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Let’s Not Be Skeletons
Serious
topics in cartoons stand out the most when there’s a creative way of showing
them. This cartoon covers gun control,
and at this time, it’s fitting with constant shooting reports appearing more
frequently than expected. Despite the
creative approach, the execution is very mixed.
Keeping with the show’s cartoony tone, guns are portrayed as a remote control that turns whoever it’s pointed at into a living skeleton, an
imaginative way of portraying what guns do.
However, the skeletons are still sentient which doesn't make them the best creative interpretation of the real world weapons.
The
products are introduced by a guy named Gil Ferris who explains the Skeleton
Remotes via song. This one stands out
for its upbeat tune as Gil states how the Skeleton Remotes work and how they
can help. It’s fun and convincing enough
for everyone to buy one, though the fact that Gil seems shady doesn’t feel
comfortable, especially with the direction the story goes in.
I understand that most real life shootings
occur when troubled people lose a sense of control and go mad with guns, and
that’s really tragic. However, I find it
hard to believe that ALL people would act that way, and that’s a huge issue
with this cartoon. Once everyone gets a
Skeleton Remote, they all go crazy with them turning everyone and everything
into a skeleton. Not only does this talk
down to audiences by saying all people use weapons irresponsibly, but it makes
established well-developed characters look bad.
Some approach the remote believably paranoid of villain attacks, but for
the most part, it feels like the plaza is just going around turning people into
skeletons for the sake of it. It’s
disturbing to see them reduced to becoming this dangerous. They say
they can adjust to being skeletons and use the remotes to beat bad guys since
being skeletons costs them their powers. This could have a point considering A
Real Magic Skeleton. However, since the
Skeleton Remote was advertised specifically to take out villains, treating
being a skeleton as no big deal doesn’t work.
Even if this isn’t a big deal,
the significance of everyone wanting the Skeleton Remotes in the first place is
nonexistent and confusing. Since K.O. is
the only one to see how out of control everyone is, it's hard to watch as endures all his friends getting shot, including his
loving mommy. Then again, his perspective has issues too. When all is said and done, no one is dead, they're just walking skeletons who lose their powers. This makes K.O. look far too paranoid and overreactive, the dangers of the Skeleton Remote undermined, and the issue with it all the more confusing.
Still when K.O. tries stressing the
importance of controlling use of the Skeleton Remotes, a bigger issue is the people of Lakewood Plaza Turbo at their most frustratingly dense.
First, everyone won’t listen unless he’s singing, though it does bring
on a meaningful song on how the remotes shouldn’t be used in public areas. That's true for real-life guns, but shootings still happen there FYI. However, the crowd is too irrational to
listen saying that what K.O. wants infringes on individual rights, even if he
was not referring to everywhere.
This
irrationality leads to another uncomfortable scene of K.O. involved in a
Skeleton Remote fight with Mr. Gar, the hero he looks up to the most. What makes the whole conflict fall flat is
that when things get really bad, it's revealed that the whole thing was just a dream.
Things being resolved by realizing they weren’t real is just a feeble attempt
to excuse all flaws. At least the last scene
of a Congresswoman banning real Skeleton Remotes is funny through her building
rage as she gets the law through the real Gil Ferris’ head. If we're looking at this as a legit message though, it does severely fall flat since it doesn't take much to get that Congresswomen aren't enough to stop all shooting tragedies.
I like the creative take on gun control and
gun effects as well as the songs, but that's not enough to overlook the glaring flaws of this cartoon. The conflict exists through making most
people reckless morons and the sole reasonable character overeactive. It's confusing as to whether becoming skeletons is good or bad. Above all, the
cop-out ending removes any positive impact that could’ve come from exploring the
topic. While it’s not the worst thing
ever, it’s the show at its most problematic.
D-
Cartoon Ranking
- Face Your Fears
- Let’s Take a Moment
- Mystery Science Fair 201X
- You Have to Care
- T.K.O.
- Back in Red Action
- No More Pow Cards
- Glory Days
- Legends of Mr. Gar
- We’ve Got Pests
- I Am Dendy
- Let’s Have a Stakeout
- You Get Me
- Let’s Be Heroes
- You’re Everybody’s Sidekick
- We Got Hacked
- K.O.’s Video Channel
- Jethro’s All Yours
- Know Your Mom
- Everybody Likes Rad?
- OK Dendy! Let’s Be K.O.
- Villains Night In
- Lad & Logic
- A Hero’s Fate
- Plaza Prom
- We’re Captured
- My Dad Can Beat up Your Dad
- Let’s Be Friends
- We Messed Up
- Parents Day
- Plazalympics
- Presenting Joe Cuppa
- Sibling Rivalry
- Plaza Shorts
- RMS and Brandon’s First Episode
- Second First Date
- Stop Attacking the Plaza
- Just Be a Pebble
- The Power is Yours
- Do You Have Any More in the Back?
- Let’s Watch the Pilot
- Villains Night Out
- You’re Level 100
- We’ve Got Fleas
- You Are Rad
- Rad Likes Robots
- One Last Score
- Let’s Not Be Skeletons
Plaza Shorts Ranking
- Life of Darrel
- Action News
- K.O.’s Inner Monologue
- Where in the World is Mr. Gar?
- Rad vs Enid
The next OK K.O. review brings the ever awesome news woman Dynamite Watkins to the spotlight for her own adventure.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is Episode 46 of Animaniacs featuring a Thanksgiving cartoon.
If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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