Career Day
A show with a huge cast has the opportunity to give good
development to any of them. This
cartoon, which has Arnold’s class join some of the adults to join them for their jobs for career day, fits the bill.
For most kids, we only get short scenes of them working certain jobs chosen
at random. Some of them are fitting for
their characters like Helga as a cop, while others are unusual like Gerald as a
firefighter and to a larger extent, Phoebe working in demolition with
Ernie. However, they all adjust to
working these careers very well. Because
this only takes up a small part of the cartoon, this isn’t where the character
development is.
These moments contrast
how hard a time Arnold has with his assigned career, assistant to the
neighborhood’s ice cream man, the Jolly Olly Man. Before, the Jolly Olly Man has had little
scenes of delivering ice cream, and being a totally rude cheapskate trying to
raise his ice cream to unreasonable prices in his rare big roles. Arnold states that the Jolly Olly
Man hates kids and is on the brink of insanity.
It feels that way at first with much unpleasantness that comes from Arnold
having to work with the Jolly Olly Man.
He forces Arnold to ride in the freezer, refuses to let him help with
handing out ice cream, and takes the money from his customers, but rarely gives
them the ice cream they want. Basically,
the Jolly Olly Man can really try your patience for how unbelievably unlikable
he is all throughout.
Even if his
unlikable moments aren’t enjoyable, they work thanks to the direction the story
takes that brings on his development.
For how harsh he is, the Jolly Olly Man is nothing compared to his
boss. He belittles him with harsh
insults, threatens to terminate his only job if he doesn’t empty his freezer,
and is continuously eying him just waiting for him to fail. He’s not shown as much as the Jolly Olly Man,
but the boss’ brief moments leave an impression far nastier than anything we’ve
seen of the other guy. If that’s not
enough, the boss is actually the Jolly Olly Man’s dad, giving the impression that
the ice cream man had an abusive childhood, a believable cause for his mean
behavior. That combined with being stuck
with a job he doesn’t like flesh the Jolly Olly Man out not as a heartless
monster, but as someone far more relatable.
He may hate his job, but knows he has to deal with it after being fired
from over 50 jobs before. It’s all that
he has for income and he knows better than to let it go which is something I
feel makes sense for most people when it comes to jobs, though normally with the
first jobs they ever have.
From here,
with selling all the ice cream as a motivation, he starts coming around through
accepting Arnold’s help. It takes a
while to grasp things, which include some slightly disturbing moments, but how
well the Jolly Olly Man ends up because of Arnold’s teaching is truly
impressive. By the end of the day, he
becomes much friendlier with his customers culminating with him happily giving
away the rest of the ice cream to Arnold’s classmates and the people they
worked with that day. Him laughing
maniacally when his dad reluctantly says he can keep his job does still give an
unsettling vibe from his weak points, but it doesn’t indicate that he lost what
he learned.
As a result, this cartoon
comes off as a relatable take on careers with a heck of a character to follow through
it. 9/10
Hey Harold!
At this point, it’s clear that Harold has more
depth than it may appear. Whenever
there’s a cartoon about him, chances are it’s going to be a high-tier work. Such is the case with this cartoon that’s all
about him going through a relatable phase of life, as well as get through it on
his own.
Nearly all of PS 118 is invited
to a party said to include dancing, and Harold continuously shoots down the
idea of dancing with a girl and even going to the party. This starts us off with Harold’s immature and
sensitive flaws with the idea constantly hammered in by Sid and Stinky, and
even his parents. Harold gives into the
pressure and goes to the party, and while he doesn’t socialize at first, he
meets someone who happens to be a lot like him.
In a remarkable turn of events, this episode gives
us another cartoon to develop Big Patty.
Just as before, she’s presented as a bully character with believable
reasons for her behavior. In fact, most
are similar to the reasons why Harold is sometimes a bully. They’re insecure about their appearances and
intellects both on their own accord and from what others say, which makes them act
out or isolate themselves. They both
find each other when they walk away from the party, and despite starting off
rough, mostly fueled by Harold’s constant insistence on not dancing with a
girl, they slowly warm up to each other after Harold proves that he can dance
with a girl. Then they bond as the night goes on talking
about what they typically get up to in life, and even personal information,
right down to doing so long after the party ends. It may not feel like much, but just the
simple moments of two social outcasts who look intimidating finding common
ground and bonding over it naturally is impactful in its own right. They’re shining moments for them to get past
their own weaknesses and further prove that even if people have faults, they’re
human beings getting through life when all is said and done, one of the most
important things for people to learn.
It’s after this when there’s a lot of discomfort. Stinky and Sid never stop badgering Harold
about the absurdity of hanging out with Big Patty while his parents are keen to
rush his relationship with her. After
seeing a lot of them together, it’s impossible not to feel annoyed by how
others feel about the idea of the pairing.
Sid and Stinky are especially problematic for how condescending they are
about Big Patty. It makes me wonder why
he even considers them his friends. Along
with Stinky’s lack of interesting traits and Sid’s annoying obsessing, together
they’re quite the detractor. In the end,
Harold makes up for their insensitivities when after thinking about it, he
decides to make his true feelings clear by yelling at Stinky and Sid that he
likes Big Patty and doesn’t care what they think. Is it socially appropriate? No, but what he
says still has truth to it, and him finally sitting with Big Patty at lunch is
an adorable finish to his arc for the cartoon.
It closes everything with a moment to sell the appeal of these social
outcasts, reminding that at the end of the day, no one should pressure you into
thinking a certain way. As a reviewer,
the latter message is especially meaningful, as should be the case with any
aspiring reviewers out there. 9.5/10
The Ranking
- Helga Blabs it All
- Harold the Butcher
- Crabby Author
- Mr. Hyunh Goes Country
- Helga Vs. Big Patty
- Hey Harold!
- Curly Snaps
- The Aptitude Test
- Pre-Teen Scream
- Olga Gets Engaged
- Oskar Gets a Job
- Career Day
- Rich Kid
- Dangerous Lumber
- Arnold’s Room
- Helga and the Nanny
- Stinky Goes Hollywood
- Arnold Betrays Iggy
The next Hey Arnold review features the residents of Arnold's boarding house try to act as a family when Grandpa threatens to sell the place, and there's an interesting play on voice actors getting replaced when they hit puberty in a cartoon about Gerald getting his tonsils taken out.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews, it's another galactic adventure of Voltron: Legendary Defender taking us to "The Ark of Taujeer."
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