'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 5: Making the Grade/Vantastic Voyage

Making the Grade

She may have the creative trait of being so smart at such a young age, but Lisa is the Loud sibling who really doesn’t do much for me.  It could be because her intellect makes her such a buzzkill for the world around her or that everyone else has a lot more entertainment and likability than her.  However, when there’s a cartoon focusing on Lisa, there’s always a good chance for character development from her.  In this case, we do get a little bit of it.  It’s nothing spectacular, but it makes for a good cartoon.  Since she’s an established child prodigy, it’s only natural that Lisa would want to move up from her usual kindergarten class.  That’s what she does in this cartoon, and the only grade she can go up to is Lincoln’s 5^th grade class.  While there, she one-ups the entire class in every subject leaving more work for them who proceed to turn against Lincoln because he’s her brother, including some of his friends which is one major concerning point for the cartoon.  With a move this harsh especially from people he’s close to, Lincoln is driven to beg Lisa to lay off on her genius nature.  The way Lisa responds to Lincoln’s request does at least show that even with her pride, she’s willing to please him however she can.  She changes her image both physically which includes not needing her glasses, and mentally through making sure she doesn’t always give the right answer and prompts herself to start reckless acts like food fights.  It’s an instance of Lisa going above and beyond with giving what Lincoln wants, and it’s nice to see him accepted by his friends again.  However, how Lisa changes herself doesn’t completely do justice for her character since she goes too above and beyond through acting too cool at home instead of just school, meaning she can’t help with the usual menial tasks she always does.  Not only do we see instances of this countless times with Lisa repeating that she’s out of a certain game which can get annoying, but it also subjects Lincoln to scorn and angry looks from the family.  I shouldn’t be too mad at this since this did happen because Lincoln wanted Lisa to change, but Lisa didn’t have to change herself at home which Lincoln even says.  Plus, even if he is somewhat in the wrong, all the animosity he gets is another concern point since everyone acts like he’s terrible just because he made a mistake.  The conclusion is solid enough though when a class of strep throat-stricken kindergarteners convinces Lincoln to get Lisa to be smart again, she saves the kids and decides to move back to kindergarten, and Lincoln’s friends even regret being mean to him and excluding him earlier.  Lisa still isn’t all that interesting since most time is spent on how Lincoln feels about her intellect than her herself which affects the cartoon’s quality along with the points of concern I mentioned.  Still, the good moments Lisa has and the story’s solid flow to a good conclusion make for an overall good watch nonetheless. 8/10

Vantastic Voyage

With a big family comes the need for a really big car, and the Louds are known to have one big enough for them.  However, being big enough doesn’t always mean it’s suitable for them with the big car frequently being shown to be in poor condition throughout the series and especially at the start of the cartoon which includes a humorous outcome of Lola riding on top while the kids push it.  Despite the car’s historical significance to the family, which nicely gives credibility to a brief exclamation from “The Sweet Spot,” the logical step of getting a new car is taken.  In another form of all the kids working as one unit, we get an entertaining set of moments of getting Dad, the one most attached to the old car, on board with replacing it.  It doesn’t take long for Dad to be fully convinced, but even when he goes out to get a new car, conflicts just keep arising.  For the rest of the cartoon, Dad is completely obsessed with the new car and refuses to let anything happen to it, determined to keep it looking nice and to make sure it always has good mileage.  Stuff like this is nothing new in TV shows, and his obsessions can be fun at parts.  Other times, they can be pretty exasperating to put up with like only taking the family for a drive that never goes past the driveway, ignoring his family’s needs for rides, and even proposes to it.  The latter part really blows his feelings towards the new van beyond simple obsession.  He’s even thinking of the car over his own wife up to the point of not caring that she’s driving with another good-looking man.  That is so not the makings of a good family man.  Anyway, the kids, as well as Mom for that matter, show off even more teamwork to snap Dad out of his new car craze by trying to convince him to trade it in to get the old one back.  Now, while they do have their reasons to get it back, there’s still the fact that the car doesn’t work properly and that the new van is the better way to go.  At least there’s some humor in their new convincing attempts which show off some of the better moments of Dad’s obsession, as well as a subplot of Lori and Leni using a car from the dealer to go places under the guise of a test drive, convincing the salesman to go along with it in the process.  Back to Dad, it is great that he decides that it’s somewhat depressing to drive alone, on his own terms at that, and actively seeks to make amends.  While the following scene of him and the family rushing to the junk yard to save their old car is staged appropriately dramatic and intense, you’re constantly wondering why they even bother saving their old car.  It would still be shown that Dad’s gotten over his obsession if he kept the new car and drive it with his family, so why do they even need to go back to their old car?  His change of heart really would not be any different if he and the family kept the new and obviously better car.  Again, the old car has noticeable problems that don’t make it useful anymore as the ending with the kids once again pushing it shows, so the ending isn’t all that satisfying due to the questionable mindset.  At least Dad has a better appreciation for his family, so we can’t say that nothing was accomplished.  This cartoon has its heart in the right place about the importance of family and we have more of the teamwork trend between all the siblings and strong comedy, but questionable directions with Dad’s new van obsession and head-scratchers on getting the old car back as a resolution are issues too big to ignore. 7/10

The Ranking

1. 11 Louds a Leapin’
2. Baby Steps
3. Suite and Sour
4. Back in Black
5. The Old and the Restless
6. Intern for the Worse
7. Making the Grade
8. Vantastic Voyage
9. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the friendlier side of the relationship of Lana and Lola is shown as they're "Patching Things Up" as Bluebell scouts, and rumors arise that Bobby might be a "Cheater by the Dozen."

If you would like to check out other Loud House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.