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Dino Checks
Out
Stories about professional singer, Dino Spumoni, may be few,
but they’re some of the most fascinating and classy works of the show. Coming from a series starring kids and adults
common to ordinary life, a lounge singer with a mid-life crisis really stands
out. Plus, his music styles are a nice
break from the norm, hence the atmosphere he brings. Put together, all of Dino’s starring roles
amount to an interesting look at his rise and fall of fame. He started off strong and loving his singing
career. Then, things got complicated
through tensions with his lyricist and failed attempts to keep sales up. It’s a pretty relatable look at what many in
the entertainment industry face, and an interesting driving force for this half-hour
special.
It’s reported that Dino was
lost at sea and is later confirmed dead, an emotional undertone with a
believable execution. Like most famous
people from back in the day, there’s a news report recounting his life around
the time of the announcement. It mostly
explains what’s known about Dino, but elaborates it more than ever, especially
through how bad his later years turned out, including a reveal of many failed
marriages. This tone is followed up on
by scenes of a funeral, not holding back on the depressing atmosphere with
many people talking about Dino, and making sure respect is paid. Speaking of respect, for a singer with a
failed career and marriage, it’s astonishing how broken up people are by his
loss. Now, since he was always a big
support to him, Arnold is easily the most broken up by the loss. Scenes of him walking around all sad and
being reminded of the death perfectly reflect what it feels like to think of
the loss of a good friend.
After such a
tactful tone to the subject of loss, Arnold finds that Dino Spumoni is actually
alive, and faked his death as a last-ditch attempt to boost his sales. Trusting Arnold to cash any potential checks,
he secretly moves into the boarding house where he got started, and everyone’s
eccentric enough to think he’s a ghost.
It’s a crazy scheme for sure, but it adds a lot to Dino’s character for
getting this convoluted to recreate the good old days. Simply cooking up new songs on his off hours
like when he got started is practically the most joy he’s gotten in ages. Through it all, Arnold’s legit claims of the
amorality of this act and that Dino can’t perform these songs live because he’s dead
don’t faze him.
What does faze Dino comes in
an interesting direction. Someone puts
on an act featuring covers of Dino’s old songs while preferring to be called Dino, and
he’s praised for all this with highly anticipated concerts. He’s even shown to find great happiness in
Dino’s old life by moving into the real Dino’s mansion, and even dating his
most recent ex-wife. It’s here where the
real Dino realizes that his life really wasn’t as washed up as he thought it
was. This revelation brings a grand
finale where during a performance of the fake Dino, he knocks the singer out,
and reveals the truth to the audience.
He understands that what he did was wrong, but through a gradual
applause that starts with Arnold and is followed by the entire audience, Dino
truly does have loyal fans. His final
performance of a new song “Don’t Count Me Out” is a catchy as usual work of his
that nicely reflects his arc in this special and is sure to remain in one’s
head for life.
Interesting things are
done with Dino Spumoni here. Through
looking into his background, the reactions to his supposed death, and reminders
that he can be relevant after all, this is one impactful show business story.
A+
The Ranking
1. Helga on the Couch
2. Helga Sleepwalks
3. Monkeyman!
4. Veterans Day
5. Dino Checks Out
6. Buses, Bikes, and Subways
7. Headless Cabbie
8. Grandpa’s Sister
9. Back to School
10. Helga’s Parrot
11. Oskar Can’t Read?
12. Dinner for Four
13. The Beeper Queen
14. Helga’s Masquerade
15. Stinky’s Pumpkin
16. It Girl
17. Polishing Rhonda
18. Baby Oskar
19. Synchronized Swimming
20. Weighing Harold
21. Big Gino
22. Mr. Green Runs
23. Chocolate Turtles
24. Friday the 13th
25. Grudge Match
26. Fighting Families
27. Phoebe Skips
28. Eugene’s Birthday
29. Weird Cousin
30. Egg Story
31. Student Teacher
32. Love and Cheese
33. Jamie O in Love
34. Deconstructing Arnold
35. Full Moon
The last review for Hey Arnold Season 4 is a wholesome beach story that does a lot of justice for the featured characters.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is Part 4 of the "Super DuckTales" arc.
If you would like to check out other Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
Y'know, I used to consider season 3 kind of where the show peaked in terms of consistently great episodes, and after there were always like five to ten episodes like "Full Moon" for every one "Helga on the Couch," but after reading the sheer number of glowing reviews for episodes from season 4... I gotta go back and watch a lot of these. I may have been wrong...
ReplyDeleteSeason 4 does have a lot of groan-worthy episodes where characters feel out-of-character and inconsistent (Miriam is a big one, though her inconsistency has been present throughout all seasons).
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