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Hot
Buttered Ed
To me the ultimate cartoons that exist for the sake of fun
are those of beach days. There’s just
something about the setting that feels so enticing enough to make you wish you
were there. An appealing cast of
characters certainly helps, and this beach day has an interesting twist to it
as it showcases things that can go wrong.
Even before it begins, there’s solid character-driven fun as the cartoon
opens with the Eds at a sleepover.
There’s laughs from opening a bag of chips, clever gags from shadow
puppetry, and a free spirit to the Eds having fun no matter how much they
disturb their neighbors. So far, the
main point of the cartoon isn’t fully realized and you can easily think that
it’s about a sleepover. It’s only later
on when it connects to what the story is really all about when Eddy wakes up
the next morning to find that he and his friends slept in. They’re left in a state of panic because this
means they won’t be able to claim the perfect spot at the creek’s swimming
hole. This sleepover was simply part of
the plan for them to leave early enough to get it.
Despite how much they rush for it, they fail
to make it to the swimming hole in time as Kevin claims the perfect spot at the
last second. Ultimately, the cartoon
becomes a full-on plot for the Eds to try and get Kevin out of that spot so
they can take it back. You can really
understand their feelings considering that the best spot they can get is one
covered in rocks and garbage. At the
same time, despite their plight, just the scenes of the other cul-de-sac kids
enjoying the beach is especially pleasing and atmospheric. Little moments of Sarah and Jimmy building
sand sculptures, Rolf diving into the sea, Nazz sunbathing, and even Kevin
messing with the Eds greatly reflect the feel.
This way, you can feel for the Eds, especially Double D who laments over
forgetting sunscreen, and still have a good time.
As they go from spot to spot to get to what
Kevin has taken from them, the Eds also seem to get in some good beach
fun. When Eddy plots to get Sarah and
Jimmy into the water to steal their spot, Ed throws Eddy into the water,
causing him to skip across, and gets praise for his “four-splasher.” They also feel they make progress when they
end up in the water themselves. They
even pose as diving coaches when they climb up a pile of rocks that Jonny has
claimed, and he goes for a dive as Double D blows a whistle. This also allows them to watch over the
perfect spot to wait until Kevin leaves.
However, that’s not until the end of the day, and the only thing the Eds
have to show for themselves are various sunburns with Double D getting the
worst of it. Yet, it’s a really
funny ending backed by over-the-top vocal performances to reflect the
pain. It also works since really the Eds
could have enjoyed their day without this perfect spot, so their misfortunes
really don’t bring anything down.
In the
end, this is a simple yet effective cartoon executed in a very pleasing manner.
A
High Heeled
Ed
The number of male characters in this show seem to outnumber
the female characters. That said, the
female characters that are present seem to have enough care put into them, even
if they’re not all likable. Sarah is a
total brat, but she’s also somewhat charismatic with how much energy is put
into her anger. Nazz is
basically a nice and attractive figure, but she’s made interesting for how
she’s a breath of fresh air in this cynical edgy environment. I’d mention three other female characters,
but they have no bearing on this cartoon.
The best person to fit in their group is Jimmy, a delicate little boy
who prefers to stick with the girls and do what they do.
In this cartoon, the Eds find they’re the
only ones around to scam today, meaning they have to think of something to
appeal to them in hopes of getting any cash.
Right off the bat, the cartoon is held back by a majorly outdated custom
saying that girls are like a different species who like certain things by nature. As I’ve brought up a few times in reviews for
other shows, this is not something that holds up well. So many times it has been proven that
girls do not like the same things and are just as human and capable of activism as males. Anything saying otherwise is hard to take
seriously.
While this drawback exists,
it’s nice that the cartoon still manages to be funny in how the Eds treat their
study on feminine behavior. They’re like
a nature safari in places as social as the playground and take a few
observations too seriously to humorous over-analytical effect. Nazz saying she likes soft landings after
jumping from, swings and short gags of Sarah crashing into the ground and Jimmy
getting a bad scent from flowers lead to these discoveries. Even funnier is how the conclusion that girls
like things that are soft, clean, and smell good leads to the Eds thinking
they’d like Ed wearing a coat of drier lint.
That said, it’s also kind of dumb and inept on their part, especially for
Eddy and Double D.
Then this observation
is dropped as mishaps lead to Sarah losing her earring and she completely
breaks down over it until Jimmy emerges with it. This brings on a new idea for a scam as the
Eds put together their own brand of jewelry by spraying random objects with
gold paint. However, since all they do
is cover things with paint, it’s not really enticing for the girls and
Jimmy. The best chance they have is when
Ed accidentally spills paint all over his pants, and the girls are instantly
won over by the sight of ‘golden pantaloons.’
The Eds even come close to giving them away for free as Sarah and Nazz
try to seduce them with their feminine charms.
Jimmy ultimately wins the bid by offering $5 for them, probably the most
cash the Eds have gotten to date.
However, they soon lose this money when the paint breaks, leaving the
girls disgusted that they’ve been gypped.
All the Eds have to show for their work is Ed getting a brief moment of
intellect before wanting to hug his friends while in his underwear. Even when they subject themselves to outdated
notions on girls they still fail.
Overall though, I’m impressed that the final product is as enjoyable as
it is despite how girls are seen as another species.
A-
The Ranking
1. One + One = Ed
2. Rent-A-Ed
3. Urban Ed
4. Mirror, Mirror On the Ed
5. Who Let the Ed In
6. Ready Set Ed
7. Dear Ed
8. Hot Buttered Ed
9. Stop Look and Ed
10. Shoo Ed
11. Ed in a Halfshell
12. Scrambled Ed
13. Rambling Ed
14. Home Cooked Ed
15. Honor Thy Ed
16. Floss Your Ed
17. Knock, Knock Who’s Ed
18. High Heeled Ed
19. Know-it-All Ed
20. Eeny Meeny Miney Ed
21. Hands Across Ed
22. A Key to My Ed
23. In Like Ed
24. To Sir With Ed
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode of Season 2 that also helps this blog get ready for the Christmas season. One of the cartoons in that episode is about Ed bringing Christmas to the cul-de-sac just from hearing the word, and then there's a standard cartoon of Eddy getting attention by hurting himself.
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.
Glad to hear you praise this show. I absolutely love it. My 2nd favorite CN show and one of my top 10 cartoons in general.
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