Quote:
Originally posted by island911
Brain, for example, exhibits Rube Goldberg-like talents
"Pinky was complacent and at ease in his surrounds,
Oh, that's perfect!
Now, in the light of this being a cartoon. . .and that a "multiple stability in perception" exists in most all the good ones; have you considered that Pinky is actually a simple genious? . . . He's always entertaining and steering the Brains plots back to a safe, and ineffective conclusion, while feigning stupid simplicity?
You see, Pinky, being the generous type who understand the more important worldly things, sees Brains never ending need to be chasing the dream of "Ruling the WORLD!" So, Pinky, plays along with Brains need to feel superior, and "accidentally" does things that undermine (and guide) event to a safe conclusion.
. . ..or is it simply the writers that make it all work out in the end? 
Anyway, great toon.
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Well with established cartoon characters (and other mediums where characters have set rules), there are parameters within which the writer can work.
For instance with Animaniacs - they have very specific rules that date back to Bugs Bunny. As you can see in any of those characters, they never instigate action. Something has to happen to them. "Hello Nurse," kisses Wacko on the nose. She's the instigator or as could be seen, the antagonist. Wacko goes ape-**** wild for Hello Nurse - he's been engaged into action. The same goes for Bugs and Elmer Fudd. Elmer "started it" is a great way of looking at how these characters interact. If done contrary to this, you have a mean-assed rabbit no one would like i.e. a Daffy Duck in long ears and a cotton tail, and in the case of Animaniacs, angry little puppy-head freak children who crouch in the Warner Bros water tower thinking of ways to terrorize the studio.
Pinky's brilliance is two-fold. He is comic relief for us, the audience, because Brain's antics go from one single obsession to two levels. He has to contend with his obsession and Pinky at the same time, both of which afflict him. Pinky he controls with some sort of head-bopping violence or a drab dose of dialogue that gets the reaction "poit!" But what Pinky is really doing is controlling Brain, making him feel superior but all the while causing a self-styled genius to "pay attention" to a certifiable nutcase lab mouse.
Look at it this way: in one episode Brain "lost" Pinky. He ended up being a homeless lab mouse living out of a dollhouse-sized shopping cart. Misery. Funny, but misery.
In another sense, Brain would be just plain boring without Pinky around.