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Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
They may be scams, but the things the Eds come up with to get money are almost always exciting spectacles in their own right. In the right circumstances, they can even be considered a highlight. The scam in this cartoon is one of the most exciting of the series in fact as they’re all about thrill rides, the most fun a lot of people can have. At the same time, it’s a great contender for something to look into the nature of the show’s most intriguing enigma, Plank.
On the surface, Plank is nothing more than a board with a face that Jonny made to be his own personal friend, but it may not be that simple. His thoughts dictated by Jonny upon seeing the Eds in the middle of one of their scams, Plank’s apparent desire for thrill rides drives the ensuing events. The claim that he, a wooden board, also gets an allowance he loves to spend on thrill rides is especially a big incentive. From there, the cartoon becomes a showcase of various fabricated rides that manage to function impressively well and lead to humorous sequences.
In a way, the rides kind of build upon each other when it comes to intensity, size, and antics. That said, the first one, bumper cars made from wheeled stands and inner tubes around them, has a big effect of his own. Plank’s bumper car is given a simple push, and it sends the Eds’ bumper cars in all directions. It could be argued that such an extreme reaction from an inanimate object means it has more life than one would think, or maybe this is cartoon logic talking.
Anyway, the next thrill ride is still a significant setup, and Eddy raising the price reflects this. It has Plank get shot into the air while riding a roller skate over a pit of termites. The magnitude of this ride comes in both its creative setup as well as the genuine danger too it. Jonny’s worry over Plank’s safety as he’s set off feels very genuine, which helps make Plank feel real. For Jonny’s sake, Plank is saved by a parachute which lands him in a tree. Getting Plank out gets him to safety, but the Eds are given a particularly extreme after effect when retrieving him. Their termites backfire on them as they eat the tree, and send them into a creek which in turn has them go over a waterfall.
As extreme as this is, one more ride tops them all. In accordance with most amusement parks, it involves their biggest attractions yet, roller coasters. This is the best demonstration of the Eds’ scams’ craftsmanship of the cartoon. The various junk that makes the track and a shopping cart to serve as the coaster cart impressively works to be a functional attraction. To really show it has a lot going for it, Plank is said to pay 5 whole dollars if the Eds ride with him.
This leads to the biggest instance of Plank seeming to have a mind of his own. Before joining the Eds, he’s suddenly out of Jonny’s hold and at the control needed to release the roller coaster. He was said to be looking for kicks, and gets them by sending the Eds down the roller coaster themselves. The ensuing ride has all the speed, thrill, and fun of a real roller coaster. It’s a grand old time watching the Eds in action, and even if they’re screaming and want it to stop, it’s easy to wish you were joining them. Again, it’s impressive that a random assortment of junk ends up feeling like a real roller coaster. There is a dangerous drawback from the Eds being launched at the end and them losing the money they got from Jonny is a real misfortune, but the authentic feel of the ride sill persists.
It shows that despite the nature of scams,
setups like this can have them make a cartoon, even when a plank with a face is
involved.
A+
My Fair Ed
This may be obvious, but characters with a lot to themselves
are far more compelling and enjoyable than those defined by single prominent
traits. The Eds themselves, for the most
part have a lot to them where they can be aggressive but still look out for
each other, and smart and calculating but able to get ahead of
themselves. However, there are times when
characterization goes a simpler route which negatively affects their portrayal. Putting it bluntly, Double D is moralistic
and logical, so he’s automatically the good guy. Ed and Eddy, however, are more aggressive and
prone to causing trouble, so they’re nothing but a nuisance. Such a portrayal devalues a lot of
complexities and layers the dynamic has been shown to have throughout the
series; for example, isn’t it true that Ed has a good heart? Sadly, this comes
up frequently in later seasons, but this cartoon is where it starts becoming
more apparent. It’s certainly not the
worst instance of this though, as it does have a lot of strong comedy to it.
The opening demonstrating Double D as the sane one in the trio and Ed and Eddy as totally reckless especially gets solid laughs. After the two mess around with Double D’s groceries, they go around the cul-de-sac chasing each other while trying to get one of them to eat broccoli. There’s a lot of variety to the off-the-wall chaos they cause as they carelessly interfere with the lives of the other kids. They smash Jimmy into a fence after he has painted a unicorn on it, his specialty; they give waste to Rolf’s garden of eggplants putting him into mourning; they destroy Kevin’s bike in the middle of a wheelie; and they almost separate Jonny and Plank. It’s a wide assortment of ways to show the ways Ed and Eddy inconvenience everyone, and while childish, the extreme lengths over something like eating broccoli is worth a good laugh.
Not so funny is how Double D takes the heat for everything they did which hardly feels fair. He may be the most sane Ed, but normally the kids would attack the Eds who were the real instigator, or all of them. Also, if they’re acting this way because Double D is the better of the three, why do they not treat at least him as one of them on a regular basis? Is it only when it’s convenient for them? Along with the implications from the characterizations, this is a sure way to hurt the cartoon going forward.
Anyway, through Double D’s treatment, he gets his hat tied in a pretzel, and is threatened to have the same thing happen to his legs if he doesn’t reform Ed and Eddy. In a good portrayal of the Eds’ dynamic, Double D’s friends would see what’s at stake and make an effort to have him avoid the neighborhood kids’ wrath.
At first it seems like that’s the direction when Double D sets Ed and Eddy up for etiquette training. He has an interesting approach to it where he serves his friends soup, and whenever they behave badly, he rips off one of three bandages to let them know their faults. The pained reactions of every bandage rip are greatly timed and exaggerated to comedic effect, so even when Ed and Eddy are unruly, it’s easy to enjoy what’s happening. This exercise also seems to work as both Ed and Eddy realize that behaving well will keep them from getting hurt from the bandage rips. This in turn convinces Double D that they’ve changed for the better, so they test out their reformed selves by helping the neighborhood kids with various problems.
Sadly, the apparent
progress doesn’t translate as more problems arise. All of Ed and Eddy’s help wrecks the kids’
property and puts them in awkward and painful positions, and one instance is
concealed in a bag. If that’s not
enough, it’s even worse than their first round of chaos in the cartoon as
they’re aware of what they’re doing and act like their doing good. Once again, the unfair tone of the story
persists with nothing changing for the better and Double D taking the heat for
his friends’ actions. Worst of all, it
later turns out that all of this was a prank for Ed and Eddy to think that
Double D changed them, which is messed up.
This only seals the feeling that basing likability on who’s reckless and
who follows the rules really hurts a cartoon.
It lacks depth, makes it seem like Ed and Eddy don’t care for their
friend which hasn’t been the case before, and is on the whole unpleasing. At least Double D kind of gets the last laugh
by sending his friends running away from broccoli again…even if he’s left at
the mercy of Kevin when his friends re-wreck his bike.
With unfair dynamics and making it seem like predominant
traits are certain characters’ only traits, much of this cartoon sadly falls
flat. It’s the weakest of Season 3, but
even at that, with solid comedy and energy, and some instances of justice, it’s
still serviceably entertaining. However,
this dynamic of simple traits is going to become more apparent in seasons to
come, so it’s best for the audience to brace themselves.
C
Series Ranking
1.
An Ed is Born
2. One
+ One = Ed
3. A Glass of Warm
Ed
4.
It Came from Outer Ed
5. Rent-A-Ed
6.
Once Upon an Ed
7. Fa
La La La Ed
8. Urban
Ed
9.
Laugh Ed Laugh
10. Dawn
of the Eds
11.
Wish You Were Ed
12.
Dueling Eds
13. Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
14. Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
15. Ed-N-Seek
16. Keeping
Up With the Eds
17. Who
Let the Ed In
18. Avast
Ye Eds
19. Flea
Bitten Ed
20. Fool
on the Ed
21. Ready
Set Ed
22. The
Ed-Touchables
23. Who
What Where Ed
24. Dear
Ed
25.
Momma’s Little Ed
26. Hot
Buttered Ed
27.
Ed or Tails
28. Stop
Look and Ed
29.
See No Ed
30. Shoo
Ed
31. Ed
in a Halfshell
32. Scrambled
Ed
33. Vert
Ed Go
34. Oath
to an Ed
35.
Ed, Ed, and Away
36. Button
Yer Ed
37.
An Ed in the Bush
38. Read
All About Ed
39. Rambling
Ed
40. Home
Cooked Ed
41. Honor
Thy Ed
42. Floss
Your Ed
43. Quick
Shot Ed
44. Look
Into My Eds
45.
Is There An Ed in the House?
46. Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
47. A
Boy and His Ed
48. Eds-Aggerate
49.
Three Squares and an Ed
50.
Will Work for Ed
51.
Boys Will Be Eds
52. High
Heeled Ed
53. Know-it-All
Ed
54.
For Your Ed Only
55.
Dim Lit Eds
56. Cry
Ed
57. Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
58. A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
59. Pop
Goes the Ed
60. Hands
Across Ed
61. An
Ed Too Many
62. Sir
Ed-a-Lot
63. Over
Your Ed
64.
From Here to Ed
65. A
Key to My Ed
66.
X Marks the Ed
67. It’s
Way Ed
68. In
Like Ed
69. My Fair Ed
70. To
Sir With Ed
71. Nagged
to Ed
72. Tag
Yer Ed
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Ed hassome strange yet telling nightmares, and the Eds follow a map from Eddy's brother to an interesting treasure.
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.
Yeah, I agree with your assessment on "My Fair Ed". While not completely without merit, it's one of the show's worst for sure.
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