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Episode 92
It
One
of the best things about the parody segments of this show is that they can be
great fun and entertainment even if you don’t know much about the source
material. I, for instance, know little
to nothing about the film It based on
the Stephen King novel other than it involves a clown who kills children. This episode opens with a parody of that
film, and while I don’t know much of the real scene, it’s still expertly
constructed as a short scene by itself.
The whole thing is dark and moody with a heavy blue tint covering a
neighborhood street, a home, and its’ interior.
Then the frightening factor is fully realized with a big bombastic
musical score playing as Wakko runs for his life through the house. With it comes a very impressive panning shot
containing absolutely no cuts as Wakko runs from room to room, knocking aside
various things along the way. It brings
a strong impression that something’s out to get him and as an extra measure of
fright, it feels like he’s legitimately about to meet his doom when he’s backed
against a wall.
Then the fear turns to
major laughs when it turns out that the thing Wakko was running from was just
Dot trying to tag him. Once she gets
him, he’s officially ‘it.’ Basically,
the dramatic fear was over something incredibly minor, but with how
over-the-top the horror factor was, you just can’t help but burst out laughing
when it’s all over.
Some people like me
might not get the reference, but this is still one of the show’s most genius parody
bumpers.
A+
Dot – The
Macadamia Nut
Of
all the song segments of this series, this is one of the most elaborate. It’s very topical for sure, going for
parodying a song new at the time of this episode’s release, “Macarena,” but in
mocking its tropes, it greatly stands as its own thing.
There’s always something of visual and
performance-based interest going on through the whole thing essentially playing
like a music video. The tune is very
catchy despite being modeled after the trendiest pop song at the time, and how
every character involved puts a lot of passion into their performances is impressive. In fact, the whole song can arguably be seen
as one of the biggest musical tributes to the true size and magnitude of the
cast.
As the title states, Dot is the
main focus of the whole thing as she sings about her background, but there’s
room for enhancement from almost the entire cast. Of course, Yakko and Wakko are present to
offer appropriate background singing.
Dot is directly joined by the two most gorgeous beauties in the cast,
Hello Nurse and Minerva Mink. Certain
supporting characters get their own standout moments. Attention is given to
Pinky and the Brain for a verse, Slappy in a purple jump suit beats on her
enemies, and the Goodfeathers rock out with the Godpigeon. Other characters don’t do much
other than dance, but they’re still a solid collection of familiar figures to
make up the number. Some of them are
those who are not seen too often these days like Rita and Runt. The more notable appearances are from one-off
characters like Wally Llama, Newt fawning over Minerva, or Pip Pumphandle,
broadening the feel of the song.
Characters appearances aside, the song also has fun with working in
abstract ideas to the unbelievably catchy tune built around the established
“Macarena” number. The rolling layers
that show up in the music video proper bring to mind just what they resemble, a
slot machine, complete with bar signs and lemons between dancing characters. Lots of people start laughing for no reason
before the last verse, leading Slappy to demand what the joke is, stopping the
song for just a few seconds. Aspects
like this are enough to give a fresh touch of comedy, and make this pop song
parody something all its own. It may
even be a perfect example of a parody that exceeds the appeal of the original
work in fact.
With solid music to model
itself after, great use of character, and comedic touches, this song is one of
the best ways to make good use out of the show’s creative capabilities.
A++
Bully for
Skippy
One
notable thing about the series is how long after it ended, it became
hard-pressed to find other animated shows with the same passion. An example of this is how the use of creative
showings of comic violence on enemies got all its fun sucked out and future shows majorly
stuck to true-to-reality repercussions.
As we near the show’s end, it’s fitting that the one of the cartoons
shown is a commentary on how flawed the push to do away with cartoon violence
really is.
The story opens with Slappy
and Skippy in a congressional hearing held by a man named Reef Blunt. Like the FCC of our world, they declare that
all kids’ TV networks must have educational content and will have none of Slappy’s
typical brand of cartoon comedy. Being
one thing that defines characters like her and the Warners, Slappy is
practically at her most sympathetic being stripped of her true self because of
this.
While the demands of the
congressional hearing are setting out to ruin her, Slappy does still find ways
to push for her way of life. It happens
with the word that Skippy is dealing with the usual yet very effective
childhood challenge of putting up with bullies.
A buff squirrel in his class called Duke is on a rampage of beating on
helpless students, including Skippy, and the poor little squirrel is beaten
senseless. Slappy opts to help with her
brand of violence, but the threats of Reef Blunt prevent that. Instead, Spippy goes for more nonviolent
methods of managing Duke he picks up from his guidance counselor.
The thing is, when giving Skippy advice, the
guidance counselor never really seems invested in his problem. This is especially apparent when efforts of
Skippy ignoring Duke, sharing things with him, and befriending him just get him
more hurt, and she doesn’t even seem to care.
It’s at this point where the big flaw of the no violence rule shows
itself. Slappy and Skippy aren’t allowed
to use violence, and in most bully situations, nonviolent approaches can
work. Just from the details of Skippy’s
pain alone, this is a case where defense strategies need to be
implemented. I mean, how is it fair for
Duke to be allowed to beat Skippy up and not get in trouble, but Slappy and
Skippy are under threat of getting in trouble for using violence?
Truth be told, when Skippy is ready to use
Slappy’s methods and forget his guidance counselor's, things turn out better
for him and the cartoon’s entertainment value.
Continuously slamming Duke into a metal magnet while he’s wearing a
helmet, blowing him up with a boom box, and strapping him to a jetpack are big
on the cartoonish angle. It all works
moralistically too since legit attempts at nonviolently dealing with Duke
didn’t work, and he deserves major pain.
Really when being nice doesn’t work, this is the only way to deal with
thuggish brutes.
Still, the government
and the guidance counselor don’t see it like this and berate Slappy for her
encouragement of violence. However,
there’s somewhat of a compromise giving weight to a machine Slappy is shown to
be working on throughout the cartoon. It
grabs them both, beats them up when they’re inside it, and they’re beaten
enough to approve of Slappy’s actions.
In other words, the violence happens off-screen, so violence can be used to
solve problems after all. It comes with the cost
of not showing funny executions of beatings, but it is a strong enough tie to
how such a thing goes on to become phased out in all comedy shows. For that, I consider this cartoon to be a
unique showcase of problem solving in the worst situations while being
politically fun all at once.
A+
Cartoon Ranking
1. This Pun for Hire
2. Bully for Skippy
3. Wakko’s 2-Note Song
4. Go Fish
5. From Burbank with Love
6. A Very, Very, Very, Very Special Show
7. Valuable Lesson
8. The Sound of Warners
9. Night of the Living Buttons
10. Dot’s Entertainment
11. Pitter Patter of Little Feet
12. Boo Happens
13. Buttons in Ows
14. Cutie and the Beast
15. Star Truck
16. Boids on the Hood
17. Back in Style
18. Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise
19. Yabba Dabba Boo
20. The Boo Network
21. The Party
22. The Girl with the Googily Goop
23. Mindy in Wonderland
24. Jokahontas
25. Gimme the Works
26. Ten Short Films About Wakko
27. Papers for Papa
28. My Mother the Squirrel
29. One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock
30. Amazing Gladiators
31. Soda Jerk
32. Hercules Unwound
33. Belly Button Blues
34. No Time For Love
35. Oh Say Can You See
36. Soccer Coach Slappy
37. Anchors A-Warners
Song Ranking
1. Dot – The Macadamia Nut
2. The Ballad of Magellan
3. Hello Nurse
4. Bones in the Body
5. Noel
6. The Big Wrap Party Tonight
7. When You’re Traveling from Nantucket
8. Panama Canal
9. Multiplication
Miscellaneous Ranking
1. It
2. Gunga Dot
3. Mighty Wakko at the Bat
4. Ralph’s Wedding
5. End Credits
6. Moosege in a Bottle
7. Rugrats Parody
8. The 12 Days of Christmas
9. Flavio Commercials
10. The Return of the Great Wakkorotti
11. Pinky and the Ralph
