An Important Message for the Pinky and The Brain Fandom.
Hello everyone! I know I haven’t been the most active in recent weeks, but I just want to discuss something with all of you. I’ve noticed that there has been a lot more toxicity and frustration in the fandom as of late. There has been some controversy surrounding certain pieces of inappropriate art being shared where minors can view them. I don’t think that this is a very good idea and I believe this should be stopped immediately. I'm aware that some artists tag their posts correctly, so this is not to put hate on them. I follow a few artists that post this kind of stuff, but I know that they understand what to post and what limits they have. To put my point-of-view out there, I’m writing something where I address recent events and what should be done about them. This is my attempt to keep this fandom alive and to make sure that it remains a heathy place for everyone to explore.
Posting/Re-blogging NSFW Art: Every fandom has NSFW art/fanfiction. It's basically a given to any community. However, there should be some limits to who and what can be seen/what can be posted to everyone. Posting this kind of stuff is fun, as long as you have made is EXPLICITLY clear that this is not intended for a younger audience. Some people as of recently have been posting this art to the public on sites like our very own Tumblr and Twitter. Posting and/or re-blogging this stuff where minors can view it is disgusting and very disrespectful. There are a lot of younger people in the PaTB fandom who adore and love these characters and this show so much. Showing them these things can have emotional and mental consequences of massive proportions. I get it, some people make mistakes. Some others I follow might accidently support this kind of behavior because they don't realize that minors are seeing this. But if this becomes a regular occurrence, then it needs to stop. I've seen gross things in other fandoms I'm involved in (The Owl House, Animaniacs), so I'd hate to see this become one of those. And if you're mad at the fandom, don't be mad at the entire fandom, get mad with the people who promote this kind of intolerable behavior. If you're posting NSFW art, be careful to who can see it and if you want to post it at all. Re-bloggers, BE CAREFUL! Make sure you don't allow minors to view your re-blog or just don't re-blog it. Also, the art you make might not be interpreted as inappropriate by you, but it can be interpreted that way by others. Don't get mad with those people for posting the art or for those who get uncomfortable with what was posted. Don't assume that what they posted was out of malice, they might've not seen it that way. Those who get uncomfortable by this, I get it. People have their limits. Others need to respect that.
Tagging NSFW Art: When tagging NSFW art, make sure you imply everything that's featured in your art in the tags and make sure that minors cannot see this. On Tumblr, mark your post as mature so that people under the age of 18 can't see it. Put tags down to allow people to decide if they want to view the art. If you don't mark if your art is mature, then you'll be on the receiving end of tons of hate from fans. Being respectful of others and what they like/dislike is one of the keys to a strong fandom of people. Putting what occurs in your art (similar to tagging things in fanfiction on AO3) allows people to make a decision on viewing something. Don't post something without using appropriate tags, it will only cause problems. I've seen a wide variety of people posting NSFW art without using the right tags, that could get you blocked, reported, or even banned. So, I implore every artist on this site, mark your art posts as mature if they are mature and if they have sexual themes, violence, or contain alcohol/drug abuse. Failure to do so will often spell despair and doom for your reputation in the fandom.
Keeping the Fandom Safe (especially the minors): The previous two things mentioned are only a few ways to help keep the PaTB and other fandoms safe for the younger crowd. A few other things that you can do include communication and having respect. Make sure to mark your posts as mature and to also express to your audience that this post was not intended for minors. Re-blogging these posts will also put others at risk for viewing NSFW content. So, please tag all sexual or mature posts with the appropriate tags and make sure to communicate with those who follow you about the nature of your post. Respecting others is also important. Don't get mad at people who do post NSFW art but have all the correct tags. Those people have their limits too and they know that minors won't be allowed to see it. Calling others out for just being themselves is wrong, especially when they are doing all they can to make sure minors don't view what they make. However, posting/re-blogging this art without proper markings and tags is horrible and must be stopped. Minors can view this stuff and can become confused/concerned/mentally scarred. Condoning this kind of behavior is unacceptable and tragic. Also, don't target certain people who post this art but make sure that it's tagged correctly. These people are emotionally affected by these words and it can really hurt their appreciation. I personally know someone who's been going through some serious crap as of recently. I want to tell this person that they don't deserve this. They did nothing wrong and if others can't see that, than it's their fault. I'm hoping that they stay within the fandom because I want to see them shine. I hope that they understand that a ton of people in the fandom truly support them. Let's all work together to keep the Pinky and The Brain fandom a safe and welcoming place for everyone. I get that it's not as popular as it once was, but let's please not let it end up like other fandoms out there.
What to do if You See This Happening: If you see someone posting or re-blogging NSFW art without the correct marks/tags, please don't stay silent about it. Report it immediately to the site, maybe something can be done about it. You can also acknowledge what occurred (DO NOT USE NAMES OR CALL SPECIFIC PEOPLE OUT! It will make everything a million times worse!) and try your best to stop it. If the issue persists, do everything in your power to cease what happened. These harmful actions can cause people to leave fandoms, which is awful. These ideas might not work for every situation, but it can help.
Conclusion: I'm absolutely devastated about what I'm seeing. I encourage others to not mimic the behaviors of these people who are doing horrible things. I also encourage others to hold onto the fandom. It may be difficult, but avoiding these people could lead to a great experience. There are many talented and amazing individuals that aren't toxic and actually respect and admire the fans of the show. Trust me, the PaTB fandom isn't entirely made up of bad people. I've interacted with many others who are awesome. If you can't tolerate this behavior and want to leave, I'm not stopping you. But if you want to stay, please tag any NSFW post with the right tags, respect other people and their limits, and don't frustrate others in the community who are trying their best to leave a positive impact. I don't want this fandom to die a slow and painful death. I want to make it last. So, to any person who is posting these works without the right tags, please stop. Minors will view this and won't understand what is happening. It will lead to emotional and mental scars and that's not something that should happen. Don't harass others who tag their art appropriately. I hope that this will help to relieve some of the pain of recent events. I'm not trying to call anyone out or spread ill will, but I'm hoping that these individuals will understand how their harmful actions are affecting others. I'm not leaving the fandom just yet. I'll be trying my best to promote a friendly and fun community with my regular posts. I´ll leave everyone with these final words: if you are promoting these to minors, whether it be accidentally or intentionally, I'm encouraging you to please cease this behavior immediately. You are harming people in various ways and are leading to the harassment of innocent fans. I'm hoping we can resolve these issues so we can continue to support a great show that we all love. I'm glad some people are taking responsibility for their previous actions, and I can only hope that this is only a short-lived thing. Let's re-shape the PaTB fandom to be better and stronger than ever.
Signed your friend,
patb-pics
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First of all: thank you so much to those who made nice comments about the first part of this list (right over here)! I’m glad some people enjoyed my nostalgic rambling, but much more importantly, I loved hearing your thoughts, too! I would see other fans’ own lists, so much.
So without further ado, here is the rest of:
MY TOP TEN BRINKY MOMENTS (FROM THE 1990s): #3-1
(Content warning for one kind of bad word below, and worse, I vaguely mention Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue which...shudders.)
I remember Tom Ruegger and Peter Hastings, probably the most influential voices in creating Pinky and the Brain, saying something to the effect of, “It goes there sometimes, but we didn’t want to just do the old ‘a jerk and an idiot’ story,” several times. Although I’m actually a big fan of Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, etc. and the “Vaudeville Comic Duo” thing is indisputably the kernel this franchise grew around, in my opinion, it was deliberately grown into something more.
A while ago, I listened to an Animanicast where one of the PatB Spin-Off writers (Charles M. Howell) mentioned that he thought that Pinky and the Brain were more complex as characters than the old vaudeville duos, and even said he was getting teary-eyed thinking about the characters because they made him emotional. It’s been a while, but I remember hearing another story where one of the spin-off’s writers recounting talking to an executive with a fellow writer about the characters. Supposedly he was saying, “These two mice…they’re REAL,” and he joked that they thought the guy was maybe uuuh losing it, but said actually, he understood what he meant.
I think that’s probably why most of the Brinky moments I hold dear and remembered through the decades came from the spin-off. The og Animaniacs skits were very funny and cute, and my absolute favorite thing about them was their classic Looney Tunes short tone and sensibility. Still, their spin-off is really where the true humanity of the characters and their relationship was able to develop.
…okay, I know what I sound like, here. I don’t actually think that the show was some brilliant work of high art or anything. There are many weaknesses, it was silly and inconsistent (sometimes very much on purpose, sometimes not), it had a famously troubled production with the network not truly valuing it making these things less surprising, blah blah blah, etc. Still, all I’m saying, as I said in part one of this list, is here are the characters being more complex and unique than people might expect or than many people (including me!) usually remember.
More importantly, here’s their relationship being different than people would expect or are likely to remember, and deeper, too.
#3: “The Pink Candidate” and “Inherit the Wheeze” – Pinky Stands Up to Brain
TL;DR below, but a summary: Once the mice get fleshed out as characters, if Pinky has a problem with something that Brain says or does, he just tells him. If he doesn’t want to go along with something, he just doesn’t. Brain doesn’t attempt to “make” him, and he wouldn’t be able to, anyway.
This might seem like a strange choice. Also, full disclosure: this part is much, much more about “The Pink Candidate” just because it was (in my opinion) the much better episode over “Inherit the Wheeze,” and also because American Drug PSAs from this period in general have…real-world related issues imo. Still.
(As far as I’m concerned, above didn’t happen and was just a bad dream.)
I thought back to these when I was trying to figure out why I never really thought of Pinky/Brain as an unequal relationship, at least not in the particular way I think it might been seen as sometimes. Again, they have massive, massive issues; I think these are so obvious there’s not much purpose to my pointing them out, even. But what’s more surprising is that, even though Brain doesn’t seem to either realize or want to acknowledge this, they actually really are PARTNERS, in my opinion. At least, once their characters are properly fleshed out.
This is more depth than they had at first, while their characters were still being worked out; while it’s a great short with amazing animation, “Brain Meets Brawn” is an example of an early story where the dynamic between the two mice is more “just what you’d expect,” and I’ll be honest with you here, there are a few nice moments in the short that are big exceptions but I mostly just don’t like it! “It” being the dynamic between the mice in the short; I very, very much enjoy the short itself – just not the core relationship in it, mostly.
This brings me back to little summary I wrote before rambling. They’re partners. Brain isn’t forcing Pinky to help him take over the world. Brain wouldn’t even be able to!
“The Pink Candidate” is a really great episode for Pinky’s character, and I could go on and on about it. But it actually shows some of the nuance of Brain’s character, too, which is why put together, it shows some of the nuance in the RELATIONSHIP. I just re-watched it and was again really struck: Pinky’s even less of a frivolous doormat than I remembered, and Brain is even less dismissive or pushy. And this depth doesn’t sacrifice the show’s humor; in my opinion it’s a funny ep. – just that fact that Brain ends up on trial partly because he’s in the Splash Zone of Bil Keane’s Campaign of Vengeance against Pinky for saying that The Family Circus isn’t funny, and that that’s a REAL plot point, sends me.
By the way, Pinky’s right: The Family Circus isn’t funny. ANYWAY.
Pinky stands up to Brain (despite actually CRYING during this scene) and gives well-reasoned points for doing so. This is my favorite take on Pinky: both more aware and, yes, “intelligent” than one would think, but also genuinely a good person. One of the reasons he supports Brain’s efforts is because he thinks that Brain’s leadership genuinely would be “what’s best for the world.” If that changes, he doesn’t stop supporting Brain as a PERSON, because he loves him. But he does stop supporting his actions and he stands up to them and says exactly why.
Brain’s actions in this episode get a “condemning with faint praise” framing from me here, but actually, it really does show how different he is here from a shallow archetype. For starters the principles that Pinky gives as reasons to stand up to Brain are ones that Brain just taught him, and Brain seems to genuinely believe in them, even if he’s not practicing them. Brain actually concedes Pinky’s two points to him in their argument scene, and sincerely (if…”wackily” and not very well) tries to address Pinky’s concerns. Obviously, his idea that an absolute authoritarian dictatorship is compatible with democracy is either hilarious or scary depending on the tone of a story, but well, delusional as he is, Brain genuinely seems to think so. Brain’s response, which is basically to have a tantrum and storm off, also isn’t commendable, but by Looney Tunes standards might be downright constrained. He doesn’t belittle, threaten, lie to, or insult Pinky here. He just tells him honestly that he’s going to do it alone and walks away. That’s it.
Of course, Pinky is going to choose Brain’s friendship over the Presidency, just by itself. But again, I like how Pinky’s reasoning here is actually deeper than even just that. Pinky mentions (to the Abe Lincoln statue, lol) that Pinky is only President because of Brain. If Pinky did what they wanted him to, and claimed to not know anything about their “Take Over the World” schemes, it would be an outright lie. Pinky is only President because he knowingly was a part of one of those schemes.
Pinky’s scene in court is also great. “I take full accountability for everything that happens in my administration.” Ironically, Pinky is impeached for doing exactly what a President SHOULD do in this situation.
The little interaction between them in the courtroom scene is nice and telling. When Pinky starts to talk, Brain shouts, “Pinky, NO!” Again, you might expect him to have blamed (or at least implicated) Pinky already or want to be saved here, but he’d rather go down alone. He doesn’t want Pinky to be impacted or take any of the blame. And again I can’t stop thinking about how, though Brain is at fault for Trying to Take Over the World TM, in some ways he’s taking the fall for Pinky here because this happened because Bil Keane wanted revenge against PINKY, and again I’m sorry but The Family Circus really isn’t funny.
Pinky also responds by cutting Brain off with, “Brain, let me handle this,” which shuts Brain right up. I often think of this when people think that Pinky just had no power or say in the relationship. Pinky has lots of issues (including with standing up for himself at times), and they and his strengths are inconsistent in this comedy cartoon. But Pinky CAN advocate for himself and he CAN take charge sometimes. I mean yeah, it’s easier when you’re the President, but this is only one of the times that Pinky puts his foot down or steps up, and Brain listens to him or follows his lead.
(One other thing is Pinky is just…weird /pos. So much that others would find insufferable, he either doesn’t mind or loves, so he wouldn’t want or need to put his foot down about it.)
“Inherit the Wheeze” might be more notable in showing just how much Brain actually does value Pinky’s opinion, despite claiming otherwise: Brain actually calls off the whole plan there, and a big part of it is Pinky’s words. While he doesn’t do that in “The Pink Candidate,” the episode actually ends with Brain thanking Pinky for standing up to him, and reminding him of principles he actually does value, even if he’s incredibly, comically bad at putting them into practice (cue “What are we gonna do tomorrow night?” joke at the end).
Anyway, I could go on and on, but the point here is:
The Family Circus is not funny.
#2: “A Pinky and the Brain Halloween” – Pretty Much the Whole Thing. There.
After rambling on and on too long about the last “moment,” this one is going to be short because it’s just so straightforward. The whole episode almost feels like it’s been written to just say, in big, bold letters:
BRAIN CARES ABOUT PINKY MORE THAN HE CARES ABOUT TAKING OVER THE WORLD.
This episode just makes that incredibly clear-cut. He chooses Pinky outright over, not just losing control of the world (again, he is ACTUALLY ACTIVELY RULING THE WORLD in this episode, and he gives that up), but EVER trying to take over the world again. I think Brain has an “I can do it myself!” attitude towards taking over the world that both seems kind of admirable (see him turning down the Devi-Walt Disney, and ripping up his contract right in front of him!) and also…actually kinda also isn’t, when you think about it (more massive ego stuff at work there), and I could almost see him giving up rulership for that. So he can say he wasn’t just literally handed the world.
But it’s not JUST that that Brain is willing to sacrifice for Pinky, it’s his entire dream, and his supposed goal in life and reason for living.
It's everything.
Brain is also willing to brave He-HADES in the first place. The fact that he briefly is selfish and doesn’t rush to Pinky’s rescue immediately, again, is part of how he’s still extremely flawed in this episode; Pinky made the deal he made, in part, because Brain literally, callously called him worthless. That’s really horrible, but the sheer lengths he goes to for Pinky here show why Brain is a complex (and, imo, pretty great, all things considered) character in the spin-off. It shows how much Brain cares and can demonstrate it through his actions, he just can’t bring himself to say it out loud.
Oh yeah, Pinky also sells his soul to the Devi-Walt Disney here, and that’s NOT because he was tricked. It’s because he thinks it’s a fair trade. ☹
He thinks it’s worth it to give his best friend in the world what he wants. It’s both heartwarming and sad, like so many things about Pinky. But the end is happy: Brain shows through his actions here that Pinky’s reasoning makes no sense.
What Brain really wants is HIM.
;_;
#1: “A Pinky and the Brain Christmas” – “Dear Santa, hello, hah hah, narf...”
I know I know how shocking and original, what a surprise. OK.
So I’ve often thought that if EVERY episode of Pinky and the Brain exploded except for the Christmas special and “Bubba Bo Bob Brain,” I’d be just fine. And if I had to choose between the two, it’d obviously be this one. And honestly, kind of…yeah. If this entire franchise was nothing but a beloved, perennial family Christmas special classic and fond childhood memory that also won a flipping Emmy, I’d still love it. And pretty much, yeah.
It's all about the ending.
I don’t know what I could say about That Scene (plus the coda, where Pinky gives Brain the world ;_; ;_;) that hasn’t already been said. The performances by both Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche here are brilliant, the score is excellent, and of course the rightfully famous Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co., Ltd., animation is AMAZING. Those camera shots, those pans, those tears!
LaMarche’s delivery of “I don’t care about your STUPID LETTER!” is a great moment where the show really clearly and effectively shows the difference between the mice’s for the purposes of comedy vaudeville duo banter and Brain actually being way over the line. He sounds vicious and cruel there, and it’s not funny at all.
Despite that, I always think of what Brain does in this episode. He’s actually ruling the world, albeit for a brief time, here. He has everybody in the world under his control, in part due to the Christmas special rule that for the special’s purposes everybody in the world celebrates Christmas, but anyway.
But all his does with it is to make everybody genuinely happy, while getting nothing back for himself. Not even acknowledgement. People don’t even know that Brain is why they feel like having a Merry Christmas. They just do.
In this one moment, Brain proves that he can be who Pinky believes him to be. Pinky just described him as this in his letter: someone who “only wants what’s best for the world.” In this one moment, he gives the world a very happy holiday, without getting anything for himself. He made the world a better place.
And it’s all because of Pinky.
As for Pinky’s character in this episode, there I really don’t know how to express what hasn’t already been said. This is part of what makes Pinky one of my favorite characters of all time, why I even think of him as one of the “best,” instead of just the amusing but unthinking sidekick he could have been, instead. Pinky’s letter is really quite eloquent and insightful – and well written! It shows again his utter selflessness, but also his awareness of what’s going on.
And Pinky’s not even crying because he’s mad at Brain, it’s because he’s upset with himself for not getting his letter to Santa Claus. ☹
This whole scene could easily have fallen flat. But the fact that Pinky and Brain get fleshed out into “not JUST an idiot, not JUST a jerk” is what makes this, and the other moments on this list, work for me. If they were that simple, Pinky wouldn’t have been able to write such a letter in the first place, and Brain wouldn’t have cared about it except to think it was stupid.
It’s the way that their relationship follows by not just being “jerk leader and idiot sidekick” who don’t care about, or even hate, each other like people generally expect.
Instead, they love each other. In their own way, they are a family. They come to understand each other very well. They are well aware of each other’s flaws; though Brain is absurdly overly critical and condescending about it, while Pinky wears massively thick rose-colored glasses, even Pinky can be brutally honest with Brain about his flaws (from “Hoop Schemes,” basically - Brain says, “I’m sorry I was such a jerk,” and Pinky says casually, “That’s okay, Brain. I’m used to it.”). But both of them see the good in each other, too. ( “Lets just say that your extra jumbo sized heart more than makes up for your little free sample sized mind,” a jerky way to say it? Yes. Brain’s crummy, tsundere, socially incompetent way of saying he knows that Pinky’s pretty great? Also yes.) They care each other, anyway.
That this scene works at all shows how the mice and their relationship have been expanded into something more touching and human – the heart of the show.
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