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:
To Sir With
Ed
With this cartoon comes an interesting element to Season
2. I’m just going to say right now that
this is the weakest work of the season with mind-boggling plot decisions and
unfair punishment to the protagonist.
Despite all of that, it’s still thoroughly funny and entertaining, so it
can still be easily enjoyable.
It all
begins with Eddy realizing he’s home alone late at night and becoming so afraid
that he calls his friends to stay with him.
A big question is raised about how Eddy could be this scared of being
home by himself when he’s usually by himself all the time; adults don’t appear
in this show you know. I guess when it’s
this late at night he expects adult figures to be around, especially for things
like dinner. Plus, it’s kind of messed
up that Eddy’s parents would just go out without him knowing, and based on
where the story goes, it also feels contrived.
Things get even more confusing when just as Eddy thinks his friends have
arrived, Nazz shows up at the door noticing that his parents have already left,
and then starts cooking for him. It’s
true that being the resident nice girl, Nazz is the most tolerant of the Eds,
but it’s still just as strange to the audience as it is to Eddy. When Double D and Ed show up, they come to
the conclusion that Nazz has come to date Eddy, which does make some sort of sense.
All throughout, there’s amusing chemistry from all the Eds approaching the situation. Eddy struggles to go with the idea, Double D
continuously lectures about the steps of a date from a book he carries, and Ed
innocently plays around with what’s in Eddy’s room.
As for the date itself, while Nazz’s attitude
and attractive appearance is easily enough to win over Eddy and virtually all
males in the show, he’s sorely timid about the whole thing. It’s an interesting show of Eddy going from
confident and top of everything, to being flat-out scared of actual dates. Although it’s a sight to see him and Nazz at
the table enjoying macaroni and cheese, it become awkward as Eddy never says a
word and makes a mess of himself. It
certainly does not make him look date-worthy or even too mature especially with
where the cartoon goes from here.
As
Eddy goes up for a bath to appease Nazz’s demands, other cul-de-sac kids show
up at the door. Rolf and Jonny as Urban
Rangers show up to randomly deliver a block of ice and Kevin’s around to mock
them which is amusing. It’s also here
where Nazz reveals that the reason she’s here is because she’s been hired to
babysit Eddy. That’s simply too
far-fetched even for this show all because Eddy’s been left in the care of
someone who’s the same age as him, further making him look incapable of
maturity. However, he still believes
Nazz is here for a date, and gets a major embarrassment as circumstances force
him through the ceiling in the bathtub, naked in front of much of the kids. He even lets slip in front of them that he thinks
Nazz is here to date him only to learn the truth. Given how strange Nazz showing up to see him
was, his idea was believable, and that’s what makes it hurt when the kids laugh at him. To
make things more humiliating, Eddy has to go to bed while everyone, including
Double D and Ed, party it up all night.
They don’t even care when his tongue gets stuck on the door and Ed just
diapers it. At least Nazz doesn’t think
less of Eddy even after this, so I guess it could’ve be worse. Plus, even with the context, it's nice to see some of the Eds enjoying some fun activity with the other kids.
The contrivances and undeserved punishments
hold it back majorly, but with plenty of solid humor and character chemistry,
it’s watchable despite all flaws.
C-
A Key to My
Ed
Oftentimes, the Eds can make the simplest occurrences in life
more complicated than they really are.
In most shows, this would be frustrating and overplayed, but this one
knows how to make them entertaining with great humor and character chemistry
all the way. This is the case with this
cartoon when they have several humorous escapades while trying to find out who
lost a key, though it’s not exactly the best example.
Like many cartoons, the plot doesn’t start
with a direct connection to the conflict, but rather something completely
random. Double D shows Ed and Eddy a new
invention of his, a soda that never loses its fizz. Ed drinks it all when he’s not supposed to,
prompting Double D to warn him not to move.
Eddy makes Ed move anyway for the recklessness of it, which then sets
off a comedic fizzy reaction that sends him flying. It’s very fun to see, but seems to not have
anything to do with the rest of the plot.
It’s here where it’s revealed that this shenanigan is what gets the Eds
to find the key that drives everything.
Now that they have it, their goal is to see what the key unlocks, and
their attempts vary all throughout.
Sometimes they’re legitimately funny and show something to the
characters. Eddy tries using the key to
unlock Jimmy’s retainer, causing it to get scrunched up over his head though
it does showcase how that ring around his face even works. Other attempts are merely sticking the key in
random places from a cow’s udder to a fire hydrant which don’t lead to any big
gags or anything. The best thing it does
lead to is an ongoing ramble from Double D that’s really an overplayed
statement on the importance of finding what the key unlocks. Eddy’s annoyance with the ramble is the
appropriate reaction. However, it does
lead to another highlight when Eddy tries to fit the key into a case Rolf is
carrying. It can open fine without a key
and comes with a really catchy piece played on the accordion though only Ed
enjoys it.
Now, it wouldn’t be an
escapade with the Eds without finding a way to use the key for a scam. When told he can get a reward for returning
it, Eddy decides to hold the key for ransom.
He sends out notes to the cul-de-sac kids telling them that he has what
they lost, and they’ll get it back for a bag of jawbreakers. This brings on the most uncomfortable part of
the cartoon where the kids see each other, think they stole something of
theirs, and fight each other. Without
any sort of comedy to their fighting, the scene comes off as way too tense and
doesn’t do justice for these characters, even if Eddy’s ransom is to
blame. He doesn’t even get to explain
what this is all about, though Kevin asking who cares about the stupid key does
give away that it doesn’t belong to them.
Adding to the discomfort is one of the most sudden appearances of the
Kanker sisters in the entire series.
Attracted by the fighting, they derail the focus by going after the
Eds. For a time, it seems like the Eds
have the upper hand as they amusingly distract the Kankers with a napping Jonny
and make it to Ed’s house. However, the
door’s locked and Ed reveals that the key to it fell out of a hole in his
pants, meaning the key the Eds held onto belonged to Ed all along. With tensions riding high, the Eds end up
majorly overpowered by the Kankers, and the last scene of the cartoon is them
being forced for the intimate custom of footsies. Normally I like cartoons being risqué, but it
doesn’t appeal to me if such moments come with unjust torture for the
protagonists.
This cartoon has a lot of
decisions that keep it from being one of the best, but with a fair share of
humor and unique character-based approaches, it’s not the worst either.
B
The Ranking
1. One + One = Ed
2. Who Let the Ed In
3. Ready Set Ed
4. Dear Ed
5. Rambling Ed
6. Home Cooked Ed
7. Floss Your Ed
8. Knock, Knock Who’s Ed
9. Know-it-All Ed
10. Eeny Meeny Miney Ed
11. Hands Across Ed
12. A Key to My Ed
13. In Like Ed
14. To Sir With Ed
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode with a lot of fun from the Eds' own cardboard city, and Eddy convinces most everyone that rules aren't worth pollowing.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment