Tuesday, August 8, 2017

'Toon Reviews 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 19

Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru



There really is a lot of setup for a good cartoon here.  It follows Lincoln and Clyde trying to come up with a good business as part of a school project, but can’t come up with a good thing to sell, or at least something Lincoln’s sisters can’t keep away from like chocolate.  The failed attempts at starting a business have some decent funny moments, and together, they all gradually lead to Lincoln getting the impression that he knows all about girls due to living with 10 sisters.  With that, he becomes the Girl Guru and sells answers to questions boys have about girls so that they’ll be able to ask girls out.  This direction costs the cartoon a lot of value.  It’s honestly uncomfortable that the story acts like girls are a completely different creature from other human beings and all act a certain way.  Mindsets like that don’t really belong in this day and age where female characters, as well as females in real life, are stronger and more distinctive than they’ve been in earlier eras of this world.  What’s more, Lincoln should realize that not all girls are the same when he’s giving advice.  He keeps referring to different sisters who he knows do not have the same interests and character traits and he’s giving advice to boys who think that all girls think alike.  It’s kind of obvious that the advice will backfire, and that’s exactly what happens.  No wonder the sisters all laugh at Lincoln when they find out the trouble he got himself into, jerky as it is.  At least they’re nice enough to explain to him why his plan went wrong afterward.  Yes, the whole driving force of the plot is stupid, but there are plenty of comedic moments that make the cartoon worth sitting through.  They mostly come from the flashbacks of Lynn, Lola, and Lisa showing off their appealing character traits that inspire Lincoln’s advice, and it’s also fun to watch the many different ways Lincoln’s advice backfires where what’s fine for his sisters is applied to girls who don’t share those interests.  I also find the conclusion to be clever and amusing where Lincoln uses a product for an earlier business idea, and willingly has people buy them to get their revenge on him.  He may face the wrath of peeved-off customers and girls, but there’s enough positive factors to this decision, mostly relating to the success of this business, that make the ending satisfying.  Still, this cartoon would be a lot better if it wasn’t for that stupid mindset on girls being the driving force of the plot, but it’s at least far from a bad watch. 7/10

Come Sale Away



In many ways, this cartoon’s quality is very similar to that of the last one making it appropriate that they're teamed together.  It has potential to be really good, but certain external factors cost it some good value.  It’s not bad, but it suffers from stupid plot decisions.  The main premise for the cartoon is sympathetic, involving Lincoln wanting to have his own victory in sibling competitions after failing so many times.  The fact that he hasn’t gotten a victory in so long is enough to hope that Lincoln can do just that, in this case making the most money at the day’s garage sale.  However, despite the sympathy, things fall apart when you witness what he does to get what he wants. When things don’t go Lincoln’s way, he takes anything he finds around the house and sells them.  If that’s not enough, when his sisters find out what he’s doing, instead of explaining why what he’s doing is wrong, they go on to do the same thing.  This is a stupid factor to drive the plot, in that not one of the siblings realizes that their parents are sure to find out that their prized possessions in the house are gone, especially since they don’t even hide the fact that they sold it all.  Plus, the more competitive the Loud siblings get, the less likable they become.  Eventually, when they get the impression that they sold Lily’s blanket in the midst of the competition, it seems like they’re going to learn their lesson, but then they start competing again to see who can find the blanket first.  Talk about frustrating, and Lincoln’s selfishness is especially concerning since he doesn’t immediately care about Lily’s cries for her blanket.  Now, the siblings’ chases to find the blanket are the comedic highlight of the cartoon for offering a lot of amusing interactions between characters, some we hardly ever see like Luna and Lola, Lucy and Lisa, and Lori and Luan.  Then after the siblings find out that Lily’s blanket was in the wash the entire time, they all finally realize that selling the prized possessions in the house was a bad idea and get grounded for it even though they should have already known this was a bad idea.  This cartoon may have similar flaws to “Girl Guru,” but here it’s worse. While that cartoon had a sense of accomplishment, this doesn’t, with the whole family competing over who has the best victory dance even though none of them were victorious.  Ultimately, we close with a feeling that nothing was learned and a whole lot of uncomfortable butt shaking.  Thanks to its strong humorous moments and genuine sympathy in some parts, this cartoon is passably enjoyable despite its stupidity, lack of accomplishment, and awkwardness. 6.5/10
The Ranking
1.      For Bros About to Rock
2.      Undie Pressure
3.      Project Loud House
4.      Space Invader
5.      Driving Miss Hazy
6.      Left in the Dark
7.      Toads and Tiaras
8.      Picture Perfect
9.      House Music
10.  Save the Date
11.  Sleuth or Consequences
12.  Hand-Me-Downer
13.  No Guts No Glori
14.  Attention Deficit
15.  Changing the Baby
16.  Along Came A Sister
17.  April Fools Rules
18.  A Novel Idea
19.  Sound of Silence
20.  Butterfly Effect
21.  A Tale of Two Tables
22.  Cereal Offender
23.  Cover Girls
24.  It’s A Loud, Loud, Loud, Loud House
25.  Overnight Success
26.  In Tents Debate
27.  Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru
28.  Out on a Limo
29.  Linc or Swim
30.  The Sweet Spot
31.  Heavy Meddle
32.  Get the Message
33.  Come Sale Away
34.  Ties that Bind
35.  Making the Case
36.  Chore and Peace
37.  Two Boys and a Baby
38.  The Green House
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Lincoln learns what it really takes to be manly as he and Clyde go "Roughin' It," and we see the pleasing side of his sibling bond with Lori as they play "The Waiting Game."

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