Pinky and the Brain is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth collaboration of Steven Spielberg with his production company, Amblin Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Animation. The characters first appeared in 1993 as a recurring skit on Animaniacs. It was later spun off as a series due to its popularity, with 66 episodes produced. The characters later appeared in the series Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain, and have since returned to their roots as an Animaniacs skit in the 2020 revival of that series.
Pinky and the Brain are genetically enhanced laboratory mice who reside in a cage in the Acme Labs research facility. Brain is highly intelligent, self-centered and scheming, while Pinky is good-natured but feeble-minded. In each episode, Brain devises a new plan to take over the world which ultimately ends in failure, usually due to the impossibility of Brain's plan, Brain's own overconfidence, Pinky's bumbling, an oversight on Brain's part, circumstances beyond their control, or multiples thereof. In common with many other Animaniacs shorts, many episodes are in some way a parody of something else, usually a film or novel.