Doop-Doop / Britta's Tacos (Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 4 Episode 15) - 'Toon Reviews 38

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Doop-Doop

The best word to describe this episode is mixed.  Its premise involves dragging certain plot points out longer than necessary which stalls everything and tends to get repetitive.  However, there’s also something endearing about the context of what exactly is being dragged out.  

You see, at one point in the previous episode, Tom invited Star to go on a trip throughout dimensions as a way of celebrating not needing to be part of royalty anymore.  For Star, this is exciting because it’s been well-established that she’d rather be an adventurous teen than princess or future queen.  The catch is that rather than getting on with the trip right away, Star has so many people she has to say good-bye to before setting off.  

Of course, saying good-bye to Marco is a given, especially as he’s on his way back to Earth with Janna, but it doesn’t stop there.  Many good-byes take Star and Tom to various characters, all with their own ways of sending them off.  Eclipsa and Globgor send them off with honor, and a vegan Mewman cake, for all they've done to help them rule and reunite their family.  Pony Head actually has a civil, if overblown, farewell despite being reminded that she still has her mess of a TV show.  Buff Frog and his children invite Star for a nice game of Cornball and wish her and Tom luck on their trip.  There’s also time taken to see Star’s parents at the new Mewni settlement where Star has possibly the nicest moment with her mother to date.  Moon even believes that an interdimensional trip is just what Star needs to find herself.  This along with her supporting Star by showing up at the coronation in the last episode is very demonstrative of how understanding and supportive Moon has become of her daughter.  It’s nice stuff like this that makes me very downhearted over what becomes of her character later.  Anyway, all these good-byes show how many people Star has impacted throughout the series, although only in other dimensions.  It’s a solid reflection of growth that’s welcome for the main protagonist of any series, especially one that comes to its last season.  

Even with the heart of these farewells, Star soon puts all their merit to waste when she claims there are even more people she has to say good-bye to.  One of them is right in the title when she and Tom stop at a random shed so Star can say good-bye to what’s apparently her very first spell, a talking broom named Doop-Doop.  The thing is, nothing has been known about Doop-Doop any other time prior, so it’s impossible to really get any sort of emotional investment from this.  That’s not mentioning that Star has clearly left him to rot in the sun as he looks like he’s decaying.  How can this be seen as genuine?  

Then when Star points out other random people never heard before, Tom, who’s just wanted to get going on the trip, calls Star out for stalling.  The truth is Star doesn’t really know where she wants to go, not just on the trip, but what to do with herself now that she’s not a princess anymore.  This is understandable, but it’s still very flawed that she had to bring on this really dragged out sequence just to come to this conclusion.  The only credit to give is to Tom who’s rightfully upset by this, but holds himself back to not make a scene.  He then respects Star’s wishes to find herself by leaving for the underworld alone, making for a deconstruction of this couple.  As for Star, she ultimately decides to go back to Earth to be with Marco, giving the episode an adorable end as she meets his new baby sister, Mariposa.  

As you can tell, this episode is held back by long sequences that needlessly stall the point, but still has heart in areas that can’t be ignored.  It’s flawed and very nice all at once.

C+

Britta’s Tacos

Now that Star’s decided to return to Earth, Echo Creek returns to being the main hub of the series, for a time anyway.  For the longest time, I’ve felt that the characters of this town were mostly uninteresting and unproductive, and most of what Star got up to here were pointless time-wasters.  While that may have been true in older seasons, it’s not really worth admonishing this part of the show when the lore aspect has noticeable flaws too.  I stand by adventures there being very mixed in quality, but this episode is definitely one of the better Echo Creek episodes.  

After such a long time of big magic and royalty business on Mewni, a simpler story at Marco’s hometown in Earth is actually kind of welcome.  The motives of him and Star are also appropriately simple.  Marco just wants to get enough punches on a card for a prize from taco place, Britta’s Tacos, while Star literally just slouches around to relax as it’s summer.  This is a reminder of how funny literal-minded Star can be about Earth customs can be, especially since it hasn’t been seen in ages.  Plus, it’s nice to see her relax not just after all that she’s been through, but because she was called to Mewni while being denied a chance at summer back in Season 2.  Making this return to older formulas stand out is the inclusion of Mariposa, Marco’s new baby sister.  Just her being there is enough to add an extra layer of cuteness to what’s going on, though the running joke of her being a child to him and Star does kind of get old fast.  

Even so, the reappearances of many old Earth characters help highlight the experience.  Marco’s Sensei and Star’s first love interest, Oskar Greason, are seen working at Britta’s Tacos, bringing new direction to their lives.  Obsessive fangirl known as StarFan13 shows just as much affection to Star as she did in the older episodes to hilarious effect.  Ms. Skullnick and Principal Skinner show up making decent humor as Star hides from them since she missed a year of school, and Marco telling them he tested out after missing school too.  That’s a clever way of showing how much time has past since both of them were on Mewni.  On a less interesting note, Marco also has a decent reunion with his old friends Alfonzo and Ferguson who help him get a lot of his punches.  Still, nothing much stands out about these characters compared to others.  Also, Marco is constantly reminded of his ex-girlfriend, Jackie Lynn Thomas, and at times in the episode worries about what she’ll think of him considering his complicated love life.  

The episode pretty much saves the best reunion for last as Jackie shows up with a girl she met in France named Chloe, and from their interactions, you can tell they’re something more.  They share a nice moment where a conclusion is reached that Marco may have been a poor boyfriend, but they can still be friends.  After all, they’re both in a good place with the people they’ve met, with Jackie convincing Marco to not ruin things with a nice girl like Star.  In the end, Marco might not get his prize, but it’s meaningful that he and Star consider the real prize seeing their friends again.  

Not only are the Echo Creek characters at their most charming here, but they’re pleasing and fitting to see with all the drama settled…for now.

A

The Ranking

1.      Cornonation

2.      The Monster and the Queen

3.      Escape from the Pie Folk

4.      Meteora’s Lesson

5.      Swim Suit

6.      Cornball!

7.      Yada Yada Berries

8.      Moon Remembers

9.      Britta’s Tacos

10.  Junkin’ Janna

11.  Queen-Napped

12.  Ghost of Butterfly Castle

13.  The Knight Shift

14.  Ransomgram

15.  Butterfly Follies

16.  Kelly’s World

17.  A Boy and His DC-700XE

18.  Surviving the Spiderbites

19.  A Spell With No Name

20.  Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell

21.  Down By the River

22.  Out of Business

23.  Lake House Fever

24.  Doop-Doop

25.  The Ponyhead Show

26.  The Curse of the Blood Moon

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Star is determined to make today her and Marco's beach day, and babies Mariposa and Meteora quickly lead extraordinary lives.

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.

Cornonation (Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 4 Episode 14) - 'Toon Reviews 38

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:

Cornonation

For this double-length episode, the story works as a culmination of sorts to much of the underlying plot threads that started in Season 3 and continued into Season 4.  Its basis works off of Star declaring to give Eclipsa a proper coronation to make Mewni accept her as their queen and put an end to Eclipsa performing extreme spells on others.  The final result is probably the final season at its most charming and likable. 

There’s a lot of endearing character moments throughout the build-up to the grand occasion. This is apparent right from the opening of Star and her friends inviting Mewmans and monsters, and dealing with a typo to the word ‘coronation’.  Among the moments is Star seeming hopeful that her mother, Moon, will attend the coronation considering that she doesn’t really trust Eclipsa. The fact that she has harbored many Mewmans who are dead-pressed on saying Eclipsa’s bad news also doesn’t seem to work things in Star’s favor.  However, there is a nice moment where as they talk about it, Moon does contemplate the idea of supporting her daughter at least, and praises Star for how much she’s grown. 

Then comes the actual coronation which specializes in staging the many events of its story.  It starts off with promise of a nice event with a packed audience, with Moon among the attendees, beautiful formalwear, and a pleasing atmosphere. 

Then excitement rises when Eclipsa decides to check on something inconsequential so close to coronation time.  Star then goes to check on what she’s up to, and there’s an impression that things will go horribly wrong when she finds Globgor’s crystal prison destroyed and Globgor himself gone.  The only thing revealing that Eclipsa isn’t responsible is that the rooster, who’s a vital part of her method to break the crystal, still has its beak closed.  Eclipsa is even willing to warn the Mewmans about Globgor’s escape, though the Magic High Commission is quick to write off her warnings and make her look bad. 

From here, it’s nonstop excitement to save the coronation from becoming a disaster.  As her friends stay behind to distract everyone with a humorous talent show, Star goes after Globgor in her butterfly form, fearing the worst from him.  While Globgor is very much on the defensive of her attacks, the moment River points out that he’s attacking his daughter, the monster king lets up.  Speaking of River, this is where he slowly moves past his resentment of Eclipsa and her family as he realizes her monster husband is a loyal caring parent making for genuine growth.  Star realizes the endearment of Globgor too and is soon on his side.  While he feels he should keep his family safe by going away, since both Eclipsa and Meteora are already in trouble, she pushes him to directly go to save them. 

When they get back, there’s a grand show of action between Globgor and the Magic High Commission.  It only stops when Meteora, drawn to her father, gets caught in ensuing fires, and Globgor responds by stopping battling and putting the fire out to save his daughter.  This act allows everyone, even the densely-minded Mewmans, to see what the monster king is really like.  Because Globgor was willing to do all this to protect his family, he’s no doubt a loyal family man and no one can complain about that. 

If that’s not enough, Star uncovers that Rhombulus, the Magic High Commission member with crystal powers was the one responsible for freeing Globgor to frame him as dangerous.  He’s arrested following a genuine outburst of disturbance from Hekapoo, and once that’s taken care of, monsters and Mewmans finally seem to come together as one.  I’d also like to give credit to Eclipsa and Globgor’s duet perfectly setting the mood, for this moment truly is ‘some kind of magic.’  That said, the episode remembers one plot point that hasn’t been resolved yet with the last shot of Mina Loveberry’s crow giving something to look forward to for the rest of the season.

Everything in this episode amounts to not just a coronation worth remembering, but also the best-constructed story of Season 4, practically worthy of classic Disney status.  The characters are endearing, the action is exciting, and the resolution to many of the lingering issues is satisfying.  For how final everything about this episode feels, it’s also interesting that it still has more to come.  Just so you know, nothing in the episodes to come will top what goes on here, especially with a few frustrating decisions.  However, those will be explored in time, so enjoy how great this season has become for now.

A+

 

The Ranking

1.      Cornonation

2.      The Monster and the Queen

3.      Escape from the Pie Folk

4.      Meteora’s Lesson

5.      Swim Suit

6.      Cornball!

7.      Yada Yada Berries

8.      Moon Remembers

9.      Junkin’ Janna

10.  Queen-Napped

11.  Ghost of Butterfly Castle

12.  The Knight Shift

13.  Ransomgram

14.  Butterfly Follies

15.  Kelly’s World

16.  A Boy and His DC-700XE

17.  Surviving the Spiderbites

18.  A Spell With No Name

19.  Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell

20.  Down By the River

21.  Out of Business

22.  Lake House Fever

23.  The Ponyhead Show

24.  The Curse of the Blood Moon

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Star and Tom try to go on a trip but Star keeps insisting on saying good-bye to everyone, and we meet up again with old faces from Echo Creek.

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.

Ed Edd n Eddy's Hanky Panky Hullabaloo - 'Toon Reviews Shorty

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:

For this one-off animated TV special, we’re going to cover one of a holiday that doesn’t get nearly as much attention or grandeur as others, Valentine’s Day.  I mean, apart from constantly seeing things of hearts, flowers, candy, cards, etc. in things like retail, there aren’t many big traditions or customs that appeal to everyone.  Perhaps that’s different if you have a special someone, but that’s another story.  Anyway, this special is another one to signal in a new era for the Cartoon Network classic, Ed Edd n Eddy covering the highlights of Valentine’s Day with its own clever twists in:

Ed Edd n Eddy’s Hanky-Panky Hullabaloo

(February 11, 2005)

Like a previous holiday special, this one for Valentine’s Day introduces an element that shapes the dynamic of the series for the coming season.  It’s the formal introduction of the Eds and the cul-de-sac kids attending school, and the attempts to maintain its relatable yet highly animated aesthetic.  For the most part, while the cast may be taken out of their usual time of year, they’re all true to their distinctive selves. Comedy-wise, the world around them never holds back on extreme gags.  In all, the special gives solid first impressions of the new setup, but let’s just say the fifth season offers a true feel of what it’s really going to be like.  I also find it interestingly fitting that school is introduced in a Valentine’s Day special.  In my experience, if you don’t have a date, this is the place where most memories or traditions of that holiday take place, indicating its lesser status compared to other special days.  Granted this is truer for elementary school, and this is junior high, but the good news is that the final product does take good advantage of the Valentine’s Day customs.

Of course, the first thing most people think of when it comes to this holiday is romance, and for the Eds, three girls who seem to be after them the most are the Kanker sisters.  Regarding this aspect of the series, it’s always seemed ambiguous if their feelings for the Eds are real or if it’s all their demented mindsets at play.  For at least one of the Kankers in this special, it’s treated like this conflict is nonexistent.

The least intelligent Kanker sister, May, has her heart set on making Ed her valentine, complete with a card that feels straight from the heart.  This is a good continuation of these specials making the Kankers feel far more human and restrained than in the series proper.  That said, as this particular special goes on, they seem restrained to a fault, again at least for May, as the staging expects the audience to feel for her when Lee and Marie mock her Valentine.

This feel is even more recognized when you factor in how the Eds view Valentine’s Day individually.  While Eddy uses the day to set himself up as a chick magnet for a nominal fee, Ed treats it as a day to avoid all girls.  The latter behavior is standard girl fear one expects young boys to be portrayed with, but given Ed’s nature, it’s taken to a whole new extreme which is welcome.  Then again, you’d think that Ed and his friends’ relation with the Kankers alone would be enough to freak him out.  With that in mind, it’s hard to see it as OK that this moment expects the audience to sympathize with May even more.

Then there’s Double D, the Ed who ends up taking the spotlight for this special.  He’s the one who expresses the most joy for Valentine’s Day, talking about how great it is and wanting to spread its spirit however he can.  It’s also enough to make him forget how harassing the Kanker sisters typically are to him and his friends.  When he notices May distraught over Ed rejecting her valentine, Double D genuinely feels for her and steps in to comfort her.

You just know that his gesture is meaningful when the valentine he gives May is one originally meant for Nazz.  Out of this seemingly overly sentimental thought does the Valentine’s Day feel truly kick in.

It’s all because of these two Cupids, portrayed by Sarah and Jimmy, who do what they can to spread love throughout the school at all costs.  This direction begs a lot of questions though.  Where did these Cupids come from? Why are Sarah and Jimmy taking the form of them?  Are they supposed to be the real Sarah and Jimmy?  If not, where are the actual Sarah and Jimmy?  Why are they constantly talking in rhyme?  Anyway, their nature ends up bringing a lot of implications that only prove that the general idea of Cupid is not necessarily a good one.

In accordance with the Cupid mythos, they shoot May with their heart arrows.

Then they do the same to Double D when he’s in the middle of a class.

This in turn sets into motion the center conflict of the special.  Under the influence of the Cupids, Double D and May are in complete love with each other with all the lovey-dovey romance conventions intact.  There’s big heart eyes, reciting flowery monologues about each other at any given time, and even giving each other nicknames like Lamb Chop and Turtle Dove.  Not only is this overly saccharine and more of a reflection of what people think of romance instead of a light-hearted parody, but it constantly feels wrong.  If you ask me, real romances should be built up from a long time of devotion and caring.  One nice gesture, especially one towards someone who terrorizes the other and his friends on a regular basis, really doesn’t cut it.  This major romance built on the influence of the Cupids only makes things worse because these feelings are not real.  If this is how Cupid is supposed to work in general, it’s hard to see how it’s beneficial for anything other than to capitalize on Valentine’s Day.

As an aside, balancing out the borderline schmaltz of Double D and May’s fabricated romance are several examples of the series capitalizing on the new school setting.  Even with the need to go get an education, nothing stops the Eds from getting up to their brand of memorable antics.  There’s even a way of keeping things from the kids’ perspective without adults by having some of them like Kevin oversee everything as teacher’s assistants and the hall monitor.  We got Ed swinging like Tarzan throughout a gymnasium.

In art class, Eddy is still trying to find a quick way to riches with the aid of a wood carving of a buck and a printing press, resulting in a comedic explosion of ink.

As amusing and up to series standards as these school time gags are, for the sake of the special, it’s a good thing they don’t take away from the main Valentine’s Day focus.  I may harp on it a lot, but storytelling is still key.  No matter how much Double D may endure the brunt of his friends’ disobedient actions, as long as May’s around, he’s in full bliss.  However, it’s an issue for the other Eds that his infatuation is interfering with any potential productivity in their schemes.  That’s not even mentioning the Kankers concerns and frustration over this strange behavior, especially since Double D is Marie’s crush.

Bringing the school setting and Valentine’s Day aspect to a climax, the remaining Eds and Kankers face each other in a food fight that goes all out with aggression.  In addition to good escalation, it’s also rewarding to see the Eds grow a strong backbone against the Kankers who overpower them so frequently. 

Then the Valentine’s Day feel really intensifies when those odd Sarah and Jimmy Cupids respond to the chaos by firing their arrows at will.

While this results in even more fabricated romances, they are, at least, very interesting couples to just merely explore.  Keven and Lee become majorly attracted to each other which surprisingly makes sense since they’re both highly authoritative.

Nazz becomes infatuated with Jonny who was probably in love with her already as is the case with most of the boys in this cast.

Ed and Eddy, as the extreme social outcasts they are get more outrageous crushes.  Ed falls for a sandwich, and there’s something Eddy can’t stop looking at.

And that’s everyone’s favorite wood with a smile face.  These are all just as saccharine as the crush to drive this plot, but they’re not without their creative setups and supply of laughs.

That said, the romances have an element to balance out the schmaltz, and that in turn brings the biggest highlight of this special.  In his own foreign ways, Rolf is extremely agitated over the romances, as if to say he can tell how phony it all is.  That’s a good reflection of what some people in the audience may think, as well as a strong demonstration of his odd yet amusing customs.

When the entire gang is under the Cupid’s spell, Rolf does the outlandish thing by squirting lemons into his eyes.

As he stated earlier, the lemons allow him to see what others can’t see, and that includes the Cupids.

All it takes to get rid of them is squishing them like bugs with a janitor’s mop and throwing them out a window.  Out of context, I imagine fans wish that getting rid of Sarah and Jimmy would always be this easy.

Speaking of the janitor, Rolf goes on to use the dirty janitor water to snap everyone out, including Marie who is implied to have gone after him.

It also snaps Double D and May back to reality, indicating that things will be going back to the status quo, or do they?

Following up on detention charges all three Eds got throughout the special, we end with them cleaning up the halls of valentines.  In the process, when no one is looking, Double D finds a valentine May wrote for him, and keeps it under his hat.  In other words, there’s a hint that his falling for May has actual effects after all.  It’s hard to really see the charm in all this for two reasons.  One is that there’s no point to this as Double D never seems interested in May at any other point in the show.  The other is that it further breathes the unfortunate implications of Cupid. This idea of spreading love is nothing more than a fake charade that happens because it’s forced and not chosen.  It also suggests that Valentine’s Day is the only day to show love, when really it is simply dedicated to a virtue that should really be in place all the time like all holidays are. Maybe all this is because I personally don’t see Valentine’s Day as that major of a holiday, but these are legit side effects I can’t help but notice.

Despite my feelings on the approach to the romance angle, this special is still very enjoyable.  The cast is still entertaining as usual, the school gives decent first impressions even if they aren’t held up that well later, and there’s a fair share of creative and funny moments.  The drawbacks show why Valentine’s Day isn’t the most revered holiday out there, but I guess I can give it credit for one good virtue it teaches: “Love is like an onion; the more you peel away its layers, the more it stinks.”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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