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Episode 29
Draculee
Draculaa
The following two episodes are examples of how well this show
handles holidays. Since they both
feature spooky-themed cartoons, this means they’re appropriate for
Halloween. Episode 29’s Halloween spirit
starts with this cartoon of the Warners encountering Dracula.
They’re on their way to Pennsylvania to meet
their parents, pencils (get it?). If you
ask me though, pencils should really be seen as God since they play a role in creating all
cartoon characters.
That aside, the true focus is on the kids, who are actually in
Transylvania, finding a place to spend the night. In their usual cartoony fashion, they choose
a scary castle over two convenient safer options letting the audience know that
they’re just following the plot.
This means they’re heading into danger and know it, but are brave enough
to face it. After all, using hilarious
antics to face any threat is what they do despite not many people doing so in
real life.
The scary castle they stay at
is home to Dracula, if the setting of Transylvania wasn’t obvious enough. His first impression is borderline
intimidating, which would make the most appropriate response to be intimidated
and scared. However, the Warners are as
excited as ever to meet their vampire host with overly friendly greetings and
comparing him to other vampires and caped figures of pop culture. These types of antics are really funny
already, but the hilarity grows as much as the stakes do when Dracula sets his
sight on sucking Dot’s blood.
For much
of the cartoon from here, the vampire plots to do just that while also give the
other Warners a fright. Through it all,
the Warners are clearly wise to all of Dracula’s scheme, and delight with how
they fight back through their winning brand of antics. Some of their antics are sticking to wild
suggestions about him like talking to him like an Amish person based on how
he’s dressed. Other antics dare to mock
Dracula’s fearsome powers. An example is
when he turns into a big vampire bat while Wakko nonchalantly flies up to him
and whacks him with a baseball bat. The
gag’s execution kind of makes you wish handling an actual vampire bat would be
that easy.
The most effective antics
however are those that completely catch you by surprise. The best one to me is when Dracula is alone
with Dot who’s in bed and he’s finally ready to suck her blood. However each Warner suddenly pops in to
rapidly and accurately guess the horrible thing he’s about to do, brush his
fangs, and even rip them out for Dot to wear as earrings. Then they all throw Dracula’s scheme for a
loop when they make him part of an impromptu slumber party. I bet most of you probably couldn’t even
imagine Dracula in a scenario like that.
All these antics bring an interesting twist where Dracula, the supposed
monster, is the one who’s terrified. It
really goes to show how cartoons can make anything possible to outsmart
enemies. In fact, it almost works too
well since Dracula running scared of the Warners makes him a little too
sympathetic for his legit torment. At
least the Warners’ antics are still hilarious as they randomly appear in
Dracula’s coffin to mess with him and expose him to the morning. Also, the cartoon is just about over by then,
so the Warners just leave to really get to Pennsylvania this time…not before
making Dracula destroy his castle though.
This cartoon astounds for how great the Warners stand against a famous
monster with humor and charisma. It kind
of makes you wonder who the real terror is.
A
Phranken-Runt
For this episode’s second spooky-themed cartoon, here’s an
amazing combination of cartoonish humor and the soul and showiness of Rita and
Runt. Cartoons of this cat and dog stand
out from the others with stronger emphasis on drama and heartfelt ballads. Still, Rita and Runt can work in any
background, including this one of a Frankenstein plot.
The featured mad scientist is a literal
crooked woman and social outcast with an Elmer Fudd-like lisp, Dr. Phrankenstein. Her creative design, lively
performance, and believable reasons for villainy make her an appealing antagonist. Along with her rat assistant, Mr. Squeak,
Phrakenstein creates a monster dog named Scout to use to attack villages. The problems are that Scout is much more
interested in being treated like a normal dog, and a single lightning shock
ruins his brain. The latter problem
moves the plot when Phrankenstein cabinet has many brains, including the small
ones of TV executives, but no dog brains.
This is where Rita and Runt come in, having just gotten kicked out of
another monster’s home and are trying for two.
Their attempt is capitalized by one of the best aspects of these cartoons,
Rita’s song. “Let’s Try For Two” is
hands-down her best one in the series. The
singing talents from Bernadette Peters along with the big band instrumentals are
just lively. Even when she and Runt just
explore the area surrounding Phrankenstein’s lab, the energy of the song makes
it feel like more is happening. Finally,
it advances the plot by getting Phrankenstein’s attention since she needs a dog
brain, so she takes Runt in to extract his brain for Scout. The nature of Rita and Runt cartoons is
really put to great use to have a song like that get the plot going.
What’s more, it subverts the usual formula
with Rita needing to save Runt when most cartoons have it the other way
around. All the while, Phrankenstein
continues to charm as an antagonist through acting warm and loving towards Runt
despite wanting to remove his brain. Speaking of Runt, his lack of intelligence,
while making him a clueless victim, is also charming as he believes
Phrankenstein strapping him to a table is her tucking him in for a nap. It also makes for a short humorous banter
with Rita who responds with a gameshow question of how many brain cells a dog
has after coming to save him. The
following chase from Mr. Squeak as they both escape the castle adds to the
excitement with a little action and physical comedy. Runt’s clumsiness
is also productive there as he knocks over armor suits while running which stops Mr. Squeak in his
tracks.
As for Scout, who’s revived by
another sudden lightning blast, he proves to be fully aware of his surroundings
despite behaving like a real dog instead of a monster. When Phrankenstein and Mr. Squeak pop his
favorite ball, he defeats them before running off as his own dog. It’s actually nice for Scout to run off for a
better life after his masters’ mistreatment went too far, even if he is a
monster. Then the whole cartoon is
capped off with a grand finish of one last worn out, yet endearing moment from
Phrankenstein and a reprise of Rita’s earlier song.
For bringing together great theatrical
qualities along with solid humor, action, and character interactions, this is
easily one of, if not the best of Rita and Runt.
A+
Cartoon Ranking
- Phranken-Runt
- Jockey For Position
- Sir Yaksalot
- Potty Emergency
- Draculee Draculaa
- Babblin’ Bijou
- I Got Yer Can
- Moby or Not Moby
- The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
- Mesozoic Mindy
- Testimonials
- You Risk Your Life
The next Animaniacs review continue with the Halloween spirit as the Warners encounter Satan, Minerva Mink dates a werewolf, and Mr. Skullhead is featured in an Edward Scissorhands parody.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes' "Plazalympics."
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