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Episode 40
Casablanca Opening
There have been cold openers that have parodied theme songs
of old TV shows. For this episode, the
first thing we see is a parody of a famous movie scene. That scene is from the famous classic Warner
Bros. film of the 1940s.
Like some of
the best parody openers, it starts off one way before completely catching the
audience off-guard with a surprise joke.
We begin with the heartfelt and dramatic tone of the actual scene as
Humphrey Bogart’s character tells Ingrid Bergman that he has to leave her
for her protection. It’s even a
word-for-word recitation of the lines from the actual movie. However, just as you’re invested in the
emotional authenticity, comedy suddenly appears when Berman turns out to be Dot all along.
Since Bogart happens to be handsome, she proceeds to jump in his arms
and kiss him like crazy while the director demands a cut.
It’s surprise comedy that makes these parody
openers so successful. They’re just one
of many ways this animated series is truly one of a kind.
A
Fair Game
As endlessly entertaining as the Warners are, it’s important
to note that their antics are usually meant to be interpreted as them annoying
people. You’d think
that wouldn’t make them very good characters, but from an audience perspective,
the ways they annoy people almost always make them so funny. They’re true annoying lengths are typically
reserved for jerks or villains. In this
cartoon’s case, they’re used for an average man just doing his job.
His name is Ned Flat, host of the game show, Quiz Me Quick where all contestants have
to do is answer questions and win frankly lackluster prizes. The sole exception is the grand prize, a
vacation to the Rock of Gibraltar which can be seen as dangerous. Anyway, the Warners are today’s contestants
and as the game goes on, their humor builds.
It starts with their basic introductions, only amounting to them living
in a tower, and never expanding on it like Ned expects.
Their true humorous extent is reached at the
first question, that is to say, the anticipation of the first question. For quite some time, the Warners delight in
pushing the buzzers and answering any rhetorical question like if they’re ready
to play or if they think what they’re doing is funny. They also have a comedic bit of answering
with a random historical figure, Isaac Newton.
The catch is that when it’s clearly the answer to the question Ned
asks, they don’t know it despite saying the name over and over.
This whole
routine can be seen as funny as the Warners’ antics typically are with comedic
takes on answering questions and witty banter.
At the same time, the antics honestly aren’t as laughable as they could
be considering Ned. As mentioned before,
he’s not really a jerk or villain. He’s
just a game show host being a game show host and isn’t too open for retaliation. As the
Warners’ antics continue, Ned’s raising temper is very apparent. For a while, he’s able to calm himself down
after the Warners act crazy with their buzzing and their nonsense answers, but
it gets harder to do as time passes.
Eventually, he simply can’t keep calm at all, and you end up
sympathizing with him. It just feels too
relatable to the audience, especially if they’ve ever dealt with difficult
people. I usually applaud relatability,
but when the cartoon also expects you to laugh at the Warners’ antics, finding
Ned relatable here detracts from the comedy.
By the time Ned skips ahead to the show’s lightning round and they still
play dumb to the obvious Isaac Newton answer, the tone becomes fully
confusing. Do you find this routine
funny or feel for Ned having to put up with this ridiculousness? There are some things that work in the
humor’s favor. When questioned why
they’re acting like this, Yakko simply answers that their joking around is what
they’re really like. This can be chalked
up to the Warners’ approaching life in a comical way, something the audience
should be used to. Also, at the end,
when Ned giving the question’s answer wins him the trip to the Rock of
Gibraltar, he’s terrified of going. This
is the closest thing we see to a jerky side to him, suggesting he’s been
tricking people to play so they could win a trip to danger. This could’ve been made clearer, but it’s
still the best reason to still find the Warners’ antics funny.
In the end they still are, but probably
would’ve been easier to enjoy if the person annoyed by them didn’t seem so
relatable.
A-
The Slapper
Appearing in the middle of the episode makes for the perfect
time for there to be a faux commercial bumper.
It’s a comedic twist on the well-known devise that turns things on and off by clapping. With Slappy Squirrel
testing the product out, it’s still powered by clapping, but it’s a cartoon
violence tool that slaps anyone who annoys her.
A few quick demonstrations of the Slapper is basically all there is to
this short bumper, so it’s only good for a short laugh.
This may not be the biggest impact it could
leave, but being a strong reflection of Slappy’s character strengths make this
product ad stand out a bit. In fact, I
wouldn’t have minded if this show did faux commercials more often.
B+
Puppet
Rulers
Sometimes it’s hard to believe how popular pieces of media
can become. No matter how you feel about
their oversaturation, it’s not so bothersome when you consider one thing. There are people out there who genuinely like
the given show or movie and complaining too much about it isn’t being
considerate of their tastes. I know from
experience that many popular shows and movies have huge fanbases. They consist
of abundances of people obsessives with their favorite things to watch. Many even make constant fan art, attend
conventions, and buy tons of merchandise.
If you think fanbase nature is a thing of today, you’ll be surprised to
learn that it’s one of the most common pop culture occurrences in history as
this cartoon shows.
It’s another attempt
at world domination from Pinky and the Brain as pets of Albert Einstein in
1954. The plan is inspired by a scene
depicting a little known fact about Einstein.
Once again picked up from this DVD’s bonus feature, Einstein would drop
whatever he was doing every day to watch Beany
and Cecil parodied here as Meany and
Treacle. The apparent love that show
gets inspires Brain to get himself and Pinky on there to win over the fanbase and
take over the world years later. Posing
as lifelike puppets named Big Ears and The Iconoclast Noodle Noggin,
Pinky and Brain quickly become the big shots of Meany and Treacle.
Analyzing
their acts, it’s easy to see why they win over the kids. Pinky, who always wants to have a fun time,
is loved in an instant. Brain is a hit
in his own way, working in physical comedy when his boring anecdotes are
responded to with a blow to the head. After a
few scenes of the mice’s performance, the cartoon goes into big detail of how
beneficial to shows fanbases can be.
From watching the show every day to kids across the nation crowding
stores for merchandise, including Bill Clinton, Brain’s plan appears well thought
out.
This brings me to another thing
about fanbases. From what I can gather,
their attachments to shows can be a blessing and a curse. Because of their devotion, they can get
pretty hostile when it does something bad.
They could attack the crew for making a bad episode, doing things that
don’t fit their preferences, or going on indefinite hiatuses. This cartoon shows that even without the
internet, fanbase hostility has also been around for ages. This is something Brain doesn’t consider
when, at the height of the Big Ears and Noodle Noggin popularity, he
cryogenically freezes Pinky and himself for 40 years. He has good points about this plan since
they’ll be remembered for their best performances, and the fans will be old
enough to make them their leaders in 40 years.
When the mice arrive in the 90s, that’s when not considering the fans’
true feelings comes with consequences.
The now adult fans, humorously growing out of their childhood merchandise,
give Pinky and Brain a piece of their minds for abandoning them. Instead of leadership, they shower the mice
with expensive therapy bills and run them out of town. Surprisingly, this angry mob is less hostile
than the mean comments and death threats creators and actors often get on
social media today. It still makes the
point of how out of line fans can get over something bad happening over their
favorite shows clear.
As fans of this
series, we should appreciate this cartoon as not just another fun time with
Pinky and the Brain, but also as a relatable work of how important shows are to their fans.
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
- Puppet Rulers
- 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
- Fair Game
- No Place Like Homeless
- I Got Yer Can
- Spell-bound
- Smitten With Kittens
- Astro-Buttons
- Boot Camping
- Moby or Not Moby
- Noah’s Lark
- Skullhead Boneyhands
- The Good, the Boo, and the Ugly
- Hiccup
- Moon Over Minerva
- White Gloves
- Katie Ka-Boo
- Mesozoic Mindy
Miscellaneous Ranking
- Animaniacs Stew
- Testimonials
- Alas Poor Skullhead
- Cartoons in Wakko’s Body
- You Risk Your Life
- Casablanca Opening
- The Slapper
- The Great Wakkorotti: The Summer Concert
Song Ranking
- The Planets
Disc 3 is
now covered. Only two more left, so
next time we'll start disc 4 with the Warners starring in a news-themed cartoon that had to be altered for being too mean-spirited, and the Goodfeathers taking up wrestling.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is an OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode featuring "Lad and Logic."
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