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Episode 83
One Flew
Over the Cuckoo Clock
The
bulk of this episode is interesting to say the least. At the same time, I can’t help but shake off
how tonally confusing it is and how much it doesn’t fit the nature of the featured characters. It consists of the only full-length
Slappy Squirrel cartoon. Her role as a
headliner certainly makes for a decently told emotional story albeit one that doesn’t
really suit her.
The conflict starts
with her looking through the TV to find a channel. However, her search brings nothing but bland
talk shows and reality shows. Via a
really funny and fast-paced sequence of scrolling through shows on the most
ridiculous people, Slappy is slowly driven crazy. The effects make themselves known when Skippy
finds Slappy crazily quoting the talk shows in a daze. There’s a showing of believable effects of a
senile guardian on a young child.
There’s taking Slappy to a hospital, Skippy dealing with the burdens of
caring for her, and a subtitle showing it lasting for three weeks.
Out of it is the biggest instance of tonal
confusion. This whole spree of senility
happened because of something as ridiculous as watching too many talk shows,
yet the effects feel so true to real life.
It’s like what’s happening is treated as a humorous take on the
condition, yet the audience is expected to take it seriously. The real kicker is when Slappy starts acting
so crazy that her doctors decide to send her to a retirement center. I put emphasis on old since the bulk of the
residents are elder versions of cartoons like the Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Woody Woodpecker and Mighty
Mouse.
While Slappy’s reason for being
here is a major tonal confusion, it’s fitting that her relationship with Skippy
is heartwarmingly staged. After all,
that’s been a feel associated with the character since the show’s beginning. Skippy sees Slappy every day at three marked
by her cuckoo clock and their bond feels genuine. It even seems to bring Slappy back to her
senses as she expertly blows old Walter Wolf at one point as if she's always had her wits about her.
Despite that, the world around Slappy and Skippy seems frustratingly
oblivious to any progress. There’s also
a scene uncomfortably dramatic for this show where Skippy is taken by child
services. Not only is it hard to watch
from characters expected to bring laughs, but it begs a lot of questions
about how Skippy has gone from visiting Slappy to living with her. Arguably, that's been a question long before this episode, but here it's way more apparent than ever. You also have to question how it takes months
for Slappy to snap out of her talk show trance just as Skippy doesn't show up.
At least
the last act is very rewarding. Slappy
knows that Skippy would never just abandon her and can tell he’s in
trouble. There’s a fun climax where she
escapes the retirement home riding in a laundry cart retaining her classic
cartoon knowledge all the way. Sealing
her recovery is easily figuring out where Skippy’s been taken and the two
heading home to relive their lives. This
is a strong show of heart to the relationship of these characters.
All the same, it’s hard to buy a
serious condition formed from a ridiculous occurrence. Maybe it could have been a good pilot for a
potential Slappy spinoff, but it’s questionable if it’s worth compromising a
lot of the comedic edge that’s defined her.
B
Cartoon Ranking
1. This Pun for Hire
2. Wakko’s 2-Note Song
3. Go Fish
4. Valuable Lesson
5. The Sound of Warners
6. Dot’s Entertainment
7. Buttons in Ows
8. Star Truck
9. Our Final Space Cartoon We Promise
10. Yabba Dabba Boo
11. The Party
12. The Girl with the Googily Goop
13. Gimme the Works
14. My Mother the Squirrel
15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo Clock
16. Hercules Unwound
17. Belly Button Blues
18. Oh Say Can You See
19. Soccer Coach Slappy
Song Ranking
1. The Ballad of Magellan
2. Hello Nurse
3. The Big Wrap Party Tonight
4. Panama Canal
5. Multiplication
Miscellaneous Ranking
1. Gunga Dot
2. The 12 Days of Christmas
3. The Return of the Great Wakkorotti
As of this
review, we’re 1/3 of the way through Volume 4. Next time we'll kick off the second disc with an elaborate Beauty and the Beast parody, Chicken Boo as Forrest Gump, and all the ways one can change the meaning of the word Noel in a popular Christmas carol.
If you would like to check out other Animaniacs reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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