'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 12: Potty Mouth/L is for Love

Potty Mouth

Life is filled with things that are inappropriate or too hurtful to say and do, which is why films and TV shows have to be censored on certain terms.  This is a media practice that has been going on for years, and many shows often turn out some entertaining material which pokes fun at the need for censorship.  With this cartoon, The Loud House is now one of those shows to fit that trend.  When you consider a baby character like Lily, you might not expect a lot of personality out of her since she’s too young to be fully fleshed out.  However, her infant tendencies are what drive the censorship references that make up the cartoon.  Since we’re so used to bad actions or words being blocked out by cutting away or using a certain sound, these references have their own clever way here.  Since Lily can’t talk, she communicates what sounds like a curse word through her baby babble, making it not stated directly, but audible enough to deduce it as, what everyone else calls it, the d-word.  This is not only a unique way of making exactly what the word is clear when other shows with this plot normally leave us guessing what was said, but given that it’s coming from a babbling baby, it’s honestly kind of cute whenever Lily says it.  For the plot though, her apparent swearing is a big problem since she’s to be interviewed for a special daycare Mom and Dad have been trying to get one of the kids into since Mom was pregnant with Lori.  Through an effective use of montage, another mature layer to the Loud kids is shown as looking back at the times they used the d-word out of frustration makes them think they may have badly influenced Lily, and set out to take responsibility for their actions.  From an audience perspective, the times the kids use the word are humorously executed, as are all their attempts to not say it when they repeat what they did in front of Lily. Anyone can relate to this since when things get really frustrating, we can’t help what we say, especially at an older age.  However, even with them eventually becoming strong enough to not say the d-word, Lily still keeps on saying it, so when the daycare interview finally happens, the kids take it upon themselves to make it go well.  We’re treated to a humorous sequence of Lisa going in Lily’s place as the head of the daycare center, Dr. Shuttleworth, interviews her, and Lisa feebly attempts to put her intellect aside to act like a 1-year-old.  Plus, it’s an interesting follow-up to an earlier humorous aside that she lost her hair and teeth in a nuclear experiment gone wrong.  Then when Lily ends up saying the d-word anyway right after getting into the daycare center, Dr. Shuttleworth reveals that she was just trying to ask for a donut the whole time.  It’s certainly an interesting twist considering that, if you look closely, all the scenes of Lily saying what was thought to be the d-word involved donuts in some way.  However, you’d think that at some point the kids would figure that Lily’s babble could’ve meant anything.  It’s obvious that she still has a lot to learn when it comes to talking.  I’d also have the final scene of Lily cursing for real when Charles steals her donut down as a weak point, but since what we had was highly entertaining enough, the end bit doesn’t really sting at all.  In all, this cartoon has one of the most entertaining uses of censorship along with strong comedy and moments of the kids growing more considerate of their effects on the world around them. 9.5/10

L is for Love

When you stop to think about it, it’s astounding how many things family members can bond over, and some of them being a common occurrence in life. In the case of this cartoon, that common occurrence is finding love, and in addition to its strong sense of family bonds, the story also works in other engaging qualities that make it an impressive animated work for this season.  Everything unfolds when the kids discover a love letter marked L. Loud, and since their parents gave them all names that start with L, that means the letter could be for any of them.  Like the previous cartoon, this one effectively uses the filming device of montage to help tell the story, specifically through showing all the love interests all the kids hope the letter came from.  While most of the love interests match the kids’ interests, some of them show some interesting points to the characters, like Leni, a highly fashionable girl, liking a fat geeky boy, Lucy apparently having Rocky from “Back in Black” as a rebound crush in favor of a boy more like her, and Lily, with her infantile mindset, cutely crushing on her teddy bear.  Anyway, given their competitive and temperamental nature shown throughout the series, it would be easy for the kids to constantly fight over who the letter’s for.  Instead, the cartoon goes the more pleasing route by having everyone support each other to find their love all the way through with sending their crushes a signal, and giving a sign of affection after another letter comes with a rose, even if the letter’s not for them.  Of all the Loud kids though, Luna stands out the most, and given how she’s the favorite character of many fans, including me, it’s extremely welcome to get some development from her, especially since this season doesn’t feature a lot of cartoons with her as the lead.  Now, Luna’s always very caring and entertaining as well as one of, if not the most relatable Loud sibling.  Even her interests give her the most depth as they’ve been shown to define her purpose in life.  Here, we see that through being true to herself, she fears that she’s no match for her love interest, Sam, thus being too shy to show affection which is very relatable and sympathetic . Luckily, her siblings continue to show great support by urging her to keep trying, especially when it feels like the letter was from Sam after all.  It turns out that it was actually from Dad which ties into a story of how Mom kept sending love letters to him due to fearing he was out of her league, but the letters ultimately gave her the strength to directly tell him her feelings, and they perform the same ritual to relive the past to this day.  So amidst the love letter plot, we get solid development for the parents as well.  What’s more, the story they tell ties into another great trait of Luna’s, which is how her family bonds inspire her to get by in life.  She decides to show her affection to Sam with her own love letter and leads the other siblings to do the same with their crushes.  It’s after this scene where we end with a montage where all the kids are enlightened enough to sneak in their own love letters to heartwarming effect which includes an interesting layer to Luna’s crush.  It turns out that Sam’s not a guy Luna likes…

Sam’s a girl Luna likes.  Since she has a name that can go with any gender and no pronouns were used when discussing her with no reveal until the end, this works as an effective twist especially when you consider that this makes Luna bi (she was shown to also crush on guys earlier in the series).  Plus, even if Luna’s anxieties of winning Sam over were simply because of her not being cool enough, Luna can still be seen as relatable to real-life LGBT members who are often overlooked by society, only recently starting to appear in family shows.  I certainly look forward to see how this potential couple will work as well as how Sam turns out as a character.  This cartoon really packs in a lot of greatness with newly-revealed layers to the characters, some of the best moments featuring the Loud kids together, and the show’s biggest form of LGBT representation since the reveal of Clyde’s dads.  It’s big on charm as well as engaging executions. 10/10

The Ranking

1. 11 Louds a Leapin’
2. L is for Love
3. Pulp Friction
4. Frog Wild
5. Party Down
6. Lock n Loud
7. Fed Up
8. Potty Mouth
9. Baby Steps
10. Shell Shock
11. Suite and Sour
12. Back in Black
13. Patching Things Up
14. The Whole Picture
15. The Old and the Restless
16. Kick the Bucket List
17. Intern for the Worse
18. Cheater by the Dozen
19. Pets Peeved
20. Making the Grade
21. Vantastic Voyage
22. No Such Luck
23. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Ronnie Anne and her family take up the starring role in the season's second half-hour special, "The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos."

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.