If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:
Don’t Rain on My Ed
While the premiere of this season left a bad impression, this cartoon does it much better justice. By being in line with the show’s winning brand of entertainment, it’s just about as strong as some of the best of the series. In a manner of speaking, this cartoon practically exemplifies the best qualities of the show and brings them together, making it more unfortunate this didn’t come first this season.
It sets the scene with the Eds doing their thing by pulling an elaborate scam with clearly a lot of effort put into it in the name of getting money for jawbreakers. While they’re involved in their process, something sneaks up on them to suddenly thrust them into something different. Eddy learns from Nazz that the local candy store is giving away jawbreakers for free today, but the store will close in 10 minutes, so the Eds have to hurry there.
At that, the scam is quickly abandoned and the cartoon turns into an all-out race to the candy store. While that’s basically all there is, the Eds’ mad dash is thoroughly exciting and full of surprises. This is made especially apparent by the many obstacles the Eds have to endure just to get to the candy store, all demonstrating the energy and spirit of the series. Much of them consist of run-ins from the other kids in the neighborhood, all delaying the Eds’ progress in some way. Sarah keeps them from going anywhere until they clean up their scam, which Ed does unconvincingly, while Kevin and his bike are carelessly gobbled by Eddy while he’s running. Later, to make up for the group’s less-than-adequate speed as well as things in their way, Double D hastily crafts a scooter from things lying around in the lane. While they make progress, they wind up in the construction site where they find a blockade of the Kanker sisters who proceed to aggressively flirt with them as usual. Given the nature of the circumstances, they feel more like just part of the exciting chase than a real nuisance, at least for here. Along with other things like a steamroller flattening the Eds into cartoonish shapes, the construction site does make for an amusing detour to keep up the thrill.
However, it’s here where everyone’s perception on the events is made clear. Double D is anxious to get jawbreakers but also conscientious of everyone’s well-being while Ed is actually loyal to everyone and helps when one of his friends really need him. Eddy, however, is far more selfish putting getting free jawbreakers above everything, including his friends. This makes it not sting as much when some obstacles like Jimmy’s garden in the sky falling on him and Kevin dropping a piano on him as consequence for earlier directly affect him.
Then all three Eds are back together for the last leg of the dash with the candy store in sight with just seconds left. However, there’s one more obstacle to make it look like fate has conspired against them, and it’s the most elaborate of them all. As a storm looms over, there’s a huge chicken drive from Rolf. It gets Ed distracted though he’s quick to save Double D when he’s swept away by the poultry. There’s a major conflict for Eddy to go for the jawbreakers or save his friends, but his selfishness rules out. However, the store does close at the last minute, and while Jonny and Plank are inside, they refuse to let Eddy in. As usual for the Eds, the mission is not accomplished, but with the other Eds safe, the outcome for everyone feels appropriate, especially for Eddy whose selfishness really went too far.
Plus, through the thrill of the chase and strong use of setting and character, the cartoon is still quite the performance for this show.
A+
Once Bitten Twice Ed
Normally, the Eds’ scams, while immoral in nature, have a lot of effort put into their composition that should be taken note of. It’s honestly very impressive what they’re able to accomplish with random simplistic items; it’s like deep down there’s a push for the best quality they can bring. Then there are the times when certain scams fall flat and don’t exactly make the experience of the cartoon the way the most fondly remembered scams do. With this cartoon, this feel is more or less realized with the writing itself even calling it monotonous.
Eddy concocts an experiment by getting Ed to think that one of his action figures is commanding him to do his bidding. In reality, he speaks into a walkie-talkie and his voice comes out of another taped to a random object to make it seem like the object is talking to Ed. Of course, it works on Ed since he’s not very bright, but that’s all the convincing Eddy needs to believe this will work on the other kids. To his credit, it does work on the other kids with Jimmy driven to bring everyone to the woods believing the message to have come from a talking mailbox.
It’s here where the Eds have set up their scam, which is basically a standard arcade game where the kids hunt a raccoon, really Ed in disguise, and hit him with slingshot ammo. It seems to work at first, but Jonny steps in at the last minute and says it’s wrong to harm these animals, even if it is Ed in a costume, resulting in a refund. This is another typical failure of a scam, but in context, this event is even more than that, and it doesn’t do the cartoon any favors. Even though this raccoon scam failed, Eddy believes that all they have to do is ‘tweak’ it. However, in his way of thinking, that means simply changing the subject of the scam; instead of raccoons, his next one is about aliens. Otherwise, it’s virtually the same as before with a random object convincing the kids to come to the woods, and the scam being another shooting game. It’s even thwarted the same way with Jonny turning everyone against it by advocating for aliens. The design of the scam is also just a lazy rebrand with alien imagery over the old raccoon imagery. Through it all, there’s a disappointing lack of effort to this whole scheme, and it shows both to the audience and the other characters noticing everything’s the same as before.
The thing is, Eddy stubbornly refuses to notice this and repeats the process all the way to the end of the cartoon. The kids are already aware of this to the point where the remaining scams aren’t even shown. It’s still clear that they’re following the same lack of effort with the sign just having new topics plastered over the old ones. The catch is that there’s no real humor in this repetitive process no matter how much Eddy tweaks it. Even at the end when Sarah uncovers the walkie-talkie that enticed everyone in the first place, he’s still going about the plan that already constantly failed and is now exposed. Nothing is learned, there’s no payoff, and because of the monotonous nature, nothing stands out.
The cartoon itself is still mildly amusing as it is, but for all its disappointing drawbacks, it’s far from the best.
B
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.
Don’t
Rain on My Ed
14.
Wish You Were Ed
15.
Dueling Eds
16. Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
17.
Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
18. Ed-N-Seek
19. Keeping
Up With the Eds
20. Who
Let the Ed In
21. Avast
Ye Eds
22. Flea
Bitten Ed
23. Fool
on the Ed
24. Ready
Set Ed
25. The
Ed-Touchables
26. Who
What Where Ed
27. Dear
Ed
28.
Momma’s Little Ed
29.
Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?
30. Hot
Buttered Ed
31.
Ed or Tails
32. Stop
Look and Ed
33.
See No Ed
34. Shoo
Ed
35.
Rock-a-Bye Ed
36. Ed
in a Halfshell
37. Scrambled
Ed
38.
O-Ed Eleven
39. Vert
Ed Go
40. Oath
to an Ed
41.
Ed, Ed, and Away
42. Button
Yer Ed
43.
An Ed in the Bush
44. Read
All About Ed
45. Rambling
Ed
46. Home
Cooked Ed
47. Honor
Thy Ed
48. Floss
Your Ed
49. Quick
Shot Ed
50. Look
Into My Eds
51.
The Luck of the Ed
52.
Is There An Ed in the House?
53. Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
54. A
Boy and His Ed
55. Eds-Aggerate
56.
Three Squares and an Ed
57.
Will Work for Ed
58.
Boys Will Be Eds
59. High
Heeled Ed
60. Know-it-All
Ed
61.
For Your Ed Only
62.
Dim Lit Ed
63. Cry
Ed
64. Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
65. A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
66. Pop
Goes the Ed
67. Hands
Across Ed
68. An
Ed Too Many
69. Sir
Ed-a-Lot
70. Over
Your Ed
71.
From Here to Ed
72. A
Key to My Ed
73.
Once
Bitten Twice Ed
74.
X Marks the Ed
75. It’s
Way Ed
76. In
Like Ed
77.
My Fair Ed
78. To
Sir With Ed
79. Nagged
to Ed
80. Tag
Yer Ed
81. If
it Smells Like an Ed
The next review follows the Eds try to make Jimmy a star as a sumo wrestler, and there are different perceptions over Ed forced to practice the violin.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Fixing Frobo" and "Anne-sterminator" from Amphibia.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment