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Episode 81
2001 Parody
(A)
You
can tell that the bulk of this episode is going to have a special theme to it
as the first thing seen is a parody of a scene from one of cinema’s artistic
feats 2001: A Space Odyssey.
In this bumper, the Warners act out its
interpretation of early man in one of the earlier scenes from the film. Like the Neanderthals in the parodied
material, they find a big black rectangle known as a Monolith. However, because this show tends to work
comedy into everything it covers, the Monolith is actually a big TV. As part of the joke, the Warners freak out
like cavemen when the first thing they see when they turn it on is Baloney the dinosaur. They calm down when the
channel is changed to the WB logo. As
Yakko later says perfectly audibly, now if only they can reset the clock. Leave it to this show to successfully bring
comedy to one of the most striking scenes in cinema history.
However, there are more fresh takes on 2001 to come in this episode.
Soccer Coach
Slappy
It’s
really hard to believe how hard Slappy Squirrel cartoons falter without the
emphasis on cartoon violence as an art that defined her throughout the series. The cartoons she stars in during the Kids WB
era place her in mundane situations that she takes on as a merely disgruntled
old squirrel, and there’s no antic-fueled edge.
While the cartoons she’s had so far in this era have had some sort of
stand-out tie-in to her established character strengths, this one is her at her
least engaging.
Slappy has taken on the
role as coach for Skippy’s soccer team and approaches it as a standard
open-minded figure. The only traits
truly in line with her character are constant pop culture references and
statements of wanting to get home in time to watch something. That’s nice and all, but it’s hardly enough
to define the best of Slappy. Actually,
Slappy herself is more of a supporting player in this cartoon with Skippy being
the one to get the most focus.
The
result is one of the least funny and most mundane routines in the series. He keeps getting hit in the face with the
soccer ball which causes him to cry.
Unlike his constant crying in “Bumbie’s Mom” which was over a much more
understandable cause for distress, the crying here is just pathetic. It’s so incessant, so loud, and over
something not nearly as bad as he makes it out to be. In fact, this late in the series, it feels
like Skippy should be over crying this much. He later adds on talking in a dazed
disposition resulting from getting hit, but that just makes the setup more
confusing. This is still repetitive, but
talking all dazed is much more appropriate to expect from Skippy. Why not just stick with that and forget about
the crying? No wonder even his voice actor, Nathan Ruegger, hated the idea of him constantly crying. Also repetitive is how
Slappy insists that Skippy just sit out of the game as Skippy refuses. I would admire his boldness if Skippy had
legit merit in constantly wanting to keep on playing, but every time he keeps
on playing, he’s still getting hit in the face.
What’s even the point of going on with this routine that really isn’t
all that funny to begin with?
Anyhow,
because of his insistence to play despite getting hit with the ball, Slappy
finds the perfect spot for Skippy. He serves as a goalie in the World Cup, and
getting hit in the face is enough for the US to win a game. I suppose it’s a decent enough payoff to
everything in the cartoon, but is it really worth Skippy continuing to
cry? It still doesn’t come with any
funny expressions or creative outcomes, so it’s still a pretty shallow and
lacking end to the cartoon. The premise is far below
Slappy’s great original standards, and there's nothing strikingly funny to walk away
with. It may not be so bad as a cartoon
by itself, but it’s one of the Kids WB era’s harshest reminders of how much
things have changed not necessarily for the better.
D+
2001 Parody
(B)
Since
the episode opened with a parody of the prehistoric scene, it’s fitting that it
has another bumper parodying one of the space scenes in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It
follows the Warners in a spaceship as Wakko space walks out to another Monolith
all set to the Blue Danube piece like in the original scene. The comedic catch is that the Monolith is
actually a big remote this time, and turns Jupiter into a TV that displays the
next cartoon. It’s once again a
respectable parody in bumper form, and they get a strong payoff later on.
First though, it’s time to endure a cartoon starring the
blackest of all sheep in the cast…
Belly Button
Blues
Yes,
even after so many weak cartoons starring her, this stretch of episodes
continues to give us cartoons starring Katie Ka-Boom. Granted it’s only two cartoons, but you have
to wonder what the crew even sees in her and why an episode would need her to
fill up airtime out of other characters to showcase. This wouldn’t be a problem if the featured
character was more likable and the premise was actually funny, but most
cartoons starring this character are the show at its worst. I understand the clever visualization of a
girl seeming nice and turning monstrous, but with believable fear surrounding
her destruction on her family, there’s no enjoyment. Thankfully, the Kids WB era allows for much
more understandable reasons for the rage of Katie Ka-Boom.
For one thing, when she comes down in a new
fashion style that’s well noted for exposing her belly button, it’s instantly
rejected. Her mom says clothes like that aren’t fit for this family, and her
little brother, Tinker, won’t stop making fun of seeing her belly button. These instances are legitimately
inconsiderate of Katie’s tastes and choices that really no one should have a
say in. They’re also really foolish,
especially on Tinker’s part for teasing his sister like that despite how
well-known how violent her rampages can get.
The only innocent moment is Katie’s dad, unaware of the whole situation,
commenting on her belly button. Too bad
this is what has her go into monstrous mode.
Right on cue is Katie’s big monstrous transformation suitable for the
scenario as a big green creature roaring out clothes with a big green vortex
representing her belly button. It’s
still not very funny considering the legit fear and carnage from the
destruction, but as Katie states she’s not changing her clothes, it’s still
easy to understand her side. For the
first time, it sounds like she’s not being accepted for what she likes. However, understandable is not the same as
justifiable given how she doesn’t even care about what she’s destroying. This is cemented by her nonchalantly getting
a jacket to cover her clothes and belly button because it’s cold. With her inconsiderate attitude towards what
she caused and her family still not accepting what she likes, it seems like no
one really wins.
There are still flaws
galore with Katie Ka-Boom, but thankfully this cartoon has some form of merit
to it as well.
B-
Our Final
Space Cartoon We Promise
Those
two 2001: A Space Odyssey parodies
have led up to this entire cartoon playing to a famous sequence near the film’s
end.
Resembling mankind in the distant
future traveling through the void of space, the Warners are presented waking up
from hyper-sleep in a spaceship set to autopilot. There’s a funny jab at the idea of suspended
animation as well as the idea of Tang powdered orange juice that they’re
offered for breakfast. All this joking
around, however, gets the attention of the autopilot system, AL, an obvious
spoof on the dark system from the parodied material, HAL. Like the real thing, AL is very monotone over
his dominance onboard the ship as well as annoyance for the Warners not
complying with his customs.
It should be obvious by now though that annoyance
is what the Warners specialize in. No
matter what threat AL brings, the Warners stick to their comedic mindsets and
show very little worry, instead cracking a lot of jokes over everything he
says. When AL threatens to cut off life
support, the Warners go into an escape pod to talk, flat out telling the system
not to read their lips like the real HAL did.
This turns out to be unnecessary as they don’t even say anything. They just sit around and make faces despite
apparently agreeing that it’s ok to wear white shoes after Labor Day in
space.
Then in taking out AL, they don’t
do it because he’s dangerous but rather because he’s simply really boring. He still keeps talking even when the plug’s
taken out, but that’s merely a setup for a joke. Because he’s long and droning, AL is actually
Al Gore. Really this should be a jab at
any politician. Using specific names is
enough to effect the timelessness of this show, even if it already has been
effected several times. It’s standard to
end on a joke, but I honestly can’t imagine a fresher take on one of the most
celebrated movies in history.
Also note
how it’s true to its title as literally no more cartoons in the series after
this one take place in space.
A
On
the whole, the works parodying 2001: A
Space Odyssey are simple when it comes to jokes and funny interpretations
of scenes, but still work as a comedy-driven version of the film. Maybe it’s not one of this show’s finest
parodies, but it’s successful in what it sets out to do.
A
Valuable
Lesson
If
cartoons want to teach morals, then more power to them. However, I believe that it should be a
conscious choice as opposed to an obligation from airing on a kids’
network. This cartoon is a successful
jab at the idea of shows being forced to tone down its edge and teach its
audience something. It’s the very thing
to come from a show with a vast collection of adult jokes that sneak under the
radar and offers problem solving through gags instead of talking things
out.
While the Warners are using extreme
gags to deal with a rampaging Attila the Hun, they’re quickly stopped by the
presence of network censors. They
question them about the messages they’re trying to send the viewing audience
with all their violent gags, but the Warners think nothing of what they
say. With that, the cartoon goes into
full-on fourth wall shattering mode as the censors drag the Warners off to
their offices for a reeducation on what kids’ shows should be like.
Backing them up is a total fluff piece of a
kids’ show, The Snugglers, a spoof on
The Smurfs. With a clear knowledge on the typical
convention of shows aimed just for kids, this is a true dead-on satire of what
stock children shows are like. It tries
so hard to be cutesy and gentle that it totally lacks heart. Morals are also incredibly unsubtle as one
episode has everyone sit around having cloying conversations and sappy songs
about why people get angry. I believe
the Warners have a perfect reaction to something like this.
However, the censors further prove their
point when they show a difference between kids who watch The Snugglers, and kids who watch the Warners’ cartoons. The kids who watch The Snugglers feel like they’re just acting a part with their
statement of moral values sounding so phony.
You can say the same about the kids watching the Warners’ cartoons as
they greet someone by blowing them up.
Still the Warners have the right idea as they find much more
entertainment in the violence from the kids who watched their cartoons. They add onto it by getting the censors to
demonstrate what they’re not supposed to do by pulling explosive gags on each
other when they can’t put their demands to words.
Without explaining anything, the idea is made
clear that the success of this very show makes morals nonexistent. It works because it’s free to do what it
wants and doesn’t work in morals because they’re not part of its
nature. Should censors really bear down
on the show, it would compromise what makes it so unique. Yet, there’s still room to make their demands
work with the presence of Attila the Hun.
He spends the cartoon tracking down the Warners, and when he reaches
them, the censors try to defend them, and get beaten themselves. The catch is that their beating happens
off-screen so it happens, but doesn’t show any legit pain, making the scene
work in a humorous sense. Consider this
a warm-up for a broader showing of this moral later on.
For now, this cartoon is an entertainingly
impressive work that shows off what makes the series as strong as it is in the
face of censorship.
A+
Cartoon Ranking
1. This Pun for Hire
2. Go Fish
3. Valuable Lesson
4. The Sound of Warners
5. Dot’s Entertainment
6. Buttons in Ows
7. Star Truck
8. Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise
9. Yabba Dabba Boo
10. The Party
11. The Girl with the Googily Goop
12. Gimme the Works
13. My Mother the Squirrel
14. Hercules Unwound
15. Belly Button Blues
16. Oh Say Can You See
17. Soccer Coach Slappy
Song Ranking
1. Multiplication
Miscellaneous Ranking
1. Gunga Dot
2. The 12 Days of Christmas
If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
I love Soccer Coach Slappy. Sometimes your reviews are right on the money. In this case, however, your review misses the mark
ReplyDeleteI guess I did sound kind of harsh, at least with Soccer Coach Slappy and maybe that deserved better than a D+.
DeleteStill, I'll try to lighten up in future reviews and maybe I'll end up judging the segments better.