Stellaluna Review

All right, folks, we're going to review the 2004 made for video movie, "Stellaluna," based on the best-selling award winning children of the same name by Janell Cannon, who's responsible for making bats look like friendly creatures and making owls into dangerous species, which was all thanks to a suspenseful score by the great Jody Gray, who composed the music for Courage the Cowardly Dog. By the way, I'll will right now mention that Stellaluna, the best-selling book has turned the big 25 this year. And I think now's the right time to review this movie that has stuck with me ever since I bought it at Savers. So let's venture into the Sultry Forest to go see Stellaluna.

Janell Cannon's Stellaluna is in many ways a fabulous 1990's fairy tale. The book aired on the PBS series Reading Rainbow in 1994. On that episode, Anne Jackson narrated the story. It is featured in the 2001 movie I Am Sam. No, not Sam I am. Janell Cannon was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Burton H. and Nancy A. Cannon. She attended Burnsville High School, and graduated in 1975. After high school she moved to California, and from 1981 to 1993 she was a graphic artist for the Carlsbad Library, also, on that year, Janell Cannon began writing for the idea of Stellaluna. She spent most of the book by building up friendship with some satisfying payoffs. By the time Stellaluna was published on April of 1993, it caught the attention of children and parents and teachers everywhere and to this day, continues to be the most popular award-winning children's book. Back in 1998, Rankin/Bass' ever popular "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was turned into a 2D animated movie directed by William R. Kowalchuk. And when Stellaluna came along a few years later, the instant popularity of the book made a film version a no brainier. That means showing intelligence. But the book just couldn't be contained into a theatrical feature, so Scholastic and MGM offered to buy the rights from Janell, to make Stellaluna into a made-for-DVD movie, similar in format to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. When Scholastic producers Deborah Forte and Martha Atwater, everything was all set, with a script written by screenwriters Rachel Koretsky and Stephen Whitestone, who had previously wrote The Pebble and the Penguin, which was directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldmna. And then a filmmaker was hired, William R. Kowalchuk, a Canadian animator and director who originally made a name for himself as the production manager for MASK produced by DIC Entertainment. Kowalchuk went on to direct the highly underrated made-for-video movies such as Camelot: The Legend in 1998, and Ben Hur in 2003. Okay, enough behind the scenes talk, let's get on with the plot.

One night, as Stellaluna's mother followed the scent of ripe fruit, an owl spied her. On silent wings, the powerful bird swooped down upon the bats. Mother Bat tried to escape, but the owl struck again and again, knocking Stellaluna into the air. Her wings were as useless as wet paper, down down she went, faster and faster into the forest below. She lands in a bird's nest, and the three birds, Flitter, Pip, and Flap mistake her for a bird. Stellaluna tries to fit in, reluctantly trying to eat bugs without being disgusted by them. However, the Great White Owl is on the loose when Stellaluna accidentally wakes him up, he tries to seek vengeance on the bat he knocked down a few days before.

I highly doubt that Janell Cannon wasn't at least partly inspired by the infamous killer wolves in Beauty and the Beast when creating this vicious owl who abandoned Stellaluna from her mother.

The success of the made-for-DVD movie relied heavily on the casting of Stellaluna. The producers landed on Canadian voice actress, Chiara Zanni, who originally made a name for herself as the voice of Poky Little Puppy in the 1989 TV Special, Little Golden Book Land, and has spent her career doing usually tomboy related characters in roles like Alex from Camp Candy starring John Candy, Mimi Morton in What About Mimi?, Petunia in Baby Looney Tunes, and the colorful Daring Do on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. So, to me, Chiara Zanni will always be Stellaluna, it sounds like she's having a ball doing this energetic and cowardly character.

During the film's production, director William R. Kowalchuk impressively orchestrated two entirely separate group of actors. American actors and Canadian actors of a bunch, which is no easy task. Flitter, Pip, and Flap were played a group of virtual unknowns while the other characters were played by who's who of recognizable Canadian actors from film and production. Lee Tockar played Askari the Superhero Spider, he would later go on to voice George in 2007's version of George of the Jungle as well as the voice of Snips on Friendship is Magic. Scott McNeil portrays Horatio, a toucan who tries to make Stellaluna look like a real bird. McNeil was also part of the cast of Dragon Ball Z, Friendship is Magic, and Johnny Test, Brenda Crichlow who played the birds' mother, had other roles like an Office Co-Worker in Will Ferrell's Elf and Zecora in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and Kathleen Barr, who played Kasuku is a popular Canadian heartthrob for television, starring in shows like Ed, Edd n Eddy as Kevin and Marie Kanker, Dragon Tales as Wheezie, Kid vs. Kat as Millie, Littlest Pet Shop as Mrs. Twombly, and my personal favorite, Trixie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Of course, the most recognizable voice among these guys is Blu Mankuma as the voice of the Great White Owl, Mankuma also starred in numerous movies and animated shows, as well as the voice of the red dragon in the Friendship is Magic episode, "Dragon Shy."

Here's a fun fact:  This version was panned by some fans of the original book as "truly unfaithful" and received mixed to negative reviews. Now despite what the critics say, I love this film, but I won't deny that nostalgia is a major factor. While I have read the book before I saw this, I appreciate the movie was able to accomplish, given it's a made-for-DVD. While I will admit that the film is not without its flaws. Specifically the addition of Askari the Spider and the bigger role of the Great White Owl, and the cheesy songs, even though I do like Stellaluna's song before Askari comes onto the screen. I think the filmmakers did all they could with the resources they had, for me though, I've seen this film a lot of times that it doesn't even matter.

It's seems like when it goes for the small scares, it goes really well, like the Owl dodging at the herd of bats, many of these scenes contribute to the film's atmosphere, as does the highly underrated musical score composed by Courage the Cowardly Dog composer, Jody Gray. Gray's compositions give the film an appropriate African tone right from the opening credits. The entire score is exciting, gloomy, and emotional, and you know the Great White Owl is lurking right around the corner, when it starts to become cold, wet, and heavily filled with bass drums and strings. I constant criticism I've noticed suggests that for such a blood-thirsty owl, he doesn't too much out of hooting and laughing at the bats and birds. Scholastic's standards didn't allow the filmmakers to be too severe with showing child birds in danger, which is ironic giving the source material. But they found away to dance around that rule. The Great White Owl corners, hoots, and threatens some of the main characters, but rarely goes in for the kill. This forced the filmmakers to be extra creative with the film's exciting, and some of what they ended up doing was pretty exciting stuff. Sure, the movie is practically "The Goonies" or "Courage the Cowardly Dog" compared to child friendly nature of the original book, but I kind of like it for that.

Over the years, Stellaluna has become the made-for-DVD movie that could. It might not be as well received as other adaptations like Arthur, The Magic School Bus, or Franklin, but from what I've seen, it's a movie that I love despite all the flaws it had. I even put The Great White Owl right up there with the others like the Killer Wolves from Beauty and the Beast, Him from The Powerpuff Girls, and Queen Chrysalis from Friendship is Magic. At the end of the day, the DVD of Janell Cannon's Stellaluna is a great but flawed release of a great but flawed film, and is deserving of a 4 out of 5 stars recommendation, buy it if you run across it.

Rugrats - "Runaway Angelica"

Okay, now I've completely calmed down and needed a CatDog review before this, I decided now is the right time to review "Runaway Angelica."

After getting into trouble in Drew's office and being sent into her room, Angelica decides to run away. Yeah, we know, she's a troublemaker; it’s part of the territory...but in this episode, it finally starts to add up. Drew as a legitimate scolding to Angelica almost as much as kids who wouldn't behave and get scolded by their parents as well. It turns into your typical Angelica tortures babies as slaves for no good reason episode until it starts to rain, and Angelica decides to go into the dog house, literally. So what, she gives in to her on instincts and her parents get worried and Drew regrets everything he said and everything's okay, right? Actually no, Drew and Charlotte never knew that Angelica ran away, mostly because they were to distracted by the world around them. There’s suddenly something at risk, and something Angelica values is now truly on the line. But in the end, despite her hopes of her parents being worried about her, reality takes its toll.

She hears Drew talking to Didi and Stu and he says "Oh, boy." It is so nice to get away from the responsibilities of parenthood.

And in my opinion, this is the saddest thing I've ever seen on this show.

I identify a lot with this episode. I sometimes got into trouble growing up myself, either, and I can tell you, all the talks, all the pressure, all the fears of not being loved by your parents anymore are properly represented here. In my opinion, this is the most dramatic episode they’ve ever put out. There’s no villain, there’s no one element to play, it’s just a tough slice of life and it still shows that your parents will still always love you even if you do those bad things, which is a hard lesson for anyone to learn, so hard that they don’t even really teach it that much in TV or movies. It’s tough to deal with, and this episode doesn’t sugarcoat it.  Sugarcoating meaning sentimental. It shows just what an impact it has on her and how much it can really hurt. Now, true, there is still a happy ending, but to be fair, I think it kinda works. Her valuable lesson some payoff, and she uses what she learned to her advantage.  But this is the first, and in my opinion, only time “Rugrats” had a perfect mix of good comedy, good storytelling, and surprisingly good drama. I’ve never seen an episode that balanced all three of those so well. You get sucked into Angelica’s dilemma, you feel bad for what she’s going through, and you want to see her come out okay. On top of that, there’s still some good laughs, a lot of heart, and a satisfactory resolution. Although I will say, if her big concern is not doing those bad things ever again, then how come in every single episode, SHE STILL DOES THOSE HORRIBLE THINGS?!

I don’t know, but what I do know is that this is a truly unique episode, and in my opinion, the absolute best of them all. It’s touching, it’s funny, it was near the end of the second season, it's just a gem.

Rugrats - "Pickles vs. Pickles"

And now, for my Mom out there, I'm going to review one of here favorite episodes during the third season, "Pickles vs. Pickles." Another Angelica related episode. Let's see if I can give her a positive review on this.

After having some dinner problems with her parents, Angelica decides to "sue" her parents With hiring F. Lee Barnum, voiced by Neil Ross, and even recording everything Charlotte, even mocking her line "We've tried to reason what you, but you wouldn't listen." This goes so far that Charlotte and Drew go visit their lawyer, Mr. Hershowitz, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He highly suggests to settle the matter out of court. After hearing a ridiculously long list of demands from Angelica that her lawyer faxed to Mr. Hershowitz, they decide to just go for court.

This episode is pretty dark and funny at the same time. One minute it goes serious, and then one minute later, it gets so dramatic you can't even ignore it. I especially like Charlotte's funny quotes towards Mr. Barnum, and even Angelica using Cynthia and a toy Zebra as her witnesses, and even goes to the point of being a copycat in front of Mr. Hershowitz. The funny thing about this episode is that Tommy is not in this episode, but, on the other hand, while I do kind of speculate on what Tommy would've done in that particular episode, I'll just have to say, yeah, he really wasn't needed.

So, have we reached the verdict? Guilty or not guilty? NOT GUILTY! I here by sentence this episode to be recommended to anyone who ever loves episodes that show us court scenes. Plus, I like the ending where Angelica tells the audience, works every time.

Did I mention that Paul Germain and Jonathan Greenberg wrote this? It kind of reminds me of the Garfield and Friends episode, "The Kitten and the Council." And yes, I will review that episode at one point, but not right away.

VeggieTales - "Daniel and the Lions' Den" Review

Let's start off the New Year with a another VeggieTales review. Only this time, we're going to go way back into 1993, 25 years it's been since the show first started. But Big Idea's not doing anything to celebrate is as far as I know due to VeggieTales in the House existing. This review is for "Daniel and the Lions' Den," from their very first show, "Where's God When I'm S-Scared?" Let's begin the review, shall we?

The story is pretty basic. Daniel, played by Larry the Cucumber, tells King Darius, played by Archibald, about what his dream was, and thus, he was granted the second in command, thus, making the Scallions very unhappy and jealous. Of course, they decide to trick the king into making the city of Babylon pray to only him, and if they wouldn't, some of them would be thrown into the lion's den. So, of course, Daniel is the victim of this sort of thing and gets thrown into the lions' den. But the angel of the lord told him that God is always there with him, so Daniel praised the lord and slept through the night, heck, he even got pizza from the lions. King Darius gave thanks to God on that very day, and decides to try to punish the Scallions, but eventually, the Scallions ran away to Egypt, probably for good, but Darius and Daniel give chase. The end.

What's so cool about this story is that the CGI animation on this is very simple, it's so simple in fact that it almost looks like a traditional hand-drawn animated cartoon. I guess that would explain why they only had four people on staff working on the first show at the time. My favorite thing about the story is the Scallions, I don't call them villains. I know, technically, they did a bad thing by changing the King's rules and throwing Daniel into the Lions' Den, but I never would call them villains. What I'm trying to say is that the Scallions were more comical villains, unlike Lasombra from my Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie review. They also were kind of dopes, remember they were like, "Better not be a lion!" and "Those lions are gonna, um, lie on you!" I also like the song after Daniel was granted the second in command, called "Oh, No!" where the Scallions try to figure out what to do with Daniel. I don't call it a villain song, though.

So, bottom line, the story is interesting, funny, visually interesting, has great music, has super simple animation that I think PIXAR experimented with back in the 80's, and it has a nice moral, that even in the bottom of the lions' den, you are in God's hand. For those of you who are big fans of VeggieTales, go ahead and watch this super simple masterpiece. Right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djuHWIlWIQA

Garfield and Friends - "Garfield's Garbage Can and Tin Pan Alley Revue"

And now, ladies and gentleman, direct for the dinner table, the back fence preparatory company is pleased to present my review of "Garfield and His Garbage Pan and Tin Pan Alley Revue!" The season six finale!

During the late night hours, Garfield and his friends, Floyd Mouse, Odie, and Nermal perform a musical revue for all of the alley cats and dogs. Garfield says that this musical merits a D, smells like a zoo, and make you move all the way to Kalamazoo, but to be fair, it's not that bad. Let me review this revue and see how it goes. It all begins with Floyd Mouse introducing the show, followed up by their theme song, featuring the silly doggy with a lamest trick, and a kitten so cute that it's gonna make you sick!

After their first number, their next act is Nermal! Nermal sings her very own song, much to Garfield's chagrin, and she sings about how cute she is, being unforgettable, and as perfect as she can be. And she sings "When I leave, do they beg me to stay?" Then she gets dragged off stage by a vaudeville cane, but yet, the crowd applauds for Nermal. And for some reason, Garfield and Floyd decide to sing the song again. Don't ask me why? I don't know!

It's the big lipped alligator reprise, Odie oops up and wants a solo. And Garfield gives him one, and requests him to make it short. So, Odie lip-synchs to the song "Beautiful Dreamer" in whcih Jon Arbuckle sang a variation of that song in the episode, "The Black Book" in the shower. Garfield mischievously speeds up and slows down the record, causing Odie to get so dizzy that he falls off the stage. The next act is a magic act performed by Garfield the Great Linguini, and I will say, yeah, he's no Amazing Mumford or Great and Powerful Trixie. All Garfield does is eat the food without the audience even noticing. He's a terrible magician.

After that boring bit, Nermal comes back wanting another Nermal, and Garfield decides to do another magic act, Nermal is worried he might cut her in half. She does want to be in the show, and the audience wants Garfield to get into the box. Nermal asks Garfield if he's sure about this, and Garfield tells her to trust him, the crowd will love it, and on the count of three, Garfield let's go of the box, revealing to be a packaged box, addressed to where else? Abu Dhabi! Too predictable. The audience applauds so loudly that Jon Arbuckle wakes up and tries to stop the show simply by mocking their theme song in a funny manner.

All of the sudden, a fat cop (voiced by Gregg Berger), comes in because he's gotten calls all night complaining about the disturbance in the alley, obviously accusing Jon for the noise, even though he was out here for the first few seconds. The animals, sans Garfield vanish so they wouldn't get framed. Jon tries to prove to the cop that Garfield was putting on a show, but all Garfield could do was meow without his mouth even moving. The cop, not wanting to hear any further, decides to take Jon in, obviously not believing a word of it, saying "Show it to the sergeant downtown." Once the coast is clear. Garfield resumes the show with a complete reprise of their song, complete with Odie howling along. And the crowd roared with applause!

Anyways, what do I like about this episode, well, it sort of reminds me of the Sesame Street video: A Musical Celebration, which came out the exact same year this episode did. I'll get that some people think it was unfair for Jon to be arrested for something he didn't do, but you know what it was part of the comedy. So, my opinion? Funny, musical, entertaining, and amazing! Check it out on your volume five DVD of Garfield and Friends if you get the chance. Peace out!

Animaniacs - "Cookies for Einstein"

It's time to review an episode form those zany to the max, Warner Brothers and Sister, the Animaniacs! Let's take a look at the first half of the second episode, not counting "Yakko's World," "Cookies for Einstein." Fun fact: This is Paul Rugg's favorite episode.

It takes place in Bern, Switzerland, 1905, home of clocks, chocolate, and neutrality, but mostly chocolate, says Frank Welker. We see Yakko, Wakko, and Dot walking down the streets of Bern singing a little ditty as cookie scout salesman, Wakko goes even so far as to yodel, and says to the camera, "Sorry, it's the chocolate soaking." After selling numerous cookies, they arrive at one more stop, Albert Einstein's path. Once they sell their final box of cookies, they can get their merit badges. Inside, Albert Einstein is trying his very best to figure out the theory of relativity, when all of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. Because of Albert's Switzerland accent, the Warners think he is a dermatologist. Einstein wonders why they're here, and Dot replies that they're trying to sell cookies, and says to the camera, "Dumber than advertised." Albert refuses to buy any cookies at the moment because he's too busy working on the wonders of the universe and demands the Warners to run away and slams the door, which leads to this cute scene.

The background turns black and a spotlight is hit on Dot, and she mellows out "Oh! Oh! My heart aches with the sorrow of a thousand scouts! No merit badge. I mourn my loss," and she cries. Once the background brightens up again, Yakko compliments that those acting classes really paid off, and reassures the other Warners that they'll sell Albert the cookies whether he likes it or not! Like try dying, or at least to some tie dying. Meanwhile, Albert Einstein meassures the speed of light and discovers that was quick. When, yet again, The Warners interfere.

They've tried everything. It wasn't until Yakko decides to spell Acme backwards, which results in Albert Einstein finding out the theory of relativeity, resulting that E equals MC squared! and declares the Warners as geniuses and cries out to the heavens "E EQUALS MC SQUARED!" Moments later, the Nobel prize was given to Albert Einstein and the Warners for their hard work and cookies. Yakko states that it's no merit badge, but it will do. And the episode ends.




The episode is my favorite episode of the first season, the main reason is because this was the first episode I've seen as a kid. And when I grew up, I've forgotten all about it, but when I looked up on this one day and after watching The Nostalgia Critic's Animaiacs Tribute/Behind the Scenes video, I know remember where the screenshot in my head of Dot in the spotlight came from. The bottom line is that this episode is exciting, visually interesting, and funny, complete with a Swiss Nurse Miss selling hot chocolate. This episode is amazing and it's only the second episode in the series. If you're a die hard Animaniacs fan, go ahead and check this episode out if you haven't already. This is Veston Bruno signing off.

Rugrats - "Angelica Breaks a Leg"

Yeah, I needed to make a review on an Angelica sooner or later. This one, where going to review Angelica Breaks a Leg, my favorite episode of the third season of Rugrats, and this was WAY before those Squidward Torture episodes came into fruition. It was written by the late Steve Viksten, the same guy who wrote "Monkey Business" on Hey Arnold! and as usual, it was directed by Jim Duffy.

The episode starts with Drew and Charlotte dropping off Angelica at Tommy's residence, with a reason this time. Drew and Charlotte decided to go power rafting with their cell phones. Drew says that it's great for networking. As Angelica's parents leave, Angelica wants to go to the zoo, but Stu and Didi are quite too busy just minding their own business. Even Grandpa Lou Pickles has been declared busy at the moment, but he does invite Angelica to watch his fishing programs. When she wants to play with Tommy, Tommy decides to just take a nap because he always takes a nap after watching Captain Blasto, much to Angelica's disappointment.

As Grandpa Lou falls asleep, Angelica beings channel surfing to find something good on while complaining about how everybody's too busy and tired doing what she wants to do. She comes across a soap opera that has a man's fiance in a cast, obviously with a broken leg. At first, Angelica complains about how the soap actor is doing everything the woman tells him to do, after a little thinking, she figured that would be a terrific opportunity to get attention. Meanwhile, Stu has trouble getting his Hippo Copter to work, when all of a sudden, he and Didi hear Angelica screaming "Ow!" falling down the stairs with a bowling ball hitting  the vase of a plant and Angelica holding on for dear life on her left leg, telling Stu and Didi that she thinks she broke her leg. Without a break, they take Angelica tot he hospital.

Stu and Didi come across Hoagie Doozer, voiced by Scott Menville, he's obviously a take on Neil Patrick Harris' Doogie Howser, MD, and yes apparently Doozer, that phrase Fraggle Rock is a thing in the Rugrats universe. Meanwhile in the operating room, Bob, voiced by Jim Turner, takes pictures of Angelica, or in this case, X-ray pictures. A few minutes later, Dr. Doozer states that Angelica has sustained a massive fracture of the left fibula, and suggests that they put her in a leg cast. While Didi is unsure about this, Dr. Doozer may be young, but he knows a broken leg when he seeks one and he's a highly trained professional, that, and he also does have a decree. And the nurse brings him his chocolate milk.

That night, they put Angelica in the guest bedroom, and Stu rigged up a call buzzer for her just in case if she needs anything, and then says "What a trooper." Tommy, confused wonders if Angelica's leg is really broken, and Angelica tells him no, and she shows Tommy using the call buzzer into action, where Didi comes in and Angelica requests that Tommy leaves, it was past Tommy's bedtime anyway. By the way, that was the last we see of Tommy in this episode. Too bad. Anyways, Angelica devilishly says "This is gonna great."

Day 1: Angelica requests the easiest request she could think of from Didi. A cold drink, maybe it was grape juice? Next, she calls for Stu, and she requests she wants to watch TV, the problem is, there's only one TV in the house, I guess this was back when there would be enough money to buy multiple television sets. What follows is a montage of Angelica making request after request from Stu or Didi, mostly Stu, like fluffing pillows, opening and closing the window, asking for a tissue, hour in and hour out, they keep giving in to her ridiculous requests, exhausting the two quite greatly.

Day 2: Stu and Didi are exhausted and getting a bit agitated. Stu tries desperately to go upstairs and disconnect the buzzer, but Didi stops him because they need to follow Dr. Doozer's orders. Stu eventually gives in, Didi tried to call Charlotte, but she's too busy. It cuts to a brief scene where Charlotte and Drew are power rafting and they come across a rapid! The buzzer goes off and it was Didi's turn. Angelica requests Didi to make-up story about an angel simply known as Angelica. For some reason, the skipped Day 3, I don't know why the heck they did that. They don't even show the time code for the following scene.

That night, Stu gets ready for bed, when all of a sudden, in the middle of the night, Angelica requests chocolate pudding, at 3:00 in the morning! AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Stu refuses at first because I think he was starting to suspect that Angelica's leg isn't broken at all, ultimately, he does give in, and he buys pudding mix from a late night grocery store, since they've run out of the already made stuff. Then it cuts to the infamous chocolate pudding scene which has become a meme. Didi asks why Stu is making pudding at 4:00 in the morning, and the reason is because he's lost control of his life. I wonder if it was his deadpan response that caused this to become a meme. We then cut to Angelica watching late night cop shows when Stu brings her her chocolate pudding, until Angelica declares she's not hungry anymore. Stu gets so fed up and so exhausted that he does his over-he-top scream!

Day 4: Stu tries desperately to drink his coffee, but he says to himself, "If I hear that buzzer one more time, I'm about to crack!" Then the phone rings, making Stu jump! Didi reassures that it's just the telephone. Didi answers it, it was Dr. Doozer, calling that they had a mix-up with the x-rays, they've just discovered Angelica's leg isn't broken at all, and that they can bring her down to remove the cast, and says she's sorry for the mistake. He also apologizes to Antonio Peaches, who was the one with the broken leg, you see, I knew it was a mistake all along, I just didn't want to spoil it for everybody. Suddenly, the doorbell rings, and Drew came back to town so early, and there's a good reason, Charlotte had a run-in with a kayak, meaning broken leg.'

See, that's irony for you. Charlotte calls desperately for Drew and Angelica for some help while still talking to Jonathan on the phone. While Angelica would rather do something fun, Drew tells her as punishment for faking a broken leg, they are having her see what it's like, and anything Charlotte wants she gets. Drew then asks Angelica if she has any chocolate pudding, and the episode ends. I can only assume Angelica might've fainted from all the pressure.





Final thoughts: This episode was really funny. The characters reacted accordingly, Angelica never feels out of character, and it was satisfying to see her get comeuppance for her sour attitude, that and I felt pretty bad for Stu in this episode after going through all that torture. At least he can rest fine now.

By the way, there was an episode of the Garfield Show that parodied this in "King Nermal" except not in a good way.

I not only recommend this episode, but I would also like to dedicate this review to the late Jack Riley who voiced Stu Pickles.

Garfield and Friends - "Dread Giveaway"

Here's another episode from the sixth season of Garfield and Friends. In this episode, after Garfield's another failed attempt to send Nermal away to Abu Dhabi, Jon and Nermal watch an infomercial on TV, which leads Nermal to fall asleep and dream about being in her own infomercial about being given away.

This episode serves a clever satire on infomercials, which are long commercials that look like shows, but they're really designed to sell something. The episode is spent on Garfield struggling to give Nermal away to anyone who wants her. But for some reason, no one seems interested. What is wrong with you people? I would want a Nermal Cat for myself! I don't care if you put in Odie, a new car, monkey or the Klopman Diamond as bonuses! I want Nermal Cat. Again, that's just me. Nermal wakes up from her dream stating that she is the cutest kitten in the whole wild world and people everywhere love cute kittens. As she goes tell Garfield about her dream, Jon doses off and has a dream about being given away in an infomercial which causes him to wake up and run from the house, and Garfield as a nightmare about giving away more than a million Nermal cats.

This episode is very good in terms of story, comedy, and emotion! If you're not a fan of infomercials and you want to see one be made fun of in a clever fashion, check this episode for yourself if you haven't seen it.

If I ever find me a Nermal plush that's not the Siamese one, I guess I'll just have to look for one on eBay.

Garfield and Friends - "Lost and Foundling"

Here's a season six episode I like simply known as "Lost and Foundling." The episode is about during a game of hide and seek, Odie hides in a crate and a garbage truck picks it up, and Odie ends up in the hands of a cute little girl named Becky (voiced by Jeannie Elias) who wants company with a puppy, much to her father's chagrin.

What this episode does right is that it had the capability to explore the different philosophies between a father and a daughter. This episode handled that sort of thing very well. At first, Becky's dad didn't want to have a dog, because dogs are a nuisance. I don't blame him because sometimes I don't like dogs either. But near the end he does change his mind because he overheard of how lonely Becky was because her dad was always going away on business. So after her dad learned her lesson, they send Odie back to Garfield's residence and Becky's dad decides to spend more time with her daughter, mainly because he has been away too much.

This episode is good. It's educational, funny, and all around relate-able to parents.