'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 15: Back Out There/Spell it Out

Back Out There

This cartoon combines two of the weaker types of cartoons for this series which are the misunderstanding plot and the Lincoln and Clyde misadventure, though to be fair, the latter type has an interesting addition of Lincoln’s other friends, Rusty, Liam, and Zach.  At the very least with this one, we get a strong sense of characterization, and the way it’s executed makes the experience thoroughly entertaining.  What Lincoln’s friends get up to is that they worry about him on account that he hasn’t hung out with them in a while.  They find that he’s been spending a lot of his time at Ronnie Anne’s old house long after she moved away. Coming to the conclusion that he has post break-up blues over her (even though Lincoln has a different love interest and “Relative Chaos” has several moments where he and Ronnie Anne agree they’re not a couple), they set out to try and “cure” him.  This is where the whole plot becomes problematic and a little unengaging.  As is common with misunderstanding plots, everything that happens is based on wild assumptions, and no one thinks to directly ask said person what really goes on.  Actually, the other friends do suggest respecting Lincoln’s privacy or talking with him about the issue, the smart option, but Clyde flat out insists on spying on Lincoln and going along with the assumption.  These guys following their belief instead of taking a chance and finding out the truth just makes them look dumb and not that well suited for being leads.  However, they seem just fine as leads anyway for how great these guys value Lincoln as a friend.  They treat Lincoln to a legitimately fun and thoughtful boy’s day out filled with things they love to do like trips to the arcade, rock-climbing, go-carting, and going to the pier all in stylish white suits.  Even when they follow an assumption for all they know could be completely wrong, their subsequent attempts to get Lincoln a new girlfriend are thoughtful given their mindset.  They even make for a few humorous encounters between Lincoln and some of the girls, even though a few encounters don’t work as well.  There’s also fun personality quirks from all of Lincoln’s friends working off of each other.  We have Clyde as the overconfident brains, Rusty is both boastful as a ladies man but also hilariously nervous about something happening to the white suits, Liam adds in a unique country feel with his mannerisms, and Zach…honestly doesn’t add that much apart from going with the plan.  Going back to the misunderstanding plot guidelines, you can easily predict that the guys find out the real reason why Lincoln was constantly at Ronnie Anne’s old house, which was to look out for a package that was sent there. While they look like total fools, it’s great that Lincoln understands their motivation, though it is disappointing that we never see how they stopped a bus they sent Lincoln on.  Also, as the cartoon ends, we see that the guys’ actions weren’t completely pointless when Lincoln feels like he does miss Ronnie Anne a bit after all, opening up possibilities for how he’ll truly cope with her not being around in the future.  While this cartoon is fueled on a dumb plot thread that lessens the engagement factor, the fact that Clyde and the gang still come off as likeable and devoted friends as well as some noticeable effect of their efforts help what we see to come out good.  9/10

Spell it Out

When a cartoon character has their own unique way of going about life, chances are that character is one of my favorites, and Lucy probably has the most unique way of life out of all the Loud siblings.  Her fascination with darkness shapes practically everything she does, like how she dresses in black, always has her hair cover her eyes, hangs out in a coffin, goes for night walks with her pet bat, has a dark monotone voice, and her tendency to scare people.  These are all examples of how Lucy stands out as a character, but like “Back in Black,” she’s made even better for how endearing she is through her unusual ways.  The opening to this cartoon consists of several ways Lucy’s siblings seemingly ignoring her.  They turn down her disdain towards certain decisions, never listen to her when she says something, and overall don’t notice she’s not around.  It’s quite impressive that someone as dark as Lucy can be so sympathetic through it all.  It genuinely feels like everyone keeps ignoring her existence and never acknowledges that she has feelings too.  Well, since Lucy has a habit of scaring people, it makes a little sense why this keeps happening.  Fortunately, Lucy comes up with a plan to get back at her siblings.  In previous cartoons, she’s mentioned a distant relative named Great-Grandma Harriet, who’s revealed to look just like her via an old photo.  Her role is in the form of the reveal of an old trunk Lucy finds in the attic which contains an old book of spells.  You can imagine all the fun Lucy has with this book as she uses it to work all kinds of spells on her siblings like killing Lori’s phone, making Lana’s butt itch, and making Lisa’s entire body sticky.  While you wouldn’t expect these spells to work given the down-to-Earth nature of this show, they’re executed to be perfectly convincing and lead to funny reactions from the siblings which also feels cathartic after what they put Lucy through.  However, it’s also fascinating how they work around the supposed spells.  Since they continue to walk all over Lucy and she’s still highly sympathetic, we’re lead into the most drastic and convincing spell of all.  Lucy takes extreme measures to cast a spell that makes all her siblings unable to speak, and the following montage of everything going Lucy’s way while the other Loud kids are forced to go along with her requests while they’re mute is extremely satisfying with Lucy being happy while everyone else endures what she did.  However, time is also taken to get Lucy to regret becoming to her siblings what they were to her, and how she feels is easy to buy as is the nobleness of her decision to undo the spell through potentially making herself mute.  Then, in an entertainingly staged scene where Lucy’s monotone voice is all that’s heard as the other siblings pantomime their words, we get creative reasons for what really caused the spells. The biggest reveal is for everyone else’s inability to speak coming from losing their voices by cheering for Pop-Pop at a shuffleboard match.  It’s all nicely capped off by everyone realizing their fault in the matter and they all give a genuine apology, showing that even with their less than pleasing qualities, all the siblings truly do have a heart.  Through effective comedy, creativity from the spells and the reveal of how they seemed real, and Lucy’s genuinely crafted sympathy, like her and the siblings coming together, this cartoon is a pretty magical result. 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. Fed Up
9. Out of the Picture
10. Potty Mouth
11. The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
12. Spell it Out
13. Baby Steps
14. Shell Shock
15. Suite and Sour
16. Back in Black
17. Patching Things Up
18. The Whole Picture
19. Back Out There
20. The Old and the Restless
21. Kick the Bucket List
22. Intern for the Worse
23. Cheater by the Dozen
24. Pets Peeved
25. Making the Grade
26. Vantastic Voyage
27. No Such Luck
28. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode which is our April Fool's Day kick for Season 2, "Fool's Paradise," and the Loud kids once again show consideration of the world around them as they try to get a good new job for Dad in "Job Insecurity."

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 13: The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos

The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos

It’s time for another half-hour special for this show which shakes up the aesthetic by giving us the biggest example of the current trend of fleshing out side characters, in this case Ronnie Anne and her family.  I’m not just talking about her, Bobby, and their mom, but also their big family with grandparents, an aunt and uncle, and four cousins.  They are the Casagrande family, and they’re their own set of distinct and entertaining characters.  We got the hospitable grandma; the gossiping grandpa; the over-emotional Aunt Frida who loves to photograph everything; Uncle Carlos who points out fun facts at given moments; the excitable fashionista Carlota; Carl the 6-year-old ladies’ man; Carlitos, the toddler who communicates through mimicking; the pets Lalo the dog and Sergio the smart-talking parrot; and CJ, a boy with down-syndrome who gives them justice for being treated normally despite his disability.  The Casagrandes have a strong dynamic where everyone livens things up in their own way, and it’s an interesting setting for Ronnie Anne to explore.  While Bobby easily gets by in the family and finds lots to love including the family’s bodega, Ronnie Anne, as we learn in this special, prefers to have her own space, but despite generally loving her extended family, they're too overbearing for her.  This issue gets complicated when it turns out that her mom was planning on surprising her and Bobby that they’re moving in with the Casagrandes so they can be more connected with family and not be lonely.  True, she doesn’t consider that Bobby has a lot of jobs and a girlfriend back home, but given her intentions are noble and the Casagrandes are very likable, they’re worth going along with, especially with what happens later.  From here, we get a believable look at how hard moving into a new place can be for some.  It’s clear to see Ronnie Anne’s unease of so many people in her space, so her tactics to try and get herself out of moving is understandable.  We also have how moving away can harshly effect people you’re leaving behind when Lori and Lincoln enter the plot.  While Lincoln isn’t as affected since he easily bonds with the Casagrandes, Lori instantly steps in to Ronnie Anne’s aid, knowing this move will separate her from Bobby.  Through all the misfires of Ronnie Anne’s plans to get out of the move, which interestingly work in the quirks of the Casagrandes she’s so used to, the hardships are balanced out by ways moves can work.  Lori and Bobby’s relationship is made to work when Bobby reveals a plan of how he can adjust to his new life and get together with Lori when they make it to college a year later.  As for Ronnie Anne, just when she’s finally convinced her mom not to move in a nice scene between the two, there's an even nicer scene where the Casagrandes, for all their quirks, show they understand her desires by giving Ronnie Anne her own room.  It gets Ronnie Anne to see the great potential of living in a big family and she adjusts, and this shows even more when she helps everyone protect a cake from a vicious gang of cats who break in.  Maybe more time could’ve been devoted to Ronnie Anne deciding to move, but since there was a good reason for her to decide to adjust, I can take what we have.  So, the status quo of the show is changed with major side characters moving away which proves the show is willing to take risks and attempt to make them work.  Plus with relatable story points and a lovable new family in the cast, this special is a great memorable entry for the season. 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. Lock n Loud
7. Fed Up
8. Potty Mouth
9. The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos
10. Baby Steps
11. Shell Shock
12. Suite and Sour
13. Back in Black
14. Patching Things Up
15. The Whole Picture
16. The Old and the Restless
17. Kick the Bucket List
18. Intern for the Worse
19. Cheater by the Dozen
20. Pets Peeved
21. Making the Grade
22. Vantastic Voyage
23. No Such Luck
24. Brawl in the Family

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where a decent Clincoln McCloud plot is made even better when Lola gets involved in "Out of the Picture," and "Room with a Feud" features a proper sibling fight plot.

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 10: Fed Up/Shell Shock

Fed Up

Back in my Season 1 reviews of this show, I’ve mentioned that one of its biggest themes was that even though siblings are usually very different, you can still easily relate to them which can let you know that you’re not alone when dealing with a particular issue in the family.  With this season starting to frequently feature all the kids work as a team as opposed to mostly Lincoln or a sister working separately from the rest of the siblings, this theme is stronger than ever before.  This cartoon here is proof of this.  The Loud kids all share the concern that Dad makes the same meals for dinner every week.  While this seems hard to believe at first since this was never an issue before, as well as the fact that Lincoln mentions that Friday’s meal is fried fish, but for the rest of the cartoon franks and beans are said to be for Friday, the entertainment and portrayal of the kids’ dynamics allow me to overlook those points.  The teamwork aspect of the kids makes itself apparent the moment Lincoln decides that something should be done about their monotonous dinners and forms a plan to sabotage Dad’s planned dinner so they can get pizza instead.  We’re so used to seeing the kids fight with each other or shutting down someone’s idea when there’s an issue, so the following sequence where every kid plays a part in sabotaging Dad’s planned goulash for the night is especially pleasing.  Even when Dad comes up with ways to improvise on a bad situation, the kids never give up and always find new ways to prevent the same meals from being made again.  That said, it’s still impressive how Dad finds ways to work around the lack of food or proper cooking equipment.  It’s a good display of his prominent character trait of his talent for cooking.  The kids ultimately win with their sabotage and get their pizza, but given how hard Dad was shown to be working to try and make his dinner under the circumstances, he still earns the audience’s sympathy.  This is why it’s good that the time remaining in the cartoon is spent on a forming a compromise between him and the kids when Leni’s lack of intelligence leads him to find out about the sabotage.  Dad’s ways of making the same meals every week are explained to exist due to the pressures of making something good for a lot of people on a budget.  This is a solid, believable reason for the methods, but since the kids feelings are also understandable, it’s worth watching them try to prove the menu can be mixed up by cooking dinner themselves.  However, since they lack cooking skills and common favorite foods, they simply can’t make something edible.  That’s when the compromise is reached when Dad turns out a new tasty dinner out of the kids’ mess.  In other words, the conclusion satisfies both sides of the issue instead of one proving right which is really the best way conflicts between characters should be settled.  Thanks to its strong use of conflict staging and resolution along with pleasing moments from the characters involved, this cartoon amounts to another strong entry of this season. 9.5/10

Shell Shock

Whether you want them to get together as a couple or you like them just fine as friends, there’s something fascinating to the relationship between Lincoln and Ronnie Anne.  Considering that they started getting on each other’s nerves through Ronnie Anne’s constant pranking on Lincoln and Lincoln calling her out at the worst times, it’s astounding that they’re still able to bond over some shared interests and slowly develop a respect for each other.  Even with the pleasing moments we’ve seen between them, the fact that we’ve only gotten so few of them and that Ronnie Anne is shown to be one of the school’s tough kids, it makes sense that not everything would be perfect between the two.  This is shown when this cartoon’s plot has them assigned to look after an egg for the week as if it’s their baby.  Since Ronnie Anne is, as I just stated, one of the tough kids, Lincoln is extremely hesitant to let her have the egg, so he plots to keep it all to himself all day.  To illustrate Lincoln’s fear of Ronnie Anne potentially handling the egg we get a comedic highlight for the cartoon which is a series of quick scenes of Lincoln imagining Ronnie Anne comically and monstrously breaking the egg.  They’re cool to see, but after a lot of them happen, you’d probably be left wondering why Lincoln is this mistrusting of Ronnie Anne after all the genuinely nice moments they’ve had together.  I mean, if Clyde can be trusting of a girl he hardly knows named Penelope while they look after their egg baby, surely Lincoln can do the same for a girl he has some knowledge of.  She may be rough, but she’s not dumb enough to act that way during a school project.  Thankfully, this is just what Lincoln discovers when after making a rubber cement twin of his and Ronnie Anne’s egg and accidentally giving her the real egg, he winds up at her house where he discovers what she’s really like.  Through some nice moments of helping Bobby get ready for work and helping her mom with chores, it’s revealed that Ronnie Anne can be careful and trustworthy.  It’s a sweet eye-opening moment for Lincoln, but since he should’ve been more trusting of her in the first place after all this time, when Ronnie Anne discovers his egg swap trick, her anger is understandable, though it does result in the real egg baby breaking.  Fortunately, rather than letting the cartoon end on a downer note for both Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, we close with Lincoln getting them both another chance at caring for an egg baby, now more trusting of Ronnie Anne and knowing what she’s really like.  She may prank him and can be rough with her friends at school, but when it comes to serious matters like family and school projects, she’s one of the most reliable friends he could ask for.  With newly revealed layers to flesh out Ronnie Anne’s character, strong comedy, and a relatable message on the importance of getting to know someone, this cartoon effectively continues this season’s trend of expanding the show’s world by developing side characters and being a strong cartoon in general. 9.5/10

The Ranking

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

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Lincoln's day gets a superhero edge to it in "Pulp Friction" and the Loud Pets take the spotlight in "Pets Peeved."

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 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 22

Dance, Dance Resolution
 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a really fun cartoon that delivers splendidly with the storytelling, characterization, humor, and relationship development.  The fun really starts when Lincoln, after ducking Ronnie Anne so to avoid going to the Sadie Hawkins Dance as opposed to a night at the arcade, gets roped into going to the dance with four girls who just happen to be generously chosen for him by my top four Loud sisters, Luna, Lucy, Lynn, and Luan.  From the rocking and cute sounding Tabby, to the silent and poetic Haiku, to the constantly roller blading Polly, to the comedian straight out of clown school Giggles, each of the girls Lincoln ends up dating all prove to be an entertaining bunch of characters who really bring about a certain charm to the scenes they’re in.  It’s also really cool to see how Lincoln manages to juggle all four of the dates without anyone noticing what he’s up to.  However, this cartoon proves that none of those girls will replace Ronnie Anne in his eyes, so much of the cartoon ends up being a challenge for him to keep her from finding out what's going on as well as continuing to keep his dates happy.  Once again, it’s really clever and amusing as to how he gets around the challenge by having Clyde and three random boys he knows spend time with the four dates, and the dates actually end up enjoying their company more than Lincoln’s.  The four pairings we get are easily some very good fits, including Clyde and Haiku who bond over the shared experience of love with an older person.  I’d really like to see more of this couple than Clyde constantly flirting over Lori.  As for Lincoln, it’s especially great that he ends up happy in the end as well.  At first, Ronnie Anne catches him at the dance and it looks like their relationship will be soured.  Then, we go on to further see how alike they really are when Lincoln tells her the whole truth, and she reveals that she’s not really into the Sadie Hawkins Dance either.  This honesty and understanding is a great way to show that Lincoln and Ronnie Anne are a nice couple to get behind and all the reason to be happy for them when they both have a fun time at the arcade as the cartoon comes to an end.  This is a start to finish delight with a lot of fun and nice moments from characters old and new. 9.5/10

A Fair to Remember
 

 

 

 

 

 

So many great moments from the characters involved are packed into this cartoon, and it all comes together very nicely.  One of them involves Lincoln finding a big brother figure in Lori’s boyfriend, Bobby.  Seeing the two of them enjoy themselves in so many ways as bros feels so nice and pleasing, mostly for how much it must mean for Lincoln since he lives with so many sisters.  It also does a good job of fleshing out Bobby’s character beyond just being Lori’s boyfriend.  “Save the Date” showed just how great of a big brother he is to Ronnie Anne, allowing her feelings to decide the decisions he makes, but here we learn that underneath that, he wishes he had a brother to feel complete.  That’s more than enough proof that he and Lincoln make a great pair.  As fun as it is to watch Lincoln and Bobby enjoy themselves, it doesn’t prevent you from feeling for Lori.  As the one who convinced Bobby to hang out with Lincoln, the fact that she gets sidelined as they grow closer as friends greatly shows off how much she did not expect what would become of this idea.  This makes it all appropriate to care about the fact that Lori is basically a lost cause without Bobby which is especially felt as Lori spends most of the cartoon trying to make Bobby jealous by having an unconscious Clyde accompany her to the county fair.  Throughout the fair scenes, the cartoon excels at playing with your emotions making you enjoy watching Lincoln and Bobby have a fun time while also feel sorry for Lori as she tries to get her boyfriend back in addition to Clyde not being conscious to know that he’s spending time with his crush.  What’s more, things actually conclude in a way that’s satisfying for everyone.  Lincoln and Bobby decide that most of Bobby’s attention should go towards Lori but agree to hang out once in a while, Lori gets her boyfriend back, and Clyde gets a reminder of his time with Lori at the fair and it’s actually a nice moment unlike other times he expresses his love for her.  It’s refreshing that after all we’ve seen, all the characters involved end up happy, with many relationships re-established, and others giving the impression that this is not the last we’ll see of them.  Everything in this cartoon puts together one of the best displays of character moments on the show, which is all you need to convince yourself to come back to it. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1.      For Bros About to Rock

2.      Undie Pressure

3.      Project Loud House

4.      Space Invader

5.      A Fair to Remember

6.      Driving Miss Hazy

7.      Left in the Dark

8.      Toads and Tiaras

9.      Picture Perfect

10.  Dance, Dance Resolution

11.  House Music

12.  Save the Date

13.  Sleuth or Consequences

14.  Hand-Me-Downer

15.  No Guts No Glori

16.  Roughin’ It

17.  Attention Deficit

18.  Changing the Baby

19.  Along Came A Sister

20.  April Fools Rules

21.  A Novel Idea

22.  Sound of Silence

23.  Butterfly Effect

24.  A Tale of Two Tables

25.  Cereal Offender

26.  Cover Girls

27.  It’s A Loud, Loud, Loud, Loud House

28.  The Waiting Game

29.  Overnight Success

30.  Raw Deal

31.  In Tents Debate

32.  Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru

33.  Out on a Limo

34.  Linc or Swim

35.  The Sweet Spot

36.  Heavy Meddle

37.  Get the Message

38.  Come Sale Away

39.  Ties that Bind

40.  Making the Case

41.  Chore and Peace

42.  The Loudest Yard

43.  Two Boys and a Baby

44.  The Green House

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode with male stereotypes galore when Lincoln sees what it would be like to have 10 brothers in "One of the Boys," and Lola proves that even brats can perform noble deeds in "A Tattler's Tale."