Episode 18
Pavlov’s
Mice
The cartoons composing this episode are given a Russian
flare, and it all kicks off with another outing with Pinky and the Brain in
another attempt at world domination.
This time around, the mice are lab animals in the lab of Ivan Pavlov, a
scientist known for his experiments on conditioned reflexes, mainly with how a
dog drools when offered food at the sound of a bell. In this
cartoon’s case, which is a far more exaggerated version of Pavlov’s
experiments, the mice’s conditioned reflexes have Brain dancing as a teapot at
the sound of a gong, and Pinky dancing an entertainingly energetic trepak at
the sound of a bell. It’s an interesting
comedic take on one of history’s most noteworthy science experiments, and it
adds in a bit of an edge to the featured plan to take over the world.
Brain plans to take advantage of
an upcoming lunar eclipse by using his newest invention known as the
Vacuuminator to suck up the crown jewels while the Czar and the guards are
watching the eclipse. Apparently, all
you need to control Russia are the crown jewels. I’m not sure how that works, but there’s most
likely a logical explanation that I’m just not aware of. Anyway, this plan actually seems like it has
everything set in place to succeed.
Brain has his invention, and with
no opposing forces to guard what he’s after, the crown jewels should easily be
his.
That’s where the conditioned
reflexes become a hindrance to the plan.
As Pinky and Brain make their way towards the palace, little things end
up sounding like a gong or a bell and get them to do their silly gestures. At first, it just happens for laughs, but
then it becomes an issue when it makes the mice’s efforts to get a ride to the
Czar’s palace harder than it has to be.
Then when they finally make it to the crown jewels, they appear to be
perfectly situated to get what they came for.
Suddenly, out of pure bad luck, their respective trigger sounds are
heard and they go into an incurable dance sequence which prevents the jewels
from getting sucked up by the Vacuuminator, and they end up sucked up instead,
as well as, through the force of Pinky’s dance, right out of the palace as the
eclipse ends.
The interesting thing
about all this is that the main reason the plan fails is because of something
out of both characters’ control. It
wasn’t by Brain’s big ego or Pinky’s simplemindedness, but rather by the
natural forces lingering in their psyche put there by Ivan Pavlov. It’s a fine way to shake up the way these
cartoons usually work and a great example of how each of them can stand out
even if they’re all mostly the same thing every time. However, the whole cartoon goes by pretty
fast, so there aren’t many standout elements apart from the usual banter and
great amusing personality clashes from the main characters. The whole watch just kind of comes and goes
and makes you wish you could stay around longer. At least things really pick up whenever the
conditioned reflexes come in, and they make for a great big finish when the
tune of Pinky’s trepak combines with the ending theme.
For what we have though, it’s still great
solid fun with an interesting twist to the formula featuring the one and only
genuine world domination mice duo. 9/10
Chicken
Boo-Ryshnikov
With this episode, we get the first of many short cartoons
featuring a character simply known as Chicken Boo. These cartoons are another set that falls
under the formulaic category.
They
feature Chicken Boo making it big as a star of any given field imaginable while
wearing a flimsy disguise, and only one person claims that he’s a giant
chicken. Then once the disguise comes
off, everyone freaks out about his true identity kicking him clean out of the
scene, after which, he walks off into the distance. It’s basically the same thing every time they
come up, but even at that, it’s still easy to enjoy them, and this cartoon here
is no exception.
Each Chicken Boo
cartoon may feature the same thing happen, but stand out for the different
scenarios the titular chicken is placed in.
Each role he takes up is combined with the comically absurd idea. Here, everyone’s praising Chicken Boon for being such a great ballet
dancer, and even though all he’s wearing to disguise himself is a wig, crown,
and jumpsuit, the one person who calls the chicken out is berated. As for the standout moment of this particular
cartoon, it honestly isn’t much to make a big deal over. Chicken Boo dances to a moving orchestral
rendition of “Swan Lake” at the ballet, and the one person who called him out
earlier is proven right when the wig comes off and his identity is
revealed.
While it is humorous to watch
a big, cross-eyed chicken dance ballet and the ways the audience negatively
react to his true identity by throwing cooked chickens as well as fruit, the
whole thing mostly comes off as a basic look of what to expect from this character,
so it’s not all that special. Also, I
get that people would be freaked out that an actual, disease carrying animal is
in their presence, but apart from the dancer he’s performing with, no one’s too
close to him, so their reaction to the big dance star being a chicken is kind of
harsh. Fortunately, the reactions to
the reveal make more sense in many cartoons to come.
Plus, it helps form an underlying theme
for these cartoons in general. The
parts of Chicken Boo being famous while disguised represent dreams many people
have to become famous in certain fields and the reactions to who he really is
show the reality of something standing in the way of achieving those goals we
have to overcome. It amounts to an
honest look at the difficulties of achieving the American Dream.
As it stands, despite merely showing what
we’re in for with Chicken Boo, it’s still a solid introduction that never
overstays its welcome and shows off a perfectly ridiculous yet inventive and
relatable setup. 8/10
Nothing but
the Tooth
We’re so used to Warners helping historical figures create
their big breakthrough in cartoons where they meet one, but this one shakes up
the formula by having what they do to him face his downfall in power.
In this case, it’s Rasputin, the royal
advisor of Czar Nicholas II, and history has already painted him in an
antagonistic light since he’s been known to have some controlling influence over the Czar, though certainly not through hypnosis as the cartoon shows. This isn’t a knock against the cartoon though
since, while it has educated in a lot of interesting subjects, 100% accuracy
shouldn’t be expected since this series is designed to entertain first.
As a result, after Rasputin’s hypnosis powers
are established, a comedic plot surrounding him is able to form when he gets a
toothache, and the Warners come in as his dentists. As is to be expected with these kids, the
Warners absolutely shine in their roles as Rasputin’s dentist. They clearly give him a hard time, right down
to outright freaking him out with Yakko claiming that dentistry is mostly just
a hobby for them, but it never feels like they’re trying to be malicious
towards their patient. It just feels
like what they’re doing is part of their routine, and they really put effort
into what they’re doing, unethical as it is.
Even if it wasn’t the case, Rasputin feels completely open to the
torment the kids provide given his villainous actions. That’s not even mentioning the air of
hilarity to everything the Warners do while tending to his toothache such as
casually bringing up a painful drill, and using a little Anastasia to ease the
pain which it truly is an “obscure joke” referring to the 1956 live-action
film. The more popular animated film
from Don Bluth wouldn’t be out for another four years.
However, the most effective comedic moment
from the Warners comes in when they decide to use string to get Rasputin’s bad
tooth out, and he eventually has enough, running away scared with a string tied
to his tooth while the Warners chase after him in small yellow cars around the
palace halls. It’s not just a fun little
chase scenes fitting for characters big on cartoon antics, but it’s also a
great follow-up to the earlier comment on how the Warners are more of Shriners
than dentists. This fun, fast-paced
chase is the real standout moment of the cartoon and a thoroughly entertaining
way to end Rasputin’s time with the Warners as well as lead to him getting him
fired.
Just as before, it doesn’t even
matter that how he got fired is far less accurate and drastic to how it
happened in real life. True it’s not as
exciting or interesting as real life, but it works in the context of the
cartoon. Plus, the ending of Yakko
commenting on how nothing but good things will happen for the
Czar with Rasputin gone and the scene cutting to the Czar now being hypnotized
by Rasputin’s puppy who now has his teeth really works in more ways than
one. After all, there might not have
been a hypnotizing puppy, but it’s well-known that Czar Nicholas II was the
last czar via a nasty execution of him and his family.
Even if this cartoon does
have a lot of moments that can only happen in the realm of cartoons, you’d be
surprised how well it can connect to the real events.
For that, as well as general humor, while this isn’t the best cartoon of
the show, it’s still a solid one with many fun and interesting moments to look
forward to. 9/10
Cartoon Ranking
- King Yakko
- Hello Nice Warners
- Slappy Goes Walnuts
- H.M.S. Yakko
- Hooked on a Ceiling
- Temporary Insanity
- Bumbie’s Mom
- Les Miseranimals
- Space Probed
- West Side Pigeons
- Battle for the Planet
- When Rita Met Runt
- De-zanitized
- Win Big
- Taming of the Screwy
- Chalkboard Bungle
- La La Law
- Nothing but the Tooth
- Piano Rag
- Pavlov’s Mice
- Cookies for Einstein
- The Big Candy Store
- Garage Sale of the Century
- Wally Llama
- Where Rodents Dare
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Hurray for Slappy
- Cat on a Hot Steel Beam
- Operation: Lollipop
- No Pain No Painting
- Chicken Boo-Ryshnikov
- Goodfeathers: The Beginning
- The Cat and the Fiddle
- La Behemoth
Song Ranking
- Yakko’s Universe
- Yakko’s World
- The Monkey Song
- What Are We?
- Little Old Slappy from Pasadena
Miscellaneous Ranking
- The Great Wakkorotti: The Master and His Music
- Gilligan’s Island Parody
- Nighty-Night Toon
- Flipper Parody
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Warner siblings cartoon featured adds in a heartfelt element of the kids striving to stick together even in the face of Death, and we get the introduction cartoon of the Hip Hippos even though it's the second one to air.
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