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Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?
It all begins when Sarah approaches the Eds, wanting her big brother Ed to do her a favor. She asks him to go to the candy store and use her allowance money to buy fudge for her and Jimmy. Through doing so, Sarah, for once, actually acts very civil asking for the favor with very little of her usual brat traits.
Anyway, it’s very big that Ed has a reasonably big amount of money for candy, probably the most the Eds have ever gotten. Even though it’s meant to be spent on something else, Eddy doesn’t care about honoring words and insists that Ed spend it on what the group’s most after; jawbreakers. There’s something very tempting and sleazy about how Eddy tries to convince Ed to spend the money on what he wants, presenting him as more selfish and deceitful. All the while, Ed’s conflict of loyalty is visualized by the shoulder angel and devil trope with Eddy as the devil opting for jawbreakers and Double D as the angel opting for fudge. Given Ed’s nature as a character, he probably goes through something like this all the time as he’s either causing mischief with Eddy or as sympathetic as Double D.
In the end though, when Ed enters the candy store, while he has time to think, Eddy’s intense pressure leads him to neglect the fudge and buy the jawbreakers. While this makes for the rare instance of the Eds actually getting jawbreakers, it’s hard to really feel satisfied with this since they had to betray someone else’s fair request to get them. Eddy may be unmoved by their course of action, but when he tells Ed to give mud as fudge to Sarah, Ed is quick to realize what he just did. There’s no need for him to be reminded of the implications and how wrong it was. It’s very obvious to him what his actions mean. In fact, Sarah getting enraged at the Eds when she finds out what became of her money is probably the most justified it has been and will ever be in the entire series. Even then, she is open to reason when the Eds promise to pay her back and include interest so she and Jimmy can buy even more fudge.
Eddy is the one to come up with how they pay Sarah back since his peer pressure caused all this, but even then he’s way out of line. The scams he has in mind show no regard for his friends’ well-being, going for humiliating measures like Kevin giving Ed and Double D wedgies, and Jonny whacking them like piñatas. He even wants to keep the money for himself as if he didn’t coax Ed into spending Sarah’s allowance for himself. All of Eddy’s behavior set him up for what he has coming to him. Once Double D and Ed get loose, they stand up for themselves, gang up on Eddy, and really put things in motion in the name of resolution. To pay Sarah back, they punish Eddy by having the kids whack him with a mallet and beam for the reasonable price of one penny for a turn. This means it will be a long time to get Sarah’s money back and Eddy will have to take many blows, but the story and character portrayals make it all work.
This in turn has this cartoon show that with right execution, character likability or unlikability isn’t always a hindrance to a story’s appeal.
A
The Day the Ed Stood Still
For the big finish of Season 3, this show brings a cartoon
that’s best described as out-of-the-ordinary, yet faithful to the nature of the
series. With its usual off-the-wall
sense of humor and imaginative execution, it tackles a type of story successfully as both a parody of it and a worthy fit of that category.
Everything unfolds simply enough with an idea coming from
little moments in life. As the Eds
prepare one of their scams, in this case outdoor arcade games, Ed takes major
interest in a drawing of a monster on one of the photo shoot attractions. Through playing around, he lets his friends
know that he wants to actually be a monster.
To fulfill Ed’s clear desire as well as potentially attract customers
for Eddy, Double D complies and makes Ed his own monster costume.
It’s at this point where the cartoon starts taking on the
feel of something bigger than a usual work of this show. It becomes a standard cartoon of the series
and a play on actual monster movies all at once. First, suspense is built through how we don’t
actually see Ed’s monster costume. In
fact, its first moments are all from Ed’s eye view or perspective, so there’s
no way to get a good look. Then when the
head’s put on, something seems off as everything goes red like something dark
is brewing inside Ed. It’s at this
moment when the monster movie feel is really realized as the next shot features
a silhouette of a full-on rampaging monster, even if the audience knows the
true identity.
This is only the beginning though as since Ed looks the part
of a monster, he must act like one, and act like one he does. He performs things most would expect from an
actual monster, mainly rampaging about as he pleases and destroying what’s in
his path. Said destruction even stands
out a lot as carnage all his own, like going to random spots like the local
playground and reshaping its amenities into shapes of chickens.
However, despite all craziness from the setup, the thing
making it all work is how everyone reacts to it. Double D, who made the costume in the first
place, is left to lament over creating a monster and freaks out over what Ed’s
getting up to. Then there are the
neighborhood kids who become reasonably afraid of what’s going on, also reflective
of an actual monster attack. It starts
with Jimmy crying for help and disappearing, and everyone is extremely worried
for his safety. Then Jonny is going
about his business, and after finding a box of Chunky Puffs lying around in the
construction site, he’s grabbed by the tail of Ed’s monster costume. Consider this the beginning of the slow
reveal of Ed’s monstrous form. When the
rest of the kids discover Jonny missing too, they get their first look at
what’s been causing the disturbance, but it’s still not clear to the
audience. They run for their lives,
eventually crossing paths with the Eds, with Double D trying to reassure
everyone of its nature while Eddy, aware of the truth, laughs at the thrill of
it all.
After more fearful reactions including another kid snatched
as the monster’s victim, Ed’s costume is given a full view at last. Despite clearly being made of an assortment
of patches, cardboard features, and other material, it still looks and feels
like an actual monster especially combined with Ed’s acting. In fact, his acting like a monster and the
kids fearful reactions to him make what would otherwise be something ridiculous
so convincing. The following events add
to this feel as everyone is led to take refuge in a clubhouse not seen since
Season 1 with Rolf ready to sacrifice someone to the beast, and Nazz actually
kissing Double D who offers to go and face the monster himself.
Eventually, Ed gets to them all by bringing down the
clubhouse, and still playing along with the nature of his getup, finishes off
the rest of the victims. In reality,
what Ed actually does to those he captured as a monster is something far more
unusual to say the least. Working in the
earlier find of Chunky Puffs, he chews up a lot of the cereal, spits it out all
over the kids, and then sticks them on his wall. Then he uses the rest of the chewed up cereal
to decorate his room like a cave. This
whole thing is unbelievably disgusting indiscussion, no question, but the very idea of it,
and how it looks in execution without context is still highly creative.
Just as Double D is about to try and make things right and
save everyone while Eddy is too blown over by the thrills and potential for
profit to care, the truth is revealed at last.
Sarah comes in and rips off the mask of the costume, leaving everyone
dumbfounded that the monster that’s been terrorizing them was nothing more than
the local oaf. What they experienced was
so legitimately terrifying, but like most fears, it turned out to be
nothing. Issues still arise with the
kids left stuck on Ed’s wall and Sarah stuck too as she tries to free everyone. All the while, Eddy is confident they’ll all
forget it as long as he and his friends lay low under his bed with plenty of
supplies for months. However, with Ed still active
with his imagination and willing to take on many roles, what happened will
never be forgotten. From an audience
perspective, this seems to be for the best.
This show has always had an interesting way of portraying
life, and with this cartoon, it comes together for an unforgettable
experience. It takes something made from
the simplest material and conceived from the simplest idea, and through
believable reactions and staging, the results are simply all their own. Of course, this makes such an awesome season
of this show go out with a major bang, but as a standard work of animation,
it’s impressive in every sense.
A++
Series Ranking
1.
An Ed is Born
2. One
+ One = Ed
3.
The Day the Ed Stood Still
4. A Glass of Warm
Ed
5.
It Came from Outer Ed
6. Rent-A-Ed
7.
Once Upon an Ed
8. Fa
La La La Ed
9. Urban
Ed
10.
Ed…Pass it On
11. Laugh
Ed Laugh
12. Dawn
of the Eds
13.
Wish You Were Ed
14.
Dueling Eds
15. Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
16.
Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
17. Ed-N-Seek
18. Keeping
Up With the Eds
19. Who
Let the Ed In
20. Avast
Ye Eds
21. Flea
Bitten Ed
22. Fool
on the Ed
23. Ready
Set Ed
24. The
Ed-Touchables
25. Who
What Where Ed
26. Dear
Ed
27.
Momma’s Little Ed
28. Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?
29. Hot
Buttered Ed
30.
Ed or Tails
31. Stop
Look and Ed
32.
See No Ed
33. Shoo
Ed
34.
Rock-a-Bye Ed
35. Ed
in a Halfshell
36. Scrambled
Ed
37.
O-Ed Eleven
38. Vert
Ed Go
39. Oath
to an Ed
40.
Ed, Ed, and Away
41. Button
Yer Ed
42.
An Ed in the Bush
43. Read
All About Ed
44. Rambling
Ed
45. Home
Cooked Ed
46. Honor
Thy Ed
47. Floss
Your Ed
48. Quick
Shot Ed
49. Look
Into My Eds
50.
The Luck of the Ed
51.
Is There An Ed in the House?
52. Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
53. A
Boy and His Ed
54. Eds-Aggerate
55.
Three Squares and an Ed
56.
Will Work for Ed
57.
Boys Will Be Eds
58. High
Heeled Ed
59. Know-it-All
Ed
60.
For Your Ed Only
61.
Dim Lit Ed
62. Cry
Ed
63. Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
64. A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
65. Pop
Goes the Ed
66. Hands
Across Ed
67. An
Ed Too Many
68. Sir
Ed-a-Lot
69. Over
Your Ed
70.
From Here to Ed
71. A
Key to My Ed
72.
X Marks the Ed
73. It’s
Way Ed
74. In
Like Ed
75.
My Fair Ed
76. To
Sir With Ed
77. Nagged
to Ed
78. Tag
Yer Ed
Final Thoughts
Another season of Ed
Edd n Eddy is now wrapped up, and it would be an understatement to say that
it was quite a ride. Though it’s once
again more in line with what the show has been before as episodic shows
typically are, it’s execution of its formula feels stronger than ever here. With several exciting, interesting, and
all-around entertaining cartoons, some might say that this is the season to
really master what the series sets itself out to do.
As typically expected with this show, the most prominent
element and overall source of the quality come from the variety of adventures
each cartoon brings. Whether it’s creative
off-the-wall scenarios, takes on more relatable areas of life, or one of the
Eds’ elaborate scams, there’s always something great and exciting that stands
out. Looking at the Eds’ primary customs
of scams, one could say that they, and by extension the crew behind the show,
really outdo themselves with what they have to offer. Whether it’s an old world village in the
middle of a construction site; custom-made bikes made from kitchen supplies; a
toboggan ride with soap for snow; or excitingly effective thrill rides built
from a random junk, this is a season where childhood imagination and the powers
of animation come together for something memorable. Even when scams aren’t the focus of a
cartoon, it’s admirable that they often lead to something bigger and stand out
as legitimately creative on their own.
The main topics of certain cartoons even go beyond the usual scams and
explore daily situations and mine them for all their entertaining
potential. Sticky notes explaining
chores lead Double D to do ridiculous things; there’s a look at what happens
when Ed runs a scam for entirely different purposes than usual; a disrespectful
action from Eddy leads to a duel with Rolf where in spite of using fish for
weapons, it’s staged as a serious fight; the Eds spend a cartoon just chasing a
balloon; an entire cartoon shows a day where the Eds are nowhere to be seen and
the neighborhood kids cope with that; all three Eds find themselves competing
for a jawbreaker; Ed has a nightmare that gives him a fearful perspective on
the innocent Jonny; and Ed just going about the cul-de-sac as a monster brings
the feel of a legitimate horror movie fabricated out of normal, everyday
items. Each scenario makes for a great
show of laughs, charisma, and all-around animated entertainment on their own. Combined with the usual strengths of the inventive
visual style, sound effects, and music, as well as solid vocal performances and
witty dialog, this season’s a real collection of winners.
When looking at this particular season, there are a few
notable areas that make the material as strong as it is. The most noticeable area comes from something
that is typically at the center of a great animated work, the characters. For a bunch of kids, they’re largely
commendable players with dynamic performances, personalities, and legit
development, some of which coming from the worst kids. Sarah is still typically a violent brat, but
some instances like when her diary’s missing, and her allowance is spent on
something she didn’t want make her oddly sympathetic. Kevin is still among the Eds’ biggest rivals,
but a lot of the time, he’s shown to still be a typical kid going about his
life. He can even bond with others,
including the Eds, over common interests at times. Not to mention, for all his moments of
coolness amongst his peers, he’s also shown to have legit fears and paranoia to
make him more human. The only bad
characters that show little to no depth or development are the Kanker sisters,
but it’s not a big deal since they don’t show up much here. When they do, it’s usually for short scenes
and for grossly exaggerated takes on how they harass others.
The better presented characters also have at least a single
memorable performance this season. Nazz,
as usual, has the least focus, but her single starring role does feature an
interesting side to her that comes with being the cute nice girl. Her charm that makes almost all the boys
attracted to her gives her a lot of pressure she can’t handle, but she deserves
points for not immediately going along with them. She understands the hidden ridiculousness of
everyone and stands as her own person.
Jonny and Plank’s friendship is also frequently shown with genuineness
as Plank shows signs of being more of a character than expected and Jonny
always looking out for him.
However, one neighborhood kid stands out a lot among the rest
very frequently this season, and that’s Rolf.
It’s like the people behind the show understand the creative potential
from an eccentric foreigner, and take full advantage of it. Some of the most memorable cartoons this
season feature him and his customs in a significant way. There’s a depth to him where he can’t fit
into the modern customs of this new country and longs to return to his home;
and he’s shown to value his customs so much that he goes into mourning when
they’re disrespected and resorts to a duel to settle things. Rolf is also very active in more
out-of-the-ordinary roles like a boss for a hired farmhand or leader of the
Urban Rangers scout troop on a camping trip.
He’s also the bright spot in weaker cartoons, such as being the only one
to help Eddy with his pimple problem while everyone else mocks him despite
some questionable results. If that’s not
enough, even when Rolf’s not the focus of a cartoon, his presence almost always
leads to a memorable moment. Whether
he’s a victim of antics, used as a hilariously aggressive running gag, or
livens up moments with his eccentric personality, Rolf certainly has a way of entertaining. This in turn is a
testament to how well the show works its characters.
Of course, the real characters to drive everything are the
Eds themselves. As their dynamic is
basically the center of the series, it’s a welcome circumstance that several
cartoons this season specifically showcase their appeal as characters. Different ones do so in a variety of ways
which in turn presents the overall concept as a great idea for a series. Some feature the idea of each of the Eds
being a different side of a single human whole with Eddy’s aggression, Double
D’s fuss over detail, and Ed’s escapist simplicity. This is best shown when they recap events of
a day as a bedtime story for Jonny with each Ed presenting their exaggerated
worldview, a collection of vastly different perspectives. Some cartoons feature good heart where in
spite of their differences that lead to difficulty, the Eds work well as a team
and show legitimate care for each other.
Eddy may start a cartoon by pranking Double D, but he’s capable of being
moved enough to make up for it for his sake; when Ed is seemingly unjustly
grounded for unexplained reasons, his friends come in to help him escape even
if they fail; and even an Ed’s simplest problem like new chapters in their
lives or frightening areas of growing up lead to the whole team working
together to solve everything.
Then there are cartoons that look into an Ed’s individual
persona to highlight them as characters and make for a variety of stories to
tell. For Ed, his stories demonstrate
the extent of his overactive imagination with random steps to a curse; a
nightmare creatively implying parental abuse he endures; and getting way too
into character as a monster. Double D’s
stories feature an obsessive studious and overly-analytical worldview as his
attention to sticky notes and thinking all the kids need a strict education. As for Eddy, his stories
surprisingly bring the most development.
Some of the strongest cartoons this season highlight this idea. One of them has Eddy pull off a rumor to get
his peers to respect him by saying his brother’s coming home which ultimately
feels more like fear-mongering. In fact,
it serves as strong foreshadowing of his brother’s true appearance later
on. Another is an elaborately authentic
video presentation of Eddy’s daily life staged to feel like it's shot on
a legit handheld camera. In addition to
attempts to make himself look cool and mature for his brother, this performance
stands for a lot more. It’s like a big
tribute to the setting the audience has grown accustomed to, the variety of
personalities, the smart comedy, emphasis on childhood memories, the list goes
on. That’s one big way to show how this
season stands as something great, in turn highlighting the extent of its
appeal.
There is, however, one work here that somewhat goes against
the depths to the Eds’ dynamic with “My Fair Ed.” There, it feels like it’s
going for the simple idea that those who are smart and lenient to the rules are
good while those who have any sort of fun are bad. In turn, it makes it seem like Double D is
the only character worthy of sympathy, disregarding the layers to everyone in
this group and established heart. This
isn’t too big a deal this season for only happening once, but it should be
known that it becomes more frequent in the show going forward. While this one instance gives something to
look out for, it’s still clear that Season 3 has a lot more to enjoy, promptly
overpowering any weak point.
With several interesting story ideas, strong character
moments, engaging tones, and all-around strong entertainment, Season 3 is a
grand presentation for Ed Edd n Eddy. In fact, with how impressive it is, it’s not
only the peak of the series, but maybe one of the closest things to perfection
in TV animation. This does signal that
everything after this is going to be significantly weaker, so look out for that,
but it’s still rewarding to have this season to present this show at its fullest
potential.
With the end of another review set and since we're now in the month of December, look out for a few Christmas special reviews on this blog. Then, when we come back in the New Year, we'll be kicking things off with new simultaneous season review sets for The Owl House and Amphibia. Until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
A lot of the show's most hated episodes are from the last two seasons. Judging by what you said in that last paragraph, I'm assuming you agree.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I kind of do.
DeleteBut it's going to be awhile before I get to them.