Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: "Animaniacs," "Pinky and the Brain," cartoons
Likes: Steven Spielberg
Dislikes:
Hates: Elmyra

The Story So Far...
After getting their start as members of the cast of "Animaniacs," Pinky and the Brain, a pair of genetically-altered lab mice, moved on to their own half-hour series. Not much changed, as Brain continued to plot to take over the world, and Pinky continued to mess things up, say nonsensical words and ask bizarre questions. From their cage at Acme Labs, the Brain plans and schemes, putting him and his sweetly retarded pal into a wide variety of situations and time periods, which are told in one or two stories per episode. The first volume of episodes, collecting the first 15 episodes, was released in July of this year. DVDTalk has a review here.

The Show
Watching these episodes of "Pinky and the Brain" makes one wonder how they ever made it onto TV screens as children's television. What kid was listening to Brain's SAT-level vocabulary and Bob Hope jokes and spraying Fruity Pebbles out of his mouth with laughter? More likely, college kids and adults in delayed adolescence were controlling the remote, and the kids in the room were enjoying Pinky's silly outbursts. They certainly weren't enjoying the spot-on accuracy of parodies like "Brain Noir" or "Brainy Jack."

The second collection of episodes doesn't feel much different than the first set, as there's no growth in the characters and no continuingplot lines , so the only things separating the two collections are the plots. There are some memorable bits here, including a reality-TV parody in "The Real Life" (which is memorable mainly for the ridiculous '90s stereotypes), the fraternity version of the United Nations in "T.H.E.Y," and "Cinebrania," which puts the mice into the genesis of the film industry. A Halloween special, which sees Brain's dream of taking over the world come true, thanks to a deal from the devil, is one of the better straightforward stories the series has to offer, and includes some emotional moments between the stars.

The show risked jumping the shark with the introduction of a wacky neighbor, the Jerry Lewis-influenced Mr. Sultana, who made the two episodes he appeared in, "My Feldmans, My Friends" and "This Old Mouse," almost difficult to watch. Thankfully, he didn't become a recurring character. The same goes for Larry, the Larry Fine-inspired guest star of "Pinky and the Brain and...Larry," which, unlike the Sultana appearances, may be the most enjoyable short in the collection. Taking an average plot and inserting this oddball Larry, in the episode and the theme song, makes for an unusually goofy story that makes little sense, much like an "Animaniacs" episode. That's probably why it's so much fun.

The best full-episode of the set might just be the ninth entry, a two-story episode. The first part, "All You Need in Narf," is an excellent homage to the Beatles, playing with the group's mystical era, when they embraced psychedelia, and one embraced a conceptual artist. It's followed by "Pinky's Plan," which changes the script, as for once, it's Pinky's chance to unfurl a plan. For Brain's birthday, Pinky attempts to bring together world leaders for a party. The resulting get together is ridiculous, and and a perfect example of the show's formula working no matter the setting or specifics.

Though the stories are enjoyable and Pinky's madness earns a few laughs, the show's incredible amount of pop-culture references and parodies give the series another level of enjoyment, one that most certainly goes over the heads of younger viewers. "Brain's Way" is almost entirely a reference to the Rat Pack world, which will mean little to the lessknowledgeable viewers. The fact that the show used quite a number of contemporary references, including a good number of celebrities who are now forgotten (anyone under 20 know who "Eisenhower the VJ" is supposed to be?) this part of the show is purely for the Gen-X crowd. But since this is a little side dish of fun, it shouldn't affect anyone's ability to enjoy the show.

The DVDs
"Pinky and the Brain"'s second 29 adventures, from the second and third seasons, are collected on four DVDs, which are packed in a "Steven Spielberg Presents"-branded slipcase, similar to the first season with an episode breakdown. The discs are packed in a three-panel digipak with two trays, while the two discs in each tray are overlapped. The discs have static, anamorphic widescreen main menus, with options to play all episodes, select individual shows, view special features and adjust languages. Language choices include English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, along with French and Spanish subtitles, as well as closed captioning.

The Quality
Like the video on the "Animaniacs" DVDs, the full-frame transfers on these discs are good but not great, thanks to dirt and damage that can be seen throughout the set. It may not bug your average viewer. but if you care about video quality, you're going to notice. That's the set's biggest flaw, as otherwise it has very nice, vivid color and a generally solid image, free of the black-outline pixelation often seen in traditional animation on DVD.

The sound, presented as Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks, is strong and clean, with the main attraction of the new mixes being enhanced sound from the surround speakers.The mix isn't dynamic in anyway, with the sound evenly distributed to the rear and side speakers, but the LFE channel gives the soundtrack some weight, and delivers the bass of Brain's voice.

The Extras
Like last time, there's just one extra included, and once again, it's a good one. The 30-minute "The Audition" starts out a bit hokey, as Mark Hamill and Wayne Knight try out to be the voices of Pinky and The Brain in the supposedly upcoming feature film. As they can't quite get the voices right, they are coached by the original actors, Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulsen, which leads to a scuffle in the recording booth. A sit-down chat follows though, with the quartet and casting director Andrea Romano, which covers a lot of information about voice acting and how they created the characters. There's a big mutual admiration society meeting going on, as praise is tossed around like confetti, but since these guys work in a field that doesn't get a lot of print, it can be forgiven. The piece is honest and free of hype or promotional effort, making it appealing to fans of the show or animation in general.

The Bottom Line
Though "Pinky and the Brain" spun off of "Animaniacs," it couldn't be more different, relying more on plot than bizarre comedy, letting the laughs develop from the stories, the characterization and the comedic relief provided by Pinky. The episodes don't inspire the kind of silly giggles as "Animaniacs," but there's a more complete element of entertainment, as the stories are interesting in their own right. The DVD presentation is very nice, with solid images and strong soundtracks, and an extra that's well-made and enjoyably appropriate for such an animation collection. Though the show certainly skews toward older audiences in its plots and jokes, there's enough silliness, mainly from Pinky, to keep kids interested. It's the kind of cartoon that adults will actually get more out of than the kids, but both audiences will enjoy it. Maybe not as much as "Freakazoid" DVDs, but for now...

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.