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:
Ed Overboard
An interesting thing about this cartoon is how it shows different sides to characters and puts them in unusual situations.
To incite the conflict, there’s a look at a more humane side of the otherwise unpleasant Kanker sisters. Lee and Marie give May a makeover, but they make their sister look like a total mess. As May retaliates with justified aggression, she’s reminded of her supposed ‘boyfriend’ Ed, and bawls over how he’ll never like her because of how hideous he looks. Aside from the context that Ed and his friends already want nothing to do with any of the Kankers, this is an interesting perception of this group. The way May breaks down over how Ed might feel about her suggests that there is a genuineness to her flirting with him; perhaps her love is for real after all. That’s not an excuse for how much of a harasser she and her sisters can be, but it’s easier to see her point here. There’s also legit care from Lee and Marie where even though they gave May a bad makeover to begin with, they insist men can like her for more than looks. With that said, they set out to prove it by kidnapping Ed and bringing him to May. Of course they need to be stopped, but there are still understandable feelings from their point of view.
Given the context and low morality, action is taken to rescue Ed from harassment. Double D is quick to try to rescue him while Eddy doesn’t want anything to do with getting involved with the Kankers despite their friend in trouble. Eddy may seem disingenuous, but there are strong hints of reasonable fear of the Kankers. Then there is the help they get from Rolf who agrees to assist them as the Urban Rangers. In fact, the way they get involved is probably the best of the series; Rolf jumps into sap to change into uniform, uses a cow to call Jimmy, Jonny, and Plank, and even lets Eddy and Double D join them through an oath. It’s all a creative and insightful look of how this scout troop gets into action and all for a good cause for the series’ main trio.
As for the actual rescue, a desperate need for one is clear as May is quickly cheered up by Ed’s presence. She draws symbols of love over his body, unaware that they’re unrequited. The actual rescue features solid amusement from the characters involved. Rolf tries to stage a good distraction, and Ed naively blowing the cover of Jimmy and Jonny trying to untie him. Their cover is ultimately blown because of Ed and the Kankers start ganging up on them, making this seemingly formidable scout troop intimidated. In fact, their only resort is to play dead, lilies on the chest and all, but even that leaves them scared as the Kankers clearly don’t buy this act. If there’s one thing to take from this, it makes all the times the Eds are always harassed by them slightly better. The fact that even characters as strong as the Urban Rangers can also be overpowered by these creeps means they’re no weaker than their peers.
If anything, the Eds turn out better than the Urban Rangers as they successfully save Ed from their clutches, and there’s even a nice scene showing how good it is to have him back. This good feeling doesn’t last long as the cartoon ends with the Urban Rangers taking Ed away again as retaliation for the Kankers apparently giving them bad makeovers. It’s ultimately unknown what’s done with Ed now, and things are left unresolved especially with Double D insisting Eddy be taken instead; some friendship there. Thankfully, the sting of the ending is lessened by the impressive things this cartoon does with the featured characters.
A
One of Those Eds
Sometimes all that’s needed to pull off strong entertainment is a large cast of characters, a simple situation, and all their unique ways of approaching it. There’s no shortage of characters with this show, all of which having their own quirky personality. With them all together to try and reach a common goal, the appeal is all set to let itself be known.
It begins when Eddy finds a quarter on the sidewalk, but for some reason, he can’t get it off. Worried that someone will come and take the quarter for themselves, he marks the spot with his shoe and goes to get help. All the while, more kids show up and do the same thing. They spot the quarter under the peculiar thing hiding it whether it’s Eddy’s shoe, Jimmy’s Mr. Yum-Yum (a bear this time), and Kevin’s hat. Like Eddy, they can’t just pick the quarter up with it still firmly stuck to the sidewalk.
Eventually, they all arrive at the same spot and escalate the situation claiming the quarter for themselves, eventually leading to an all-out brawl. As an added bit of humor, all of this starting with Eddy hiding the quarter with this shoe and eventually Rolf trying to beat it with three shoes leads to Ed not fighting for the quarter. Rather, he just goes after everyone’s shoes for the fun of it, leading to an outrageous fixation to break up the aggression. Speaking of which, Double D’s involvement includes organizing everyone’s anxiousness to get the quarter by having them take turns in trying to get it off.
The entertainment continues to build through everyone’s outrageous attempts and equally outrageous after effects. Jimmy tries to remove it with an eyelash curler, and immediately is sent to the hospital after one go; Sarah tries to remove it with her teeth and is defeated by simple embarrassment after Eddy claims to see her underwear which is obviously a lie; Kevin tries to pry it off with his bike and a chain only for his bike to take off without him; and Rolf’s sheer force in removing the quarter is thwarted by a sudden relapse of a back pain caused by a scam from earlier in the cartoon.
This only leaves the Eds in the clear to try and remove the quarter now, and when Eddy’s attempt with a shovel fails, Double D steps in with an apparently elaborate proposal. It’s somewhat humorously remarkable that so much research goes into something as seemingly simple as removing a quarter from the sidewalk. The build-up to the invention’s reveal is staged as huge with everything shown in shadows at night. By the next day, this invention made of simple junk has impressively managed to dig up everything, except that quarter.
Then, all these elaborate processes to remove it get a big punchline when what was keeping it stuck is revealed through simple measures. It was nothing more than a wad of gum, and Jonny and Plank were using the quarter to keep it fresh. The Eds and everyone else went through so much trouble to try and get that quarter all to themselves, but the reason it was stuck was through something so simple. Now, all the Eds have to show for their effort is a bunch of shoes Ed managed to pilfer through it all.
It’s plain to see that this cartoon is built through a simple scenario built upon through a big cast and creative gags, and it’s appropriately immensely entertaining as a result.
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.
One
of Those Eds
12. Laugh
Ed Laugh
13. Dawn
of the Eds
14. Don’t
Rain on My Ed
15.
Wish You Were Ed
16.
Dueling Eds
17. Mirror,
Mirror On the Ed
18.
Gimme, Gimme Never Ed
19. Ed-N-Seek
20. Keeping
Up With the Eds
21. Who
Let the Ed In
22. Avast
Ye Eds
23. Flea
Bitten Ed
24. Fool
on the Ed
25. Ready
Set Ed
26. The
Ed-Touchables
27. Who
What Where Ed
28. Dear
Ed
29.
Momma’s Little Ed
30.
Brother, Can You Spare an Ed?
31. Hot
Buttered Ed
32.
Ed or Tails
33. Stop
Look and Ed
34.
See No Ed
35. Shoo
Ed
36.
Rock-a-Bye Ed
37. Ed
in a Halfshell
38. Scrambled
Ed
39. Pain
in the Ed
40.
O-Ed Eleven
41. Vert
Ed Go
42.
Ed
Overboard
43. Oath
to an Ed
44.
Ed, Ed, and Away
45. Button
Yer Ed
46.
An Ed in the Bush
47. Read
All About Ed
48. Rambling
Ed
49. Home
Cooked Ed
50. Honor
Thy Ed
51. Floss
Your Ed
52. Quick
Shot Ed
53. Look
Into My Eds
54.
The Luck of the Ed
55.
Is There An Ed in the House?
56. Knock,
Knock Who’s Ed
57. A
Boy and His Ed
58. Eds-Aggerate
59.
Three Squares and an Ed
60. One
Size Fits Ed
61.
Will Work for Ed
62.
Boys Will Be Eds
63. High
Heeled Ed
64. Know-it-All
Ed
65.
For Your Ed Only
66.
Dim Lit Ed
67. Cry
Ed
68. Eeny
Meeny Miney Ed
69. A
Pinch to Grow an Ed
70. Pop
Goes the Ed
71. Hands
Across Ed
72. An
Ed Too Many
73. Sir
Ed-a-Lot
74. Over
Your Ed
75.
From Here to Ed
76. A
Key to My Ed
77. Once
Bitten Twice Ed
78.
X Marks the Ed
79. It’s
Way Ed
80. In
Like Ed
81.
My Fair Ed
82. To
Sir With Ed
83. Nagged
to Ed
84. Tag
Yer Ed
85. If
it Smells Like an Ed
The next review shows the Eds spending the day going up (whatever that means), and Eddy stuggling to beat Plank as king of the cul-de-sac.
For the time being, all on-going review sets will be put on hold for MC Toon Reviews to put together a special review of the next Owl House finale special, "For the Future."
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.
