"The Man From Washington" was quite a neat set-up. One would expect it to be a dumbed down, too cutesy and childish episode from the outset as most scenarios for 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' were all those things. It actually turned out to be one of the show's more mature premises and like a few other episodes of the show it's a scenario that isn't too beneath Brain and wouldn't be too out of place on 'Animaniacs', 'Pinky and the Brain' and 'Tiny Toon Adventures'.
It saddens me to say though that the execution in "The Man From Washington" isn't so neat. It is far from being one of the worst episodes of 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain', but it is a case of an intriguing concept being problematically and quite oddly executed. Did appreciate that the concept is one of the show's most mature and sophisticated compared to the usual standard, but this is the sort of premise that would have been much better suited to the original 'Pinky and the Brain' or 'Animaniacs' (yet the episode is written in a way that would have made the episode feel out of place in both shows).
Good things can be seen here. On the most part, Brain's character writing is very well done. As has been said in reviews for the previous episodes, the character writing on the most part was really off throughout 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' but Brain was the exception, always amusingly deadpan and intelligent. Maurice LaMarche's voice acting is pitch perfect.
Rudy is more interesting than usual and is in a scenario that allows his character to grow. Some of the animation is vibrantly coloured and detailed. There are moments of stylishness and suspense in a rare case where Brain is in jeopardy, and the concept suits Brain well.
Actually do think however that "The Man From Washington" could have had a tighter pace and had more suspenseful thrills and surprises. The story is pretty predictable but it also tonally doesn't quite gel, it was like it was trying hard to appeal to older viewers and in the process forgot what the primary target audience (the whole family with emphasis on anybody that was born or grew up in the 80s and 90s) is meant to be. Really appreciated that it was a lot less childish and simplistic than most of the show's episodes but it just felt too adult oriented for the show. Despite the great voice acting of Jeff Bennett, Wally Faust has nothing special to him as an antagonist.
The writing is less childish and cutesy than a lot of episodes of 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain', but it also could have been sharper, wittier and wilder and also been more mindful of what the target audience is meant to be. While some of the referencing is fun when it came to the espionage, well the ones that are easy to spot from a young adult perspective, too many of the references are too stuck in the 80s-90s and will go over the heads of younger audiences due to not being familiar with what is being referenced (i.e. Christopher Walken), some of them also quite oddly adult. Occasionally the writers try to make Brain too hip and that is not what he is and goes against what makes him such a unique character. The animation tends to lack polish and is fairly unimaginative on the whole.
In conclusion, appreciated what the episode tried to do but didn't quite do it for me sadly. 4/10.
It saddens me to say though that the execution in "The Man From Washington" isn't so neat. It is far from being one of the worst episodes of 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain', but it is a case of an intriguing concept being problematically and quite oddly executed. Did appreciate that the concept is one of the show's most mature and sophisticated compared to the usual standard, but this is the sort of premise that would have been much better suited to the original 'Pinky and the Brain' or 'Animaniacs' (yet the episode is written in a way that would have made the episode feel out of place in both shows).
Good things can be seen here. On the most part, Brain's character writing is very well done. As has been said in reviews for the previous episodes, the character writing on the most part was really off throughout 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain' but Brain was the exception, always amusingly deadpan and intelligent. Maurice LaMarche's voice acting is pitch perfect.
Rudy is more interesting than usual and is in a scenario that allows his character to grow. Some of the animation is vibrantly coloured and detailed. There are moments of stylishness and suspense in a rare case where Brain is in jeopardy, and the concept suits Brain well.
Actually do think however that "The Man From Washington" could have had a tighter pace and had more suspenseful thrills and surprises. The story is pretty predictable but it also tonally doesn't quite gel, it was like it was trying hard to appeal to older viewers and in the process forgot what the primary target audience (the whole family with emphasis on anybody that was born or grew up in the 80s and 90s) is meant to be. Really appreciated that it was a lot less childish and simplistic than most of the show's episodes but it just felt too adult oriented for the show. Despite the great voice acting of Jeff Bennett, Wally Faust has nothing special to him as an antagonist.
The writing is less childish and cutesy than a lot of episodes of 'Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain', but it also could have been sharper, wittier and wilder and also been more mindful of what the target audience is meant to be. While some of the referencing is fun when it came to the espionage, well the ones that are easy to spot from a young adult perspective, too many of the references are too stuck in the 80s-90s and will go over the heads of younger audiences due to not being familiar with what is being referenced (i.e. Christopher Walken), some of them also quite oddly adult. Occasionally the writers try to make Brain too hip and that is not what he is and goes against what makes him such a unique character. The animation tends to lack polish and is fairly unimaginative on the whole.
In conclusion, appreciated what the episode tried to do but didn't quite do it for me sadly. 4/10.