Newsreel of the Stars

See Episode 1

Music: Traditional

Lyrics: Randy Rogel

Director: Rusty Mills

Animated By: Tokyo Movie Shinsha

Synopsis

Yakko sings a (now outdated) song set to the tune of the Mexican-hat-dance about the nations of the world.

Characters

Narrator, Yakko Warner

Goofs

Haiti is the same color as the Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rico isn't a nation, it's a territory of the United States.

Belize is the same color as Mexico.

Bermuda isn't a nation, it's a territory of the United Kingdom.

Guam isn't a nation, it's a territory of the United States.

San Juan isn't a nation, it is a city within the aforementioned Puerto Rico.

French Guiana isn't even a territory, it's a department of France.

New Guinea and Hawaii are not depicted when Guam is shown.

Switzerland is representated bigger than the real size

Albania is the same color as Yugoslavia.

The Soviet Union had broken up when the song was released. It is however accepted due to the time it took to animate.

Bulgaria is the same color as Romania, after being the same color as Greece.

Hungary is the same color as Czechoslovakia.

Iraq is the same color as Syria and Kuwait.

Scotland is the same color as England.

Oman actually is bigger than song representation

Jordan geographic location is wrong.

Jordan location is geographic wrong

Bhutan is the same color as India and Nepal, there is also no border dividing them.

There is, however, a border separating North east China (with Russian and North Korean borders) from China

Yakko says "Asia". Asia is a continent, not even a country

Yakko says "Korea" yet Korea has been divided into South Korea and North Korea since 1948.

South Africa has a border running through it, yet South Africa wasn't even mentioned.

The Spanish Sahara had been gone for over 10 years before this song was written.

Actually The Spanish Sahara is called now West Sahara

Algiers is a city in Algeria.

Dahomey was Benin until 1904

Abu Dhabi is a city in the United Arab Emirates.

Crete is an island.

At this time, part of Yugoslavia have broken up into several countries

Transylvania is a region of Romania.

Trivia

The song misses over 40 nations, not including ones that were created after the song was written.

This song is a favorite of Yakko's voice actor, Rob Paulsen, who performs it at various public events.

This song includes Palestine, which is still negotiated to this day, and is not an independent country.

The world map shows Russia with Soviet-era borders. This is inaccurate even for the time, as the former Soviet republics had gained independence in 1991. Similarly, Czechoslovakia had been split up for eight months at the time the episode aired (due to the lead time required for animation, it's likely the split hadn't taken place at the time the song was actually written).

This song mentions the United Kingdom as "Scotland" and then "England." Wales and Northern Ireland are not mentioned, it is also noted that when Yakko points to England, the whole island of Great Britain lights up, that includes Scotland.

This song has become a popular internet meme.

As of 2018 Swaziland is now known as Eswatini.

Cookies for Einstein (406-810)

Written by Paul Rugg

Directed by Alfred Gimeno

Animated By: Tokyo Movie Shinsha

Synopsis

The Warners in 1905 Germany, inadvertently help Albert Einstein discover the theory of relativity through their attempts to sell him cookies with The Acme Song.

Characters

Narrator, Yakko Warner, Wakko Warner, Dot Warner, Swiss Miss, Albert Einstein, Nobel Prize Presenter

Trivia

The theory of relativity that Einstein describes is actually the mass-energy conversion formula (e=mc 2 ). This error is referenced in the "Please Please Please Get a Life Foundation" cartoon.

). This error is referenced in the "Please Please Please Get a Life Foundation" cartoon. The Kid Scouts are a parody of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts (mostly Girl Scouts, due to the concept of selling cookies).

This was the first short to feature the Warners in a location and time other than the Warner Bros. Lot in the present day.

When Einstein closes a window shade, the Warners appear on them, looking like Goombas from Nintendo's Super Mario franchise.

Win Big (406-805)

Story by Tom Ruegger

Written by Peter Hastings

Directed by Dave Marshall and Rusty Mills

Animated By: Wang Film Production

Synopsis

Brain wants to win $99,000 so he can finish his device to take over the world on the show Gyp-Parody, but ultimately loses when he doesn't know what classic TV character was known for saying, "Bang! Zoom! Right in the Kisser!" (which Pinky does know).

Characters

Pinky, The Brain, Alex Quebec, Cab Driver, Gyp-Parody contestants (Alvey, Matilda, Deloris), Dot Warner (run-through), Wakko Warner (run-through), Yakko Warner (run-through), Ralph the Guard (run-through)

Trivia

This was the first Pinky and the Brain short produced and the first aired, acting as a pilot for the mice. Many of the familiar elements (such as the "are you pondering what I'm pondering?" dialogue) were intended by writer Peter Hastings to be one-time gags, but supervising story editor Sherri Stoner convinced him to bring them back in future scripts. [1]

This short introduces Pinky's nonsense words "Narf" and "Poit," as well as his exclamation, "Egad, Brain!"

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot make a cameo where they run on top of the taxi the Brain is taking, being chased by Ralph, beginning a literal running gag throughout the series.

Gyp-Parody obviously parodies Jeopardy!

This short features the first appearance of Brain's human suit, which was featured in various episodes of the spin-off. Writer Peter Hastings actually had a replica of the human suit in his office.

This episode is a parody of The Honeymooners episode "The $99,000 Answer", in which Ralph Kramden repeatedly tells Norton to stop playing the song "Swanee River," and then loses a game show over that song. Similarly, the Brain loses here over Ralph's famous catch phrase from The Honeymooners .

episode "The $99,000 Answer", in which Ralph Kramden repeatedly tells Norton to stop playing the song "Swanee River," and then loses a game show over that song. Similarly, the Brain loses here over Ralph's famous catch phrase from . Although Peter Hastings has stated that he always tried to have Brain threaten to hurt Pinky but never actually hit him (because he felt this was both funnier and truer to the character), Tom Ruegger and the other producers would often have Brain actually hit Pinky. Even in this very first short, the Brain does follow through.

This episode would be retold in the Animaniacs comic, but one difference is that Brain's human suit would be attired with a jacket and tie as opposed to the more formal tuxedo, which made somewhat better sense for going out in public during casual events.

Quotes

Brain: Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering? Pinky: I think so, Brain, but, where are we gonna find a duck and a hose at this hour?

Gallery





The moral of today's story is: "If at first you don't succeed, blame it on your parents."



Trivia

First "Wheel of Morality" gag.

The Wheel of Morality is not just a parody of the Wheel of Fortune, but also a satire on the suggestions by the FCC to add some moral and educational value to children's shows.

Music By

Richard Stone

Cast

References