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Episode 30
Hot
Bothered and Bedeviled
One of the most frightening things people can think about is what happens after life. Specifically, the frightening part is on what could happen if someone sins enough to end up in the bad place,
For this cartoon, it
opens the second consecutive Halloween episode with an interpretation that
makes for a masterpiece of rapid-fire comedy.
Hades itself mostly looks the way you’d expect, fiery red and crawling
with demons and Satan ruling over everything.
However, there’s plenty of light-hearted elements to this bad place,
making it stand out from other depictions.
There’s a showy atmosphere to much of Hades as it’s introduced with a
lively song and dance number. Some of the
scream-inducing torments are, in all honesty, very tame such as being forced to
watch bad TV shows or listen to whiny protest songs. Even Satan himself, despite appearing
threatening a lot, has a softer side to him as he takes pleasure in Hades’
entertainment and at times hams things up with his own act.
As you’d imagine, the comedy portion really
comes into effect when the Warners show up, getting lost on their way to Six
Flags over Flushing. Considering this
isn’t the first time they’ve crossed into the afterlife, you’d expect them to
ever full of bullseye striking antics when dealing with Satan. Well, you’d be right, and everything they do
comes off as the kind of comedic antics cartoons were generally made for. Instead of cowering in fear at the sight of where
they are like most people would be, they approach this situation nonchalantly,
yet clearly know how to handle matters.
While they partake in the same antics at times like wiggling together
instead of in agony and peeping when Satan tells them not to, each Warner has
their own comedic bit. This move makes
the gags we get much more distinctive and stronger for allowing each character
to stand as their own. Dot greets
herself to Satan in a flamboyany way that could rival his power and instantly
goes back to looking cute, and scares Satan’s pet Cerberus with her own
pet. Wakko gets up to more physical gags
like stretching his neck to trick Satan into getting his horns stuck, and
taking the “snowball’s chance in Hell Hades” statement literally. As for Yakko, considering how his siblings
can easily stand on their own on a comedic level, his jokes are seen mostly
through leadership. Yakko brings on all
the group gags as well as turn the scenario into something different. A memorable example is of praising Satan suddenly
appearing in front of them and turning the encounter into a standup routine
featuring the Prince of Darkness.
In the
end, Yakko gets the big antic that sets all the Warners free. When he finds out his siblings have nothing
to beat Satan back Star Trek style,
he suddenly gives a literal take on the word “freeze frame” using a remote to
freeze all of Hades. This is the gag
that puts Satan at the end of his limit as he finally kicks the Warners out of
his domain while he laments how long it will take to get the pilot lit. The final scene places the Warners with St.
Peter at Heaven’s gate, implying similar antics to happen here. It’s a clever way to show that whether you
view them as good or bad, the Warners will always have great animated antics in
store for all moralities.
Genius gags
and comedy routines set against a creative take on the land of darkness make
this cartoon one of the show’s absolute high points.
A+
Moon Over
Minerva
When you watch the theme song, you’ll often notice a
character way in the back of the crowd shot near the end. Her name is Minerva Mink, a supporting
character who doesn’t have much material on this show. This is because her major shtick is showing
off how attractive she is, causing any male present to go crazy. In terms of her design, it shows that the crew
went all out in making her convincingly attractive to warrant such
reactions. However, for all the times
this show has gotten away with risqué material, Minerva’s premise was too much
for the censors. This is why in the
entire series, she only has two starring roles and mostly appears in cameos,
including one in a prior episode. Her
official debut as a main character aired second obviously so this one,
combining her main traits with horror elements, could air close to
Halloween. The material is fun and
enjoyable, though it suffers through some unfortunate implications.
Minerva’s most appealing traits come at the
beginning where she effortlessly flaunts her beauty while all the male forest
animals going crazy over her. She
doesn’t even take notice of their fuss and goes about her business. The actual business is the driving force of the
plot which isn’t the funniest or most interesting. Minerva writes about how she herself longs to
find a handsome man to pair up with, showing that for how men are weak around
her, she’s really no different. In fact,
she’s basically a love-struck teenage girl archetype, and a judgmental one at
that. She’s frequently courted by a
nerdy wolf named Wilford and she’s always quick to deny his requests for a
date. At first these seem fair, chalking
up to her clearly not being interested in Wilford who never gets the hint. Plus, the way Minerva seductively plays to
Wilford’s desires before snapping at him with rejection is kind of funny.
Then comes the horror element of the cartoon,
which honestly isn’t very frightening at all.
When a full moon rises, Wilford transforms, revealing to be a handsome werewolf. It’s a
clever twist to the werewolf concept and all, but it doesn’t really work in
Minerva’s favor. As long as Wilford
looks handsome, Minerva is totally in love with him, and whenever he turns back
to normal when the moon fades, she rejects him again. This makes Minerva very shallow and
opinionated, only liking men for their appearance. That can’t be seen as a healthy worldview. I mean what if a good-looking guy turns out
to be really dangerous? Granted that’s
not the case with Wilford, but it’s not a good standard to set in today’s more
cautious society or anyone with a mature mindset.
Yet, this cartoon is still enjoyable. Minerva is a lot of fun to watch as she
suddenly breaks from her calm, self-contained state when she sees the
transformed Wilford. The way she fawns
over his appearance, her confusion when he returns to normal, and her frantic
searches for the hunk bring a lot of energy and charm from her. Plus, the moment at the end when she learns
the truth about Wilford and plans a date at the next full moon is cutely
staged. It would all stand stronger if
it wasn’t a result of such shallowness.
This cartoon goes to show that Minerva has some charm and enjoyment, but
is far from the best character in the cast. It stands out more here with so
much emphasis on her fixation on the outside instead of the inside. As for her other starring role, that’s for
another day.
B
Skullhead Boneyhands
Mr. Skullhead has some interesting background. He first appeared on Tiny Toon Adventures as the main character of a show pitched by
Elmyra. Since then, he found new life on
Animaniacs mostly as the main
character of short in-between sketches, the Good Idea Bad Ideas. Those sketches often showcase humor for the
wacky dangerous alternatives to everyday tasks.
They especially work when the featured character is a walking pile of
bones one can do anything to with little consequence. This cartoon is the only time in the entire
series where Mr. Skullhead is the center of an actual story.
From its title, it’s a parody of Edward Scissorhands though since I’ve
never seen that movie, I won’t be able to say how close the cartoon follows
it. For what the cartoon is by itself
though, it’s not the strongest work of the show, but has solid entertainment
nonetheless. It pulls you in with plays
on the atmosphere starting with a suggestion of something threatening as a
cosmetics saleswoman arrives at a haunted castle. It even lasts as she walks past humorous bone
structures. However, it’s that visual
cue that allows for the sudden tone shift to make sense.
Mr. Skullhead suddenly appears out of the
shadows at the saleswoman, and anything threatening turns comedic. The idea of a living skeleton going after an
average woman sounds scary, but being non-threatening, Mr. Skullhead’s
appearance makes the scenario kind of funny.
Even more amusing is that the saleswoman treats him like a normal guy
despite knowing that he’s an unresponsive, emotionless skeleton. It’s the equivalent of talking to any
inanimate object, making for an absurd concept brought to life. What’s more, it’s made appealing by the
saleswoman’s friendly attitude as she takes him home, attempts to give him a
makeover, and even invites him to dinner.
All this is wholesome and all, but at times, it feels like this setup is
being taken too seriously like talks about Mr. Skullhead needing to make his
own living. Stuff like that doesn’t
really fit with something so ridiculous.
Thankfully, this is lessened somewhat when the fact that Mr. Skullhead
is just a pile of bones remains relevant.
There are a few visual gags to show this like how cosmetics look on him, milk spilling through his ribs as he drinks, and the family dog tearing
his bones apart. The latter gag is where
the cartoon ends with Mr. Skullhead’s bones getting buried which is commonly
expected to happen when dogs are involved.
It’s capped off by a mix of feels where after treating him so well, you
expect the family to be saddened by the end of this mysterious figure. Instead, they’re all nonchalant about it
considering at the end of the day, bones are bones, even if the daughter was
apparently going to marry him.
It’s
surprising how much amusement is mined out of people talking to a character
like Mr. Skullhead. It’s not the show at
its best, but I personally wouldn’t have minded if he got more starring roles
like this.
B+
Cartoon Ranking
- Hot Bothered and Bedeviled
- Phranken-Runt
- Jockey For Position
- Sir Yaksalot
- Potty Emergency
- Draculee Draculaa
- Babblin’ Bijou
- I Got Yer Can
- Moby or Not Moby
- Skullhead Boneyhands
- The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
- Moon Over Minerva
- Mesozoic Mindy
Miscellaneous Ranking
- Testimonials
- You Risk Your Life
That’s it
for the first disc. Next time we'll start on the second as the Warners deal with a jerky opera singer, Rita and Runt star in a more emotional than average cartoon set in World War II, and a Great Wakkorotti concert that's almost exactly the same as the last one.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the start of a new set of reviews for Steven Universe.
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