Star Warners is the 65th and final episode of the Pinky and the Brain spin-off series. It was originally aired on November 14, 1998, under The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special with episode 99 of Animaniacs.
Star Warners[]
Animation by Wang
Plot[]
What would happen if Star Wars and Animaniacs were put in a blender? The final Pinky and the Brain episode, Star Warners is the answer! The episode, which includes many of the Animaniacs cast, parodies elements of the original trilogy. In this episode, 3-Pinky-O and Brain2-Me2 plan to use the Mega Star for their galactic domination plans. Along the way, the two become entangled in an adventure to save Princess Dot from the menacing Girth Plotz, who schemes to use the Mega Star for his own nefarious purposes.
Crew[]
- Written by Liz Holzman, Charles M. Howell IV and Tom Ruegger
- Additional Story Development by Wendell Morris, Tom Sheppard, and Earl Kress
- Additional Material by Rob Davies, Barry Caldwell, Mary Hanley, Gordon Bressack, Rusty Mills, Paul Dini, Debbie Baber, and Sandra Frame
- Directed by Nelson Recinos
Songs[]
Trivia[]
- This cartoon was rarely seen in reruns (one notable re-airing occurred in 1999 on Kids WB! to celebrate the release of The Phantom Menace).[1] [2]
- Prior to "Star Warners" being unveiled, an ongoing fan-fiction of the same name with Star Wars-parody elements was published by Garrett Gilchrist under the username "AmbushBug4" on the alt.tv.animaniacs forum in 1998.
- This episode's gag credit word "Nympholepsy" is theorized to represent Brain's general long-lasting desires to take over the world (or galaxy in this episode's case).
- It is also theorized to be a jab at Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain; the retool desired by executives that failed to win over the show's own crew and fans.
- Like Wakko's Wish, many regular and minor characters appear throughout the cartoon. A few Looney Tunes characters can also be found.
- Dot's "five year mission" line is a reference to the opening lines for the Star Trek intro, which were originally spoken by Captain James T. Kirk (portrayed by William Shatner).
- Wakko's Luke Skywalker costume looks similar to an outfit he wears in "Hercule Yakko."
- If this episode were under the episode count of Animaniacs, then this would count as their 100th episode.
- Rita, Buttons, and Runt do not appear.
- When Wak Skylicker, Brain2-Me2 and 3-PinkEO go to find Slappy, 3-PinkEO thinks Slappy Wanna Nappy will help him get a brain. The scene after, they perform a brief musical number parodying the "We're Off to See the Wizard" dance in The Wizard of Oz. Wak even asks if they have wandered into a wrong movie.
- The cantina is named "the studio of Mos Eisner," a play on the names of the Mos Eisley cantina and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
- During the cantina scene, the Tiny Toon Adventures robot character Clyde appears alongside Looney Tunes star Egghead Jr. The two were part of the initial pre-production Animaniacs line-up, but were scrapped from the final roster (see here for more information).
- A band consisting of Freakazoid, Fan Boy and Mo-Ron appear during the cantina scene performing a Star Wars-style arrangement of the "Freakazoid! Theme Song."
- Several Star Trek characters can be seen in the cantina including Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Captain Picard, and a Gorn waitress.
- The cantina bartender is a caricature of Humphrey Bogart's portrayal of Rick Blaine in the 1942 film Casablanca.
- During the "Mega Star" gag in the cantina, we see Barbara Streisand at the bar and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze from the 1997 movie Batman & Robin.
- While pitching her pilot, Slappy says her show "is like The Lucy Show, but with a squirrel." The Lucy Show is a sitcom starring Lucille Ball and was the follow-up to I Love Lucy.
- I Love Slappy is also a reference to I Love Lucy.
- Spacefeld is a parody of Seinfeld, a sitcom starring Jerry Seinfeld. His stand-up act echoes the stand-up segments from the show, and he jokes wondering if "Pluto" is a planet or a dog (referring to the Disney cartoon character).
- The alien family on the Comedy Planet resembles The Jetsons.
- Despite a parody of the original Star Wars trilogy, there were a few concepts from this episode that ended up being similar to elements in future Star Wars media.
- Pinky's C-3PO has similar characteristics to a battle droid pawn.
- Slappy is portraying a spoof of Obi-Wan Kenobi, here a female "Jedi"-like warrior. Female Jedis would later be explored in future Star Wars media through characters such as Rey.
- Hello Nurse portrays a female Stormtrooper in this cartoon. Captain Phasma, a female Stormttooper, would later debut in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- In the end, the ending chorus calls Pinky and the Brain “3Pinky and the Fridge”, as the lyrics scroll and Brain replies “I am not a refrigerator!”. Then a four dot ellipsis appears, dot by dot as the chorus resumes singing "Dot dot dot dot!" (singing out the 90's WB logo theme which has become known as composer Richard Stone's trademark "I'm Rich-ard Stone!" tune)
Original Broadcast Differences[]
In the original broadcast version of this cartoon during The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special in November 1998, there are several minor differences compared to its later releases and airings:
- The Animaniacs theme song (Variable Line: "Pinky and the Brain-ey!") is played before the episode, due to the episode being combined with the Animaniacs series finale. [3]
- A slightly different title card is used to show all of the episode's directors and writers at the beginning of the theme song.
- In the scene where Skippoda first appears, no music plays.
- During the mallet training sequence, Brain doesn’t scream.
- Flabby's voice is notably more deeper and Jabba-like. In all future releases of the episode, a voice closer to Flavio's normal one is interlaced with the Jabba-voice.
- The sounds of cheering and laughter lingers on longer in the climax, where it can still be heard during the shot of the Mega Star making a gookie.
Characters[]
- The Brain as Brain2-Me2 (parody of R2-D2)
- Pinky as 3-Pinky-O (parody of C-3PO)
- Dot as Princess Dot aka Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana-Fanna Leiana Pile-Of-Origami The Third (parody of Princess Leia)
- Wakko as Wak Skylicker (parody of Luke Skywalker)
- Yakko as Yak Soho (parody of Han Solo)
- Slappy as Slappy Wanna Nappy (parody of Obi-Wan Kenobi)
- Thaddeus Plotz as Girth Plotz (parody of Anakin Skywalker "Darth Vader")
- Dr. Scratchansniff (parody of Grand Moff Tarkin)
- Chicken Boo as Chewbooboo (parody of Chewbacca)
- Skippy as Skippoda (parody of Yoda)
- Flavio Hippo as Flabby the Butt (parody of Jabba the Hutt)
- Minerva Mink as Herself and another parody of Leia
- Hello Nurse as Sgt. Major Nurse
- Ralph as Clone
- Pip as Himself
- Mindy as UnJawa (parody of Jawa)
- The Goodfeathers as The GoodTroopers (parody of Stormtroopers)
Cameo Characters[]
- Wile E. Coyote
- Foghorn Leghorn
- Yosemite Sam
- Duck Dodgers
- Marvin the Martian
- Freakazoid
- Fan Boy
- Mo-Ron
- Gossamer
- Hugo the Abominable Snowman
- Baloney
- Zalgar
- Monstar Pound
- Monstar Bang
- Monstar Nawt
- Monstar Bupkus
- Monstar Blanko
- K-9
- Mr. Skullhead
- Toe and the Aliens from "Space-Probed"
- Egghead Jr.
- Clyde
- Rick Blaine
Gallery[]
Production Art[]
Production Notes[]
- "Star Warners" was initially due to premiere alone without the Animaniacs cartoons on Friday, October 9, 1998. Two days before its initial planned air-date, the delay was announced. Later on October 28, the new date of November 14 was confirmed.[4]
- From the same citation; the existence of this episode was initially confirmed by Tom Ruegger on July 13, 1998.
- This cartoon was primarily promoted on-air by Kids' WB under The Ultimate Animaniacs Super Special, presumably due to most of the Animaniacs cast appearing.
- This is the final Pinky and the Brain cartoon without Elmyra Duff until "Of Mice and Memes" from the Animaniacs reboot in 2020, 22 years and 6 days after this episode first aired.
- Much like Animaniacs, this series' first episode featured material animated by Wang and this final episode also featured material animated by Wang, providing bookends of sorts for the series.
Cast[]
Voice Actors: | Character(s): |
Rob Paulsen | 3-Pinky-O, Yak Soho, Dr. Scratchansniff, Additional Voices |
Maurice LaMarche | Brain-2-Me-2, Squit Additional Voices |
Jess Harnell | Wak Skylicker, Additional Voices |
Tress MacNeille | Princess Dot, Sergeant Major Nurse, Additional Voices |
John Mariano | Bobby |
Chick Vennera | Pesto |
Frank Welker | Girth Plotz, Ralph T. Guard, Chewbooboo, Flabby the Butt |
Sherri Stoner | Slappy Wanna-Nappy |
Nathan Ruegger | Skippoda |
Nancy Cartwright | Mindy |
Julie Brown | Minerva Mink |
Ben Stein | Pip |
Neil Ross | Marvin the Martian |
Jeff Bennett | Baloney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Spacefield |
Transcript[]
References[]
- ↑ Animaniacs Schedule Archive (1998-1999) - Kids Block Blog. Published September 27, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ↑ "Star Wars Parody?" - alt.tv.animaniacs. Published May 13, 1999. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/twitter-1330795903557439489
- ↑ Toon Zone- Brian Cruz's WB Cartoons Page. "Old News". Published September 25, 1998; October 7, 1998; and October 28, 1998. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ↑ "Star Warners" - eidr
- ↑ "Star Warners" (Pinky and the Brain: Season 4) - eidr
- ↑ "Star Warners" (Pinky and the Brain: Season 4) (EDIT) - eidr