'Toon Reviews 13: The Loud House Season 2 Episode 1: 11 Louds a Leapin'

Attention Loud Crowd! Starting today, we’re going to pay another visit to the house of the biggest family on Nickelodeon for another full season of reviews:

The Loud House (Season 2)

Basic Premise

Not long ago, Nickelodeon released what turned out to be their best show in a very long time, The Loud House.  The general idea of a show about the lives of a big family with one boy, Lincoln, and his 10 sisters, Lori, Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lucy, Lana, Lola, Lisa, and Lily, sounded appealing enough for an animated series. Their dynamic personalities working off each other, the relatable and down-to-earth stories, and the comic strip feel in the visuals made it something great.  After years of weak series that felt too gross, mean, and stupid, Nickelodeon finally had a show where the effort showed.  From quoting characters to staying up to date with when new cartoons would air, there’s something I found enticing to this show.

However, as the first season showed, despite being so well-made, The Loud House seemed to falter too much to be named as one of the best animated TV series ever.  While most of the cartoons had a lot of heart and good sense of character, others fell into the trap of the prior weaker Nickelodeon shows. There were more than a few cartoons fueled by mean moments, stupid moments, and characters acting like they were trying to make life for others difficult. Worst of all, some cartoons ended on a bad note despite all the hardships the characters were put through throughout the cartoon.  Given that things like these happened so frequently and weren’t once in a while deals, it just didn’t feel right to give it top 10 status.  The fact that it still had great material though gave a sign that the reason certain cartoons didn’t turn out right was because the show was trying to figure out what works. Any weak point could be brought under control with later seasons.  Speaking of other seasons, I’ve been waiting for just the right time to discuss the second season of this show. Now that it’s completely finished airing, the time to look into it has arrived.  So, will Season 2 really improve over Season 1, or is this show doomed to remain in the shadow of stronger animated works?  We’ll soon find out as we spend the next several blog posts looking into the cartoons and half-hour specials that compose the season.  Let’s enter the house of the Louds and off we go!

Now on with the reviews:

11 Louds a Leapin’

With a show like this that focuses on a big family, it’s only fitting for it to get a Christmas special sooner or later.  Not only is that the case for the season premiere, but it’s one of the best works this show has turned out. 
One of the biggest things there is to Christmas is how it brings family together to share in its spirit of generosity and goodwill to people. In the Loud family, there’s a lot of family members to get into the spirit.  Lola forces herself to be the sweetest little girl ever to appease Santa Clause while Lisa uses logic to shoot down all her beliefs in him. Lana happily tests reindeer traps. Luan frequently pops up to share one of her “12 Puns of Christmas.” Leni has a humorous running gag of making a dress out of random decorations Mom’s using. Luna struggles to write the perfect Christmas song which is constantly brought down by materialistic lyrics. Lori, in an interesting turn for the oldest Loud sibling, has a hard time keeping herself in check from opening presents, including a really big one, before the 25^th.  As to be expected from these characters, they all have their special entertaining quirks to reflect the diverse and versatile lifestyle of the Loud family. Working in the Christmas special makes it even better.  All these characters’ ways of celebrating the holiday are entertaining enough, but it’s great that the main plot brings them all together. 
It starts off simple with Lincoln losing his sled in crabby neighbor, Mr. Grouse’s yard, and he claims everything that lands on his property. This is especially bad because Christmas is when he shows the most disdain towards the Louds.  Of course, we get some comedic antics as Lincoln tries to retrieve his sled, but during that time, we uncover interesting information about Mr. Grouse.  He’s from a big family like the Louds, but can’t afford to be with them at Christmas, and being alone at that time of year is one of the saddest things ever (to me anyway). 
When Lincoln tells everyone what he found, what follows is one of the show’s biggest displays of family love.  His sisters pity Mr. Grouse and the whole family sets up a wondrous display of Christmas cheer for him.  It’s complete with a festive feast and décor set up in his house, a bus ticket as a gift to unite him with his family, and Luna’s song finally coming together to heartwarming effect. There's even something that reshapes the status quo of the series…

Mom and Dad’s faces are finally shown, and with a few exceptions, they remain shown.  As someone who liked their faces being hidden to keep the show from Lincoln and his sisters’ perspective, I consider this a welcome change of pace.  It overall felt pointless to keep hiding the faces since the faces of all the other adults were shown. Not to mention there were several times in Season 1 where they constantly teased us by showing their eyes and mouths but never both at the same time.  Plus, with Mr. Grouse getting a lot of focus and development here, Mom and Dad showing their faces opens up other characters the chance for story ideas centered on them. 
As for the special, what the Louds do for Mr. Grouse has enough Christmas spirit and family love to really make what we see a true modern holiday tradition in the spirit of the show.  Yes, the ending establishes that Mr. Grouse is still going to be cranky, but it’s not enough to dispel the genuine happiness and joy of the season from his moment with the Loud family. 
In the end, what’s here is successful Christmas material and one of the most amazing pieces of Loud House material. 10/10

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where things take an "Intern for the Worse" when an internship at Flip's Food and Fuel threatens to get in the way of Lincoln and Clyde's friendship and Pop-Pop gets some nice development for his character in "The Old and the Restless."

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 7: Hey Arnold Season 2 Episode 1

It’s time once again for all Football Heads to come together to look at more adventures in the big city.

Hey Arnold (Season 2)

BASIC PREMISE

When it comes to animated TV shows I really like, whenever I start reviewing one of them on this blog, I can hardly wait to come back to it after a while to look at another season.  One of these shows is the classic Nickelodeon show, Hey Arnold.  As I’ve discussed way back in my look of Season 1, this is one of the best animated series out there mainly through how sincere and believable it is through how it brings about different emotional responses through many highs and lows of life.  Amidst simple stories of Arnold doing a fun kid-friendly activity, there are several times when the show can delve into heavy, thought-provoking, and honest subject matter, which makes the world of the show feel highly engaging.  It also helps to have a cast of characters of many personalities and ages that somehow fleshes out everyone commendably.  Because of this, of course I really want to discuss how these strengths continue into other seasons especially since this old 90s cartoon show is relevant again thanks to The Jungle Movie.

I should probably point out that the order the cartoons are reviewed in may seem confusing to some who look at the order in some major online sources, and even the Complete Series DVD set.  That’s because in those sources, they’re listed in the order of how they aired.  However, going in that order can create a lot of continuity-related confusion, especially since this season introduces a game-changing element to the series.  Heck, the airing order of this season even lists cartoons made for the previous season.  Well, even if the cartoons aired in a certain order, I’ll be reviewing them in their intended production order as sited from the official Hey Arnold wiki, and how they’re listed in digital download sites like iTunes.  Hopefully, this will help clear up the way things are meant to unfold with every cartoon, and this practice will continue well into reviews of the other seasons.  Now that we got this out of the way, it’s time to look at more Hey Arnold via its second season.  So, let’s move it Football Heads.

Now on with the reviews:

The Big Scoop

Newspaper stories don’t always seem to come out great.  They usually focus on one character posting embarrassing articles on everyone they witness ,and their close friends, and in some cases their families, responding by posting an embarrassing article on the person or treating them like they’re a heartless monster because of that one misdeed.  That never comes off as enjoyable, but the way this newspaper story is structured does justice for the characters involved.  When writing the school newspaper, Arnold, the kid in charge, strives to post only the facts, but Helga feels that the stories posted aren’t exciting enough for the school.  Given her aggressive nature, it’s fitting that she sets up her own school newspaper that posts nothing but what she feels the PS 118 students will like even if they’re completely fabricated out of photos of certain kids.  It’s amazing how convincing the fake stories like Arnold kissing a tree and Gerald playing with dolls come out in an era before Photoshop was a thing.  Clearly, the victims of Helga’s reports want to put a stop to this nonsense.  At first, Arnold and Gerald are set up to solve everything the way most characters in these plots would by posting embossing stories of Helga, but soon after, Arnold points out that stooping to her low is not a good way to deal with this.  Instead, they go in a much more mature direction by posting a story to flat out claim that one of Helga’s stories is completely untrue.  The story they target is of a pretty huge supposed occurrence where Helga overhears Principal Wartz talking with Ernie, the demolition man, about walls coming down and claims that this means the school is going to be torn down and replaced with an amusement park.  It’s really a ridiculous conclusion to come to and Phoebe's reaction to the claim is hard to believe, but given how much everyone bought her fake stories before, it makes sense for Helga to predict they’ll believe this one.  As for Arnold and Gerald, they take the time to research what’s going on, learn that what Helga claims is completely untrue and post it in their paper.  This, along with the subsequent scene of everyone demanding Helga to stop posting lies, effectively gets Helga to realize the errors of her ways and gives her a chance to change.  It’s certainly a much better way around the issue than to make her a pariah because of this, and this way around the issue means a lot more given her bully status.  While she still wants the news to be more exciting in the end, it’s great that she’s at last complying with Arnold’s leadership on being honest.  Ultimately, of all the newspaper plots of any show, this will always be the strongest one to me for the mature way of dealing with the typical beats it comes with. 9/10

Harold’s Kitty

Way back at the start of the show, Harold was seen as a one-dimensional big bully who just wanted to insult or pound anyone he felt was beneath him with occasional moments of softness.  As the show would go on, his soft side would grow even more, making him a genuine human character.  This cartoon is one of the best examples of his growing soft side.  We begin with him doing his typical immature, brash things like banging along a fence annoying an old lady named Mrs. Ryle and being snappy at the kids which makes them not want to him to play with them.  Then everything changes when he and Arnold find a lost kitten, and Harold agrees to take it home, and from there, we see a large display of Harold’s friendly side at work.  As time goes on, Harold gets more attached to the small cat, happily playing with him, buying him treats and toys, and pretty much going anywhere with him. It’s interesting, and of course adorable to see a huge, mean-looking kid like Harold find a liking, let alone really bond, with a creature as small as a kitten who he names Cupcake.  It’s hard to get enough of their moments together, and you can really feel for Harold when Arnold proceeds to put up lost kitten posters all over the neighborhood.  Speaking of which, it’s also great that this cartoon doesn’t solely rely on cuteness from Harold and Cupcake, for in the second half, Arnold discovers that the kitten belongs to Mrs. Ryle.  Considering how distressed Harold was at the sight of Arnold’s lost cat posters, he completely refuses to let Cupcake go, locking them both inside his house.  This may be a simple action, but then it just grows in tension as a commotion arises first by a crowd of the neighborhood’s residents gathering around the house, then both of Harold’s parents demanding Harold to open the door, and then with the whole police force, including the air force, interrogating Harold to come out with the cat.  So much craziness happens from this simple act that you just can’t help but get invested.  Ultimately, after hearing how the cat, really named Thurston, is the only friend Mrs. Ryle has, Arnold breaks through to Harold’s room and informs him of this, and if he loves the cat as his only true friend, he has to get him home, which Harold does.  Even with this separation of friends, it leads to a greater good with Harold and Mrs. Ryle reaching a truce over the cat, him being allowed to visit him, and everyone starting to get to know the real Harold.  In addition to being cute and really building up on intensity at times, this is one of the show’s strongest entries for having Harold’s story prove that anyone can be more than what they seem. 10/10

The Ranking

1. Harold’s Kitty
2. The Big Scoop

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode featuring Sid's very first starring role in "Arnold Saves Sid" and Arnold and Gerald decide to play "Hooky."

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