MovieChat Forums > Pinky and the Brain (1995) Discussion > The problem with this show..

The problem with this show..

posted 16 years ago by Cann428
31 replies | jump to latest

Even though PaB was a hallmark animated series in the 90's, it can't be a classic. Most of the jokes are let's face it, political and pop culture. Obvisouly years from now, when the children of the original fans watch this, they laugh at Pinky's antics; however, they'll be asking questions like "who is Christopher walken? What do they men? I don't get it." So really, the parents will have to explain this jokes. It's kinda sad that future generations won't enjoy it as much as we did.

[–] Mindwinter_Gates 12 years ago

Even back in the 90's, (when these pop culture allusions were fresh and topical) kids usually didn't understand these jokes - simply because they were aimed at adult audience.

What you've mentioned is not really a flaw in my opinion - I'd say that it's one of the biggest advantages of that show! I love all these allusions to 90's, even though I often need Google's help to appreciate them fully. They usually remind me of nostalgic stuff which I have already forgotten; and sometimes they even make me discover some hidden gems, about which I would have never heard otherwise.

I agree that most jokes are actually incomprehensible when viewer does not know their context - but despite that, this show is still good. Take "The Third Mouse" episode for example - did average 90's kid notice that it was a spoof of a classic movie? Obviously not, but that whole episode is surprisingly "ignorant friendly" and provides a lot of fun even for people who have never heard of "The Third Man". Of course viewers acquainted with that movie will enjoy this episode 100 times more... Same goes for a whole PatB series. But that's not a problem of that brilliant show, that's a problem of its potential viewers. :P

[–] pgrass13 12 years ago

Even aside from some jokes being dated there are things kids wouldn't get anyway.

Same thing we do every night try to take over the world

[–] Caffeine-Free 12 years ago

It did/does have a crapload of dated pop culture references, but so do many 90s shows, especially comedies. They can get old quick with this show or Animaniacs but other than that, they're still funny shows.

But the OP makes a good point, the current and upcoming younger generations may be confused by a lot of it.

#threeseasonsandathankyou

[–] x1nd0lent 12 years ago

Everything is dated! I can tell you when pretty much anything was made. Who cares? Current stuff is dated too, only most people don't have the perspective to notice this until later.

If anything, I think that P&tB being a well-made, funny cultural time capsule adds to its watchability. Those references were often cleverly done and add much more depth for repeat viewing than just the exploits of wacky mice.

When I grew up in the 70s, Looney Tunes were my absolute favorite. It was rife with dated political and pop culture references. Do you think I had any idea who Peter Lorre, Ethel Merman, George Patton, or Winston Churchill were? Of course not! And because the cartoon were well written, this didn't hinder my enjoyment at all. If anything, I became more culturally literate from the experience.

[–] cfkane-5 11 years ago

When I grew up in the 70s, Looney Tunes were my absolute favorite. It was rife with dated political and pop culture references. Do you think I had any idea who Peter Lorre, Ethel Merman, George Patton, or Winston Churchill were? Of course not! And because the cartoon were well written, this didn't hinder my enjoyment at all. If anything, I became more culturally literate from the experience.

Spot on. We have become a lazy and uninquisitive society these days.

When I was a child in the 1970's I remember 3 distinct moments with watching cartoons. I once was watching a Popeye cartoon with my mom and it was a parody of Jack and the beanstalk. Popeye runs into a room and discovers sugar, tires, meat and gasoline. He says, "Oh, so that is where it all went!". My mom, who was about 50 at the time, (she was nearly 40 when I was born), started laughing uproariously! I asked he why that was so funny and she explained to me that during WWII those things were rationed for the war effort and were very hard to get. I had never known about rationing before that moment, but whenever I heard it mentioned in old films or other old cartoons, I understood it.

The second time was a Bug Bunny Yosemite Sam cartoon where Sam was knocking on a door that bugs had shut. He yells: "Open The Door!" Then turns as if to face the audience and says, "You notice I didn't say Richard." My mom again explained that Open The Door Richard was a popular song back in the 40's,(The best version is by Louis Jordan,BTW).

The third instance was a Rocky $ Bullwinkle story where they were trying to find the fabled Kirwood Derby.This was a spoof of Durward Kirby, who was a TV announcer and co-host of the original Candid Camera TV show.

If I had not been inquisitive about these things I would never have found out their original meanings. I had an interest in knowing WHY my mom found those things funny and I learned a lot I would not otherwise have known without bothering to ask. Sadly, many kids today have no interest in anything but computer games and what the latest music whore is doing.

[–] sngbrd39 9 years ago

As others here have mentioned, if you are saying this is a reason we cannot consider Pinky and the Brain (or for that matter, Animaniacs) to be a classic, then we certainly can't say that Looney Tunes are classic. They did the exact same thing! Have you ever seen the cartoons with a Looney Tunes character in Hollywood, where Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Carmen Miranda, etc. are being parodied? How about "The Honey-mousers", which is making fun of The Honeymooners? Or when a character quotes a famous radio catchphrase like "HEEEEEN-RYYYYY!"? (Or even Foghorn Leghorn's whole character, which is a reference to a character on a popular radio show at that time.) Yup. Every single one of those was dated from the time that those cartoons were made ('30s-'50s). And they are still hilarious today! When future generations of kids watch Pinky and the Brain, it may take a bit of legwork for them to go back and find where the references came from, just like we may have to figure out the source of the Looney Tunes references, but they will still be able to enjoy it.

EDIT: How could I forget another factor that "dates" Looney Tunes - the current pop music from that time! Remember, Warner Brothers drew heavily from their music library, both for Carl Stallings's background score and those songs that various characters are humming to themselves all the time. Pinky and the Brain/Animaniacs didn't have that same musical gold mine, but their song parodies can still be enjoyed by those who may not be familiar with the original music.