Monster Party
There are times when works of this show are very overt with inspiration. Some of it being animated works that were major parts of the childhoods of the crew. This cartoon is one of those examples that offers a solid expansion on the idea of Enid actually being a witch.
When she was younger, that part of her life earned her a spot in a school called Ghoul School. As she explains to Rad, who amusingly spends the entire cartoon ending up in random settings, she used to go there, but left to become a ninja after things didn’t work out there. Now, her friends from Ghoul School are coming to visit her with a picnic that K.O. is helping to host. Although Enid is legitimately excited to see her old friends again, Rad just has to point out that they might not take her being a ninja well. These words, despite being overbearingly condescending on Rad’s part, initiate a conflict by literally planting a seed of doubt in Enid’s mind. She does what she can to convince them that she’s still the witch she left them as.
As for her Ghoul School friends, they consist of Phantasma the ghost, Elsa, the Frankenstein monster, Sibella the vampire, Tanis the mummy, and Winnie the werewolf. In keeping with being overt with inspiration, these are all the Ghoul School students from a Scooby Doo movie from the 80s. I’m not that big on Scooby Doo so I wouldn’t know how faithful these characters are to the source material, but it’s still a fascinating occurrence. They blend into the art style of this show well, and when looking back on Enid’s past, there’s a nice look at how she fits into 80s-style animation too. There are also clear homages to classic Cartoon Network too. In a flashback, Phantasma reads a magazine with the Grim Reaper modeled after his portrayal from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Also because of their voices, she, Elsa, and Sibella easily morph into Ed Edd n Eddy at one point.
These references turn out to be a major driving force in appeal for the cartoon. They make up for the fact that Enid is caught in a mundane plot of feebly hiding her true identity resulting in embarrassing awkwardness around her friends. As K.O. points out in a fourth wall-breaking remark, she already had this arc. Unlike most instances of awkwardness though, the ones here are actually really funny thanks to funny expressions and visual humor only this show can deliver.
They’re also what’s needed for her to make Enid fit in with her friends as they all test out how their spells improved over the years. Enid makes a tree come to life that ends up trapping the younger monsters, Tanis and Winnie, and there’s a funny sequence where she can’t make the tree stop. As she succumbs to admitting the truth, her friends are much more understanding of their true identity, especially since they found out she’s more into ninjas long ago. It makes you wonder how they’d take the truth if they didn’t find out. Ultimately it’s Enid’s ninja powers that saves the day, and they finish everything off with a random dance number. I suppose this is expected from the cast of an old Scooby Doo movie, and it makes for good background for a Halloween show.
With good atmosphere and
spooky themed gags, this isn’t the strongest story, but a cartoon that has a
lot of fun with its setup. It’s
especially a joy if you’re into references that help a story instead of take
away from it.
A-
Season 2
Rankings
1. Your World is an Illusion
2. T.K.O.’s House
3. Final Exams
4. CarolQuest
5. Dendy’s Power
6. Crossover Nexus
7. Lord Cowboy Darrell
8. Bittersweet Rivals
9. Red Action to the Future
10. My Fair Carol
11. Are You Ready for Some Megafootball?!
12. Boxman Crashes
13. Wisdom Strength and Charisma
14. Mystery Sleepover
15. Point to the Plaza
16. Special Delivery
17. Seasons Change
18. The So-Bad-Ical
19. Monster Party
20. Plaza Film Festival
21. Let’s Watch the Boxmore Show
22. Be a Team
23. Soda Genie
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where another holiday spirit is in full force for K.O. and his friends.
If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
I haven't watched Cartoon Network in so long, but since I find you to be a pretty reliable guy, I might consider checking the show out.
ReplyDeleteNice. The entire series is on HBO Max if you're interested. If you don't have that, try Hulu.
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