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Who What
Where Ed
This
cartoon is probably the Eds at their most innocent. Scams aren’t on their mind at all, and
they’re instead doing a simple pastime that requires direct interaction and
cooperation from other kids.
While Eddy
is cooking one of his famous omelets, he asks for eggs, but when Ed gets a hold
of them, in his usual fumbling mannerisms, he breaks them all. Deciding that a chicken is what they need to
get all the eggs necessary, the Eds go to get one from Rolf. Rolf is hesitant to offer them a chicken, but
is far more willing to give them an egg they can use to hatch a chicken. However, this offer puts into motion a crazy
sequence that goes on to escalate.
The
Eds need to trade for the egg, and the thing that Rolf has in mind is, of all
things, sawdust. As a matter of fact,
trading is somewhat of a trap the Eds find themselves with everyone in the
cul-de-sac. This is mainly because with
Jonny around, they can’t just easily get their own sawdust. Kevin has sawdust, but his usual jerk moves
make the Eds’ progress even more difficult.
He clearly wants to get rid of the sawdust before the Eds arrive, but
when they give him a chance, he says they have to paint his shed to get it, and
he doesn’t even have paint.
Even if
jerkiness is part of what places the Eds in the situation they’re in, it’s
executed well enough to not spoil any of the fun. Every kid the Eds come across has something
they want, but there’s always something the Eds have to give them in
return. To make things truly
out-of-the-ordinary, some of the things the kids request are very
outlandish. Jimmy for instance wants
clams in exchange for some of his paint for the Eds to use to paint Kevin’s
shed. Jonny conveniently has clams from
the sewer as doing peculiar things with Plank is something commonly associated
with him, however, he wants an anchor in exchange. The catch is that the only people who have
such a thing are the Kanker sisters.
There’s a funny sequence where the Eds where a disguise to try and get
an anchor without letting them know it’s them, but Ed spoils it by happily
proclaiming himself as the legs. The
Kankers proceed to try and kiss them, but out of it is a remarkable instance of
a rare time the Eds get away from them unsmooched.
So an anchor is impossible to get and the
trading sequence reaches a believable instance where the Eds have to admit this
to Jonny. You’d think that things would
be easier when Jonny allows them to trade for something else, but more trading
is inherently more difficult. The Eds
even have to go back to kids they already talked to like Jimmy and Rolf to get
more amenities. Out of this, one unusual
object Ed had at the start, a yo-yo, is what brings things full circle. Then
comes a sequence of everything falling into place as the Eds run back and
forward bringing everything they traded for to their proper places.
Finally, the egg is achieved, but in
accordance with Eddy’s bad luck, Ed just happens to get his hands on it, and
naively breaks it open, thinking that the chicken is cramped inside. I suppose that if everything the Eds went
through had to be a waste in the end, this is the best way to execute that
through misguidedness instead of malice.
Plus, it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of how big something as
simple as bartering can become.
I could
question why Eddy’s parents can’t just buy more eggs or why they don’t think to
mention Sarah when asking Jimmy for something she wants though. Those points aside, this is all very fun and
memorable material.
A
Keeping Up
With the Eds
Relatable
slice-of-life shows always seem to stand out when they also find ways to work
in strong comedy and unique visual aesthetics.
It should be fully recognized by now that this show fits those
qualifications easily. Out of being
incredibly hilarious and visually appealing are several cartoons built on
creative off-the-wall concepts. This
cartoon is one to have many of these concepts that keep getting bigger and more
interesting by the minute.
First, it’s a
formal introduction to a major part of Double D’s background. His parents communicate with him through
sticky notes all over the house, usually to remind him to do chores. Double D
is usually fine with this, but breaks down when he finds out that one of the
chores he’s been assigned is mowing the lawn which he hates doing. I’d like to think that one of the reasons for
this is because the only lawn mower his parents have is an old push mower which
makes it far more difficult. Ed is able
to do it very quickly, but there’s a catch to all this. In rushing around with the push mower, he
ends up destroying much of Double D’s yard creating even more setbacks.
Eddy has the solution which is where
the creativity of this cartoon really starts kicking in. In fact, cartoon logic is what drives
everything going forward, making for great enjoyable execution of events hard
to find anywhere else. He has a huge sack
of manure that’s shown to cause things to grow instantly. Out of it comes an idea to put it all over
Double D’s and everyone else’s lawns so the grass will grow, and they can mow
it for cash. With Ed at the spreading,
the manure is put over the lawns quickly and true to its nature, the grass
instantly grows too.
Before business can
start though, cries for help from Sarah and Jimmy are heard as they’re trapped
in the tall grass. This brings about a
hilarious kind of endearment as Ed spends the entire cartoon freaking out over
Sarah’s well-being. She may hate him,
but it’s very nice that Ed clearly doesn’t think the same way about his own
sister. Factoring in his lack of
intelligence is a collection of desperate cries for her as he aimlessly rushes
into the grass calling for her. The
solution to cut down the grass and save Sarah is not just productive, but also
very genius when it comes to cartoon logic and comedy. By offering to mow his lawn for free, they
manage to get Rolf’s goat Victor to eat all the grass.
Once Rolf gives the signal, Victor is off in
a flash acting as the best grass cutter animation can bring. The timing of the sequence from his
incredibly fast speed, how the tall lawns of the cul-de-sac instantly go down,
and the fast music factor into the great excitement. Thanks to this exaggeration of the fact that
goats eat grass, the job is done instantly.
I do wish there was a solid explanation for how Sarah escaped the grass,
but the reveal to her safety is nicely led into by another bit of Ed’s crazy
concern for her.
The overall excitement
doesn’t even stop here. When getting the
now very fat Victor back to Rolf, there’s one last exciting chase scene as he
rolls all the way home with the Eds on top.
They may end up in mud as a result and Victor is still incredibly obese,
but this is still an interesting way of showing the Eds technically succeed
with what they set out to do.
Furthermore, it makes the cartoon another strong example of how
successful this show is at being relatable to life, and getting creative when
executing its challenges.
A+
The Ranking
1. A Glass of Warm Ed
2. Laugh Ed Laugh
3. Dawn of the Eds
4. Ed-N-Seek
5. Keeping Up With the Eds
6. Flea Bitten Ed
7. Fool on the Ed
8. The Ed-Touchables
9. Who What Where Ed
10. Vert Ed Go
11. Read All About Ed
12. Quick Shot Ed
13. Look Into My Eds
14. A Boy and His Ed
15. A Pinch to Grow an Ed
16. Pop Goes the Ed
17. An Ed Too Many
18. Sir Ed-a-Lot
19. Over Your Ed
20. It’s Way Ed
21. Nagged to Ed
22. Tag Yer Ed
Be sure to stay runed for the review of the next episode where the Eds get into trouble when telling a white lie, and are introduced to the Urban Rangers.
If you would like to check out other Ed Edd n Eddy reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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