'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 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.

'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 16: Fool's Paradise/Job Insecurity

Fool’s Paradise

With this cartoon, it seems to suggest that every season is going to include a cartoon about April Fool’s Day considering that Season 1 gave us “April Fool’s Rules.”  That raises a lot of questions about the timeline of this show.  Will the kids continually age with every new April Fool’s Day cartoon?  Won’t Lori have to go to college during one in the following seasons?  Do these cartoons even have a way to logically fit in the timeline?  Questions aside, the appeal of this cartoon is that it takes all the interpretations of April Fool’s Day to the apocalypse from last season and further expands on them creating an unforgettable atmospheric experience filled with hilariously imagined pranks with the perfect Loud for the day, Luan, as the mastermind.  The rest of the family believes they’re finally able to catch a break from the annual prank onslaught this year when they find a magazine ad for a clown camp they send Luan to.  However, just when they think they’re safe, those thoughts are dashed when their car breaks down and they have to spend the night at a crummy motel.  Once at the motel, a series of antics lead them to evidence that Luan set up pranks all over the facility, and it’s only a matter of time before one gets set off for each of the siblings.  The whole family is forced to make a run for it without any knowledge of when the next prank will strike and their fright is creatively staged as running from a strange monstrous force.  It also helps that what they get up to is set against a dark and threatening setting like an old motel at night.  When the pranks do get set off, they really up the creativity in execution from the last time.  There’s collapsing balconies into a big gelatin mold, trap doors that launch people up to a fly paper-laden sign, fake rooms filled with nasty obstacles like a skunk and rhubarb pies (which Lana’s allergic to), Lily getting replaced with a monkey that attacks Lynn, and a ton of bleach covering a certain sister who loves darkness.  Through it all, there’s a huge revealing twist to this prank barrage that Lincoln is quick to discover.  It turns out that Dad was in on Luan’s plans the whole time to get out of her April Fool’s Day pranks for a decade, and the explanations for how everything from the pranks to the clown camp ad that started it all are highly clever.  The best part about this reveal is that Dad feels genuine regret for helping Luan with her prankish tortures on his family, right down to questioning what kind of father he is.  Fortunately, he gets a big moment of redemption when he and Lincoln form a special prank to get back at Luan, and it’s a huge success as Luan gets flung into the air, stuck on that fly paper sign, lands in dirty laundry, and gets stuck in the sky.  This is sure to satisfy anyone who felt that her simply getting a pie in the face last April Fool’s Day wasn’t enough for her.  However, in fitting with the horror genre of the cartoon, the ending isn’t completely happy as the whole family is left running scared of the prospect of next April Fool’s Day which Luan promises to be even worse.  What she does then actually turns out to be a pretty nasty set of pranks, but that will be discussed in my eventual reviews of Season 3.  For this April Fool’s Day cartoon though, it’s easily one of the show’s most creatively structured cartoons aided by the genuine suspense, fun and insightful character moments, imaginative pranks, and some sense of victory from the victims. 10/10

Job Insecurity

If all the Loud siblings working as a team more often than in the first season wasn’t enough to prove how mature they’re becoming, perhaps this cartoon where they’re led to question how their actions impact their dad’s life can help.  With so many cartoons where the kids frequently run wild for their own amusement without much concern for others, it’s great that they turn out so thoughtful here.  They find out that Dad no longer works at his old IT job and has instead taken a dishwasher position, a job he doesn’t like, at a local fusion restaurant.  It’s here where the kids become more considerate of their actions to others, getting the idea that they got him fired from his IT job, namely for their hyperactive antics at the latest Take Your Kids to Work Day (nice to know that his old job at least became more inclusive since Season 1).  Anyway, they take a generous route of finding Dad a new job and making sure he gets it.  There’s plenty of heart in how seriously the kids take finding a new job for sure, but there’s also some humorous bits like imagination spots of Dad doing random jobs and, after they find a new IT job and get someone to pose as Dad to make sure he gets it, teaching Mr. Grouse, someone with an old world mindset, what certain computer terms mean.  Speaking of Mr. Grouse, he’s fast becoming one of the best supporting characters.  He’s still a grump and typically does things for Dad’s famous lasagna, but this is where it starts feeling like he’s putting in some effort in a bargain through actively trying to understand computer terms and getting better as time goes on, and showing happiness for the kids when he gets the job in Dad’s place.  With the job secured, the kids let Dad know what they got for him, and it’s at this point that even if the kids meant well, there’s no shaking off that this is another misunderstanding plot.  They didn’t know that Dad lost his old job for three weeks and he never told them, then when they found him washing dishes, they went with the idea that it was their fault.  However, Dad tells them that he actively quit his IT job and became a dishwasher to train to be a chef at the same restaurant which is his dream job, tying into his frequently seen talent for cooking.  Anyway, since Dad shows no hesitation in telling the kids this despite having a reason not to tell them, that means nothing was stopping the kids from just asking him why he has the new job. Granted, their beliefs seemed believable from what they saw, at the time it looked like Dad didn’t want to talk about it, and we weren’t given a scene of the truth the kids didn’t know, so the plot could’ve been executed worse.  Plus, what the kids learn leads to a very impactful ending when they push for Dad to get his restaurant job back, regretting their actions again, Dad kindly makes them feel better, and circumstances lead to him not just being allowed to work at the restaurant again, but also become a chef right then and there.  It’s all one of the most pleasing and satisfying conclusions the show has turned out.  Overall, this cartoon stands as one of this season’s strongest.  It’s not just humorous in parts, but it’s also got legitimate heart through the character bonds, opening new chapters for characters’ lives, and especially presenting the Loud siblings at their most thoughtful and mature.  9.5/10

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. Patching Things Up
20. The Whole Picture
21. Back Out There
22. The Old and the Restless
23. Kick the Bucket List
24. Intern for the Worse
25. Cheater by the Dozen
26. Pets Peeved
27. Making the Grade
28. Vantastic Voyage
29. No Such Luck
30. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode with "ARRGH! You For Real?" misunderstanding the appeal of fictional media, and Lori discovering what having your own place is really like in "Garage Banned."

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.