Pinky and the Brain

Pinky and the Brain are cartoon characters from the animated television series Animaniacs. Later they starred in their own cartoon show called Pinky and the Brain and even later in Pinky, Elmyra and The Brain. Each week sees Brain come up with a new plan for the two (led by him) to take over the world and every week sees them fail. In common with many other Animaniacs shorts, most episodes are in some way a parody of something else - usually a film.

The Brain is a genetically enhanced mouse who bears a resemblance to Orson Welles. He is highly intelligent and develops Rube Goldbergian plans for global domination. His tail is bent, like a staircase, and his head is wide. Nontheless, Brain has a very subtle sense of humor, and has even fallen in love. Typically, Brain would be a antagonist rather than a protagonist, but the series tends to present him as striving for greatness against odds, particularly the ignorant masses. Intellectually, Brain sees his inevitable rise to power as beneficial to improving the world rather than being pure egotism.

Pinky is another genetically modified mouse who shares the same cage at Acme Labs but is substantially less bright. Among his favourite words are "Narf", "Zort" and "Poit". Although also an albino lab mouse like the Brain, he has a straighter tail. Although open-minded like Brain - perhaps excessively so given his off-and-on again girlfriend is a horse - Pinky is generally friendlier.

The duo have also matched wits with Snowball, a hamster with similar genetic modifications and lust for power, but with less benevolent goals.

The catchphrase used in almost every episode is:

PINKY: What are we gonna do tonight, Brain?

BRAIN: The same thing we do every night, Pinky. TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

Pinky is voiced by Rob Paulsen, and the Brain is voiced by Maurice LaMarche. The series ran from 1995 to 1998, airing 65 episodes.