Ah, the ’90s. A time when animation producers were no longer confined to making the half-hour toy commercials that lined the children’s television landscape of the prior decade, and were free at last to let their imaginations run wild. Including no less a producer than Steven Spielberg — whose Animaniacs offered a host of memorable cartoon characters, including Pinky and the Brain. The lovable genetically-altered lab mice (one a genius, the other most definitely insane) proved popular enough to earn their own Emmy Award-winning spin-off series on Kids WB, where their ill-fated schemes to take over the world lasted sixty-five episodes (and resulted in yet another spin-off, Steven Spielberg Presents Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain).

But beneath the hilarious pop-culture parodies of Pinky and the Brain lurked something… sinister. This is, after all, the tale of two innocent animals poked, prodded, and punctured by scientists into twisted caricatures of humanity. And as such, the show’s a darn sight creepier than anything Tom and Jerry — or even Itchy & Scratchy — could conceive. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this (mostly) scientifically accurate rendition of Pinky and the Brain‘s opening sequence from the folks at Animation Domination, and tell me it’s not the darkest, most disturbing cartoon ever.

Yes, even the people at PETA would be hard-pressed to come up with a more effective vehicle for conveying the apparent cruelty of laboratory testing…But what do you guys think? Does this cast Pinky and the Brain‘s irreverently cute title critters in a whole new light? Let us know what you think below. Narf!