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Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
Under the right circumstances, stories that have a simple
solution that take the main characters a longer than necessary time to come to
can be fun and entertaining. The problem
with most instances of this setup is that when an obvious solution is starring
characters in the face, them being unaware of it is more frustrating than
fun. It’s a good thing this show knows
how to craft solid animated entertainment out of any of its setups allowing
that not to matter.
Following a backfire
of a scam involving a pool and lime gelatin which I have no idea what was
supposed to be accomplished comes a plot of the Eds just hanging out. Ed has all the plans set for an exciting
activity as shown by his room covered in reminders for an eight-hour monster
movie marathon. The very idea of such a
marathon is even enticing enough for Eddy and Double D. Since life is thoroughly hard on the Eds,
they can’t just get right to watching the movies. Once they go upstairs to get snacks from the
kitchen so Ed can treat his guests well, difficulties slowly arise. His sister Sarah has a guest over too, and
just the sight of her brother and his friends is enough to lead her to
rage. She really goes too far when she
unjustly yells at them to get out of ‘her’ kitchen which leads to her throwing
them out of the house. She and Jimmy
even go down to Ed’s room to take up his TV.
I have to ask, why would they want to be in Ed’s unsanitary basement
room or even care about watching monster movies, unless of course they turn it
to another channel? Also, if she just
wants the Eds out of the kitchen, what would even lead her to kick them out of
the entire house? Is she really that
mean?
At least out of this way
unnecessary harsh moment, even for Sarah, the fun really begins. The Eds try to get back in the house by
disguising themselves as a Trojan doll to make Sarah and Jimmy think that Santa
came early. Through total awareness with
Sarah knowing the truth, and cartoon logic, the Eds suddenly end up on top of a
streetlight and topple over. After that
funny gag, Double D brings up the obvious solution that they could just go to
his or Eddy’s house to watch the movie.
Justifying ignoring this solution, Eddy breaks the fourth wall saying
they’ll ruin the plot if they take that easy route. In any other case, it would be annoying that
they don’t do the obvious solution, but funny scenarios abound from the Eds
looking for another place to watch the movie.
There’s a funny exchange with Kevin as they try and fail to convince him
that Ed broke every bone in his body and needs to go to Kevin’s TV room to
heal.
They actually find success at
Rolf’s house where the cartoon gets really interesting. It’s intriguing to get a good look at Rolf’s
living room filled with creative knick-knacks, plastic covered furniture, and a
very archaic TV. Rolf is also an
enjoyable host as he recounts his background of transporting his great nano
from his old country in a flimsy canoe and fighting a sea cucumber. As for his TV with a small screen and large
lever and knob, it gets the Eds their movie, but Double D and Eddy find the
production values to be very cheap. In a
major character move, Ed is moved from cheerful to fierce as he demands his
friends, and even Rolf, to watch the movie as they suggest bailing. The movies may not be worth it, but at least
Ed’s happy. Despite ignoring obvious
solutions and getting unnecessarily harsh, it’s ultimately more enjoyable that
things aren’t easily resolved.
A-
One + One =
Ed
It’s well-known that this show can work well as a
slice-of-life show, and over-the-top cartoon comedy. With this cartoon, it perfectly balances both
types of shows, and stands as one of the series’ greatest achievements as a
result. There’s always some
well-executed character interaction and great sense of imagination every
minute, thus lending itself incredibly to the animation medium.
The cartoon even starts with something
insightful as Ed, in the middle of the night, pops up in Eddy’s house, asking
random questions about life. That can be
seen as very relatable to anyone, even those who aren’t as dumb as Ed. No matter what you’re doing and no matter
what time of day it is, you can’t help but ponder the meaning behind just about
anything. Ed spends the night asking
about things like how his feet can smell if they don’t have a nose, why goo in
lava lamps float, and if the fridge light stays on. when you close it
The next morning when Eddy notices Double D
pondering life’s mysteries too as he disassembles a radio, he gets a new idea
to make it big by knowing everything.
They start out by simply taking apart anything they can find in Ed’s
garage which gets them nowhere. After
that, the cartoon takes creative to a whole new level. Going around the cul-de-sac, it isn’t long
before the Eds take apart a few major things without even trying.
Listening to a strange anecdote from Rolf
about an ugly boy who becomes popular when getting a mango on his head leads to
a tree knocking over revealing to be flat as a prop. In other words, in their attempt to discover
their world’s inner workings, the Eds unravel it to reveal that it’s nothing
more than a cartoon realm. Even more
steps are taken as the day goes on.
Undetailed houses in the background are suddenly much smaller than the
Eds and are easily stepped on. Eddy can
easily grab the sun, eat it, and make it nighttime. He’s also able to unravel Jimmy’s shirt and
later his entire outline that leaves him as nothing more than a puddle of ink
and paint. When Sarah comes to yell at
the Eds for what they did to Jimmy, Eddy easily sets up a fast motion blur and
applies it to Sarah’s feet causing her to dash away at high speed.
Just to take things further, the
deconstruction of the world happens without the Eds even doing anything. They find themselves in a dimension of
floating paths and objects, impromptu scene transitions, clouds that can be
inflated, and a three-headed Rolf appearing out of TV static. I guess Rolf has a point that ‘life has many
doors.’ All of this is undeniably
strange and weird, but the sheer imagination of what the Eds uncover is what
keeps it fresh and enjoyable.
It also
leaves you wondering if it’s even real or not. Even though the other kids are
clearly effected by this world deconstruction, they see the Eds acting weird
when the world suddenly goes back to normal.
You could say all this was in their imaginations, or maybe the popping
of the inflatable cloud or the scattering of the notes of Double D’s findings
brought the world back to reality. Heck,
it can even be argued that reality will be broken again when the cartoon ends
with Eddy and Double D falling down a hole, and Ed picking it up while running
from Sarah.
I always love an animated
work that never lets up on creativity, and this cartoon delivers on that
immensely. With many imaginative
deconstructions of reality that basically say this is all a cartoon, it’s
practically the series’ most insightful work of art.
A++
The Ranking
1. One + One = Ed
2. Dear Ed
3. Knock, Knock Who’s Ed
4. Know-it-All Ed
Be sure to stay tuned for the next review where Eddy makes Ed think Double D's not human, and Eddy tries to break a record by taking the kids on a rocket car ride around the world.
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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