Saturday, November 30, 2019

Fa La La La Ed / Cry Ed (Ed Edd n Eddy Season 2 Episode 13) - 'Toon Reviews 37

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Fa La La La Ed



As a show whose first four seasons take place in summer, I find it really impressive that it manages to work in a Christmas cartoon at this point without having it feel out of place.  At the same time, it comes off as a very entertaining and very telling of the truth of the Christmas spirit.  You can’t help but notice the world slowly transitioning into celebrating that holiday at certain times of the year like from late September to December.  It brings the impression that the only time to express the spirit of the holiday is when it’s around that time.  As this cartoon shows, there are ways to keep the joy of Christmas alive at any time of year, even the middle of July making the final product stand out all the more.
The whole approach to Christmas stems from a scene of Ed and Eddy playing around in Double D’s parents’ room despite all his protests.  In their scuffle, they wind up in the closet where they find an ancestral fruit cake.  All it takes for Christmas to get involved is for Double D to just say that it’s used every Christmas.  Ed is instantly ready to celebrate at that mere mention while the other Eds go on with their lives, particularly Eddy taking advantage of the day’s actual holiday, Piggy Bank Day.  All the other kids have gathered around at a party to break open their piggy banks and count all their money, the very thing Eddy lives for. 
As he and Double D put on a scam to break the other kids’ piggy banks for them and take some of their money though, Ed is off spreading the spirit of Christmas.  How he goes about it is very charming and very reflective of the day.  Others may point out it’s July, but he’s out dressed as an elf, hanging decorations, giving his own fabricated gifts, and making sure everyone’s good.  This includes sparing Double D and Eddy from going through with their scam and not be seen as naughy.  However, it only takes one showing of the spirit to allow it to grow.  The other kids put aside what time of year it is and are enjoying all sorts of favorite activities too.  Things like Rolf giving what he has as gifts, including the clothes off his back, and Jimmy attempting to be generous to the Eds truly enhance the holiday feel.  It’s also a rare instance where the Eds start a trend in mindsets, and the other kids easily go along with it which is just as nice. 
Even when Eddy misses the point that the spirit of the Christmas is of generosity, joy, and good will, there’s still good spirit to be seen.  He leads the Eds in his own scam of caroling with altered lyrics to Christmas songs to get the kids to pay them cash, and it’s actually really funny.  However, even Eddy shows some Christmas like generosity out of this as he cashes in his jar of Christmas cheer for a bag of jawbreakers to share with his friends.  Ed, however, takes this act a step further by giving away all the jawbreakers to the other kids, except for one apparently.  It’s unfortunate for the Eds, but it is technically still a good act fitting for Christmas’ true meaning, so I can't totally complain. 
For a Christmas story that doesn’t take place at Christmastime, it says a lot that it can still bring out the joy of the season with just one innocent kid starting the trend.  It turns out to be a very great Christmas story, but this show does have a special that takes place on the holiday proper.  That, however, is for another day…

A+

Cry Ed



Further fitting this show’s slice-of-life roots, the last cartoon of the second season is a random escapade that doesn’t feel big or game-changing.  It’s a typical act for the Eds to try and improve their social status that could honestly go anywhere else in the season and not change a thing.  Despite this, it’s a solidly fun cartoon that causes the simplest of events to really escalate. 
For one thing, the Eds’ actions stand out as not really being in the name of money.  Just Eddy showing impressive skills and getting attention for it is enough for him as an opening scene with him on a bounce bubble shows.  It’s all fun to watch, but something is quick to divert the kids’ attention.  The ever-fragile Jimmy soon gets an injury and everyone goes to his aid.  In a more pathetic than average circumstance though, his injury is over a clothes pin lightly tapping his foot.  I just cannot believe that he’d get this injured over a simple tap.  Could he just be acting to deliberately attract attention away from Eddy?  It’s never made clear but I hold onto that possibility. 
Anyhow, Eddy won’t stand for losing attention to someone else and spends the rest of the cartoon trying to upstage Jimmy.  Since the kids went for him because he was injured, it’s only natural that he would fake his own injury with heavy casts to attract attention.  He even wins them over with a story of how he got so hurt in the first place, mainly thanks to Ed.  Even as Sarah calls him out for being a big faker, Eddy is still tended to more.  With the strong possibility that Jimmy was being overdramatic with the clothespin, what’s even the difference?  It’s only when Jimmy visibly gets another injury that’s real this time with a tree falling on him when Eddy loses his newfound love. 
He tries to make up for this by getting a real injury on his own, right down to trying to convince Double D to hit him.  Though Double D profoundly refuses, Ed doesn’t hesitate to drop an entire house on him.  It’s also here where Double D is vocal about Eddy’s ridiculousness with his plans and plots to stop them, something that will really become regular from hereon.  He and Ed go to help Jimmy by putting him in a protection bubble where he can bounce around as he pleases and not get hurt.  It also seems to be miraculous enough to heal the painful looking injuries he already does have.  Eddy, stubborn for attention as always, still finds a reason to compete with his own safe suit made from the less appealing heavy iron and metal.  I mean, scenes of the kids bouncing around Jimmy in his suit are convincingly much more fun, and with Jimmy not getting hurt, it’s an unqualified success.  However, the suit isn’t dog proof as off-screen, one bites a hole in Jimmy’s suit, causing him to deflate like a balloon. 
Though he fails first, Eddy isn’t lucky either.  He is safe when he crashes into Kevin and Rolf, but by chance, Rolf knows how to sense weak points in metal.  This breaks Eddy’s safe suit and leaves him open for a thrashing, though he thinks how hurt he is will still get him all the other kids’ attention.  This overall makes the story somewhat petty and repetitive.  Thanks to comedy, strong character moments, and hints at the truth to the Eds’ actions, it’s still an entertaining end to Season 2 that doesn’t hurt in the slightest.

A-

The Ranking
1.      One + One = Ed
2.      Rent-A-Ed
3.      Fa La La La Ed
4.      Urban Ed
5.      Mirror, Mirror On the Ed
6.      Who Let the Ed In
7.      Ready Set Ed
8.      Dear Ed
9.      Hot Buttered Ed
10.  Stop Look and Ed
11.  Shoo Ed
12.  Ed in a Halfshell
13.  Scrambled Ed
14.  Rambling Ed
15.  Home Cooked Ed
16.  Honor Thy Ed
17.  Floss Your Ed
18.  Knock, Knock Who’s Ed
19.  High Heeled Ed
20.  Know-it-All Ed
21.  Cry Ed
22.  Eeny Meeny Miney Ed
23.  Hands Across Ed
24.  A Key to My Ed
25.  In Like Ed
26.  To Sir With Ed
Final Thoughts
Some second seasons of shows merely build upon what worked the first time around. In the case of Ed Edd n Eddy, it does just that and more.  There’s a clear sense of passion and fun gone into the series with just about every cartoon offering something great and impactful to walk away with.  If that’s not proof of devotion to a product, then I don’t know what is.
All the important elements of the series with the premise, character personalities, and style of comedy have already been introduced in the previous season.  Since they work so well, it makes sense that they’re all replicated for this second season.  All the same, it constantly feels like more is being done with them than ever before.  A lot of times, the Eds’ scams are so elaborate and so grand-scale, they make for excellent creative means to drive the plots.  Selling turkey basters as Canadian squirt guns brings on an authentic Wild West atmosphere from the simple capabilities of childhood.  Though they fake a lot of things, the power of illusion gives good reputation in the form of rocket car ride around the world.  Great use of cardboard boxes become an elaborate city taking up the local lane.  Taking advantage of one of the kids’ annoying qualities make them certified a pest control.  There are even times where scams as circus performers, repairmen, and sauna operators build upon each other to humorous effect.  Even if most of the scams fail for the Eds, the sheer craftsmanship, and chaos that results from them make up for all of that for how entertaining they’re executed for the audience.
It also helps that the Eds are kept likable despite the questionable ethics of their scams with plenty of material showcasing them trying to enjoy what life has to offer.  Some cartoon focuses have them try to find a place to watch a movie marathon, loose a tooth, play with imaginary friends, explore a haunted house, switch places with each other, rebel against parents’ rules, spending a day at the swimming hole, and even spreading the spirit of Christmas in summer.  Sure, things still don’t always go their way, but it does show that they have interests in things other than scamming kids.  Plus, with inventive gags and sharp writing, these simple activities are given an identity all their own from this show.  If you want to see the seasons biggest creative concepts though, check out “One + One = Ed.”  It’s a true work of surrealist art coming from the Eds’ simple desire to know everything.  What’s more, it offers a major perspective of the show’s world in which the Eds tearing apart reality basically reveals that everything they see is a cartoon.  This feel is realized in a variety of ways that must be seen to be believed. 
On another subject, the cartoons are also enhanced for how involved many other kids in the cast are involved.  There’s expansion on Jonny’s traits of befriending inanimate objects with faces despite being confused by concepts of imaginary friends, and tendencies of being a pest.  There are clever depictions of Rolf’s life in his old country, as well as what it takes to get truly miffed by the Eds’ antics, and what he can tolerate from others.  Jimmy actually has a nice moment of bonding with Eddy who builds him up to be tougher like his older brother did for him.  In fact, it isn’t long before Jimmy surpasses Eddy with better scams and talents of haggling.  While Nazz is still portrayed as just a generally nice character, it’s still nice that we get a lot more of her this season than we did in the previous one.  While other characters are jerky and cynical, her presence feels very fresh especially as she’s the most willing to give the Eds a chance in certain fun affairs.  She does have a few aggressive moments of her own here and there, but that can also help to make her character feel better rounded.  Some of the worst characters are also handled pretty well.  Kevin is still a major jerk with his use of the word ‘dorks’, but he’s reasonably provoked more often than not.  Sarah is a loud and unpleasant brat, but somehow I can get a laugh out of her aggression a lot of the time.  Of course, the Kanker sisters bring a lot of discomfort, but not only is there at least one time the Eds beat them, but they’re surprisingly not used a lot this season.  It goes to show that even in an eccentric environment like this cul-de-sac, there’s a fun time to be had with the Eds and the kids they star alongside.
A lot of Season 2 is so good, I’m pleased to say that even the weak cartoons are well-executed.  In other words, not all cartoons end up great with a few being particularly problematic.  However, the passion going into this season is so big that any of its cartoons with noticeable problems are still watchable and enjoyable to an extent.  The closest the season gets to being poor is with “To Sir With Ed.” This is mostly due to its incredibly far-fetched premise of Nazz coming to babysit Eddy even though they’re the same age, and Eddy getting humiliated for no good reason.  Despite that, there are still plenty of funny lines, character moments, and visual gags to make up for any legit problems and have the cartoon be a decent time.  Other than that cartoon, no other is nearly as flawed or even bad.  There are times when the Eds’ scams like a telethon and stunts like spying on the kids which leads to them ruining a birthday party can be a little much for the audience though.  Nevertheless, the emphasis on strong comedy from the featured characters and the gags makes up for these issues and makes the viewing experience positive overall.  It’s not easy to make even very heavily flawed stories work, but Ed Edd n Eddy Season 2 finding a way around this is impressive.
With creative premises, character development, and allowing all cartoons to work to some extent, Season 2 of Ed Edd n Eddy is one of the closest things to TV perfection.  It brilliantly showcases the capabilities of the series and has the dignity of a cartoon work of art.  Works like those from this season are practically one of the best reasons why I was so attached to it growing up and why I still get a kick out of it now.  If you’re like me or have never seen the show before, check out many of Season 2’s cartoons and prepared to be amazed.  It will be a while before I explore the show again, but the high quality will be pouring into the next season just to let you know…
Highly Recommended
Since this last episode for Season 2 had a Christmas cartoon, that's a good sign to look forward to reviews of a few selected Christmas specials this coming December.  Until then.
 
Stay Animated Folks!
 
 
 
 

 

1 comment:

  1. I don't really like "Cry Ed" that much, to be honest. I found Jimmy ungodly annoying in that one.

    Other than that, I agree with a lot of your opinions! Great job with these reviews!

    ReplyDelete