'Toon Reviews 20: Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 2 Episode 14: Bon Bon the Birthday Clown

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Bon Bon the Birthday Clown

In this double-length episode, the show begins to put a lot of focus on romance-related drama.  Normally this wouldn’t be the best course since bigger areas of the series require more drama, but how it’s presented here makes it work. 

For one thing, it’s an after effect from two different things Star and Marco do. Marco goes to a school dance with Jackie and Star joins Janna for a séance of a dead birthday clown.  The former activity shows that Marco has come a long way with being around Jackie, especially after the last episode. The latter is a creative activity backed by a flashback with one of the cutest death scenes I’ve seen. 

Each subplot has its own appeal to make them stand out.  The séance portion brings more charm from Star’s bond with Janna as they both see pleasure in finding out if the legend of Bon Bon is true. Adding to the charm is their enjoyable banter with Glossaryck who tags along.  As for Marco and Jackie, their chemistry is strong and does justice for Jackie’s character.  She’s quick to see Marco’s desperate attempts at conversations and lets him know that he doesn’t need to trouble himself. She reminds him that he’s good at picking himself up from any awkwardness.  Jackie is also a thrill seeker for opting to spend time with Marco as a date as opposed to going to the even more awkward school dance. 

Both subplots come together as the relationship drama kicks in.  It’s been hinted a few times this season that Star is getting a crush on Marco.  She was originally excited about going to the dance with him before Jackie invited him.  Despite technically being possessive, Star does know of Marco’s true crush and tries not to intrude when Jackie gets involved. Joining Janna for the séance makes it easier.  Star does allude to being justice over Marco and Jackie together, but does attempt to restrain her jealousy through subtle questions about why he’s going out with Jackie and not her.  She even puts a lot of effort into Bon Bon’s shrine, and only checks on Marco when the ghost clown doesn’t show up. 

However, circumstances lead her to the ultimate move to spy on him when she summons a forbidden dark magic spell from Eclipsa’s section of her spell book.  It lets her see Marco hanging out with Jackie instead of going to the dance.  Even crazier is that it lets her control the vision when her jealousy accidently gets her to shoot one of the wheels on Jackie’s skateboard.  Star is kept likable for regretting the action though. 

We also get a big climax for the episode when she and Janna are ambushed by Ludo and his associates.  The ensuing battle is one of the show’s most evenly matched with many big and creative spells from both Star and Ludo’s wands. It eventually looks like Star will win with a black hole spell sucking Ludo up.  However, Marco showing up with Jackie causes the spell to backfire with Star about to get sucked in.  The confrontation ends with an intense moments of all four teens saving themselves from getting sucked.  Even so, Ludo steals Star’s spell book with Glossaryck in tow. 

The big thing about this is that while there is still some drama over crushes, the fact that Star’s spell book is gone is treated like the bigger deal it is.  That offers a huge direction to take the show in.  It’s not easy to treat romance drama tactfully, but through strong efforts of restraining it in favor of bigger plot points and charming character moments, it all works out to something great.

A+

The Ranking

1. Bon Bon the Birthday Clown
2. Ludo in the Wild
3. Into the Wand
4. Hungry Larry
5. Game of Flags
6. On the Job
7. Sleepover
8. Is Mystery
9. Naysaya
10. Mr. Candle Cares
11. Wand to Wand
12. Page Turner
13. Starstruck
14. Girls’ Day Out
15. By the Book
16. Friendenemies
17. Gift of the Card
18. Starsitting
19. Star on Wheels
20. Camping Trip
21. My New Wand
22. Red Belt
23. Spider with a Top Hat
24. Star vs Echo Creek
25. Fetch
26. Goblin Dogs
27. Pizza Thing

The next Star vs the Forces of Evil review covers the follow-up to this episode as Star and Marco make their first attempt to get Glossaryck and the spell book back, and the show hits a new low when Star meets a birthday magician and everyone is too dense to believe her discoveries that his magic is real.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is another Xiaolin Showdown episode, "Chameleon."

If you would like to check out other Star vs the Forces of Evil reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 19: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Season 1 Episode 21: You Have to Care

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

You Have to Care

It’s easy to assume that characters are just born a certain way for no rhyme or reason.  However, when something looks into a character’s past, an outlook on them can change drastically. 

Enid wants to be left alone as much as possible and does not seem to care when socializing.  Despite this, we’ve seen that Enid is more complex than this.  She can be friendly and caring around friendly people. She has limits to her introverting. She has learned not to be put off by unreasonable customers from her boss. She's self-conscious about the aspects of her character.  The root of her uncaring mannerisms is revealed here. 

A hero from P.O.I.N.T. Prep Academy, an esteemed school for heroes in training, named Elodie, comes to Lakewood Plaza Turbo.  With a grand entrance and flamboyance, it makes sense that everyone is so impressed.  As for Enid, she wants nothing to do with Elodie, which is far more extreme than her usual tendencies to not care. Through trying to be apathetic, Enid strongly hints that she’s hurt by Elodie’s presence.  Being very caring himself, K.O. investigates Enid’s problem, and learns the reasons for the tension. 

It turns out that Enid used to be best friends with Elodie. Their first meeting seems like a great place to start having only seen each other in passing prior, and being impressed by little things like each other’s moves.  A subsequent montage of little moments of them having fun further sells them legitimately loving being together.  However, things changed when they learned P.O.I.N.T. Prep was looking for potential students. This meant Enid and Elodie would have to compete against each other to get in.  Because of how endearing her friendship with Elodie seemed to be, it’s believable that Enid would have it in high regard, offering Elodie a necklace to show how much she meant to her. The symbolism stood out when Enid held back from fighting Elodie during the combat portion of the entrance exam.  That’s why there’s such a huge sting when after Elodie wins the exam, she tells Enid their friendship was a ruse to get into the school. 

With so many great moments between her and Elodie, it’s heartbreaking for Enid to hear this.  It speaks volumes about her not socializing with most people now to avoid disappointment.  In the present, actual endearment leads Enid to do something about her built up turmoil, made all the more touching that it comes from little K.O.  Enid takes a chance and cares about all the matter of Elodie, facing her in a sparring match in hopes to work things out.  With a great display of her powers showing she’s come a long way, Enid settles her animosity with her supposed old friend by winning the match.  It’s too bad the crowd is really dense, showing more concern for Elodie losing just because she’s popular. 

Despite this drawback, the conclusion is well done and big on humanity.  In addition to Enid feeling better about her past, there are a few hints that work in Elodie’s favor.  Enid realizes Elodie learned about the contest after they became friends, and Elodie still has the friendship necklace.  Her limo driver even says a line suggesting Elodie only came to the plaza to see her old friend.  It’s not clear, but it’s a strong possibility that their old friendship was genuine after all.  It’s an engaging topic worth looking into in the future and offers hope that Elodie has more depth than she lets on.  This leaves the whole cartoon as an amazing display of emotion and character moments.

A+

The Ranking

1. Face Your Fears
2. You Have to Care
3. Legends of Mr. Gar
4. We’ve Got Pests
5. I Am Dendy
6. You Get Me
7. Let’s Be Heroes
8. You’re Everybody’s Sidekick
9. Jethro’s All Yours
10. Know Your Mom
11. Everybody Likes Rad?
12. We’re Captured
13. My Dad Can Beat up Your Dad
14. Let’s Be Friends
15. We Messed Up
16. Presenting Joe Cuppa
17. Sibling Rivalry
18. Just Be a Pebble
19. Do You Have Any More in the Back?
20. You’re Level 100
21. You Are Rad

The next OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode features Rad host a party for the entire plaza which is held back by sticking too much to the rules.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the Star vs the Forces of Evil episode "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown."

If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 20: Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 2 Episode 13: Page Turner/Naysaya

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Page Turner

As Star’s trainer, Glossaryck often uses riddles or vague statements to teach her how work her wand.  Confusing as they are, there’s a certain charm to his teachings, and he mostly knows what he’s doing. This is the case in this episode when Star is interested in learning a forbidden spell, and Glossaryck is hesitant to let her do it.  He then becomes the episode’s main focus when he’s called to meet with a major group of Mewni known as the Magic High Commission. 

Learning about them takes a while when Glossaryck is told by Sean, the security guard, that magic isn’t allowed.  Glossaryck has to go to the top floor on foot while being tailed by Sean to make sure he sticks to the rule.  Although the moments of him getting up to the top floor aren’t exciting, it is interesting to see Glossaryck constantly get messed with by Sean.  He’s putting up with vague information, like what Star puts up with from him.  Sean sends him through a magic detector which detects lots of magical stuff on him and none on someone clearly carrying that stuff.  Then he messes with Glossaryck by acting like he forgot where he’s going.  Finally, he makes the elevator stop at every floor.  While this behavior takes away time to see the Magic High Commission, Glossaryck dealing with his own difficult person after being one himself makes these scenes bearable. 

Eventually, Glossaryck snaps and uses magic anyway to get to the top of the building, and there don't seem to be any negative consequences.  Then we finally meet the Magic High Commission, consisting of some creatively designed creatures. There's a goat man, a living scull inside a sphere, a princess with a flame over her head, and a crystal shooting creature with snakes for hands called Rhombulus.   The biggest factor to the Magic High Commission is that Queen Moon is in charge.  It’s big new information to expand on Moon’s role.  Even bigger is a mention of something setting an interesting plot point in motion. Someone is draining magic from the universe, the Magic High Commission is investigating it, and it means Star has to master her wand faster. 

During this time, while frustrated with what he had to put up with, Glossaryck reveals how Eclipsa was the only queen who let him teach his way.  He also says that Eclipsa is the writer of the spell that intrigued Star so much, making the promise of what’s to come even vaster.  As for Star’s interest in that spell, it connects to the final point where Glossaryck reveals that he teaches the way he does because it’s what’s right for Star.  This is an endearing way to show that for all the frustration he brings, deep down he gets his pupil.  On a side note, it’s nice to see Moon understand what Glossaryck is laying down agreeing she should be more trusting of her daughter training to become a queen. 

Although more time could’ve been spent on the big reveal, this is still a strong starring role for Glossaryck. There's development for how he works as a mentor, and uncovering interesting facts of Mewni’s inner workings.

A-

Naysaya

Starting in an early part of Season 1, much of Marco’s character has been defined by his crush on Jackie Lynn Thomas. As is the case with most crush plot threads in shows, he’s too nervous to confess his love.  Even after he admitted his crush earlier this season, he’s still very nervous around her.  In fact, it gets to the point where he's saying uncomfortable remarks to her. As the episode goes on, Marco saying such disturbing things while talking to Jackie seem to go beyond nervousness.  He starts writing such things too. 

All this awkward talk reaches its freaky point when Marco sprouts a little growth on his neck. This growth is the source of the inappropriate comments.  Just as the growth’s existence looks like a plot hole, the supernatural specialist of the cast, Janna, looks into it. She deduces that it’s called a naysaya, a demon curse that appears whenever someone’s trying to win over a lover and proceeds to reveal its victim’s darkest secrets.  It’s pretty commendable that the episode explains why the naysaya is here, and even adds to the background.  Marco interrogates the only demon he knows , Tom, who cursed him with it.  It was all in the name of making Marco not ask out Star.  The naysaya will also last last until it says all of Marco’s secrets. 

All this information makes Marco’s problem a creative highlight of the episode, and the subsequent scenes of Marco meeting its demands to keep it silent are funny.  You’d think a demon growth would want Marco to do something embarrassing or even evil against his will.  It turns out to want frivolous things like eating cereal.  As for whether or not the naysaya holds up its end of the bargain, it does seem loyal at first.  Marco and Jackie finally have a normal, civil conversation and become more like a couple worth supporting.  Then, in an ultimate jerk move, the naysaya goes back on its promise and keeps spilling dark secrets.  The only reason we have for this is that it doesn’t know what a promise is, and I suppose that makes sense. 

Marco comes clean about the cursed growth to Jackie. While many other kids are realistically weirded out, Jackie listens to Marco and understand where he’s coming from.  What’s more, Marco beats the naysaya to the punch by revealing all his darkest secrets on his own, leaving the naysaya with nothing more to say.  As for Jackie, she continues to be one of the most open-minded love interests.  She accepts Marco’s secrets, and even describes one of them as deep.  Marco gets a movie date set with her, and it actually feels nice to see the naysaya come along with them as a last request. 

At the end of the day, even if the secrets it revealed were embarrassing and annoying, the naysaya was still doing what’s part of its nature.  It was mostly an innocent being with reasonable requests, so it feels like it warrants a happy ending just as much as Marco does.  On the whole, this episode is a creative escapade with strong character moments to officially win Marco his dream crush.

A

The Ranking

1. Ludo in the Wild
2. Into the Wand
3. Hungry Larry
4. Game of Flags
5. On the Job
6. Sleepover
7. Is Mystery
8. Naysaya
9. Mr. Candle Cares
10. Wand to Wand
11. Page Turner
12. Starstruck
13. Girls’ Day Out
14. By the Book
15. Friendenemies
16. Gift of the Card
17. Starsitting
18. Star on Wheels
19. Camping Trip
20. My New Wand
21. Red Belt
22. Spider with a Top Hat
23. Star vs Echo Creek
24. Fetch
25. Goblin Dogs
26. Pizza Thing

The next Star vs the Forces of Evil review is on a double-length episode where Star finds it hard to accept the new Marco and Jackie pairing while awaiting Bon Bon the Birthday Clown.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews, you have to care that "You Have to Care" from OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes will be reviewed.

If you would like to check out other Star vs the Forces of Evil reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.