'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 23: Steven's Birthday

Steven’s Birthday

It may feel strange to watch a birthday party when something as big as stopping the Cluster is a huge priority.  However, this setup works because it’s a reminder that life goes on, and sometimes, events like birthdays come up and are celebrated for much-needed levity.  Plus, they do mention that construction on the drill is continuing right at the start.  In addition, we get more creative insight to the show’s lore, mostly on Steven as a human-Gem hybrid. 

Just when the party is about to go ahead with Steven doing fun birthday festivities with the Crystal Gems, his dad, and best friend Connie, there’s a shock.  This is Steven’s 14^th birthday, yet he looks much younger than that and is older than Connie.  Also, Steven has had the same youthful appearance ever since age 8.  It’s been established that Gems don’t age and their appearances are of how old they feel which applies to Steven looking the same age.  It begs some questions like if he’ll look young forever or if he’ll even live forever as a Gem while all other humans die from aging.  These questions stand out more when the characters involved, and not just the audience, wonder exactly how Steven will age, which becomes the focus of this cartoon. 

Steven is worried of how uneasy Connie may feel around him if she ages and he doesn’t.  Through observing Amethyst stretching while shapeshifting, he comes up with an idea.  He forces himself to look older by stretching his body which allows him to shapeshift into a taller version of himself with a deeper voice, and even a neck, as commented on in an in-joke on his usual design.  It also seems to impress Connie to Steven’s relief.  For a while, we get many wholesome scenes of the party’s amenities, and Steven keeps stretching all throughout.  His act is eventually caught by Amethyst though who’s surprisingly mature on the matter, warning Steven of the potential dangers of stretching for a long time, which ties into Steven wanting to do this forever all for Connie’s sake.  Ultimately, giving Amethyst more credit, the warning proves true when Steven’s stretching leads to something major. 

After looking and acting older, Steven’s body gives into the stretching, and he turns into a crying baby; an interesting twist to say the least.  What follows is an equally interesting look at how Steven’s parent and guardians approached him in infancy, with the Crystal Gems having a totally misguided view on handling babies, and Greg having a confident mindset to give his son what he needs.  In fact, they give a nice preview of a look at those days in a later season. 

Still, Steven keeps bawling, and the best guess is that since he’s a 14-year-old turned baby, he’s aware of what happened and is afraid that Connie will definitely not want to be around him since he’s as young as he can get.  If this is the case, Connie actively deciding to be there for baby Steven, not caring how old he is, is more heartwarming than it would be by itself.  Of course, since big things in the series can’t happen with Steven as a baby, it’s predictable that Connie won’t have to go through the trouble, and she truly doesn’t when Steven turns back to normal the next day.  That said, the genuine gesture is as powerful and demonstrating of Steven and Connie’s care for each other as always, and Steven getting a facial hair does give hope that maybe he CAN age normally after all.  It further sells Steven’s aging process as a mystery that keeps getting engaging. 

That and the general sweetness and insight the characters involved bring in the wholesome environment of a birthday party allow this cartoon to greatly invest you in its charm... even if it is in the middle of a major operation. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. The Answer
2. Sworn to the Sword
3. Keystone Motel
4. When it Rains
5. Too Far
6. Friend Ship
7. Nightmare Hospital
8. Chille Tid
9. Cry for Help
10. Keeping it Together
11. Full Disclosure
12. Catch and Release
13. Back to the Barn
14. Steven’s Birthday
15. We Need to Talk
16. Reformed
17. Historical Friction
18. Joy Ride
19. Say Uncle
20. Onion Friend
21. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
22. Sadie’s Song
23. Love Letters

The next Steven Universe review puts the focus back on stopping the Cluster and Peridot's development while also begs the question if her bonds with the Crystal Gems are real.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews for Hey Arnold, it's a review of "Girl Trouble" and "School Dance."

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 Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 16: Hey Arnold Season 3 Episode 16: Arnold's Thanksgiving

Arnold’s Thanksgiving

With holiday specials, this show has worked wonders. They've been heartwarming character studies, explorations of different relationships, and crazy occurrences based on real life events.  This Thanksgiving special may not be as impressive as the others, but it’s still really great as a commentary that holidays, no matter what good they stand for, can be rather stressful.  It’s a harsh yet honest theme for a story. 

Arnold and Helga both lament Thanksgiving coming and their yearly family traditions.  Arnold’s family follows Grandma’s holiday delusions, in this case acting like Thanksgiving is the Fourth of July.  While it’s somewhat easy to feel for Arnold being left out of Thanksgiving’s customs, his problems aren’t all that compelling.  He’s usually accepting of his odd yet charming lifestyle, so him dreading how his family celebrates Thanksgiving this much doesn’t feel right.  Grandpa even says that celebrating Thanksgiving as the Fourth of July makes their traditions unique.  You’d think Arnold would realize that on his own. 

Now, Helga’s problems are far more sympathetic.  Tying into her usual neglect from her family, Helga is continuously annoyed by her parents’ habits as they prepare for and celebrate Thanksgiving. Among many issues is everyone praising what Olga does for the dinner while ignoring what she does.  They don’t even seem to care for Thanksgiving’s meaning.  This issue comes to a head while the Patakis say what they’re thankful for before dinner, and Helga, fed up with the torment, admits she’s thankful for nothing.  The incredibly harsh thing about this is that she’s denied dinner because of this which hugely shows how bad the life Helga lives is and how misguided her family is on Thanksgiving.  No one should HAVE to be thankful for something. They should be thankful if they really mean it, and given how Helga’s family approached the subject, they really have no right to judge Helga not being thankful. 

The bright spot out of these bad Thanksgivings is how it gets Arnold and Helga to bond.  They let down their spite towards each other and use their problems to connect, act civil, and work together to find a better Thanksgiving.  It’s truly a highly pleasing moment that sells their appeal as a pairing.  When they head to what they feel is the best place for a great Thanksgiving, Mr. Simmons’ place, the message on how holidays aren’t always as nice as what they stand for is made clear.  Inspiring the play of a wholesome Thanksgiving gathering at the start of the special, Mr. Simmons’ family are extremely hostile to each other. They don't care about being thankful at all, and just eat a lot and pick fights.  The people inspiring such a sweet scene are much worse than anyone Arnold or Helga have come across, yet it’s endearing of Mr. Simmons to still put up with them for the holiday.  It also makes for a solid concluding point that for all their families’ problems, Arnold and Helga realize some people have it worse, and they to go back to their old Thanksgivings.  When they do, there’s a lot of heart from Helga’s family showing genuine appreciation for her being safe and with them. Also, Arnold and the boarders reach a compromise of combining both Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. 

This shows that holiday meanings may not always be felt, but they’re still there for others to think about, and when they do, the results practically make the day.  For that, this is another holiday special from this show you got to make a part of your traditions. 9.5/10

The Ranking

1. Helga Blabs it All
2. Harold the Butcher
3. Cool Party
4. Grandpa’s Birthday
5. Crabby Author
6. Mr. Hyunh Goes Country
7. Road Trip
8. Helga Vs. Big Patty
9. Arnold’s Thanksgiving
10. Hey Harold!
11. Curly Snaps
12. The Aptitude Test
13. Pre-Teen Scream
14. The Pig War
15. Olga Gets Engaged
16. Oskar Gets a Job
17. Arnold and Lila
18. Phoebe Takes the Fall
19. Best Man
20. Career Day
21. Gerald’s Tonsils
22. Grand Prix
23. Rich Kid
24. Dangerous Lumber
25. Casa Paradiso
26. Arnold’s Room
27. Helga and the Nanny
28. Roller Coaster
29. Stinky Goes Hollywood
30. Sid’s Revenge
31. Arnold Betrays Iggy

The next Hey Arnold review is on an episode where both featured cartoons are not up to the show's high standards. One brings unfortunate implications that all girls bully for affection messing with the appeal of Helga's character in the process, and the other while shining for messages to follow when pursuing a career in the arts is bogged down by relentless animosity towards Arnold.

Enjoy your Fourth of July plans today, and tomorrow will have another event to celebrate in a Steven Universe review on "Steven's Birthday."

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 Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 22: The Answer

The Answer

In “Jailbreak,” it was briefly mentioned that the Crystal Gems were waiting for Steven’s birthday to introduce him to Ruby and Sapphire.  While he met them before then, Garnet still has something interesting to share at the stroke of midnight on Steven’s birthday.  It’s all about how Ruby and Sapphire first met, and it’s an incredible story. 

For one thing, it’s very welcome to see how Ruby and Sapphire grew to love each other after seeing them fused as Garnet since the beginning.  In the process, we further see the past of the Gems regarding the rebellion for Earth.  The first part is uniquely shown visually with near-white backgrounds and most characters seen in silhouette form except for those Steven knows.  Even the voice work has creativity with all the characters Steven knows having their own voice while everyone else is voiced by the narrator, Garnet.  This composition gives what we see a nice childlike perspective which gives the story a style all its own, and it’s very engaging. 

The story is on how Sapphire, part of a breed of highly revered Gems, was called to use her future vision to predict the outcome of the Crystal Gems interfering with Earth’s colonization. Enter one of the leaders of Homeworld, Blue Diamond.  She gives a strong first impression of the highest authorities, serious, calculating, and menacing, representing the scale of what the Crystal Gems were up against during the war, and it gets bigger later on.  Sapphire predicted that the rebellion would end after the Crystal Gems took out two of three Rubies guarding her, as well as herself.  However, one Ruby accidentally bumped into Sapphire, ultimately befriending her not fully understanding why they wouldn’t be able to see more of Earth. 

When the Crystal Gems arrived though, everything was understood.  Even if Sapphire would just reform later, Ruby couldn’t bear to let her be taken out, so she rushed to protect Sapphire from the major blow, and the bodies of both Gems fused into Garnet. 

An interesting thing to this occurrence is Garnet’s design.  It’s a mess of reds and blues all over and a hodgepodge of elements of Ruby and Sapphire’s clothing.  It represents this moment as the first Gem fusion with a lot needing to be worked out. 

Speaking of the first fusion, it becomes appropriate that this story is after two cartoons centering on the prejudiced views of Homeworld.  When the Homeworld Gems first saw Ruby and Sapphire fused, they didn’t look on it kindly, which is relatable to how prejudice works in real life towards anything against the social norm such as same sex couples which Ruby and Sapphire basically are now.  Blue Diamond was especially angry that Sapphire’s prediction was false and wanted to shatter Ruby for interfering. 

After Ruby and Sapphire escaped destruction from Blue Diamond’s court, the remainder, whose art style is more in line with the show’s norm, shows their time alone on Earth, learning about the planet and each other, while growing closer.  It may seem like they unnaturally fall in love in such a short time, but given the staging of the accompanying montage, you don’t really know how long this took.  It could’ve been weeks, months, and maybe even years which gives enough reason to believe their love formed naturally.  There’s even a nice song of Ruby and Sapphire’s feelings on their fusion and their relationship, set up like a normal conversation set to song, and it sells the power of what forms between them, ending with them forming Garnet for good. 

The story ends with Garnet found by Rose, who ensures them that in spite of endless questions on why she turned out this way, what matters is that she can choose her own path and is the answer to her own questions, and considering the most recently aired cartoon at the time I'm posting this review, the path she chooses is more impactful than it already is.  This moment brings the whole story together as something special with a message that not only made Garnet a Crystal Gem, but also gives something positive for prejudice victims in real life.  It makes what we see a visually-interesting, character and history-building, and all-around powerful work of animation. 10/10

The Ranking

1. The Answer
2. Sworn to the Sword
3. Keystone Motel
4. When it Rains
5. Too Far
6. Friend Ship
7. Nightmare Hospital
8. Chille Tid
9. Cry for Help
10. Keeping it Together
11. Full Disclosure
12. Catch and Release
13. Back to the Barn
14. We Need to Talk
15. Reformed
16. Historical Friction
17. Joy Ride
18. Say Uncle
19. Onion Friend
20. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
21. Sadie’s Song
22. Love Letters

The next Steven Universe review covers the actual event of Steven's birthday while also giving interesting insight to his aging process.

Tomorrow for the Fourth of July, we're finally continuing with Hey Arnold Season 3 reviews with a look at a special about Thanksgiving in which it's mistaken for the Fourth of July.

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 Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 18: Rocko's Modern Life Season 1 Episode 4: Keeping up With the Bigheads/Skid Marks

Keeping Up With the Bigheads

The first cartoon starring the Bigheads was more about their relationship in addition to Bev’s questionable admiration for Rocko.  This cartoon is more about their ties with their wallaby next-door neighbor.  Unlike his wife, Ed Bighead despises everything about Rocko who only tries to be friendly with him and never intends any harm.  This usually portrays Ed as an irrational jerk with anger issues who deserves the humiliation he often gets in return.  His conflict-inflicting actions for this cartoon certainly leave him open to just that. 

You get an idea of Ed's actions from his relentless treatment of the “parasites” he finds in his gardening through picking them out when they’re trying to get food, trapping them in a prison box, and slamming the door when the bugs protest.  Considering the bug characters from the previously discussed cartoon, it truly is a problem that Ed’s going this far with dealing with them.  His temper worsens when a weed from Rocko’s yard grows into his and destroys some flowers.  Since it’s clear that Rocko didn’t intend for this to happen, when Ed harshly declares that he’s going to have Rocko’s property condemned, it’s easy to sympathize with Rocko and be against Ed for acting drastically over something that isn’t that big a deal.  In fact, Ed is so brutal with insults about the prospect of Rocko’s home being removed that Rocko, who’s usually calm and friendly around everyone including jerks like Ed, retaliates by firmly stating that he’s going to make it so that his house is the nicest one in the neighborhood. 

From there, the cartoon is the show’s usual brand of creative exaggerations on life’s tribulations as Rocko and Heffer refurbish Rocko’s home and garden.  There’s a few memorable antics such paving Spunky onto a crack in the wall after the dog gets into cement, and a comedic explosion of tar from Heffer standing on the hose that gives Ed his first round of comeuppance when he ends up feathered by a plane of chickens who had their feathers plucked.  There’s even raunchy humor that works through subtlety when Heffer, being a cow, does an elaborate dance ending with a squishy sound of him landing in his “fertilizer” without any words or visuals of it. 

In the end, just when it seems like Rocko’s home isn’t spruced up in time to avoid condemnation, everything works out when Heffer’s fertilizer brings about many beautiful flowers, and a “breen” coating from earlier shines up his house, proving to truly look nice when it dries.  It shows that even though Rocko is typically put through bad luck while going through life, when he’s up against consequences as drastic as losing his home, he avoids losing to that extent.  In fact, it’s Ed who gets the worst punishment as what should be the case when he loses his great-looking garden to liberated bugs, and it’s his house that gets condemned.  All the same, it’s unfortunate that Rocko’s house ends up looking like a dump again despite there being no reason for that to happen between the previous nice shot of it and the following poor one.  It prevents the cartoon from being as satisfying as it could’ve been. 

Despite that, it’s still good that it’s satisfying enough with the jerk character getting what was coming to him, and the character we’re supposed to root for being likable through it all.

A-

Skid Marks

I’m someone who knows how big a task driving can be.  You always have to stay alert of what’s on the road and have enough knowledge on how to maneuver a car.  However, as life would have it, anything can happen when you go out driving.  There’s quite a few cartoons throughout the series in which Rocko runs into mishaps with his car, and given my feelings towards the magnitude of driving responsibilities, I get some particular enjoyment out of those cartoons. 

They all start with this one where Rocko loses his car when he’s caught driving without a gas cap.  He has to go to the DMV to clear everything out so to get his car back, and from there, the relatable cause for mishaps along with this show’s trademark form of entertainment bring about one enjoyable take on what people are put through at such a place after another.  They start off simple with a look at how boring waiting at that place can be through scenes of Spunky being left outside next to a dog skeleton after Rocko says he’ll be back soon, and Rocko standing and waiting for a long time, even when he reaches the front desk. 

The entertaining perspectives of the process build when Rocko ends up in a drivers’ reeducation program.  He takes an eye test where he reads a subliminal message that the doctor’s a madman on the letter chart and ends up stuck in a bulging eyeball pose which the doctor uses to look over his pupils, turning out to be a clever take on the familiar cartoonish gag.  Then he’s put in a classroom to prepare for a driver’s test taught by a highly entertaining drill sergeant-like instructor specializing in going from calm to having an explosive temper over things as minor as a cough.  The instructional video the students are assigned to watch stands as an irony when an educating video on the “rules of the road” is taught by a goofy blank-eyed clown who doesn’t look like he knows them. 

All throughout this comedic collection of DMV antics, Rocko is frequently warned to not get the fat guy, building up to how his driving test may go, which is relatable to the idea that whether or not you pass your driving test largely depends on the type of instructor you test with.  When Rocko’s instructor turns out to be a fat elephant, you’re led to wonder how he’ll get through the test since he’s apparently with the instructor everyone hoped he wouldn’t get.  As it turns out, the only odd thing about Rocko’s instructor is that he only works with an imaginary car and expects Rocko to go along with it, so the test goes just fine.  The relatively smoothness of the test is even explained through a later reveal that the fat guy was someone completely different from the elephant. 

If that’s not enough, the cartoon turns out another good example of Rocko getting a truly great end after what he was put through when just as he’s thwarted from getting his car back because of the missing gas cap, a squirrel hitchhiker from the beginning reveals he took it and returns it at the command of the police.  There’s even a nice scene of the entire DMV cheering Rocko on that can also count for humor with jabs at how sappy the scene is, yet you’re still left with a positive impact of Rocko getting his driving rights back. 

I can without a doubt say this cartoon passes the test of being a great and entertaining driving-themed cartoon that can be enjoyable to anyone who’s been out or is going out on the road.

A+

The Ranking

1. Skid Marks
2. Who Gives a Buck?
3. Dirty Dog
4. Jet Scream
5. Keeping Up With the Bigheads
6. No Pain No Gain
7. Bedfellows
8. Leap Frogs

The next Rocko's Modern Life review features Rocko becoming boss for the day at his comic book store job with Filburt running the counter, and Heffer facing the wrath of Satan Peaches.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the great Steven Universe episode "The Answer."

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 Rocko's Modern Life reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 15: Steven Universe Season 2 Episode 21: Too Far

Too Far

Construction of the drill begins for real, but the trend of Peridot getting to know her current enemies and Earth continues.  

She still has entertaining observations to what the planet provides. They include using a simple tape recorder to record her logs and having weird names for certain body parts much to Amethyst’s amusement.  In addition, Peridot still holds onto certain Gem prejudices brought about by Homeworld which actually brings one of her most meaningful bonds of the series. 

While it’s wrong to be judgmental, there’s no harm in poking a little fun at the shortcomings of others behind their back. When Peridot goes to the Kindergarten to get a part of its injectors for the drill with Amethyst and Steven as assigned chaperones, she and Amethyst get closer over their comments on said shortcomings.  Every time Peridot mentions what she finds strange about certain Crystal Gems, Amethyst takes the comments as a joke which Peridot seems pleased about.  Peridot also points out that even though she’s small and reckless and follows the orders of everyone else, as a Quartz-type Gem, Amethyst outranks everyone on the team.  Amethyst finds this amusing at first, but then Peridot makes her feel uneasy. 

At the same time, the new information further develops Amethyst’s background.  We already know she was made on Earth in this very Kindergarten as opposed to Homeworld, but Peridot adds on how Amethyst ended up small when she’s not supposed to be, right down to happily pointing out the hole Amethyst came out of and how it’s different from all the others.  This is where poking fun at others causes problems, ending up going too far.  Peridot is saying hurtful things about Amethyst’s background, something Amethyst is already sensitive about, and seems pleased with herself for doing so, and Amethyst gets visibly hurt about not living up to the expected status, all because she emerged from her hole late.  Despite being hurtful, Peridot is still likable when it’s later shown that she was just trying to be funny and enjoyed Amethyst finding humor in what she said, and feels smaller when Amethyst ignores her calls for her.  In other words, Peridot really meant no harm to Amethyst, and this is further proven in an exciting scenee where she accidentally starts the drill and it runs loose, but she quickly gets Amethyst out of the way while Steven stops it. 

However, it’s the last moment of the cartoon where Peridot proves that she genuinely wants to better understand Earth.  Through nothing but the sound of her tape recording, the emotional effects of the message are greatly felt, showing that Periodt realizes she’s no better than what she’s found wrong with the planet, and that she now knows to be careful with the words she uses.  The whole message is capped off by Amethyst simply thanking Peridot ,and Peridot feeling bigger as a result, which is all we get, but all we really need to get invested in the heart of the moment, especially since Amethyst and Peridot keep up their bond in seasons to come. 

For adding to Peridot’s appeal and development, giving more information on one of the established protagonists, and offering a strong message to walk away with, this cartoon is one of this season’s most powerful. 10/10

The Ranking

1. Sworn to the Sword
2. Keystone Motel
3. When it Rains
4. Too Far
5. Friend Ship
6. Nightmare Hospital
7. Chille Tid
8. Cry for Help
9. Keeping it Together
10. Full Disclosure
11. Catch and Release
12. Back to the Barn
13. We Need to Talk
14. Reformed
15. Historical Friction
16. Joy Ride
17. Say Uncle
18. Onion Friend
19. Rising Tides, Crashing Skies
20. Sadie’s Song
21. Love Letters

The next Steven Universe review is a big one as we hear the thrilling story of Garnet's origins.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the next review for Rocko's Modern Life on "Keeping Up With the Bigheads" and "Skid Marks."

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 Steven Universe reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.