If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:
Cooked!
We start with a believable
look at the process of setting up the place through finding the building,
fixing it up, and hiring the right people.
Adding in the quirks of the kids also enhances the enjoyment of the
process. For the story though, the big
focus is on advertising the restaurant which becomes difficult with an
unfortunate major typo on the posters and no time to fix it. The kids take it upon themselves to form
their own publicity stunt, but it soon leads to conflict. Each kid has their
own idea and they only think what they individually thought of is the best one, bringing on a barrage of
insults and scorn and an immense lack of teamwork. After seeing so much of them getting along
compared to the early days of the show, this isn’t exactly the best way to
split everyone up and bring on the later events of the plot. The argument could’ve at least been much less
harsh.
Once more, their individual
quirks bring a lot of enjoyment from how they set up their publicity stunts
individually. Lincoln’s is the most
productive by making a commercial for the restaurant as a whole and
highlighting how Dad has experience cooking for lots of people. The commercial may be poorly edited and
glorifies Lincoln and Clyde a little too much, but it’s believably effective
enough to make the restaurant look good.
As the cartoon goes on, each sister comes in with her own publicity
stunt which is also effective in attracting customers, but also means more work
for Dad. He’s constantly running around
putting up with all kinds of acts like making bottomless fries, singing
birthday songs and making cake, feeding animals and more. It’s kind of concerning that they criticize
Lincoln for not thinking his plans through when they should have known that Dad
needed to prepare certain foods ahead of time.
Even with this issue, it’s made enjoyable by the thrill and energy of
the ensuing chaos. You’re going from one
stunt to another and get a great sense of characterizations. It’s certainly far more enjoyable than the
argument that broke the kids up.
Eventually, the problems of all the stunts at once is made known to the kids
and they realize they did wrong by not working together. The way they make things right isn’t too
perfect though. It’s contrived
that all the customers stick around even when they’re told they can’t get the
promised big service they paid money for.
Also, I don’t see much of a point to have Dad get knocked out which
seems like an excuse to make an interview with a news reporter awkward yet
still somehow go well. Nevertheless, I
can’t fault ending on a great sense of family love as everyone prepares great
meals that get well deserved acclaim.
The last scene of Dad talking about dishes that can be named after the
kids as night falls on the Loud House is a nice touch too, especially since it
also closes the entire season.
This
special may not be a perfect end to the season, but it’s a satisfactory meal
leaving a wholesome taste with a big dream achieved and family bonds bringing
everything together.
B+
The Ranking
1. Really Loud
Music
2. Head Poet’s
Anxiety
3. Roadie to
Nowhere
4. Tea Tale
Heart
5. Shop Girl
6. Breaking
Dad
7. Gown and
Out
8. Home of the
Fave
9. The Write
Stuff
10. Fandom
Pains
11. Insta-Gran
12. Racing
Hearts
13. Driving
Ambition
14. Selfie
Improvement
15. Scales of
Justice
16. Middle Men
17. Net Gains
18. Crimes of
Fashion
19. Everybody
Loves Leni
20. The Spies
Who Loved Me
21. No Place
Like Homeschool
22. Hero Today,
Gone Tomorrow
23. House of
Lies
24. The Mad Scientist
25. City
Slickers
26. Missed
Connection
27. Fool Me
Twice
28. Cooked!
29. Deal Me Out
30. Teachers’
Union
31. Tripped!
32. White Hare
33. A Fridge
Too Far
34. The Loudest
Thanksgiving
35. Sitting
Bull
36. Predict
Ability
37. Stage
Plight
38. Game Boys
39. Pasture
Bedtime
40. Absent
Minded
41. What Wood
Lincoln Do?
42. Jeers for
Fears
43. Friendzy
44. Pipe Dreams
45. Antiqued
Off
46. Be Stella
My Heart
47. Rita Her
Rights
48. Ruthless
People
Final Thoughts
As we close another look at a season of The Loud House, I can safely call this season support to my belief
that the show keeps getting better with every season. It’s not perfect for sure, but the positive
impressions are at their strongest here.
You get the feeling that care has been taken to not delve too much into
any of the weak points of the previous two seasons with a good number of
cartoons here. Many of them come off as
nice, inspirational, and full of character-building with the challenges they
face and their adjustments to new parts in their lives.
The use of characters is easily the biggest strength to this
season as shown through how many of them are allowed to headline cartoons
now. Before, it was pretty much just
Lincoln’s show where he took up much of the spotlight and the tone made it seem
like his life mattered the most. While
this was fine, it also came with several weak cartoons that often devalued
anything likable about other characters, including his sisters. This was usually the cause of Lincoln being
subjected to many unfortunate formalities like teasing, dealing with other
people’s messes, and getting blamed. Not
only is this the main reason why I find a lot of the older material to not hold
up well years later, but it brings a few unfortunate implications. In particular, one impression I get from that
old setup is that only brothers are well-rounded and well-behaved while sisters
only exist to make life difficult, and that’s not okay.
All of this makes what’s done with the
characters in Season 3 a majorly pleasing change of pace. Other characters headlining cartoons was
shown before, but that was a rare occurrence, and Lincoln always remained the
key focus. With this season, different
characters from Lincoln being the main character is the norm which suits the
show well. This direction allows all the
featured characters, be they from the Loud family or people they know, genuine
likability and development for their passions in life. Out of their starring roles come many
interesting focal points from certain characters and a variety of
experiences. We could see Lori plan out
her future, Dad prove his worth as a good parent, Luna make it in the music business, Lynn try to prove herself as a caring friend and sibling, Mom advance
her writing career, certain characters move forward in love lives, etc. You just never know what you’ll get out of
these cartoons, and making them work is how care seems to be taken to keep
everything enjoyable. There are little
to no cartoons that are nearly as mean-spirited or driven by fights as ones from the previous two seasons. True, “Ruthless People” is pretty unpleasant
for how much it makes one half of the family suffer and pampers the other half,
but I feel it’s out of earlier seasons’ mean leagues. The lack of fights and the kids having
problems with each other also brings good continuation of their growing sense
of teamwork for the previous season.
That said, it is unfortunate that one of the fight-driven stories comes
from the season finale. Basically,
Season 3 really helps The Loud House
feel less like a show about one average boy trying to survive in a big family
and more like a show about a big family.
The way it brings out the good in its main cast is the true driving
force of its success.
With more characters allowed to be the main focus and care
taken to make the cartoons as enjoyable as possible, it also helps that many
cartoons have interesting topics. The
overall tone is still very much down-to-earth with occasional extreme gags, but
what the material covers brings great satisfaction in the season’s direction. Some of them are featured in simpler stories
and are enhanced by a stronger sense of continuity which is very welcome to
see. As another weak point in earlier
seasons, it was a frequent occurrence where one cartoon would establish one
thing and then unapologetically contradict it later on. More often in Season 3, major events from previous
cartoons get brought up to support directions of current ones. A past event with the sisters supports
Lincoln’s decision to decline their help in “White Hair” complete with a clip. “Gown and Out” has Lola get pageant tips from
Lincoln continuing off an event way back in a Season 1 cartoon. A past one-off mention of getting beaten by
Carol Pingry leads Lori to obsess over taking a great selfie in “Selfie Improvement.” Even in this season,
continuity is key. One example comes
with how new characters are introduced.
We have a new girl introduced in “White Hair” and then later learn her
name is Stella who becomes part of Lincoln’s gang. The best thing about this is that she's not forgotten after one major appearance like most new characters seem to be.
She sticks around which is good considering how likable she is. In addition, one
earlier cartoon of Dad getting a deal for his own restaurant pays off in the
season finale when he opens it. There
probably should have been more cartoons devoted to setting it up given the huge
gap between them, but it’s still better continuity than this show used to
have.
Speaking of Dad’s restaurant, another thing to make the
cartoons stand out are how it delves into making a name for certain characters
in various fields, mainly artistic ones.
The Louds have always specialized in many creative talents, but with
more characters allowed to star in cartoons, they lead to legit new paths. Some stories address believable fears of not
being able to make it and remind that things can work out as long as you do
what you love. Others show that there’s
no shame in losing in things you love bringing humanity and humility in Lola’s pageants, Lynn’s sports, and, despite winning in the end, Lori’s golf. Inspiration is key to these types of stories
by showcasing believable practices to express creative ideas. “Head Poets Anxiety” is a great example of
this via the strategies Luan offers to help Lucy get somewhere in the field of
dark poetry that feel like they can apply to real life as well. Adding in strong emotions and family love
also helps that cartoon stand out.
Standing out is actually another great way to describe some
of the material of Season 3. Referring
directly to previous events and feeling more genuine with emotions is
impressive, but some of the most memorable material are those that get creative
with premises and staging. One cartoon
gives an excuse to see what the show would be like if it starred rabbits
instead of humans like how it was originally pitched. The results are mixed but it’s still a cute
break from the norm. Some cartoons show
subtle ways of what’s to come within the universe of this show. Works like “The Spies Who Loved Me” and “The Loudest Thanksgiving” emulate that tone when you know
there’s a spinoff starring the Casagrandes on the way. Surprises also tend to keep you guessing in a
few stories while also setting up an atmosphere such as “Tea Tale Heart” when a
ruined doll keeps finding its way back to Lola.
The lack of obvious reasons for this situation keeps you guessing and
works as a twist when it’s revealed at the end.
Then there’s the most creatively staged work of the season, “Really Loud Music.” It’s the work from the show that
basically perfects the show’s trait of giving a fresh perspective to life and
in Luna’s case the creative process.
Portraying each family member doing their thing as its own catchy song
makes for many brimming sequences of colors, music, and personality. The song sequences even lend themselves to
the emotional impact of the main story.
It’s hard to imagine moments like Luna selling out to a popular genre,
feeling like she’s lost herself, and showing the real her to crowds being as
strong without this setup. Many of the
animated works I remember the most are those that utilize the medium to its
full potential. I’m pleased to see this happen in the third season of this show with some of its works I’ll
probably always be drawn to come back to.
This leads me to a more critical side to my final thoughts on
this season. The fact of the matter is
that the creative occurrences, while happening more and are great to see, are more of an exception than a rule when it
comes to the tone of this show. It’s
still very simple with its characters’ daily lives and the lessons they
learn. It has more backbone with
broadening who gets focused on and good tips on making the best of one’s future,
so it’s much more interesting for its own sake.
However, while it isn’t as mean-spirited as it used to be, there are
still quite a few things holding it back that lower the universal appeal. Quite a few cartoons driven by obviously
boneheaded decisions or characters making a big deal over nothing. A majority of cartoons further show it wasn’t
the best move to make the show all about Lincoln. Some of the weakest cartoons here follow him,
usually with Clyde or his whole team of friends, doing something that is either
clearly misguided or not that interesting.
A good majority of these guys’ conflicts come from plans you can easily
see problems with. They include ditching a friend’s sleepover, and not
considering that the new girl wants to be their friend and not their
girlfriend. There are also times where
they have a good new idea for life like exploring different pastimes or doing different customs every day. These good
intentions are botched when they spend most of their attempts doing things
they clearly don’t enjoy but stick with it anyway. In other cases, they simply freak out over
something incredibly minor. Examples include saying their attendance is perfect
when they missed one day, finding a class assignment hard, and getting easily
frightened. Now, these boneheaded moves
don’t just apply to Lincoln and his friends.
They reach out to other characters as well. Sometimes they bring obvious awkwardness to
the world around them which no one questions such as how Luan tries getting
closer to her crush in “Stage Plight.”
There are concerns from the parents when they pull extreme schemes to
deal with their kids in bathroom use or overworking them when they have the
highest authority. Then you have
occasional times where solutions to conflicts are so obvious, but it feels like
they’re ignored just so two opposing groups can fight until the end. This is most apparent in the half-hour
Thanksgiving special. As you can see,
for all the great Season 3 brings, the show is still far from perfect and not
up to the big leagues.
All these weak points could attribute to issues the crew of
this show still needs to work through. Honestly
though, I’m starting to believe that the reason many cartoons are like this is
by design. It’s as if the show tends to
eye a certain younger demographic than all ages in mind, hence why obvious
solutions and morals are sometimes kept until the end. While kids still learning right from wrong
could enjoy the ensuing boneheaded decisions driving the plot, I can’t picture
much older people getting as invested.
This is especially apparent when you realize the show can tell smart,
creative, child demographic-transcending stories. Aiming for younger viewers is just part of the tone The Loud House chooses to follow and that’s fine especially since
the experience is already a positive one.
Consequently though, putting a strong emphasis on just kids nearly as
much as or more than all ages naturally holds it back from being truly revered
as an animated series. I’ve never
considered this show to be one of my top 10 favorites, and the general goodness
and not greatness of the season kind of makes me understand why.
Even though it has a fair amount of great cartoons, it also has many
that may be fun for kids, but are too lacking and unsubstantial for anyone
older. Not only that, but when you’re
like me and specialize in exploring all kinds of animated shows, you may feel
like it will always be beneath so many other shows no matter how good it is. It can get creative in how it tells its
stories, but not very often and it really shows through taking place in a
mundane neighborhood. Shows can turn out
great through just showing daily life, and there are many of that kind with smarter plots and character, and more universally appealing morals than The Loud House. Some could also look at the show as a comedy,
but I just feel that gags in other shows are far more sophisticated and clever
than The Loud House’s obvious puns
and dumb decisions. Heck, there are even
slice-of-life shows with a comedic edge that stand out more than this show ever
did.
With all this said, I cannot stress
enough that being beneath other shows does not make The Loud House bad. The
things that leave a strong impact really make it worth looking into no matter
how old you are. Plus, the type of show
it chooses to be isn’t inherently bad as many other shows are of similar genre
have proven to be so great and some of my favorites. It’s just that decisions with many
cartoons don’t make it as endearing through appealing more to a specific
younger demographic than all demographics.
Great material is still very present, but in broadening my TV animation
views, I’m accepting that no matter how good it is, it will never be held in
high regard.
When giving a rating to Season 3 of The Loud House, it can go two ways.
For its own sake, it’s improved in a lot of areas, fleshed out many of
its characters in need of development, and has a few interesting topics, making
for a great season. As a general
animated show, it’s at this point where it’s clear that as good as it is, it’s
too basic and kid-friendly to be called one of the all-time greats. If you’re only looking for great shows worth
your time, I’d say pick a selected few highly ranked cartoons from this season,
and then watch something else. However,
if you watch this show for fun on a regular basis, then I’d say check the
season out to see how well it’s evolved from the beginnings. As for me, I’ll still keep up with the show
to see how long it keeps up its good streak even if it’s now quite low in my
personal rankings. I will say that it’s
impressive that even if it’s out of the big leagues, The Loud House definitely has a lot to discuss.
Loud House Standards:
Highly Recommended
Normal Standards:
Recommended
With this, we're finally done with another look at a Loud House Season. As a result, the review schedule is going to change, which includes the introduction of another show to this blog which is a smarter slice of life show and funnier comedy:
- Tuesdays and Thursdays: Ed Edd n Eddy Season 1 (NEW TO BLOG)
- Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: Steven Universe Season 5
- Saturdays and Sundays: Animaniacs Vol 3 DVD
It's a lot to look forward to and I'll see you then, but for now:
Stay Animated Folks!
Season 3 has definitely brought a lot to the table, and it'll be interesting to see how things keep going in seasons 4 and 5.
ReplyDelete