Hut Sut Raw/Kiss Me I'm Foreign (Rocko's Modern Life Season 2 Episode 7) - 'Toon Reviews 24

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Happy 2019! Now that the holidays are over and a new year has come our way, it's finally time to get back in business with reviewing seasons of certain shows. Today, I'm starting by picking up where we left off with Season 2 of Rocko's Modern Life:

Hut Sut Raw

At times I feel like camping episodes only exist to make certain characters suffer.  Most of the ones I know feature people adjusted to city living put at the mercy of nature, and their lack of experience in the outdoors leads to endless hardships.  It’s not exactly the most entertaining subplot, and this cartoon about camping is honestly no different to the usual setup.  Then again, being from a show about the challenges of modern life, it was bound to happen eventually. 

We have Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt deciding to go camping with Rocko being the only one wiling to truly rough it.  With this in mind, consider that one of the points of the series is that Rocko, an average everyman, is continuously put through hardships that come with seemingly simple things.  It barely turns out unpleasant because most of the hardships feel inherent, are exaggerated for laughs, and most of the time aren’t inflicted by outside sources or dumb decisions.  This time, it becomes frustrating that all adversities Rocko and his friends are put through are self-inflicted. 

The route to the campsite reveals it to be a mall that imitates nature.  It’s the outdoors sport that most visitors, including Heffer and Filburt, enjoy.  While it is a fair point that this isn’t actually camping, it’s clearly what the guys are better adjusted to.  For that, it makes Rocko’s decision to ditch this clear sense of luxury near impossible to support.  He and his friends instead set up camp in a section of woods a distance behind the mall, and from there it’s nothing but survival struggles.  It’s just things going wrong for these characters used to suburban living and decent hygiene. 

The longer they endure the harshness of the wilderness, the more it’s hammered in that they are not cut out for camping like this.  They lose the tent and can’t get decent food and water.  It’s especially concerning that their hunger ends up feeling so genuine that it’s near impossible to have a fun time watching these characters take on modern life like it usually is.  Yes, they suffer on a regular basis, but the cartoons usually let the challenge happen and the characters keep their cool all throughout.  Here, the effects of struggling in the wild feel too believable to get invested on an entertaining level.  There are even some forms of suffering unfairly personally inflicted on the protagonists. Creatures steal their stuff, and when it seems like it’s raining steaks for them, they turn out to be for shrews who chase them away.  It’s honestly unfortunate that this mean-spiritedness hurts the cartoon this much when the show usually has a good handle on it. 

That said, there are still plenty of enjoyable moments in this camping trip.  There’s solid laughs from Heffer’s attempts to set up the tent before it’s destroyed, and Filburt declaring the lake water disgusting via a visual gag of fish dating in it.  Even when squirrels eat all of Heffer’s food, the occurrence is capped by humorous one-liners from them.  Attempts at finding food are also quite humorous with each character getting up to a memorable escapade although Rocko’s seemed a bit much for the censors.  Because of this, you can’t see it on DVD releases or modern reruns. 

Here it is now for your viewing pleasure though:

Also the conclusion is satisfying when they all go back to Rocko’s house to camp out there with all the modern amenities they could hope for.  Even so, it shows that they could’ve just done something like this in the first place to avoid their suffering. Maybe if their outdoor camping didn’t go as horribly wrong as it did, there’d be more of a point. There’s still a decent amount of enjoyment here, but like most camping episodes, it supports the belief that everyone should stay away from the great outdoors.

C+

Kiss Me I’m Foreign

Ridiculous concepts were pretty much made for animation.  The medium of no limitations can provide all the essentials to make anything work.  Among many oddball story ideas out there, this is one that’s very creative in setup and is believable through the strengths of the characters.  In addition, this cartoon is also one to put a humorous spin on some of the more complex issues of life such as immigration and citizenship. 

Apparently, Rocko hasn’t been qualified as a citizen of the United States so he has to be deported back home to Australia.  It’s a huge event that could force him out of the principal setting of the whole series though it’s not exactly staged as particularly emotional.  That said, it’s a bit unsettling that his neighbors hold a surprise party over Rocko being deported.  Thankfully, this is a matter of misunderstanding when most of the party is quick to turn things around so Rocko can stay, except of course for Ed Bighead. 

It’s from this relatable topic that brings on the bizarre story premise when Rocko’s citizenship is maintained through being roped into a marriage with Filburt.  This is one of those pairings of characters that convincingly work well as friends, but picturing them as a married couple is really crossing the line.  Attempting to make the façade convincing leads to a lot of awkwardness with Rocko and the others acting like Filburt’s a female.  Fortunately through awareness of how crazy all this is and hilarious images such as Filburt as a bride, gown and all, the awkwardness feels very funny to the audience. 

The approach to this interesting concept even continues to the actual married life.  Filburt takes the role of Rocko’s wife very seriously through adhering to all the usual motions of the general idea of married life.  Through it all, Rocko has no good reason to talk against it with the government official hounding him, and the fake marriage needing to be maintained to avoid deportation.  This makes for many humorous occurrences of Filburt as a happy housewife through preparing Rocko for his day and constantly calling him while he’s busy at work.  Filburt does turn from supportive to unreasonably frustrated out of nowhere, but this flaw is made to work through the cartoon’s nature.  It has the phony marriage feel like a real one considering that arguments are kind of a given from anyone living together.  Seeing him go from supportive to agitated and lazy is a stark yet funny contrast especially when his fights with Rocko are creatively interpreted as a boxing match.  Even funnier is that they transcend to friendly conversations like when Filburt explains his behavior and Rocko thanking him for being a good friend while still sounding tense. 

Clearly the cartoon does a lot with its out-there premise.  However, there’s room for endearment from Filburt needing to marry Rocko.  It effects the possibility of ending up with his true love, Dr. Hutchison.  By the way, the chemistry they show towards each other is a nice continuation of the events of an earlier cartoon.  It honestly makes certain moments kind of emotional, even if they’re followed by a joke later like when Dr. Hutchison is stopped just as she's about to break into song.  By the end, their relationship sounds possible after all when Rocko is named a US citizen in the end.  However, this feels somewhat contrived for a lack of a reason for the sudden citizenship and it’s never mentioned that Rocko and Filburt are technically still married.  It may end with a couple head-scratchers, but it’s nevertheless impressive for the cartoon to turn out as good as it does with a premise so bizarre.

One more thing, it’s remarkable that Rocko and Filburt, two males getting married predates today’s frequent LGBT representation by nearly two decades.  Think of how more meaningful it would’ve been if Filburt didn’t need to pretend to be female and the marriage remained legit.

A

The Ranking

1. Rocko’s Modern Christmas
2. Tickled Pinky
3. Boob Tubed
4. Kiss Me I’m Foreign
5. The Lounge Singer
6. Road Rash
7. I Have No Son
8. Commuted Sentence
9. Down the Hatch
10. Pipe Dreams
11. She’s the Toad
12. Hut Sut Raw

The next Rocko's Modern Life review is on another full-length cartoon where Heffer's grandpa, for all his stereotypical grumpy old man behavior, gets solid development during a cruise.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews, I pick up where we left off with Steven Universe Season 3 with the episode "Crack the Whip."

If you would like to check out other Rocko's Modern Life reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 20: Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 2 Episode 5: Starstruck/Camping Trip

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Starstruck

We all have our idols but very rarely do we ever meet them in person.  Given the various scandalous reports of famous people turning up in the news these days, that may be a good thing, for just because you idolize the work and actions of someone, the person behind those things might not always be a good person.  This episode brings this message to light when Star learns that her monster-fighting idol is not what she seems. 

Her name is Mina Loveberry who’s known in Mewni as a revered warrior and protector, and is on Earth for a vacation via "doctor's orders".  Right there Mina shows that she’s too crazy to have the makings of a competent warrior. Her first moments show her freak out over a bag stuck on her head.  It’s understandable that Star doesn’t notice this at first since Mina got the bag on her head while hiding in a dumpster like Star was doing. 

From there, because Star sees nothing too wrong with Mina’s behavior, she joins her in exploring Earth for any dangers which include Mina’s indescribably odd customs.  They include breaking into the national landmark of mud pits to become “mud sisters,” attempting to ride away on a preserved wooly mammoth which sinks, taking any random items they can find to make weapons even if they’re the park’s property, and doing whatever they please after hearing America’s the land of the free including arson. 

Through it all, Mina is definitely a major danger to society with all her customs causing serious harm in various degrees.  We already discussed that she commits acts like arson without care, but she also gets little kids hurt while they’re swinging, and possibly causes the park ranger to drown at one point.  I mean, he sinks in the mud pit, and we never hear from him afterwards.  All the same, despite being dangerous, Mina is still highly enjoyable for the eccentric way she goes about life and teaches Star her secrets of being a great warrior which really livens things up. 

As fun as Mina is, because she’s so obviously a menace to society, it’s concerning that it takes Star a long time to realize that Mina is nuts and just shoots down Marco’s legitimate warnings while he often has to deal with the aftermath of their destruction.  All the same, there are times where Star attempts to follow Mina along, but feels unsure about her idol’s customs.  Then when Mina gets to the last step of becoming a warrior which includes fighting everyone, including innocent people, to conquer Earth which has no one ruler, Star finally sees fault in Mina’s teachings and refuses to conquer the planet she’s come to care for.  Star’s biggest change in her views on Mina comes after the warrior takes on a monstrous form as Earth’s new leader, and when everyone around votes on it, Star makes the choice to vote on Mina not conquering the planet.  It all ends with Star facing the hard truth that her idol was not a skilled warrior, but a really crazy and destructive lady she’d rather not emulate. 

It’s sad that someone she looked up to wasn’t who she thought she was, but it’s a hard cold lesson that matters now more than ever.  For that, this is a fun and high-spirited episode that makes a strong point. 

A-

Camping Trip

A few instances in the series has shown that Star actually has a lot in common with her dad, King River.  They both have a huge desire for fighting and sense of adventure and are generally highly energetic.  Their bond is touched on even more in a cartoon focusing on the favorite pastime of going on camping trips. 

This camping trip starts off nice, simple, and relatable to one most people would do with the most hype built around seeing a geyser erupting today, but it becomes more interesting when River shows up.  Like Star, he takes extreme pleasures in every little thing there is to camping.  It’s his role that makes the mundane pastimes of camping such as fishing and hiking more exciting than they’d normally be. 

Interestingly enough, one of the reasons for his behavior is that he wants to relive his youth and prove he’s still cool enough to be there for his daughter which is both a believable reason and adds some heart to his antics.  Still, it shows that unlike Star who at times is capable of breaking away from being ridiculous, River gets even more ridiculous despite his reasons.  Among these highly ridiculous acts is going up to a bald eagle in its nest to get the bird to fly them to the geyser which ends up getting the three of them caught by the rangers.  River also does much more harm than good to Marco’s own desire to see the geyser through eating the map for no reason other than he was hungry.  He also shows that he hasn’t learned from his previous encounter with the rangers when the group is once again hounded by them when River steals a bear.  It’s at least always clear that he wants to help make the whole trip special, and wanting to act young and cool to impress his daughter makes this desire all the more understandable. 

There’s also a nice conversation Star and Marco have involving the geyser.  The real reason Marco wants to see it is so he can show Star to thank her for ishowing him so many interesting dimensions.  Not only does this camping trip stand out more from the antics of someone with a midlife crisis, but the heart of what it means for Star and Marco’s friendship adds to its endearment. 

Then following this conversation, and a statement that today is the geyser’s last eruption prompts River to perform his noblest act for the episode.  Finally reliving his youth with no trouble, he carries Star and Marco while running through miles of wood even doing impossible feats like jumping up a waterfall and running through a war reenactment.  It’s impressive that River turns out to astound with how fast he travels just to get his daughter and her friend to see something that means a lot to them, even if he ultimately fails. 

That said, it’s very satisfying that the trip there was just as exciting for Star and Marco and are appropriately grateful for how River came through in the end.  The moment is a bit devalued when they geyser erupts anyway and the statement of this being its last eruption turns out to be a lie, but it’s nice to see everyone in a good place anyhow, as well as a humorous ending of River looking a lot younger after getting sunburned from the eruption. 

Basic as this camping trip episode is, the character moments, especially from what we see of River, are strong and entertaining enough to make it worth watching.

A-

The Ranking

1. Ludo in the Wild
2. Mr. Candle Cares
3. Wand to Wand
4. Starstruck
5. Star on Wheels
6. Camping Trip
7. My New Wand
8. Red Belt
9. Star vs Echo Creek
10. Fetch

The next Star vs the Forces of Evil review covers Star and Marco take up babysitting Buff Frog's tadpoles, as well as what Buff Frog was doing while that was going on.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode that asks "Do You Have Any More In the Back?"

If you would like to check out other Star vs the Forces of Evil reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 1: Hey Arnold Season 1 Episode 9

Mugged

















Perhaps the biggest thing to appreciate about this cartoon is that it does not shy away from showing the hard truths of city life.  While it’s true that most can live that life just fine, there are a lot of dangerous things out there including thugs who attack and rob you when you least expect.  This is just what Arnold encounters.  The beginning of this cartoon shows him just minding his own business and then, out of nowhere, a thug drags him into an alley, beats him up, and steals his bus pass and money.  The way the scene plays out is very dark yet honest to how highly urbanized areas such as the neighborhood Arnold lives in can be a very dangerous place if you’re not careful.   Speaking of not being careful, this frightening experience sets up the major plot of the cartoon where Arnold learns about the art of self-defense from Grandma.  It mostly consists of martial arts practice and Grandma giving some Asian-like philosophies.  In the training moments, it’s easy to both feel for Arnold’s plight and hope he gets the strength he needs to survive in the life he lives, while also enjoy Grandma’s trademark versatility.  From what we’ve seen of her, she can take on pretty much anything.  It’s the makings of a great character.  Anyway, Arnold does go on to become a master at martial arts, and what he shows off is truly incredible, but there seems to be a downside to this.  He’s so good at these martial arts skills that he uses them everywhere he goes and in front of anyone he comes across.  This makes everyone around him fear him, but it doesn’t reach its breaking point until later on.  At that point in the cartoon, a random guy appears to ask for the bus stop, and Arnold just straight up attacks him up to the point of stripping him to his underwear for no good reason, and he’s given a lot of death glares from everyone watching.  What Arnold gets for attacking that guy is an effective frightening scene that greatly reflects the terror he has become.  The composition is appropriately dark and angular, the voices and shots of the glares add to the tone, and the ambition and storytelling talent of the show’s crew clearly shows.  The scene is then capped off by a nice scene between Arnold and Grandma who reminds him that true masters of the art of self-defense are those who do not look for trouble, but instead use their trade when trouble comes to them, just as a fly comes to a frog which has been shown literally throughout the cartoon.  This lesson’s effect is really made clear when near the end, Arnold gets his stuff back from the same thug who mugged him when he comes to him and that is really the best way to end everything.  This is a shining example of this show’s strengths with its honesty of city life, great character moments, and impactful lessons for all watching. 9.5/10

Roughin’ It

 

 

 

 

 

Slice-of-life shows tend to have at least a few cartoons or episodes about characters being out in the great outdoors and how they endure the wilderness.  The ways the characters do this tend to have both good points and bad points which make them relatable to real life.  This cartoon in particular tackles two ways of doing this.  First, we have Arnold and Gerald going on a camping trip with Grandpa who instructs them on how to camp the old-fashioned way through basic wilderness knowledge like telling when an animal is near, what berries are safe to eat, and finding your way with tree moss.  These methods of camping prove to be too hard for Arnold and Gerald to follow and they grow to want out of camping altogether, thus painting this form of camping in a bad light.  The other way of enduring the wilderness comes in when Helga and her best friend Phoebe arrive on the scene with Helga’s dad, Big Bob.  He’s taking part in a camping trip as a way to test out new merchandise for his company, which includes an RV, and a bunch of machines for storing food, finding their way along a trail and keeping cool.  This way of camping proves to be easy and very efficient, not just for Arnold and Gerald, but I bet even the audience could agree that this high-tech way of living in the woods is the real way to go.  The thing is though that we later go on to see that even with the latest technology, things can still go wrong when you use it on a camping trip.  During a nature hike, all of Big Bob’s merchandise breaks down prompting him to literally throw it all away.  It just goes to show that using technology on a camping trip can be fine for a while, but you really have to be careful with it, because when it breaks, you’re endangered of really being exposed to the elements.  In the end, it’s the wilderness advice that Arnold and Gerald learned from Grandpa that saves everyone, and everyone gets back safely to enjoy the beauty of nature, while Big Bob is humorously punished for his stubbornness and overreliance on technology.  The strength of the story is how it shows off the positive and negative parts of different ways of being in the great outdoors.  Camping with technology might be easier and more relaxing, but they can break easily if you take them for granted and you’ll be left with nothing.  Likewise, camping with knowledge of the woods in mind may be really hard to learn, but you’ll get by better than ever once you get the hang of things.  This balance in the way of doing things grants this cartoon some value. 9/10

The Rankings

1.      Haunted Train

2.      Stoop Kid

3.      Arnold’s Hat

4.      Helga’s Makeover

5.      Mugged

6.      The Baseball

7.      The List

8.      The Vacant Lot

9.      Downtown as Fruits

10.  The Old Building

11.  Field Trip

12.  Roughin’ It

13.  6^th Grade Girls

14.  The Little Pink Book

15.  Snow

16.  Eugene’s Bike

17.  Heat

18.  Operation Ruthless

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the 10th episode of the season: "Door #16/Arnold as Cupid."