'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 25: The Crying Dame/Anti-Social

The Crying Dame

The Louds have always given special care and affection to their baby sister, Lily, but in this season, they’re care for her has been especially meaningful through the instances of them working as a team more, and becoming more aware of their actions.  That’s why it means a lot when the plot has them try to get her to stop crying so much, even when Mom and Dad know from experience that sometimes babies cry for no reason, which interestingly includes the reason why they have Lucy’s hair cover her eyes.  Anyway, the plot is set into motion when Lori leads the siblings to the attic where they find a toy, Fenton the Feel Better Fox, that stopped her crying when she was a baby, and it quickly works for Lily.  Yet, Fenton works too well when, as foreshadowed by Mom and Dad’s overactive reactions to “the demon toy,” Lily keeps playing the toy’s song and the annoyance of the Loud siblings as it keeps playing is creatively depicted.  It captures the feel of listening to the same thing on end, and as someone who played things over and over at a young age, makes me understand how others can get annoyed by this scenario.  Also, while the song can understandably be grating to most people, to me, it’s catchy enough to avoid my scorn, though I certainly wouldn’t want to hear it incessantly, so it’s also good that the song is muffled when the toy’s far away.  Because of this, when the siblings plot to get rid of Fenton, you side with them without trouble.  You might expect the cartoon to consist of comedic antics of the kids’ constant failed attempts to get the toy away, but surprisingly, their first plan is strategic enough and works immediately when Lily’s separated from it during a diaper change.  The disposal of Fenton is not only executed competently, but it’s also a fun scene on its own, working in solid teamwork from all the siblings.  However, while they succeed in getting rid of the toy, it’s incredibly sweet that Lily’s happiness is still highly valued.  Even though she doesn’t cry while separated from Fenton, she’s still incredibly sad the next day, so much so that she can’t bring herself to do anything fun.  The best part about this is that despite being annoyed by Fenton, the kids understand that he’s still important to Lily and that they shouldn’t have separated her from him, regardless if she’s crying or not.  Their care for their baby sister grows even more when they try to save it from the dump.  The attempt fails, but their alternate plan is far more impactful than simply saving the toy.  The kids discover that as annoying as Fenton’s song was, it still somewhat fun to sing, as discovered when they hear the tune hummed by the most musical Loud to bring on the reveal, Luna.  They then sing and dance to the song while Lincoln wears a Fenton costume for Lily.  Lily’s happy reaction is the high point of the scene bringing a super cute end to the conflict.  That said, you’re left wondering if she’ll ever understand the concept of obsessions when it looks like her siblings will be doing this forever even though Fenton's a baby toy and Lily is sure to grow out of him eventually.  Also, Mom and Dad’s roles are really problematic since they deliberately stay out of the conflict instead of helping the kids get rid of the toy.  Other than that, this is still a good cartoon built on genuine cuteness and proof of how more considerate and loving the Loud kids have become. 8/10

Anti-Social

Given the amount of users on many social media sites, it’s clear that the use of electronic devices is one of the biggest aspects of modern society.  That said, a large usage of any activity isn’t the healthy way to go, so it’s fitting that this cartoon works as a commentary on how to live a good life in today’s technology-driven world.  As the cartoon opens with the Louds blocking out their surroundings with their phones and tablets, Dad gets annoyed and threatens to cut the internet.  Since the kids love what they’re accustomed to using and can’t live without them, they’re determined to show Dad just how valuable electronics and internet usage can be.  The things they teach show their constructive benefits which can apply to real-life such as texting several people at once, occupying yourself with game apps when waiting in line, sharing pictures to use for your ID, and promoting and streaming your work or products to people all over the world.  These moments show that even if electronic devices are overused, what they do can be legitimately useful.  As an aside, the ways Dad is taught these benefits without fully understanding at first are funny for how relatable they are to people not used to using electronic devices and learning about them for the first time.  However, it’s amazing how he soon gets a grasp of all the wonders of technology that they take up his life as much as they do for most people in real life.  You might say that Dad gets incredibly obsessed with using electronics, so much so that he starts abusing them through posting embarrassing pictures of the kids, stalling dinner to stream what he’s cooking, and ignoring his family.  This whole sequence of events makes this cartoon tread familiar grounds from this season tying into other cartoons where Dad gets obsessed with something and the family suffers for it.  It brings to mind“Vantastic Voyage” where it seemed like his new interest was more important to him than his family which is unfortunate.  That said, the scenario doesn't really wreck much enjoyment since his obsession with electronics stand out for their established relatability.  If that’s not enough, the story goes in a surprisingly mature direction when the kids discover that the way Dad’s acting now is no different from how they acted towards him at the start of the cartoon.  It’s always beneficial when the characters we’re supposed to side with acknowledge their own faults to resolve a conflict.  It makes what happens more immersive to any audience member and goes beyond basic black and white right and wrong moralities, making the characters feel more human.  Anyway, the issue is resolved with the kids deciding to temporarily cut the internet, and through a montage of them doing various activities with Dad, they slowly break their technology attachment as the cartoon comes to an end.  The whole sequence is not only is a fitting end for the kids and their dad regarding their hook on electronics, but it also offers a great bit of life advice for everyone.  Electronics have their benefits, but you shouldn’t be completely dependent on them and balance your life with other things, and that can help make your life healthier and your family bonds stronger.  This and many other relatable scenarios make this cartoon another strong entry for the season, even if it does have an all-too familiar setup. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. 11 Louds a Leapin’
2. L is for Love
3. Pulp Friction
4. Frog Wild
5. Yes-Man
6. Party Down
7. Friend or Faux
8. Room with a Feud
9. Lock n Loud
10. Fool’s Paradise
11. Fed Up
12. Out of the Picture
13. Job Insecurity
14. Potty Mouth
15. Mall of Duty
16. Anti-Social
17. The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
18. Spell it Out
19. Baby Steps
20. Shell Shock
21. Suite and Sour
22. Back in Black
23. Legends
24. Future Tense
25. Patching Things Up
26. No Spoilers
27. Not a Loud
28. Tricked!
29. The Whole Picture
30. Read Aloud
31. No Laughing Matter
32. Health Kicked
33. Garage Banned
34. Back Out There
35. The Old and the Restless
36. Kick the Bucket List
37. Intern for the Worse
38. The Crying Dame
39. Lynner Takes All
40. Cheater by the Dozen
41. Pets Peeved
42. Making the Grade
43. Vantastic Voyage
44. Change of Heart
45. ARGGH! You for Real?
46. No Such Luck
47. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the last episode of Season 2, featuring two snow-themed cartoons, one with one of the noblest family acts in a dire situation in "Snow Way Out" and one with Clyde at his absolute best in "Snow Way Down."

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Loud House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 22: Legends/Mall of Duty

Legends

There are many cartoons in this series that show the relationship between two or more of the Loud siblings, but very few show one of the kids’ relationship with their parents.  That’s the value of this cartoon which focuses on the relationship between Lincoln and Dad.  It also helps that this cartoon has the added benefit of paying homage to the classic Nickelodeon game show, Legends of the Hidden Temple.  My experience with that show was watching reruns of it back when the channel, Nickelodeon GaS, was a thing.  It was a nicely constructed physical challenge and knowledge-based show with an interesting premise of teams of kids taking on challenges related to a certain legend which would lead up to the always exciting temple runs where the teams would attempt to navigate through different rooms to find a treasure while avoiding the temple guards.  It’s a game show concept so appealing that it even worked well in movie form as a live-action TV movie from 2016 proved.  As for this Loud House cartoon, it’s utilized well here as something Lincoln and his dad, both trying hard to find something to bond over, get on the actual game show since the show itself is something they both enjoy.  The game show’s environment is filled with references to the source material like the names of the teams, the Orange Iguanas and Silver Snakes, the host, Kirk Fogg, voiced by the real actor, the usage of the talking stone head Olmec, and the temple challenges feeling like they’re lifted straight from the original game show.  It’s a fun environment that not only will surely appease to nostalgic Nickelodeon fans, but also help invest anyone in Lincoln and Dad’s bonding.  Their shared love for the show is easy to feel when they start out the show with great enthusiasm in the first few challenges, even if they don’t always win.  However, their rivals in the game, Stand and Steak Stanko, don’t make what we see as enjoyable as everything else sets it up to be.  They’re one-dimensional antagonists who delight in mocking their opponents for no good reason at all and only care about the fame of winning.  The worst part about it is when they challenge the Orange Iguanas to a bet at the end of the game, Lincoln and Dad buy into their petty torments and fail to cooperate as well as before.  Such a grating father and son team shouldn’t be worth Lincoln and Dad's concerns, and the fact that they get on each other’s nerves during the following temple challenges is frustrating considering how much their bonding was working before.  Fortunately, just when Lincoln and Dad’s tensions get really bad, they come to their senses and decide that being on the show together is more important than beating the Stankos.  As a result, their temple run to retrieve the assigned treasure is a solid high point for their bonding, and is a fun, fast-paced sequence filled with respect for its source material to boot.  The Stankos end up winning with the fastest time anyway, but this outcome leads to an even stronger moment in the cartoon.  Lincoln and Dad have to go through the airport in their underwear as part of the bet, but despite how embarrassing this is, everyone at the airport who saw them on TV claps for their great bond, showing that even to random bystanders, good relationships are more important than winning a game.  Too bad the security guards don’t as the moment is followed by Lincoln and Dad getting arrested.  Overall, despite that ending sting and the one-dimensional antagonists, this cartoon wins for its nice father-son bonding moments, and the interesting backdrop they’re set against. 9/10

Mall of Duty

Looking after younger siblings can be a big challenge, especially if you’re Lincoln’s age.  However, out of a story set against this challenge can come something really entertaining, and that’s what we get here.  Lincoln is assigned to watch his younger sisters while his parents and older sisters are out.  However he develops responsibility issues when he wants to get an autograph from another favorite TV figure of his, Rip Hardcore and goes to the mall where it’s happening, taking his little sisters with him.  Lincoln, the man in charge, makes the younger sisters wait around in an endless line, and they all constantly complain about being bored, forcing Lincoln to try and entertain them.  While his attempts do ease the fact that he forced the young ones into doing something they didn’t want to do which does lead to humorous antics and comeback lines, Lincoln’s responsibility issues grow even more when he puts them all on a kiddie train, expecting them to stay put which can be neglectful.  Considering that Lincoln has been a good, loving big brother before, it’s really hard to imagine him as neglectful.  Well, Lincoln ultimately gets his Rip Hardcore autograph, but then the cartoon really starts picking up with the challenging part of caretaking afterwards when the kiddie train goes off the rails due to Lincoln jacking up the quarter power, and lands the younger sisters in various places of the mall.  Lincoln then proves that he truly can be a good brother after all as he sets all his priorities into finding them.  In the process, he puts everything we saw of Rip Hardcore at the beginning to good use giving him more value than just being part of one of Lincoln’s favorite shows.  Because of Rip’s methods, Lincoln tracks his sisters down to stores that fits their interests.  He follows a trail of chemicals to find Lisa at an appliance store, tracks Lucy based on a disturbance of the severed head of a clothes mannequin, finds Lola in her natural habitat, a princess-themed toy store, and deduces a chewed bone at a toy store as a clue to Lana in a pet store.  Not only are these scenes of Lincoln’s methods of finding his sisters successful in making Lincoln’s interests credible to the story, but they also lead to some entertaining, and even cute, bits from the younger sisters, particularly one that further enhances Lana’s endearment when she hatches baby ducklings who follow her around.  Then Lincoln has to retrieve Lily from the kiddie train still speeding through the mall which is a challenge since her infant mindset made her the only one to actually enjoy the train.  There’s a lot of great action as Lincoln uses his yo-yo to get to the engine and holds Lily tight as it crashes through various obstacles, and also heart when he gives up his autograph, his reason for coming to the mall, away for her sake.  The heart even continues through to the end when the younger sisters show sympathy for Lincoln losing his autograph and even keep what he did a secret from Mom and Dad.  It’s a cute way of showing that even if they get on each other’s nerves that will never stop the love between them.  This, along with its use of little things leading to something big, and everything taking place in an interesting environment of the mall make this cartoon a fun and heartfelt adventure in looking after younger siblings. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. 11 Louds a Leapin’
2. L is for Love
3. Pulp Friction
4. Frog Wild
5. Yes-Man
6. Party Down
7. Friend or Faux
8. Room with a Feud
9. Lock n Loud
10. Fool’s Paradise
11. Fed Up
12. Out of the Picture
13. Job Insecurity
14. Potty Mouth
15. Mall of Duty
16. The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
17. Spell it Out
18. Baby Steps
19. Shell Shock
20. Suite and Sour
21. Back in Black
22. Legends
23. Future Tense
24. Patching Things Up
25. No Spoilers
26. The Whole Picture
27. No Laughing Matter
28. Health Kicked
29. Garage Banned
30. Back Out There
31. The Old and the Restless
32. Kick the Bucket List
33. Intern for the Worse
34. Lynner Takes All
35. Cheater by the Dozen
36. Pets Peeved
37. Making the Grade
38. Vantastic Voyage
39. Change of Heart
40. ARGGH! You for Real?
41. No Such Luck
42. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode with more development for Lola's character, even if it does break continuity a bit, in "Read Aloud," and Lincoln's crazy birth story in "Not a Loud."

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Loud House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 19: Future Tense/Lynner Takes All

Future Tense

Ever since their faces were finally shown, Mom and Dad have gotten more significance and development than before, which is fitting for a season that starts developing characters beyond Lincoln and the sisters.  Now we have a cartoon that’s all about them and how they serve as parents to the kids.  The story is that the Yates family moves in, and Mom and Dad see how accomplished the kids of that family are, with their parents stressing the importance of being well-rounded in such a competitive world.  Through it all, there’s something very unsettling about the Yates family.  They always have these big toothy smiles all over their faces and find enjoyment out of everything especially activities that are highly intellectual and require class and serious mindsets.  It’s practically inhumane for people to be THIS happy about life.  Creepiness factor aside, the Yates family gets Mom and Dad to be considerate of their influence on their kids.  Given how the season has already had a lot of influence on how well the Loud kids are to their parents, it’s only fitting that Mom and Dad take the time to try and figure out what’s best for them.  While what they later do certainly has good intentions, it’s easy to see that it takes certain things the wrong way, not unlike how things went down in the previous cartoon.  Mom and Dad rope their kids into doing activities that are out of their league, mostly the complete opposite of what they normally like doing from after school activities to community-serving and artsy outings, stressing them to be good at everything so to get by in such a competitive world.  The kids’ reactions to being roped into things that they don’t want to do are pretty funny in how they protest, yet it’s still easy to feel sorry for them since who would want to be forced to do things against their will, especially when they’re just sprung on you?  At least we get some amusing outcomes out of the sufferings, namely Lana being socially graceful and wearing dresses, Luan being serious as the mayor’s assistant, and especially Luna being taught proper English in favor of her entertaining rock slang.  While Mom and Dad are way out of line for forcing their kids into what they don’t want to do without warning, through their actions, it’s clear that they really want to help them, and they’re not even getting competitive with the Yates since there’s never a moment where they want them to be MORE accomplished than them.  Even more admirable is that when the kids achieve success in their forced activities, Mom and Dad want to celebrate with fun stuff, but the kids have changed so much that they’re unwilling to take part in fun  because they’re not healthy or productive, which is very sad since it confirms that they’ve lost their true selves.  Thankfully, Mom and Dad finally see sense and allow the kids to have fun, admitting that it was wrong to force the activities on them and that being productive should never outshine enjoying life.  In other words, this whole story ends up teaching the importance of keeping life in balance and not being too relaxed or too overrun with work.  That’s always been a personal message to me, and I’m glad to see this show teaching it.  It’s also great that even the Yates want in on some of the fun at the end…even if their approach to it is still creepy.  If you can get past them and the kids being put through things they don’t want to do against their will, this is a nicely constructed cartoon serving as a reminder of the importance of living your life in balance starring Mom and Dad. 9/10

Lynner Takes All

Personally, I find Lynn to be one of the most enjoyable Louds.  She’s always up for a game or challenge and approaches life with a lot of energy and sense of fun, making her a very lively character and I’m generally the most entertained by characters like that.  I also understand why some might not like her, and this cartoon helps with that.  She plays roughly, brags about how great she is, and barely notices how problematic her behavior is. In this case, whenever she wins at game night, she’s constantly gloating.  Because she’s so in everyone’s face when she celebrates her victories and never lets them live it down, especially when she reaches her 300^th win, I can see how this can be a problem for some people.  Of course it can get annoying and make her look like a jerk for making her siblings feel bad about their losses.  For me though, I don’t see it being that different from other times she enthusiastically plays a game or acts sporty.  Yes, she’s still being a jerk to her family here, but like with most cases where Lynn plays rough, it hardly feels like she’s INTENDING to make anyone feel bad.  Nevertheless, given the sympathy being directed at the rest of the Loud siblings, it’s appropriate that the plot focuses on them attempting to stop Lynn’s gloating once and for all.  Their first attempt has them challenge Lynn at games whose subjects fit a specific sibling apart from her.  While the ways their attempts at beating her backfiring still makes it easy to feel for the other siblings, how Lynn finds a way to win from specially skilled dice rolls, to exercising enough to make a perfect grab, to making a huge Ace Savvy fan like Lincoln feel nervous, show how on the ball she is at winning to entertaining effect.  When everyone finally does beat Lynn at a game through teamwork, it seems like Lynn is too ashamed of herself to gloat.  As it turns out, Lynn turns out even more competitive and constantly pops out of nowhere to challenge everyone to everything.  As someone who likes Lynn, I can get a good laugh out of her overly-competitive actions, her never-ceasing energy, and lively sporty nature here.  Though since they show her siblings’ plans to teach her a lesson failed, some people can easily get annoyed and frustrated that she still won’t stop rubbing victories in other people’s faces.  Anyway, after the siblings’ attempts to throw the next board game, Lynn finally realizes how much of a pain she’s been to everyone.  She reveals that she never intended to hurt them and just loves having playing games with her family proving that despite what she does, she has a good heart indeed.  True, she still gloats at the end, but the fact that it’s now away from everyone shows that she’s grown more considerate of their feelings.  The fact that she gloats at all, however, leads to a glaring issue with Lynn’s character that even people who like her shouldn’t ignore.  Lynn treats winning games like a big deal and is more competitive when she loses one.  What we don’t know is WHY she feels the need to win, thus making her under-developed.  This cartoon had the perfect opportunity to reveal this and potentially make Lynn endearing in spite of her gloating, but it never does.  I hope we get an answer to this in the future, because if this behavior continues, Lynn might not turn out to be a very good character.  Since I still find her entertaining enough here, I can call this cartoon a good and fun one that stresses why there should be limits on showboating.  However, if you find Lynn’s behavior overbearing and annoying, I totally get it.  Here’s hoping she gets more developed with her next starring role. 8/10

The Ranking

1. 11 Louds a Leapin’
2. L is for Love
3. Pulp Friction
4. Frog Wild
5. Party Down
6. Room with a Feud
7. Lock n Loud
8. Fool’s Paradise
9. Fed Up
10. Out of the Picture
11. Job Insecurity
12. Potty Mouth
13. The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
14. Spell it Out
15. Baby Steps
16. Shell Shock
17. Suite and Sour
18. Back in Black
19. Future Tense
20. Patching Things Up
21. The Whole Picture
22. Health Kicked
23. Garage Banned
24. Back Out There
25. The Old and the Restless
26. Kick the Bucket List
27. Intern for the Worse
28. Lynner Takes All
29. Cheater by the Dozen
30. Pets Peeved
31. Making the Grade
32. Vantastic Voyage
33. Change of Heart
34. ARGGH! You for Real?
35. No Such Luck
36. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the next episode featuring Lincoln as a "Yes Man" in a rocking cartoon big on sibling love, and we see Lisa at her most endearing in "Friend or Faux?".

If you want to stay updated for more reviews, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter.

If you would like to check out other Loud House reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.