Facebook – Top 50 FAVORITE Animated Programs of All Time: 24

24: Pinky and the Brain (1995-2001/WB)

Technically this show started in 1993 as a segment on Animaniacs, a show that – while funny – will not appear on this list because I really don’t care for it, overall. No, Pinky and the Brain makes this list because it was a successful spin-off of that show, far more intelligent than its parent program, and features the best caricature of Orson Welles in the history of caricatures (in fact, voice actor for the Brain, Maurice LaMarche, has made kind of a career off doing his impression of Welles). The show was about two mice that, well, do the same thing they do every night: Try to take over the world.

Each episode was a spoof of something, whether it be a film or a novel, usually with obscure references that make the parody work on multiple levels. For example, an early Godzilla ripoff episode has some subtle, funny-but-damn-funny-if-you-get-it jokes that rip at giant monster movie cinema. While the episodes are funny on the surface level, the real treat is knowing enough about the material they’re poking fun at and discovering all the other little jokes underneath. For example, what kid of seven-nine is going to know the entire story about the radio-play Welles did of “War of the Worlds” and how many of those kids will get all the jokes therein?

One of the things I really like about this show, though, is that it debuted in primetime for some reason. During the slew of Steven Spielberg-produced programming, this show was allowed to air on a weekday night, so that parents and kids could watch a cartoon together, I guess. This does explain why there were so many more adult-level jokes strewn about within the 30-minute runtime each week. This didn’t last long, as eventually the show devolved into Saturday morning fluff and, while still funny, did diminish over time. NARF!

Favorite Episode:
“Yes, Always” is a perfect example of the kind of humor I appreciate from this show. While technically a segment from an episode of Animaniacs, I feel it deserves special mention. Syncing up PERFECTLY to the pea commercial Orson Welles is famous for flubbing his way through, Pinky records The Brain doing the exact same material. This wasn’t funny to me as a kid, I never understood it. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve really grown to love it for the simple fact that no one in their right mind should have written something like this: