Episode 37
Dough Dough
Boys
A few things make this cartoon stronger than the usual
Goodfeathers fare. For one thing,
instead of the usual city setting, the pigeons are placed in an intense
historical setting, the Western Front during World War I. They signed up for the war
effort for the sole purpose of becoming heroes.
All the way, there’s a humorous play on the fact that they’re pigeons
meaning they can’t understand what the humans in charge are saying. Their attitude to this makes sense seeing
that animals can’t understand humans in real life. This observation makes the Goodfeathers think
they have a chance to be heroes when the humans need them to carry a message
ordering a retreat to another general.
It may be a sting that they think they’re delivering something important
and heroic when that’s not the case, but since they can’t understand the
humans, that hardly matters.
The whole
matter of the Goodfeathers needing to fly through enemy territory to deliver a
message makes for a grander story than usual for the characters. It has much more weight to it than usual with
the pain they usually endure feeling appropriate for where they are. A big drawback with Goodfeathers cartoons is
that they’re too reliant on hurting the titular birds for comedy. It gets especially bad when the pain loses its cartoonish edge which is not appropriate for this type of series. Here, with them flying in a war zone, any
pain they encounter is much more acceptable. In a setting with so many things that can
hurt or kill people, pain should be more expected than ever and make the
Goodfeathers’ mission much more intense.
The painful obstacles are of a much grander scale than normal. Rather than getting slammed or run over, they
have to dodge the more unconventional messages in the air, as well as in mine
fields below. While they still don’t
look too cartoonish after the blows, the nature of the setting makes their pain
more tolerable than usual.
No
matter what happens, the Goodfeathers’ dynamic makes the cartoon enjoyable. Squit has the most uncertainty to the dangerous
task since he’s the one carrying the message.
Bobby meanwhile constantly tries to be cool and reassuring despite
Pesto’s shorter than average temper.
Speaking of which, Bobby and Pesto’s banter brings some particular
comedic highlights. The biggest one is
at the mine field when Pesto takes offense of Bobby asking him what a sign says
only to give an edgy response after Bobby goes in and gets blown up.
Aside from comedy, all three Goodfeathers
come together for an exciting climax where the cartoon’s at its most
intense. They’re thwarted by an enemy
plane and try to outwit it by having it chase them to the sun and beat them
with a big zeppelin balloon. It’s a rare
extreme action scene for this comedy show, and while it plays out as exciting
as one would expect, it’s still very impactful.
As for the mission, it turns out to be a waste when the Goodfeathers
arrive too late with the general winning a battle after ignoring the retreat
order. Once again, them not
understanding humans makes this misfortune work, and it’s satisfying that they
feel like heroes for what they braved.
The
use of the war zone as a backdrop is a huge benefit to this cartoon. Through making the Goodfeathers’ constant
pain work, bringing out great character moments, and working in solid action,
it’s one of these birds’ better works.
A
Boot
Camping
No matter what trouble they find themselves in, it’s great
that the Warners usually make the best of things to hilarious effect. It’s especially funny when they enter
expecting things to go one way, and stick to that mindset even when if it's wrong
and the jerk present gets the short end of the stick.
For this cartoon, they come off a bus
expecting to go to camp and wind up at camp…boot camp that is. This is something I can’t picture most people
willingly going to unless they’re up for the challenge. Going off of depictions of it in media, I see
boot camp as a relentless organization of the most grueling of exercises run by
the most unsupportive people.
The drill
sergeant in charge of the boot camp here really fits the tropes I’m used to
seeing about the place. In addition to
being tough, bitter, and not a friendly guy to be around, he actually delights
in “fresh meat” coming for him to brutalize while training. It goes without saying that he gets what’s
coming for him when the Warners are among the “fresh meat.” Despite the boot camp clearly not being the
camp they were intended to attend, the Warners treat it like it is which
proceeds to annoy the drill sergeant.
The ways they annoy him fit their indescribable brand of comedy from
taking “fall-in” commands literally to constantly insisting he’s the camp
counsellor.
Even when they’re in a place
of hardships and unrelenting torment, the Warners impressively adjust to it
with their mindsets as their first moments with the drill sergeant show. Another moment that demonstrates this is
Wakko visiting a barber who wants to shave his head. Wakko responds to the request to take off his
hat by revealing many hats underneath, and then painting a shaved hair section
back in before putting his trademark hat back on. It’s a funny way of showing that no matter
where they are, the Warners will always be true to themselves.
The direction does seem to contradict itself
when the Warners feel discomfort about being in the army and say they want to
leave at one point. Not that it’s an
inappropriate way to feel about the situation, but it doesn’t fit with how
well-adjusted they are to the boot camp for the rest of the cartoon. It shows even more through a following set of
antics where they nonchalantly approach training exercises clearly too intense
for beginners. Dot spray-painting her
boots in a cuter color and the funny ways the kids dig a foxhole are a joy. However, their brand of comedy
grows in the following scenes of tricking the drill sergeant into getting blown
up by a grenade and having him fall without a parachute. The humor gets more extreme as the cartoon continues
and usually works out. That’s not to say
it always works out completely since the drill sergeant’s pain sometimes looks
too real especially through how he hits the ground after falling without a parachute. As for the ending, it feels too abrupt for the
drill sergeant to suddenly appear dressed as a scout to take the Warners on the
fun camping trip they came for. There
could’ve been more build-up to it, but at least it goes for the most
appropriate route possible.
Still, this
cartoon is both funny and impressive for all the laughs taken from the Warners
adjusting to someplace so strenuous to the average person.
A-
General
Boo-Regard
After a cartoon about World War I and boot camp, this
army-themed episode closes with a Chicken Boo cartoon taking place during the
Civil War. This time, as part of his
ever-formulaic nature, he’s General Boo-Regard, the most revered of all the
Confederate soldiers.
His constant
praise makes him comparable to his real-life counterpart, General
Beauregard. In my research, he had many
noteworthy Civil War victories like the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of
Shiloh, and the Second Battle of Petersburg.
With this in mind, it’s interesting that two of these events are
referenced when Chicken Boo first arrives at the featured Confederate troop’s
camp.
I’d like to give special credit to
the staging of his arrival. After it’s announced
that General Boo-Regard is coming, a silhouette of a man on a horse appears,
suggesting the presence of a true war hero.
It makes the moment where the shadow fades revealing a giant,
realistic-looking chicken on a horse all the funnier.
However, for all the praise built up about
Chicken Boo’s latest façade and that he usually shows his greatness before
losing his disguise, his battle is disappointing. Just as the Union troop cowers and the
Confederates are about to attack, Chicken Boo’s disguise falls apart within one
cannon blast. This part of the Chicken
Boo formula just shows up before anything truly grand and defining can
happen.
While this is disappointing, the
reactions to the war hero being a chicken feels more satisfying than
usual. Rather than being mad at him for
being a fraud, the Confederates, and the Union men for that matter, react in a
way appropriate for seeing a giant chicken.
Considering earlier statements of how hungry the troop was and an
observation that Chicken Boo is big enough to feed an army, everyone fights
over who gets to eat him. While bad for
the giant chicken, I’d take this outcome over him being berated for being a
chicken while his genuine talents are ignored.
Not to mention, he never really showed his talents and he does get away
from the troops, leaving them to fight each other. That right there is an especially funny way
of looking at a battle. From a distance,
you’d think the troops are fighting over the well-being of the United States,
but they’re actually fighting over who gets to eat a giant chicken. It’s a ridiculous perception of this historic
war, but is nicely executed.
Above all,
cartoons like this prove that in spite of being the same thing every time,
Chicken Boo can turn out noteworthy entertainment.
A
Cartoon Ranking
Chairman of
the Bored
Hot
Bothered and Bedeviled
Bubba Bo
Bob Brain
Baghdad Café
In the
Garden of Mindy
Critical
Condition
O Silly Mio
Phranken-Runt
The Three
Muska-Warners
Clown and
Out
Jockey For
Position
Sir
Yaksalot
Potty
Emergency
General
Boo-Regard
Puttin’ on
the Blitz
Dough Dough
Boys
The Big
Kiss
Draculee
Draculaa
Babblin’
Bijou
No Place
Like Homeless
I Got Yer
Can
Astro-Buttons
Boot
Camping
Moby or Not
Moby
Noah’s Lark
Skullhead
Boneyhands
The Good,
the Boo, and the Ugly
Hiccup
Moon Over
Minerva
Katie
Ka-Boo
Mesozoic
Mindy
Miscellaneous Ranking
Animaniacs
Stew
Testimonials
Cartoons in
Wakko’s Body
You Risk
Your Life
The Great
Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert
Song Ranking
The Planets
The next Animaniacs review turns medieval in an episode completely starring Pinky and the Brain.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews in OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes "Let's Watch the Pilot."
If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
