly says so much about Pinky; that he may be stupid sometimes, but the joy he gets in certain things isn't exactly unfounded.
This Tress MacNeille-voiced pilot is hilarious. "Don't talk much, do ya? Yeah, had a boyfriend like you once. Always thinking. Real quiet. Turned out he was actually a propane tank. Which... explained a lot." The constant snow passing by adds so much in conveying the harsh conditions.
You gotta love that whoever made this sign felt the need to point southward in multiple directions, as if this being the North Pole wasn't enough to convey that idea. Also, I guess Santa's workshop is part of a Kawani's Club? Am I missing a joke here?
Pinky notes an invitation they got to a reindeer party at Donner's. "Hmm... somehow the idea of joining the Donner Party is unappealing." This specific joke is talked about by the series crew a lot in how this series was envisioned to bring parents and kids together; not sure if a freaking cannibalism reference is the way to go about it though.
Pinky distracts this head elf with "Look, a decoy!" Humorous enough subversion of a cliched gag, but Brain immediately going along with that dumb face sells it.
Brain's line about them being "Canadian elves" upon being caught is a bit of a groaner, but the music sting upon going to commercial being "Oh Canada" manages to salvage this line. Such clever sound design.
Just a silly drawing where Pinky tries to resemble Brain.
And the only thing sillier than that is this image of the mice trying to pass themselves off as reindeer... which I guess worked? I don't know, the way the scene plays out is admittedly a little weird and ambiguous.
Any big Animaniacs fan would recognize this as Katie Ka-Boom's house, except here it's occupied by a completely different house. Just as well for the neighborhood's sake...
Yeah, they had to get a Bill Clinton reference in here somewhere. It was 1995, give them a break.
So this is exactly where the episode turns from standard, slightly above-average "Pinky and the Brain" to... something else. The contrast between Pinky's depression over not getting his letter delivered and Brain being this ticked off is fantastic, and really sets the stage for what's about to happen.
In the heat of the moment, Brain curiously decides to take a look at Pinky's letter that he's been fussing so much about across the episode. The expressions in this one shot alone are impressively varied, like Brain's initial disgust upon starting the letter. Also of note is the sweat pouring down Brain's face, which is a nice extra touch we usually don't get.
Pinky's letter, however, starts to talk about how he feels toward the Brain, which the majority of is complimented by this slow but moving 180 sweeping shot.
"He is honest and very hard-working... and only wants what's best for the world. But he gets no reward. He's only greeted with defeat; he never gives up, but I know it must be very hard. So please... take anything you had for me and give it to my best friend in the whole world... the Brain."
But the only thing better than how it's animated is how Maurice LaMarche reads his way through the letter. It starts out sounding like typical voice acting, but then as it goes on, the sadness heard in the Brain starts to feel *real*. Implying that even Maurice broke at this scene, and that's a serious testament to how phenomenally well-crafted this entire sequence was, in both how the scene itself plays out and how it was built up.
As he nears the end of the letter, we get this complicated zoom-out to show the Brain staring at a weeping Pinky. Compare this to the reactions in the first screenshot back at the Lab; here, Pinky is doing what he can to keep it in, while the Brain is showing some rare sympathy - the exact opposite from how he felt just a minute ago.
"P.S. By any chance, do you have in that big ol' bag of yours... the world?"
Such a perfect emotional punch. This shot is much more simple in layout, apart from some occasional electric bolts flying across the screen, which is important as it allows this specific bit to settle in. Also note the purple TMS pupils, always used when a character is vulnerable... so to see it in a non-slapstick context really makes the use of them hit so much harder.
This sweeping shot is much faster-paced and more fluid than the previous one, but it really works with no dialogue to distract from it and vice versa. Note it starts by showing Brain is staring out the window; one can only wonder what thoughts were racing through his head during all this. It really makes the audience think, and I mean that in the best ways.
When the Brain finally begins communicating with the world, we get these various shots of everyone being hypnotized by their Noodle Noggins. Nothing too special in these shots, but you can hear the Brain struggling to go on with his message, and the music is swelling up; you just know it's building up to something big.
Pinky gives this really wholesome, encouraging gesture. Is he asking Brain to go on with world domination, to let his emotions out, or both? We're never really told.
Brain holds back his desires, fighting his conscience, and...
"HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! JOY TO THE WORLD! YES!" Again, Maurice LaMarche is simply amazing; one of his single best performances ever.
This distant shot isn't as well-animated as the others, but it still gives a really nice sense of scope, specifically how something so small is able to give a message this powerful.
And just when you think they're done throwing emotional punches, in comes Brain destroying his mind-control equipment in a total mental breakdown. This may've been uncomfortable under a weaker studio like Akom, but TMS manages to balance the emotional impact and comedic edge to how he moves so perfectly. The suddenness, the follow-through, the expression Brain ends on... it's perfect.
And to top it all off, upon exchanging presents Brain finds that Pinky has given him... this. The modest, humble look on Brain says it all.