The Nightmare Spirit (Hilda Season 1 Episode 6) - 'Toon Reviews 26

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The Nightmare Spirit

To me, animation, a medium where anything can be drawn out, goes well with dreams or pictures in one’s head where anything goes.  This concept works in this episode’s favor, and through developing characters in the process, it all works well. 

By now, it’s clear that Hilda’s relationships are the heart of the show, and bond with David and Frida is at its most endearing here.  David, who’s easily frightened, has a problem of dealing with nightmares every single night.  The opening features one of a crazy adventure of getting lost in a sewer and attacked by rats.  This is a big reasons he blame Hilda for his nightmares.  This may be harsh judgement, but given how much of an outlier Hilda is to the group, it makes sense that her adventurousness can be problematic. 

Still, that part of Hilda helps her plan to cure David’s nightmares.  She leads David and Frida to where an all-knowing being called the rat king is spotted.  Following an eerily familiar incident with sewer tunnels, the rat king is revealed to be made of innumerable rats talking in unison.  This imaginative being is productive in Hilda’s cause as she exchanges one of her secrets for a reveal of who’s been giving David nightmares.  The answer validates Hilda’s constant concerns about a teenage girl she was suspicious of.  When she and Frida catch her near David’s while he has another nightmare, they follow her to a campsite. There, she tells other girls about his nightmares, giving a strange green glow in the process. 

The next day, with the help of a mysterious caped librarian who somehow knows what book they need, the kids learn that girl is a marra.  That is, a creature who haunts rooms every night to continuously give people bad dreams.  All the pieces picked up in the episode build up to a huge climax where Hilda sets out to stop the marra’s torment over David.  Through switching bedrooms with him behind the adults’ backs and applying what she knows about marras, Hilda successfully catches the main one.  A deal is made to have the marra try to give Hilda, a usually brave child, a nightmare, and if Hilda doesn’t wake up, David will be spared. 

The ensuing nightmare brings an interesting idea to light.  Hilda’s nightmares start out frightening with spiders, giants, and other supernatural creatures, but given her knack for adventures, she’s unmoved by all this.  Then you consider earlier scenes like being quick to brush off bike-riding, and her uneasiness while riding Frida’s bike as well as what the secret she gave the rat king was.  Not to mention the marra knows the rat king. 

Hilda’s biggest fear turns out to be something as simple as being unable to ride a bike. She suffers through a nightmare where she loses her friends and the earth crumbles because of this.  It says a lot that her biggest fear is something so seemingly insignificant.  That’s so true to life.  Eventually when the room switch is discovered, David returns and feels bad for Hilda’s cries of agony over the nightmare.  Deciding it’s not fair for her to suffer for him, David wakes Hilda out of her horrors, claiming he can deal with his own nightmares if she can.  With this bold move from a timid character, we get closure with David is no longer affected by the marra, and he and Frida better accept Hilda as she is. 

It goes without saying that the episode really makes the bond of these friends feel like something special.  Through unfolding in a story of impressive growth, imaginative plot points, and going all out with dreams, it’s easily one of the series’ grandest experiences.

A+

The Ranking

1. The Nightmare Spirit
2. The Bird Parade
3. The Midnight Giant
4. The Hidden People
5. The Troll Rock
6. The Sparrow Scouts

The next Hilda review centers around the elves' business with legal paperwork-related matters as Hilda and Frida have to settle a land matter with a lost clan of them to save David.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the Season 3 premiere of Star vs the Forces of Evil.

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

'Toon Reviews 4: The Loud House Season 1 Episode 25

The Price of Admission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s my personal belief that the scariest things in life exist in one’s imagination and they can’t help but see them as they go about their lives.  This concept is nicely personified in this cartoon where Lincoln sees a scary movie his parents didn’t want him to see, and he ends up seeing scary parts of the movie everywhere he goes afterwards.  All the moments of Lincoln’s paranoia work because they’re all self-inflicted meaning that Lincoln brought them on himself by seeing that movie.  Because of that, it’s easy to see the humorous side of all the little things around the Loud House that pose as something scary for Lincoln to see.  They include stepping on a doll with a damaged voice box that makes him think that someone’s out to get him, or seeing a bunch of whoopee cushions as his sisters’ colons, or misinterpreting what his neighbor, Mr. Grouse, is gardening.  There’s also a lot of nice scenes of Lincoln trying to keep himself awake at night which involve some nice interactions with his sisters, a humorous moment centering around Leni’s lack of intelligence in response to getting up to start the day when it’s late at night, and even a continuity nod of Lincoln and Bobby being friends.  It’s a very nice collection of scenes that uniquely demonstrate not just what we commonly experience when we’re afraid, but also how much strong relationships Lincoln has in life.  What’s more, everything’s tied together by a satisfying conclusion when, after Mom and Dad decide that he is ready to see that scary movie, and Lincoln confesses what he did and how seeing the movie got him so frightened.  The best part about it is that instead of getting mad and harshly punishing Lincoln for his actions, his parents understand how traumatized he is by the experience and respect his feelings.  This is then followed up with a moment that gives a rare message that sometimes, watching things meant for young children can give you relief from so much stress as interpreted with Lincoln and his parents instead going to see a movie starring a Barney parody, just what Lincoln really needs after what he went through.   On the whole, this is a fine and entertaining cartoon that shows us what it’s like to be afraid as well as prominently displaying the good side of Lincoln’s relationships with the people in his life. 9/10

One Flu Over the Loud House

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting sick is something no one enjoys, and while it’s always good to try and take care of those who are sick, most of the time, there’s no way to do that without getting sick ourselves.  Considering that the family in this show is so big, you can imagine how big of a deal someone getting sick is.  This cartoon takes that concept and really has fun with how it portrays it.  The moment one member of the Loud family gets sick, everyone else is doomed to catch the illness too.  This little moment is made a lot bigger in scale with everyone portraying it as a zombie apocalypse.  Those who are still healthy strive to escape to some place safe, with only water guns loaded with chicken soup to protect them.  In keeping true to the nature of spreading viruses, more family members end up catching it, and if you look at it as a zombie apocalypse, it’s clever and amusing to look at it like the survivors are dwindling.  Through it all though, one character stands out in this unique way of looking at the situation, and that is Leni.  As Lincoln and some of the other sisters treat the sick family members as zombies they should avoid at all costs, Leni shows off some immense levels of heart by wanting to help the sick.  While it is true that she’s not looking at the big picture that there’s really no way to help them without getting sick herself, it’s still incredibly sweet that she wants to show kindness to her family amidst the big escape out of the virus-infested house.  The cartoon then ends in a typical zombie apocalypse fashion where, despite the efforts of the remaining healthy family members and Leni’s kindness, the whole family ends up sick, though it’s great that they’re later nursed by Clyde who does have means to care for the sick without getting infected.  This cartoon’s biggest strength is how it makes a small part of life feel bigger than it is by offering a unique perspective of it.  As a result, it ends up being one of this show’s best displays of character moments, situational humor, and atmosphere crafting. 10/10

The Ranking

1.      For Bros About to Rock

2.      A Tattler’s Tale

3.      Undie Pressure

4.      Project Loud House

5.      One Flu Over the Loud House

6.      Funny Business

7.      Space Invader

8.      A Fair to Remember

9.      Driving Miss Hazy

10.  Left in the Dark

11.  Toads and Tiaras

12.  Picture Perfect

13.  Dance, Dance Resolution

14.  House Music

15.  Save the Date

16.  The Price of Admission

17.  Sleuth or Consequences

18.  Hand-Me-Downer

19.  No Guts No Glori

20.  Roughin’ It

21.  Attention Deficit

22.  Changing the Baby

23.  Along Came A Sister

24.  Snow Bored

25.  April Fools Rules

26.  A Novel Idea

27.  Sound of Silence

28.  Butterfly Effect

29.  A Tale of Two Tables

30.  Cereal Offender

31.  Cover Girls

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

33.  The Waiting Game

34.  Overnight Success

35.  Raw Deal

36.  In Tents Debate

37.  Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru

38.  Out on a Limo

39.  Linc or Swim

40.  The Sweet Spot

41.  Heavy Meddle

42.  Get the Message

43.  Come Sale Away

44.  Ties that Bind

45.  One of the Boys

46.  Making the Case

47.  Chore and Peace

48.  The Loudest Yard

49.  Two Boys and a Baby

50.  The Green House

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the season finale where Lincoln and his sisters crush on teacher figures in "Study Muffin," and the show's famed use of family love hits its peak in "Homespun."