Super DuckTales Part 1: Liquid Assets (DuckTales Vol 3 Part 20) - 'Toon Reviews 25

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Super DuckTales Part 1: Liquid Assets

For the most part, the “Super DuckTales” story arc is more exciting, creative, and better put together than “Time is Money.”  That said, right at the start, there’s a good impression that while it leans more towards the positive side of mixed, it’s still a mixed bag. 

The catalyst for the arc is a fair one when a highway requires Scrooge to move his money bin from the usual hilltop.  The Beagle Boys are to blame for this as they secretly redirect the highway to steal the bin for Ma Beagle’s birthday.  Moving the money bin means that Scrooge needs to hire an accountant to make sure his fortune remains in place.  I’m guessing that when the accountant from “A Whale of a Bad Time” ran away during Scrooge’s tantrum, he took it to the extreme right out of that position. 

This is where the introductory character for the arc, Fenton Crackshell, comes in.  Right away, Fenton shows how he works and doesn’t work as a character all at once.  During his mundane bean counting job where we meet him, he’s constantly complaining about how much he dislikes it.  I mean, nobody likes listening to a whiner, so establishing a character as one is not a good idea.  It even continues when he keeps popping up to get the position of Scrooge’s accountant while he’s interviewing many applicants. 

Still, Fenton does have a few admirable qualities.  Him wanting to move on from bean counting for a better job as well as winning over a hot co-worker named Gandra Dee does make him relatable to many in the working class.  Humbling his background through revealing him to live in a trailer with his TV-watching couch potato mother helps too.  Fenton also has a noticeable talent of counting a bunch of little things, including money, with one glance.  That alone shows that for all his faults, he has what it takes to be the perfect accountant for Scrooge.  Plus, he can be pretty funny at times, even when he gets all whiny, especially when trying to land the position. 

The humor also comes from how literal-minded he can be.  When Scrooge says he likes to keep his assets liquid, he responds by throwing all of Scrooge’s fortune into the river which happens to be close to Ma Beagle’s house.  I often get a good laugh from a statement interpreted literally in a verbal or visual sense, and this outcome is no exception.  Scrooge and Fenton’s dynamic as they attempt to salvage the fortune is also a lot of fun, mainly through Scrooge’s growing frustration, at least for the most part.  Scrooge has to deal with even more unwanted hardships during the mission.  They include dealing with Huey, Dewey, and Louie stowing away and needing to leave to rescue his money bin which the Beagle Boys blow up into Ma Beagle’s backyard. 

The problem is that these events bring out the worst in Fenton’s lack of intelligence.  While being literal-minded is funny, for the rest of the episode he constantly messes up to idiotic degrees.  He falls for his own trap, falls for the Beagle Boys’ obvious lies that cause a dam holding the river back from Ma Beagle’s to break, and his antics just exacerbate the dam cracks.  On the whole, Fenton’s weak points outnumber his strong ones, leaving poor first impressions.  Heck, the Beagle Boys seem foolish to just do nothing when the dam is nearly broken, but given how much Fenton keeps messing up, they seem to have a point.  The first part ends just as the dam breaks, leaving it anyone’s guess how things go. 

I say that in spite of Fenton’s mixed first impressions, the interesting story directions and solid humor make it a pretty solid start.

B+

The Ranking

1. Once Upon a Dime
2. Duck in the Iron Mask
3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. McDuck
4. Spies in Their Eyes
5. Nothing to Fear
6. The Uncrashable Hindentanic
7. Dime Enough for Luck
8. Duck to the Future
9. Launchpad’s First Crash
10. Jungle Duck
11. Ducky Horror Picture Show
12. Time is Money Part 4: Ducks on the Lam
13. Time is Money Part 1: Marking Time
14. Time is Money Part 2: The Duck Who Would Be King
15. All Ducks on Deck
16. Super DuckTales Part 1: Liquid Assets
17. Till Nephews Do Us Part
18. Time is Money Part 5: Ali Bubba’s Cave
19. The Status Seekers
20. Time is Money Part 3: Bubba Trubba

The next DuckTales review covers the salvage of Scrooge's money and brings the introduction of Gizmoduck.

Next time on MC Toon reviews from Hey Arnold is "Helga Sleepwalks" and "Fighting Families."

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

Weird Cousin / Baby Oskar (Hey Arnold Season 4 Episode 13) - 'Toon Reviews 28

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:

Weird Cousin

Many fans of this show can agree that Arnold is a nice guy and role model to everyone around him.  This cartoon makes that cartoon stand out by introducing his cousin Arnie who looks just like him, but is the total opposite of him.  Whereas Arnold is friendly, helpful, and social, Arnie is soft-spoken, has weird practices like reading ingredients on things, and doesn’t have good social skills at all.  In fact, Arnie can be just as disturbing to the audience as he is to the other characters, except for one. 

The major catalyst to the plot is once again Arnold trying to win over Lila.  The big takeaway this time is that while Arnold puts in a lot of effort in setting up activities for them to do, Lila calls him out by stating a big thing wrong with this setup.  She basically says that Arnold is being pushy through trying to bring them together, with the activity of going to the movies together seeming like a date.  She sees it as one of Arnold’s usual stunts to get her to like him-like him even though she’s told him many times that this is not the case.  It’s pretty refreshing to see the show itself point out the problem with Arnold constantly trying to win over Lila and not accepting that she’s simply not that into him.  This is really not how love works and is not in line with Arnold’s usual mature nature.  Heck, Lila even knows that someone else is already madly in love with Arnold, and there have been several signs of proof that they have better chemistry despite their differences. 

As for what Arnie has to do with all this, when Lila first sees him, even though he’s just as unsocial around her as he is with everyone else, she says she’s in love with him.  The thing is though, it’s really hard to believe this is the case.  Arnie’s mannerisms are not very friendly, considerate, or in line with Lila’s kind nature, let alone be good enough for a relationship.  Well, maybe a relationship could work if someone else shared his interests and traits, but that’s beside the point.  It basically feels like Lila is only saying she loves Arnie just to spite Arnold for all the times he’s tried to win her over.  This feeling really shows when Arnold sees Lila going to a scary movie with Arnie when she usually doesn’t like those kinds of films.  It’s at this point where for as flawed Arnold’s attempts at Lila are, he’s the more sympathetic one.  Lila acting so close and affectionate towards Arnie gives the impression that she feels like Arnold is a total creep who deserves to have his feelings hurt.  Arnold may be wrong most of the time, but he never means any harm. 

However, he does get help to at least break them up.  The tables are turned somewhat when Helga is the one to show interest in his problem and give him advice.  She plans to help him break up Lila and Arnie by making them jealous of another couple, and Arnold and Helga are going to act like a couple to make it work.  Helga’s lead involves many edgy and at times a little too intimate practices, but her will to help feels very genuine.  It’s also effective as it gets Arnie to dump Lila, opening up Arnold the chance to win her over.  This doesn’t change the fact that she’s still not into him, though she should be grateful that he’s bothering to comfort her.  There’s also a funny drawback to the plan with Arnie now getting into Helga, but since he only has one other role in the series, it hardly means anything. 

This cartoon features the worst and the best of certain characters.  With every majorly odd pairing and over-the-top ways to make a point, there’s hints of chemistry in couples with more potential, and honest facts of the matter are made clear.

B-

Baby Oskar

This season gives us not one, but two cartoons starring Oskar Kokoshka.  Regarding this one, if you ever needed legit proof that he does have a heart despite being an unbelievable mooch and lazy bum, this is one to watch. 

As far as his laziness goes, it’s used to the funniest extent here, particularly with his whines for his wife, Suzie, to make him a sandwich.  That’s one of his lines that me and my family quote all the time just so you know.  His behavior is in stark contrast when he and Suzie are asked to take care of a baby belonging to Suzie’s sister. 

Adding intrigue to the setup, the baby was named Oskar before Suzie’s sister really got to know the other Oskar.  While Baby Oskar is small and helpless and needs constant care, this is acceptable because that’s the nature of all infants.  Our Oskar, on the other hand, is a grown man who doesn’t even care to do anything to help himself.  He just sits around the house doing his own thing leaving his wife to take care of everything, is inconsiderate of the baby’s well-being, and expects things to be done for him.  This is certainly not a good character to get behind, but I still get a good laugh out of this stretch of laziness, especially for one big thing.  The cartoon itself doesn’t support this kind of behavior and has characters call Oskar out for his immaturity and irresponsibility.  It’s especially shown where Suzie snaps and calls her husband out for his ridiculousness and claiming that he’ll grow up “tomorrow” but never today. 

If that’s not enough, Oskar gets a chance to do just that when Suzie is called into work and he has to look after Baby Oskar.  At first, he just drags Arnold into helping him take care of the baby resulting in a typical string of babysitting gags from feeding him to changing him.  There is at least one creative occurrence when he tries to bet Baby Oskar in poker though.  This doesn’t last long when Arnold insists that he has to go to school. Also, when Oskar tries to call him out for abandoning the baby, Arnold firmly says that he’s Oskar’s responsibility, not his.  This is another refreshing instance of Oskar getting called out for his inconsiderate and lazy behavior, and it comes with a great change from him. 

Alone with the baby, Oskar is at first tense towards him, but as he watches him be cute and tends to him, they start genuinely bonding.  His responsible side really shows when he becomes nervous by the sounds of the baby coughing and believes he’s sick.  Being the only person in the house, Oskar has no choice but to take the extreme measure of taking the baby to the hospital.  It’s impressive how much effort he puts into getting the baby there through not letting anyone stand in his way, and even overtaking a marathon at one point.  That’s a lot of heart while still playing to Oskar’s usual traits as he pushes aside an old lady and still mentions gambling at the racetrack while praying for the baby’s health.  Baby Oskar is healthy after all with only a minor case of the hiccups, but what Oskar did for him is still impactful considering what he’s like.  It’s also not forgotten when the baby doesn’t want to leave Oskar at the end finalizing his genuine care for the infant. 

Ultimately, this is a funny and endearing cartoon of how virtue and care can sometimes come from the most unlikely places.

P.S. If you love, then make me a sandwich!

A

The Ranking

1. Veterans Day
2. Headless Cabbie
3. Back to School
4. Helga’s Parrot
5. Oskar Can’t Read?
6. Dinner for Four
7. The Beeper Queen
8. Stinky’s Pumpkin
9. It Girl
10. Polishing Rhonda
11. Baby Oskar
12. Weighing Harold
13. Big Gino
14. Chocolate Turtles
15. Friday the 13th
16. Grudge Match
17. Phoebe Skips
18. Eugene’s Birthday
19. Weird Cousin
20. Egg Story
21. Student Teacher
22. Love and Cheese
23. Jamie O in Love
24. Deconstructing Arnold
25. Full Moon

The next Hey Arnold is all about the antics of Helga keeping her love for Arnold a secret when she finds herself sleepwalking, and Arnold and his family get to compete in a game show.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the first part of another DuckTales story arc, "Super DuckTales."

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

The Bogbeast of Boggabah / Total Eclipsa the Moon (Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 3 Episode 15) - 'Toon Reviews 27

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:

The Bogbeast of Boggabah

Just to further prove how much of a detour the previous Christmas episode was, this one features two segments that follow up on the recent major plot points and reveals.  Well, this one has the right idea to investigate the depths of the reveal at first. 

Star is rightfully keen to start looking into Ms. Heinous’ status as Eclipsa’s daughter Meteora.  However, her attitude makes her come off as reckless, impulsive, and not very mature, someone Moon cannot and does not take seriously.  It’s no surprise that making a mess in her mom’s office and yelling at her does not work in Star’s favor.  I know I certainly wouldn’t want to listen to someone like that.  That said, what Star wants to discuss is still important to the Butterfly family as we as an audience know.  Because of this, it’s concerning that what this episode instead decides to focus on is completely unrelated. 

River notices Star looking impatient and impulsive with what she’s trying to do and is quick to invite her along on a supposedly very important hunting trip.  They venture down to the swamp to search for a creature called the Bogbeast of Boggabah.  However, there really isn’t much hunting involved at the swamp.  Really, much of what Star and River do is a bunch of initiations before they can actually look for the Bogbeast.  They include trying to sweat in a sauna, camouflaging themselves by letting leaves come to them, braiding hair, and painting ancient markings all over their bodies.  Most of these scenes are just overly long gags of something so mundane an inconsequential.  Since none of these initiations don’t have any apparent baring on anything associated with hunting, it’s hard not to side with Star getting annoyed by them.  She may be impulsive but even without the shady information on her family, all this is seems like a waste of time.  At least the ways her impatience backfires on her make for many solid laughs and funny outcomes.  However, frustration overpowers again when River declares they have to do all the initiations all over again and that Star’s actually not ready when they’re so far in the process.  At this point, it feels like he’s just messing with Star and the audience as we know it. 

As it turns out, it very much appears that way when Star hears a roar at night and rushes after what she thinks is the Bogbeast.  She falls into mud, and that gets the attention of River and all the inhabitants of the swamp.  There really was no actual Bogbeast of Boggabah after all.  That’s just a name for people who act impulsively before thinking things through.  This could be looked at as a twisted ploy to get Star to embarrass herself.  Thankfully, that possibility is quashed when River says he did this so Star could be reminded of all her strengths and learn to relax so that she’s not held back by herself. That’s a very good lesson for Star to learn, and anyone in real life too, and when you look back at everything, the lesson is a good tie.  Star is known for being impulsive and acting without thinking, and the start of the episode is proof of this, so she should be getting a true lesson to overcome all that. 

It’s just the presentation of it that loses points for being overlong, not all that funny, and the actual swamp and its inhabitants not amounting to anything later.  The people show up again, but aren’t too productive in the main plot.  Basically, this episode is a slight detour from what’s important, but by the end, it all works out thanks to its morals.

B-

Total Eclipsa the Moon

A winning formula for a work done in any medium is the team up of two unlikely characters.  It makes for interesting chemistry from the interactions and clash in approaches making for strong comedy and potential build up for a more genuine bond.  In animation, the personalities of the featured characters seem to be better realized since they can easily be drawn out and are far more appealingly expressive.  This is where the great appeal of this episode lies. 

 

It shows what happened with Moon after she forced the ever impulsive Star out of her office in the previous episode.  Even with her daughter’s attitude, Moon nicely trusts Star’s claim and looks into it on her own after a while.  She starts with the simplest practice of going straight to Eclipsa and have her point out her daughter from the Butterfly family records.  However, the funny thing is Eclipsa doesn’t recognize the Queen of Mewni after her at all and remembers her only daughter being very monster-like.  In a very interesting turn for Eclipsa, who’s been calm and collected, with a fine eye for fun, she seems genuinely concerned and emotional about her daughter.  That makes her much better-rounded and multi-layered, so she’s a very appealing character to follow. 

 

Happily, that’s just what we do in this episode as she and Moon team up and search for the truth about Eclipsa’s daughter in the royal archives.  Along the way, all the great things about team ups of unlikely characters are on full display.  The clash of personalities is especially winning entertainment when you consider how much Moon has insisted that Eclipsa is bad news.  However, Eclipsa practically makes the mission.  She may be sentimental when thinking about her daughter, but is still very playful through the explore of the archives.  That’s a very unique perspective for a serious mission to tell the gritty truth of the rulers of Mewni.  She’s hiding under Moon’s dress even when she doesn’t have to.  She's unlocking doors like hitting buttons in a game.  Moon gets wild suggestions from her like wiping a guard’s mind. She makes up songs to remember her way. Even in the most serious situations, she makes petty excuses for taking a long time to help Moon who gets stuck in a rat hole.  All throughout, Eclipsa’s a joy to watch and impresses for being a child in a woman’s body yet still very productive.  Her ways contrast greatly with Moon’s who’s very freaked out by working with the ancient queen of darkness.  She just wants to get the mission over with and is reluctant to going along with Eclipsa’s nonconformist, sometimes risky strategies.  She’s not even comfortable when she ends up doing them herself such as wiping that guard’s memory. 

Despite their differences, Moon is still very much considerate of Eclipsa’s worries of her daughter.  It’s like she’s starting to think twice about billing Eclipsa as evil which is good because she honestly doesn’t seem anything of the sort.  The ending further makes this feel appropriate when they both find Eclipsa’s scroll in the archive and find that the name of Eclipsa’s daughter has been hastily covered up.  Not only does it thicken the mysteries of the Butterfly family, but solidifies Moon and Eclipsa as a good pair. 

Whether they want to work together or not, they work off each other well, and understand they’re both after a common goal.  As a result, you get a positive feeling about the idea of them working together more.

A+

The Ranking

1. Total Eclipsa the Moon
2. Moon the Undaunted
3. Deep Dive
4. Stranger Danger
5. Sweet Dreams
6. Return to Mewni
7. Rest in Pudding
8. Night Life
9. Demoncism
10. Toffee
11. Monster Bash
12. Club Snubbed
13. Puddle Defender
14. Sophomore Slump
15. Starfari
16. Lint Catcher
17. Princess Turdina
18. Scent of a Hoodie
19. King Ludo
20. Marco and the King
21. Death Peck
22. Book Be Gone
23. The Bogbeast of Boggabah
24. Stump Day
25. Trial by Squire
26. Lava Lake Beach
27. Holiday Spellcial
28. Ponymonium

The next Star vs the Forces of Evil review follows the long awaited trial for Eclipsa answering the question of what happened to her daughter, and we also learn what happened to Ludo.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews from Hey Arnold is "Weird Cousin" and "Baby Oskar."

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.