'Toon Reviews 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 17

House Music
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s one element that makes this cartoon stand out from the ones we’ve covered so far.  Lincoln isn’t the major focus of this one.  That’s right, we’re actually having one of the sisters take the spotlight here, and I’m pleased to say that it’s no one other than Luna, and this cartoon does a great job at further expanding her character.  At the start, Luna shows off how awesome she is by offering her family meaningful music advice as they form a band set to perform at the upcoming fair.  They may not have the same musical skills, but Luna reminds them that all you need to do with music is have fun, and never worry about sounding good and those are true words to live by.  The cartoon also shows off how relatable Luna is at the moment when she learns that her idol, Mick Swagger, is coming to the fair, and she obsesses over impressing him so much that she forgets her own advice resulting in her becoming a jerk to her family which includes firing her own dad.  Regarding Dad, this cartoon is another example of getting a lot of character out of him without showing his face from presenting his history of getting fired from bands, and his immense distraught when his own daughter does that to him.  As for Luna’s portrayal, some might not be keen on it, but to me it seems very believable to anyone trying to impress their idols.  Plus, this moment goes on to further showcase Luna’s great trait of realizing when she messes up and strives to fix things and does so in an interesting way.  When going solo from her family to work on a song to impress Mick, Luna finds herself unable to write a good one and grows miserable in the process.  Then after a talk with a seemingly random old man at a diner, Luna is then reminded of what she herself said about having fun with music which gets her to realize that she does have fun with music when she’s with her family.  Sure enough, once Luna makes up with her family and makes Dad feel better by getting him back in the band, she and the family put on a good show by having fun and not feeling the pressure of impressing anyone.  What we see throughout the second half of the cartoon nicely demonstrates how the entire Loud family is a big influence on Luna’s talents so much so that the reveal is just as big of an impact on the audience as it is to Luna herself.  Now, while this cartoon might not have the same amazing status as “For Bros About to Rock,” it still does a lot of good with its humor, message, and the many ways it proves that Luna is the most interesting of the Loud siblings. 9.5/10

A Novel Idea

 

 

 

 

 

At times, I feel that it must be hard for Lincoln to cope with being the only boy in a big family with a bunch of sisters.  This is one of the cartoons that emphasizes this, specifically with him not being allowed to join them for Take Your Daughter to Work Day at Dad’s office where they all have such a fun time.  He does get something to make up for being left out of the day when Mom decides to make today Take Your Son to Work Day at the dentist’s office she works at.  Much of the first cartoon goes on to really capture the feeling of waiting around in a boring environment for a long time and struggling to keep yourself entertained which is something everyone young or old can relate to.  As a result, when you see Lincoln get up to many creative moments of using his imagination, only to realize that he just can’t make Mom’s workplace as fun as Dad’s, I bet you can probably see yourself in him.  Things get a lot more interesting when you consider Mom’s side of the story.  If you like the show’s decision to never show the faces of the Loud parents this season, you’ll really appreciate this cartoon for giving us a lot of moments where Mom shows off a lot of character solely from body language, most notably through hand movements.  Her character is really felt when she invites Lincoln to her office, suggests things to do to keep himself entertained, and when she talks about a personal desire to Lincoln.  She has a notebook where she writes down ideas of a potential novel that she hopes to get published someday, and you can really sense how excited she is about it, not to mention that this aspiration adds a bit to her character.  Because you end up getting how Mom feels about her novel, it’s easy to sense Lincoln’s urgency when he ends up losing Mom’s notebook.  For much of the second half, we’re treated to an awesome sequence of Lincoln encountering a lot of crazy obstacles as he tries to get the notebook back which is easily the most entertaining part of the cartoon.  Even though the notebook ultimately gets destroyed right when Lincoln is about to return it to Mom, we do get a nice moment between mother and son to wrap everything up.  After Lincoln explains what happened, instead of getting mad at him, Mom sees the positive side of what Lincoln did and comes up with a better idea for a novel inspired by him.  This ending is strong proof that the show can bring out heart in any family member and not just Lincoln and the sisters which really attributes to how good its craftsmanship is.  Thanks to the fun sequences including the climax, the relatable premise, development for one of the parents, and a nice family bond at its center, this is a good cartoon to watch when you want to prevent boredom. 9/10

The Ranking

1.      For Bros About to Rock

2.      Undie Pressure

3.      Project Loud House

4.      Space Invader

5.      Driving Miss Hazy

6.      Left in the Dark

7.      Toads and Tiaras

8.      Picture Perfect

9.      House Music

10.  Save the Date

11.  Sleuth or Consequences

12.  Hand-Me-Downer

13.  No Guts No Glori

14.  Attention Deficit

15.  Changing the Baby

16.  Along Came A Sister

17.  A Novel Idea

18.  Sound of Silence

19.  Butterfly Effect

20.  A Tale of Two Tables

21.  Cover Girls

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

23.  Overnight Success

24.  In Tents Debate

25.  Out on a Limo

26.  Linc or Swim

27.  The Sweet Spot

28.  Heavy Meddle

29.  Get the Message

30.  Ties that Bind

31.  Making the Case

32.  Chore and Peace

33.  Two Boys and a Baby

34.  The Green House

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where the Louds enter a minefield of pranks as Luan proves that "April Fools Rules," and Lincoln goes on a shopping spree to get a special cereal while his sisters become "Cereal Offenders."

'Toon Reviews 1: Hey Arnold Season 1 Episode 5

6^th Grade Girls

 

 

 

 

 

I think it’s a normal and somewhat charming part of youth to get infatuated with someone older than you, even if it can get awkward if you go too far with it.  In the case of this cartoon, it follows Arnold and Gerald wanting to impress two cute looking 6^th grade girls.  Their short attempts by acting cool in hopes to impress them actually gets their attention, and they even get asked to join them at a 6^th grade dance. So, for much of the cartoon, we follow Arnold and Gerald do literally every trick in the book to keep cool and also convince these girls that they’re 6^th graders just like them.  On the one hand, this is just an average crush-centric episode that doesn’t try anything new and doesn’t exactly qualify as a must-watch cartoon.  On the other hand though, since the main characters trying to impress these older girls are just kids, this can be seen as a nice little look at how kids really act.  It’s normal for them to want to be with someone who looks cute and for them to believe that acting cool is the way to get people to like them.  It only becomes an issue if they act this way when they get older.  Plus, Arnold and Gerald’s ways of acting cool around the 6^th grade girls make for some enjoyable sequences, my personal favorite where they show off some killer moves they learned set to a rocking piece of music while on the dance floor.  However, sadly for them, Arnold and Gerald have no idea that the only reason the girls asked them out is because they’re trying to make their jerky boyfriends jealous.  Speaking of the boyfriends, every scene of them in this cartoon portrays them as very unlikable and violent, especially when they eventually gang up on Arnold and Gerald for stealing their girlfriends.  It kind of makes you wonder why the girls even want them around as lovers.  What they have clearly isn’t healthy.  At least the girls later stand up to their boyfriends to get them to stop beating the 4^th graders who in turn for all their troubles get a kiss from those 6^th grade girls bringing a satisfying end to their part of this story.  This cartoon really isn’t for everyone, but if you’re like me and enjoy believable looks at the lives of kids, you’ll enjoy this one just fine. 8/10

The Baseball

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all have our heroes who have some impressive talents that connect to our personal interests, and we wish to be like them and, if given the chance, possibly see them in action.  When we do though, how do we go about the experience?  This is a question that this cartoon generously takes the time to explore and answer.  It reveals that Arnold is a huge fan of the baseball player, Mickey Kaline, and like anyone with idols, he emulates Mickey’s skills and mannerisms which help him become such a star player whenever he and his friends play baseball.  With that established, the plot gets going when Arnold learns that Mickey isn’t as good of a baseball player as he used to be and that his last game is coming soon.  Arnold once again shows off a lot of devotion to an idol like anyone in the same position would and does what he can to get enough money to attend Mickey Kaline’s last game.  Getting the money is a challenge in it of itself, and when he finally gets to the game, things still don’t go right.  His seat is too far up to see the game, there’s a pillar in the way, and plaster keeps falling on him.  However, it’s Arnold’s love for his hero that prompts him to do something about these conditions and see Mickey Kaline during his last game, even if it means breaking the rules.  We get an exciting fast-paced chase through the baseball stadium where Arnold runs to find a better seat while the guards chase him down for not sitting in his assigned seat which drags you in the longer it goes on.  Plus, the chase leads to the grandest moment of the cartoon where Mickey Kaline hits a home run, and Arnold catches it, with all his friends and family catching it on live TV too.  I can only imagine that it means the world to get a piece of your heroes knowing that it means you have a living relic of why you’re such a fan of these people.  That is what’s felt when Arnold gets his hands on Mickey’s home run ball, and you can easily see how proud he is to have gotten his hands on it.  However, the cartoon also shows what you getting an actual piece of your hero can mean for your hero who’s now left without it which is shown when Arnold notices Mickey sad that he has nothing left of baseball now that his last game is over.  I can really understand Mickey Kaline’s feelings in this scene.  For someone who was aging and losing his touch, it’s still great that he has love for baseball left in him, so Arnold having his home run ball must really take a toll on him for not having anything left of this pastime.  This leads to a strong nice moment from Arnold where he returns to the stadium to give Mickey his ball, and the cartoon ends with the two of them playing catch with the ball while Mickey tells talks about his history with baseball.  You don’t have to be a fan of baseball to like this cartoon.  It’s an insightful story of hero worship with memorable scenes and a lot of heart. 9.5/10

The Rankings

1.      Stoop Kid

2.      Arnold’s Hat

3.      Helga’s Makeover

4.      The Baseball

5.      Downtown as Fruits

6.      The Old Building

7.      Field Trip

8.      6^th Grade Girls

9.      The Little Pink Book

10.  Eugene’s Bike

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the 6th episode of this season: "Heat/Snow."