Episode 21
The
Flame
At the start of this America-themed episode is a cartoon that
honestly seems surprising to come from a show like this. It’s simply about a little flame on a candle
commenting on what he sees during a major event in American history, which for
here is the writing of the Declaration of Independence. That doesn’t sound like something in this
show’s league. It’s very quiet and
subdued, and comedy never placed in the forefront.
At best, some of the flame’s lines can get a
laugh like when he freaks out over the candle being on fire even though he
himself is fire, his refusal to go up a dark staircase even though he can light
the way, and how he blames his supposed “evil cousins” for causing some paper
scraps to catch fire after he falls over.
Other than that, the whole cartoon is largely uninteresting for just
giving us a flame talking to himself and nothing more.
As uninteresting as it is, it can still leave
an impact on you even if it’s not a humorous one. In fact, the moments it does consist of prove
that this show is capable of doing more than just making people laugh. It pulls off a suspenseful scene well when
the flame’s candle is tipped over by a wind gust and when that fire is nearly
started on the aforementioned scraps.
The music in those scenes is appropriately dramatic for both the
oncoming tip and the sudden appearances and hops of what may be those evil
cousins. Speaking of the music, it also
helps give a more wholesome and elegant feel to certain moments. It’s shown in little moments like when the
flame and his candle are carried through the halls to the writing study by
Thomas Jefferson giving a sense of atmosphere and value to what most
perceive as insignificant. Music is also
a key factor in the appeal of more grandiose moments like when the flame passes
the time by making silhouettes of porcelain figures look like they’re dancing,
and the music playing greatly emulates the feeling of dancing. You just can’t help but get invested.
Finally, there’s a great sense in triumph and
American pride as the flame reads over a passage from the Declaration as
Jefferson finishes writing it the following morning. The voice of a child reading it sells how
much of an impact this event was for all American citizens, even those of
today’s age, and the instrumentals of “America the Beautiful” demonstrates the
moment's power. It overall ends the
cartoon with the respect this great country deserves and helps the audience
understand the principals it stands on in ways you couldn’t in any other
way.
That’s what makes this cartoon
worth watching as it shines, so to speak, as a tribute to the importance of
events of American history while also being pretty cute in its own right. It’s not the most interesting or the best
display of this show’s biggest strengths by any means, but its value is still
easy to see. 8/10
Wakko’s
America
What do you do to learn the capitols of the 50 states of
America? Do you look at a globe or
map? Do you go online to learn the names
in an article? Do you even resort to
state capitols flashcards? Well, whether
you’re an average learner or someone trying to be well-rounded in this competitive world, I think the most effective way to learn them is through this
great song sequence. After all, it does
come from a show that has continuously shown that it knows how to entertain while educating.
When relying on reading
and studying alone to learn something as vast the names of capitals, it can get
tedious and boring to stay focused on the subject and have everything stick
with you. However, when applying a sense
of fun and energy to the learning process, what you learn can end up leaving a
lasting impression, and this song is great proof of how effective this
education method is. Set against a
framing device of the Warners attending a Jeopardy round of a school session in
which Wakko is tasked to answer the names of the 50 states and their capitals,
the song is all about him answering the question in high-spirited musical
fashion. While performing a lively
instrumental cover of “Turkey in the Straw,” Wakko fills in the words with
information on the capitals while dancing around a map of America.
The impressive thing about it is how he takes
the many state and capitol names and arranges them all in a catchy song with a
solid rhyme scheme as if it’s no problem, and as a result, all the
information is laid out thoroughly and comprehensibly. With a lively melody to back it up,
everything Wakko sings is sure to stick with you even more, so when remembering
a capitol, it can easily come to mind when you think of the song.
As an animated feat, it’s not as impressive
as the earlier musical piece of the nations of the world since there’s more of
those making for a bigger challenge to put them into a song, but the important
thing is its success in easily getting the respective information in one’s
head. Plus, it works in some good comedy
in the breaks of the songs like when Wakko stops briefly to give random
factoids like how Elvis used to hang out in Nashville, Tennessee, or how Annapolis,
Maryland has “wonderful clam chowder.” By the end of the song, you feel
completely educated and entertained so much, it’s not as much as a sting that
Wakko fails to get his Jeopardy points all because he didn’t put his response
in the form of a question.
As it stands,
this is indeed a classic example of this show’s impeccable talent for music and
making fun out of learning something big. 10/10
Davy
Omelette
At its core, this is just another Chicken Boo cartoon playing
out very similarly to the last one and the many ones to follow. This time, he’s
posing as Davy Crockett parody, Davy Omelette in a flimsy disguise only
consisting of a coonskin cap. He’s
praised as a hero by everyone he meets, someone says he’s a giant chicken, the
cap comes off proving that someone to by right, and Chicken Boo is chased off
into the sunset.
However, just because
these cartoons are going to follow the same beats as before, they can still be
enjoyable enough for what they are in the little ways they stand out. As a Davy Crockett parody, the disguised Chicken
Boo not only poses as the historical figure, the whole cartoon he stars in is a
parody to the old Disney TV series from the 50s on that figure, and like most
parodies, it’s respectful to the source material. The theme song has the same style and beat
pattern as the original’s ballad, the title card includes the phrase, “In
Color,” and Davy Omelette is even given a partner akin to Crockett’s who was
played by Buddy Ebsen. So through the
familiar setup, the cartoon playing like an episode of the old Davy Crockett
series does give it a new change of pace.
In addition, we get an instance where Chicken Boo’s chicken traits play
a role in his success while in his disguise when he faces a bear who’s been
reported to have attacked a wagon train.
He doesn’t need to do any fighting or hunting skills to beat the bear,
especially since it’s unlikely for a real chicken to be able to do stuff like
that. All he does is something that
makes sense for a chicken to do during a bear attack and just grins at him
which gets the bear to run away. It’s an
interesting point to Chicken Boo’s success as a frontiersman in which he gets
his praise by acting like a chicken, and that in turn makes the formula stand
out as something bizarre yet humorous for how even in these cases, no one buys
into who Davy Omelette really is while he’s wearing his disguise. However, it does get concerning when the
disguise does come off and the settlers want him eaten because he’s a chicken
even though it was this chicken’s mannerisms that saved them. For that matter, when the bear comes after
Chicken Boo, why doesn’t he just grin him down again?
Well even for this unfair sting towards the
chicken’s ending scorn and that the formulaic nature of these cartoons still
really shows , the ways it manages to stand as its own thing still
make it good for what it is and the basic formula a successfully humorous one. 9/10
Four Score
and Seven Migraines Ago
Although this is the shortest in the long line of cartoons
where the Warners help a historical figure come up with their biggest
accomplishments, it turns out to be one of the most impactful ones of that
kind. A big reason for this is that when
the Warners approach said historical figure, even when they perform their usual
zaniness, it’s perfectly clear that they want to help and they hardly come off
as annoying.
As for this historical
figure for the cartoon, it’s Abraham Lincoln on his way to Gettysburg to give
his famous Gettysburg Address, but he’s stuck for an opening. Through it all, it’s astounding to note that
unlike other historical figures the Warners have come across, there’s nothing
really rude or antagonistic about Lincoln.
The worst that happens is that he gets frustrated with his struggle to
come up with an opening and is only mildly annoyed by the Warners’ antics and
is even accepting of their help most of the time.
Speaking of the Warners, they’re innocent
enough when interacting with Lincoln.
They first appear simply wanting his autograph, even when he’s too busy
to give that sort of thing, and the ways they mess around with him even after
they get what they came for never go beyond funny wordplays. When it comes to their involvement with
helping Lincoln find his opening, their off-the-wall mannerisms go into full-on
helpful mode. The Warners’ many opening
suggestions are clearly well-intended to Lincoln’s cause while also being
humorously staged in their own right coming off as clever callbacks to
Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and TV
shows like The Twilight Zone and Tiny Toon Adventures. Even their attempts at getting Lincoln to
feel better about himself feel genuine and like they really want to help him
despite containing jokes where they mistake George Washington’s great traits
and accomplishments for his, and bring up things named after him that won’t
exist for many years, yet don’t feel out of place. This is an interesting mix of comedy and
sympathy where everything the Warners say to Lincoln feels from the heart
despite never being able to stray away from being funny.
It all culminates when Yakko goes on a
long-winded ramble containing lines in the actual Gettysburg Address despite
frequent mentions of Hostess snacks.
Since these lines are in the actual address, as you can guess, Lincoln
ends up using what’s said to him while editing out the frivolous stuff. The final scene of Lincoln finally giving the
Gettysburg Address in front of a crowd set to the playing of a patriotic song in
the background is not only great closure to his pent-up sympathy throughout the
cartoon, but is also another showing of a big event in American history that
sells the power and beauty of the address’ historical significance. It’s the kind of moment-staging that invests
you in the passage that reminds us that this country was founded on
the basics of freedom and unity that should never be abandoned or taken
advantage of. It was relevant at the
height of the Civil War, and it continues to be relevant to this day, despite
the questionable rulings of certain modern presidents. Plus, for how it’s portrayed in the cartoon,
it’s astounding that a long sequence of humorous lines and character
interactions brought on something so beautiful and patriotic, and both
instances feel like they go well together instead of clashing tonally. That’s can’t be easy to pull off.
Overall, for its great mix of comedy, respect for the country, and interesting utilization of the Warners’ role of
helping the featured historical figure, we have a cartoon that’s big on
American spirit as well as entertainment. 10/10
Cartoon Ranking
- King Yakko
- Hello Nice Warners
- Meatballs or Consequences
- Slappy Goes Walnuts
- H.M.S. Yakko
- Hooked on a Ceiling
- Temporary Insanity
- Bumbie’s Mom
- Les Miseranimals
- Hearts of Twilight
- Space Probed
- West Side Pigeons
- Battle for the Planet
- Four Score and Seven Migraines Ago
- When Rita Met Runt
- De-zanitized
- Win Big
- Taming of the Screwy
- Chalkboard Bungle
- La La Law
- Nothing but the Tooth
- Piano Rag
- Pavlov’s Mice
- Cookies for Einstein
- The Big Candy Store
- Davy Omelette
- Garage Sale of the Century
- Wally Llama
- Where Rodents Dare
- The Flame
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Hurray for Slappy
- Cat on a Hot Steel Beam
- Operation: Lollipop
- No Pain No Painting
- Chicken Boo-Ryshnikov
- Goodfeathers: The Beginning
- The Cat and the Fiddle
- La Behemoth
- A Moving Experience
- The Boids
Song Ranking
- Yakko’s Universe
- Yakko’s World
- The Monkey Song
- Wakko’s America
- What Are We?
- Little Old Slappy from Pasadena
Miscellaneous Ranking
- The Great Wakkorotti: The Master and His Music
- Hitchcock Parody
- Gilligan’s Island Parody
- Nighty-Night Toon
- Flipper Parody
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode in which Slappy Squirrel stars in a comedic take on a Bible story, and we learn how to properly portray characters who get continuously tormented in a cartoon featuring the Warners taking a plane trip with a total jerk.
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