'Toon Reviews 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 7

Picture Perfect

 

 

 

 

 

This cartoon is one of the strongest displays of the show’s theme of appreciating what you have in life.  It comes through in flying colors as we watch Lincoln strive to put together a perfect picture of his sisters and pets for his parents’ anniversary.  After his picture fails to meet his expectations when his sister’s fail to hold still and turn to their main interests, Lincoln sets out to take another one that he hopes will come out perfect.  We get a large set of funny moments of Lincoln getting his sisters outside to take another picture, each one demonstrating the appealing personalities of all 10 of the girls.  At the same time, we also start to see Lincoln go about making his picture perfect the wrong way that causes discomfort to the sisters.  He starts off tame with actions like swapping Lisa’s glasses and Leni’s shades and taking Luna’s guitar and Luan’s funny nose and glasses saying that they won’t get them back unless they’re in the picture.  Then he starts getting really ridiculous by changing his sisters’ appearances, complete with everyone wearing ugly red and green sweaters.  I think a line from Luna sums up Lincoln’s behavior perfectly: “This picture thing has changed you dude.”  Ultimately, Lincoln ends up getting the picture he wants, albeit unintentionally making his sisters feel bad for being themselves in the process, but after that is when the theme really comes into play.  As Lincoln goes through the house, he notices all his sisters enjoying themselves by doing what shows off who they really are, and gets more happiness from this portrayal of his sisters than their “perfect” portrayal in the picture.  It’s actually a moving scene that gets its message across without any actual dialogue which really gives this cartoon some value.  Finally, it’s followed up by a noble act from Lincoln where instead of his “perfect” picture, he presents Mom and Dad with the old picture that perfectly shows off who his sisters really are and define what life in the Loud House is all about.  Truly, it’s a fitting way of showing that for all its quirks and what not, the life you live is truly worth appreciating.  With that, I call this cartoon another strong entry of this season. 9.5/10

 Undie Pressure

 

 

 

 

 

By now, you can tell that all of the Loud siblings are very distinctive when it comes to personalities, but this cartoon is a great example of how even though they’re very different, there are common ties between them all, and that makes their sibling bonds a lot stronger.  With that in mind, we’re in for an amazing experience from this show.  It all unfolds when Lola gets annoyed by Lincoln’s habit of reading comics in his underwear which leads to everyone betting that they can go without resorting to their habits than longer Lincoln can.  From then on, we’re treated to more awesome moments that show off why the Loud siblings are such a lovable bunch.  Some siblings lose the bet almost immediately, but then we’re treated to most of them trying so hard to not do their habits only to eventually crack under pressure and do what makes them feel comfortable.  By the end, when Lincoln and Lola are only left standing, you’re already tense with anticipation to see who will win, especially since Lola, striving to not look at herself in a mirror as part of the bet, begins to come off as demented and monster-like which is very fitting of her frightening side introduced in “Sound of Silence.”  The tension just escalates when both she and Lincoln resort to extreme means of winning the bet with Lola making Lincoln feel uncomfortable in the pants area by turning up the heat, and Lincoln polishing every surface in the house for Lola to potentially look at herself.  Each part of the bet is really a lot of fun with no dull moments in sight all thanks to the characters we’re exposed to.  Eventually, the bet comes to an amusing end when Lincoln loses in a highly clever way with Lily turning out victorious since she didn’t cry the entire time, something that even the audience most likely would not have been able to pay attention to.  However, there’s a really strong moment of sibling love that closes everything off.  Lola sees Lincoln, who’s now required to always read comics with his clothes on, feeling uncomfortable and she feels bad for him.  It’s here where we’re introduced to another side of Lola’s character, and one we wouldn’t expect to see from someone like her at that.  She’s able to show genuine sympathy when her siblings are in emotional turmoil and take it upon herself to do something about it.  That’s just what she does when she buys Lincoln the special undies he would’ve gotten if he won the bet, and later lets him off the hook, saying that since all the sisters can’t give up what they like, Lincoln shouldn’t give up his.  It’s a revelation like this that really sells the appeal of the Loud siblings’ relationship, and succeeds at being a perfect end to a practically perfect cartoon.  This is one that’s big on the entertainment, as well as the deepness of the characters’ bonds; it’s impossible not to love what goes on here. 10/10

The Ranking

1.      Undie Pressure

2.      Project Loud House

3.      Space Invader

4.      Driving Miss Hazy

5.      Left in the Dark

6.      Picture Perfect

7.      No Guts No Glori

8.      Sound of Silence

9.      A Tale of Two Tables

10.  In Tents Debate

11.  The Sweet Spot

12.  Heavy Meddle

13.  Get the Message

14.  Making the Case

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode of the season which gets in some summertime fun with "Linc or Swim" and features a starring role for Lily in "Changing the Baby."