Expectations were very mixed here for "Pinky's Dream House". It was absolutely great to see more of Pinky, seeing as he was usually underused and at worst completely wasted on 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain', and to see more of his and Brain's chemistry together that was not seen enough on the show. The concept however did not sound the most appetising and seemed more over-cute than the sophistication that we come to expect from the two characters.
While somewhat mixed on the episode, "Pinky's Dream House" was a good deal better than expected and anybody wanting to see more of Pinky and his chemistry with Brain will immediately be happier as both shine the most here than compared to before. It is one of the more watchable episodes of what was on the whole a not very good spin off at all, even if it was rather wanting in plot and the referencing and a couple of aspects came over as rather strange.
"Pinky's Dream House" does have good things. Loved Brain's character writing, the only character 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' near-consistently nailed. He is funny, deadpan and intelligent and it was very interesting seeing his motivations and ways of thinking. It is a great character piece for Pinky too, who finally has an appearance that is more on equal footing with Brain rather than an extended cameo, has a personality that is truer to that in 'Pinky and the Brain' and doesn't have dim-witted ness taken to extremes. Their chemistry together is well contrasted and connects properly for the first time up to this point of the show's run, it is annoying though at how such a big improvement came so late into the game.
The animation is bright and colourful on the whole. The messaging was interesting and quite mature for this show, it also feels relevant today. Rob Paulsen (in some of his best voice work for the show) and especially Maurice LaMarche provide pitch perfect voice work.
Sadly the writing is less than pitch perfect. This was a premise that needed wittier, sharper and wilder writing and that in "Pinky's Dream House" is none of those things. It just felt too safe and under-cooked, not as childish or as too cutesy as most episodes thanks to a lot less emphasis on Elmyra but it felt bland. As did the story, which as usual is too thin and too simple with very few surprises other than a fairly different dynamic between Pinky and Brain. Also found it pretty unimaginative.
Often did find 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' a mess when it came to its referencing and "Pinky's Dream House" is no exception. The ones that are easy to spot are pretty fun, that for Ed Asner for example, but like too many episodes the referencing is too random in placement, too stuck in the 90s and ones that most people are unlikely to get or find appropriate. While Elmyra's role is not too dominant, she served very little point here and doesn't appeal in personality. While Pinky and Brain's chemistry delighted the actual relationship was on the strange side, more platonic than one usually see which worked within the story but felt out of character for them. Maybe that's just me.
Altogether, watchable but rather mixed still. 5/10.
While somewhat mixed on the episode, "Pinky's Dream House" was a good deal better than expected and anybody wanting to see more of Pinky and his chemistry with Brain will immediately be happier as both shine the most here than compared to before. It is one of the more watchable episodes of what was on the whole a not very good spin off at all, even if it was rather wanting in plot and the referencing and a couple of aspects came over as rather strange.
"Pinky's Dream House" does have good things. Loved Brain's character writing, the only character 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' near-consistently nailed. He is funny, deadpan and intelligent and it was very interesting seeing his motivations and ways of thinking. It is a great character piece for Pinky too, who finally has an appearance that is more on equal footing with Brain rather than an extended cameo, has a personality that is truer to that in 'Pinky and the Brain' and doesn't have dim-witted ness taken to extremes. Their chemistry together is well contrasted and connects properly for the first time up to this point of the show's run, it is annoying though at how such a big improvement came so late into the game.
The animation is bright and colourful on the whole. The messaging was interesting and quite mature for this show, it also feels relevant today. Rob Paulsen (in some of his best voice work for the show) and especially Maurice LaMarche provide pitch perfect voice work.
Sadly the writing is less than pitch perfect. This was a premise that needed wittier, sharper and wilder writing and that in "Pinky's Dream House" is none of those things. It just felt too safe and under-cooked, not as childish or as too cutesy as most episodes thanks to a lot less emphasis on Elmyra but it felt bland. As did the story, which as usual is too thin and too simple with very few surprises other than a fairly different dynamic between Pinky and Brain. Also found it pretty unimaginative.
Often did find 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' a mess when it came to its referencing and "Pinky's Dream House" is no exception. The ones that are easy to spot are pretty fun, that for Ed Asner for example, but like too many episodes the referencing is too random in placement, too stuck in the 90s and ones that most people are unlikely to get or find appropriate. While Elmyra's role is not too dominant, she served very little point here and doesn't appeal in personality. While Pinky and Brain's chemistry delighted the actual relationship was on the strange side, more platonic than one usually see which worked within the story but felt out of character for them. Maybe that's just me.
Altogether, watchable but rather mixed still. 5/10.