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Headless
Cabbie
This show doesn’t just stand out for portraying relatable
events from different points of view.
Some of its most memorable experiences come from telling urban legend or
scary stories which tend to craft an interesting atmosphere. A lot of the time these stories go all out
with darkness whether it be ghosts haunting a house, a wheezing ghost with a
treasure in a cave, or a train driving straight to the underworld. However, this season has a scary story that
allegedly tops them all.
It all unfolds
when Arnold and his friends are having a sleepover, and pass the time by
telling ghost stories. Arnold has one
that easily delivers on the scare factor.
It’s about a cabbie driver going about his business when he meets a
woman looking for her dog. They find it
as the cabbie enters the park, but he keeps running away. The pursuit of the dog becomes more intense
as the woman demands the cabbie to go faster.
Eventually, a scarf the woman gave the cabbie gets caught on a branch
forcing his head off just as the woman had planned. Now the spirit of that event lives on as the
cabbie’s ghost allegedly haunts the park to this day.
A big reason why this story is so impactful
is how it shows no fear in showing dark repercussions. An innocent cabbie trying to help someone out
is caught in what turns out to be a sick twisted plan resulting in his
decapitation. As a family show, you
don’t normally expect events to go this far.
The use of dark, moody scenes and freak events like running into a man
with a hook hand as well as a message of the cabbie haunting the park add to
the feel the story goes for.
Now, as
effective as the story is, it’s not all that the cartoon consists of. After Arnold tells the story, the guys decide
to go out for ice cream, and the park is the quickest way to get there. Along the way, there’s some unease about
going through the place where the spirit of the headless cabbie is said to
haunt to this day. This is especially
true for Harold who’s the most hesitant about going through the park. It’s pretty telling how impactful the story
is when the biggest and toughest-looking member in the group is unable to hide
his usual insecurities.
From there, the guys
start feeling like they’re living the story, noticing eerie similarities, and
on a foggy night too. Some of them have
logical reasoning to them, like the sounds of trots on the cobblestones turning
out to be Eugene in clog shoes. One is
completely misinterpreted when they all find a man with a hook with a hand
who’s actually trying to sell something.
However, there are some events that are pretty on the nose with their
connection to the story like the same breed of dog happening to be there and a
red scarf caught in a tree. The guys
start panicking as they notice more signs while only Arnold keeps the peace by
pointing out possible explanations for what they find. Even that becomes hard to argue when they
find an actual cabbie manned by a seemingly headless man carrying a demonic
laughing woman, bringing a legitimate scare.
However, there’s an explanation for this that’s both unexpected with
Ernie being the cabbie in an oversized coat, and funny with the laugh coming
from Mr. Hyunh who likes doing it.
In
the end, the legit fears turn to laughs that easily catch the audience off
guard. However, the fear factor still
exists when Ernie picks up a mysterious woman looking for her dog who gives him
a red scarf. Knowing the legend, I think
you can guess what this suggests. The
great success of this scary story-themed cartoon comes from the lengths of the
featured story and how you legitimately wonder how true it really is.
A+
Friday the
13th
I honestly don’t know where the old saying that Friday the 13th
is dedicated to bad luck came from. It’s
also one that can be easily disproven since I can think of plenty of Friday the
13ths in my life no different from any other day. That’s why when there’s a cartoon about
characters living through that day and making a big deal over how it relates to
bad luck, it’s a little too ridiculous and hard to get behind.
For this one, it’s at least nice that
Arnold’s goal is to prove how ridiculous the beliefs surrounding Friday the 13th
are. Even so, it’s still pretty absurd
that everyone else is a strong advocate for what the day allegedly brings. I get Arnold’s eccentric grandparents, but
then we have Gerald who says he couldn’t leave the house without the
appropriate good luck charms.
Eventually, Arnold not believing in Friday the 13th is
discovered by that one-dimensional fifth grade bully, Wolfgang along with his
assistant Edmund. Through a tense
confrontation, Arnold is roped into doing all the things said to bring certain
years of bad luck and has Gerald do it with him. Through stepping on cracks, breaking mirrors,
and opening umbrellas indoors, Arnold and Gerald certainly look brave against
the superstitious crowd.
The thing is,
the cartoon actually supports the prior belief that Friday the 13th
is a load of nonsense and makes said crowd look ridiculous. This may seem hard to believe at first since
bad things seem to happen to Arnold and Gerald all day following breaking all
those superstitions. However, the
direction of the storytelling outright states that these things aren’t
happening because of the nature of the superstitions. They’re all direct results of the dirty work
Wolfgang and Edmund do behind their backs.
They mess up their desks, make their lockers stuck, puncture their bike
tires, and drop paint and fish on them.
Not to mention, when Arnold and Gerald break down and buy a reversal bad
luck kit, they cause them more humiliation by switching their cream with
honey. Can you guess what that
attracts? This isn’t really bad luck if
outside sources are causing all these bad things happening. In fact, only one bad thing truly
seems somewhat far-fetched. Why are
there so many bees living in a city area?
That said, outwardly showing that Wolfgang and Edmund are responsible
for what Arnold and Gerald endure doesn’t make for any tension. The audience knows the reasons behind what’s
happening to them, making it too easy to see that Arnold was right about Friday
the 13th all along. If we
didn’t see Wolfgang and Edmund cause trouble when it happened, there would be a
legit reason to think that Arnold and Gerald shouldn’t have broken the
superstitions. The answer could’ve come
right after they discover Edmund’s symbolic purple gum, and not before. Since we know the truth, there’s no question
as to whether Arnold was right to start this.
Even so, it’s great that Arnold and Gerald get back at those bullies
with a retaliation involving many black cats which they’re able to get thanks
to Arnold’s grandma. Given how
one-dimensional they are, any consequence they get for their uncalled for
jerkiness is pleasing. Even if it is
held back by a lack of tension, I cannot give enough credit to this cartoon for
showing that Friday the 13th is really not worth making a big dal
over. All you really need to do is be
wary of bullies.
A-
The Ranking
- Headless Cabbie
- Oskar Can’t Read?
- Dinner for Four
- The Beeper Queen
- Stinky’s Pumpkin
- Big Gino
- Friday the 13th
- Phoebe Skips
- Eugene’s Birthday
- Student Teacher
- Jamie O in Love
- Full Moon
The next Hey Arnold review nails dark humor as Helga sets out to stop a parrot from blowing her secret love for Arnold by killing it, and Arnold and Gerald run into trouble while delivering chocolate turtles.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the second part of the "Time is Money" arc from DuckTales.
If you would like to check out other Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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