They are the same: Pinky and the Brain were inspired by these people

In the 1990s, there was a group of cartoons produced by Steven Spielberg that became icons of the time. First came the Tiny Toons, as a kind of juvenile version of the Looney Tunes, and then it was the turn of Animaniacs. The fiction was created by Tom ruegger commissioned by the famous director and the result was so good that a spin-off plus: Pinky and the Brain.

The famous mice Pinky and the Brain they aired their episodes between 1995 and 1998, where they showed the most intricate plans to try to conquer the world. The opening phrase of the series, “Brain, what will we do tonight?” and your answer, “The same as every night, Pinky, Try to conquer the world”, they became an emblem of television at that time. To this day, the generation that grew up on these cartoons continues to remember him.

What, perhaps, not many know, is that Pinky and the Brain they were inspired by real people. Tom ruegger He designed them based on two animators who worked with him in an office next to his. “Tom Minton, which was the basis of Brain, and it looked a bit alike. There was a cartoon of him that we used to draw Brain. He spoke with a very low voice, very calm, you had to get close to listen. He was very friends with Eddie Fitzgerald, who was very demonstrative with his reactions. He even said things like ‘Narf!’ ”, told the animator and executive producer of classics such as “Batman: The Animated Series”.

As recalled Ruegger, every now and then I heard unintelligible voices coming from the Minton and Fitzgerald, followed by a loud laugh. “It seemed as if they were conspiring. I thought, ‘Imagine if they wanted to conquer the world.’ Hence the idea for Pinky and the Brain”explained the director. The animators, far from being outraged by this, even appeared at the voice casting of the characters, although they did not stay with the role.

Tom Ruegger, an eminence of animation

From the hand of Steven Spielberg, Tom ruegger he had the best years as an entertainer. In addition to having worked in Tiny Toons, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, the director was a substantial part of the birth of one of the best animated superheroes. Ruegger was one of the main creatives of “Batman: The Animated Series”, one of the fictions that top the list of fans of the genre in the world of cartoons.

Thanks to the work done on the series, Ruegger earned the trust of the studio to be named as the film’s executive producer “Batman: Mask of the Phantom”, which is considered the best animated work of the Dark Knight. The one-hour-and-a-quarter movie is available at HBO Max and mixes the origin story of Batman with that of a villain who seems to want to end the lives of all the heavy gangsters of Gotham.