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Pasture
Bedtime
It’s amazing how many cartoons about the Loud sisters, the
Loud parents, and the Louds’ acquaintances have gotten starring roles since the
show’s early days. So many interesting
characters with noteworthy quirks getting this much time in the spotlight make me realize how lacking
as a central character Lincoln was. It constantly
made it seem like he was the only sane character while the eccentric world
around him, even if it meant making certain characters look bad. Now that the world around him is more
developed than before, Lincoln’s basic traits really can’t compete. Most of his starring roles from this season
on are all about his childish boyhood schemes that don’t have nearly as much
universal appeal as those starring other characters.
This cartoon for example falls into that
trap, centering on the misguided escapades of him and his school friends. To be fair, it’s nice to see this group of
friends in action. It goes beyond the
norm of just Lincoln and Clyde and brings a variety of experiences from the
guys involved, even if the story makes them look kind of dumb and petty. The local country kid, Liam, invites Lincoln
and his friends, Clyde, Rusty, and Zach to his farm for a sleepover, but it’s
on the same night as a pool party. There
is an attempt at a mature direction here when both parties are aware of the group’s
conflict of what they’ll do that night.
Lincoln and his friends make it known that they choose to go with Liam,
and everyone’s ok with that. It’s a
refreshing break from one side being a jerk or passive aggressive over the
decision. At the sleepover, Liam is also
a pretty decent and hospitable host. He
treats his guests to some legitimately fun farm activities all throughout the
sleepover, showing the efforts to make this get-together a good time. All the same, his mannerisms do lean quite a
bit on stereotypical.
As the night goes
on, Lincoln and the others keep getting messages of how fun the party is, and
they give into temptation to sneak out and go there. They pull off a lot of extreme stunts to make
Liam tired so he won’t notice where they’re going. It’s at this point where it becomes obvious
that the boys are putting themselves through extreme stunts when there’s a
clear easy way out of this. I see no
reason why they can’t just tell Liam the truth and have a little fun at the
party after some fun at the farm. Also,
their poor decisions at the party are a huge reason why everything backfires so
badly on them. Rusty could have easily
avoided getting puffed lips if he paid attention and saw he was putting hot
sauce on his sub. Zach could have easily
avoided losing his hair if he read the hair dye bottle closely. Lincoln and Clyde somewhat get a free pass
since they’re convinced into stripping down to their underwear to swim. However, Lincoln should have known this was a
bad idea since his plan is to take on a girl in a cannonball contest. It kind of devalues the story with most of
the humiliation come from stupid decisions.
They also probably would have easily gotten away with sneaking away from
Liam if they didn’t. At the very least, it
would be a stronger direction if Liam busted them without them getting
humiliated, letting it be known that what they did was wrong.
Still, I can’t fault the ending for its heart
where Liam understands the guys’ actions and remaining their friend. Along with the upbeat tone and enjoyable
character chemistry, this is still a very fun cartoon in general. I just can’t stop thinking of how more
appealing it would have been without those dumb decisions.
Just a reminder, this is pretty much going to be the norm with
cartoons starring Lincoln.
B-
Shop Girl
Some dumb cartoon characters are portrayed in the name of
telling jokes, but usually just cause harm to characters who don’t deserve
it. Others make up for their lack of
knowledge with loads of care for the people in their lives. Leni has always been in the latter category
of dumb characters. While her ditzy ways
can be a little much at times, it’s always a joy to see her do what she can to
help others and be a generally good person.
However, this cartoon makes an interesting point that her good nature
overpowering her lack of smarts does not make for a healthy lifestyle.
Her siblings find that she’s constantly
missing out on buying everything she wants because other people got there first
and she didn’t want to disappoint them.
They think Leni will grow up as a doormat the world around her will take
advantage of, and she’ll never make it on her own. This is a great example of how well the Louds
work as one cohesive unit, with everyone being on the same page as well as
intending to help Leni instead of work against her. Not to mention, building a stronger backbone
is a pretty beneficial lesson for Leni to learn.
The siblings spend most of the first half of
the cartoon teaching Leni exactly how assertiveness works. Simplifying their teachings, it basically
boils down to fighting people to keep what they have and get what they want,
not unlike the Loud sibling brawls seen throughout the series. Through it all, Leni’s attempts at
understanding are cute to see through how she takes note of what the siblings’
ideas of being assertive are since she doesn’t really understand it. Even when she’s beating up customers at the
mall for what she wants, she retains her charm through things like not fully
remembering what to say during beatings.
Nevertheless, she fits her sibling’s idea of assertion very well. The way they speak of how proud they are of
her has a sense of accomplishment that feels in line with how a parent would
feel about their child taking a big new step in life. It’s capped off by an intriguing fantasy
sequence of Leni growing up to be a successful CEO because of their
influence.
Now, it should be noted that
they never really consider what could happen if Leni fighting for purchases
goes too far. This can be looked at as
an instance when the mind overpowers the heart, like how Leni’s siblings
think. It kind of feels like they see no
benefits in having a big heart, but that’s when the cartoon gets really
insightful. When Leni fights her way
into getting the clothes she wants, many customers come by with problems
regarding fashion. Leni happens to have
the very clothes they need, and is glad to give them away to help the
customers. She also has no problem with
losing her space in line to leave and help other customers find the best place
for clothes. When the siblings find out
about this and start to worry for Leni’s future again, that’s where the
benefits of Leni’s true self show. All
her generous acts pay off with many other customers returning the favor,
culminating with the opening of a brand new chapter in Leni’s life. She’s given a job in a clothes store for her
great attitude and strong customer service.
With this conclusion, the cartoon makes a statement that big-hearted
people can make it in the real world, and there’s no need to worry. Given how great a character Leni is already,
it’s very pleasing to get solid confirmation that she can live a healthy life
being true to herself. Along with a big
display of family love all throughout, this is an optimistic cartoon filled
with well-crafted inspiration and refreshment.
A+
The Ranking
1. Head Poet’s Anxiety
2. Roadie to Nowhere
3. Shop Girl
4. Fandom Pains
5. Insta-Gran
6. Selfie Improvement
7. Net Gains
8. No Place Like Homeschool
9. The Mad Scientist
10. City Slickers
11. Missed Connection
12. Fool Me Twice
13. Deal Me Out
14. Teachers’ Union
15. Tripped!
16. White Hare
17. A Fridge Too Far
18. Pasture Bedtime
19. Friendzy
20. Pipe Dreams
21. Rita Her Rights
The next Loud House review shows Lola learn what it's like to lose and gets help dealing with it from her siblings, and Dad sees what could happen when putting his desires over his children.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews we meet "The New Crystal Gems" from Steven Universe.
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