Change Your Image
lunatroid
Reviews
Dexter's Laboratory (1996)
A crudely-animated cartoon that nonetheless offers laughs and pathos
"Dexter's Laboratory" is an odd duck of a cartoon. It's strangely schizophrenic; on the one hand, it's a cartoon about a mad scientist who's full of vainglorious ambition and who goes on zany sci-fi adventures. On the other, it's a cartoon about a little boy and his turbulent relationship with his big sister. The titular hero of the toon, Dexter, is both those characters. He's a brainy kid with a secret lab that his sister, Dee Dee, constantly invades and sometimes damages, not out of meanness, but because she's fascinated by her brother's inventions and wants to "play" with them. She also wants to pal around with her little brother, whom she sometimes teases but also loves. As for Dexter, he finds her invasions annoying and frustrating, yet, if she's not around wreaking playful havoc, he soon goes to pieces and seeks her out for company. The siblings are like two halves of a whole brain; Dexter is the logical left side while Dee Dee is the creative, free-spirited right side. They're an endearing pair, and while the show has a lot of funny moments (including Dexter's and Dee Dee's first experience with coffee, and a snowball fight that their dad takes much more seriously than they do), it's the affection between the brother and sister that sticks with you; that is the REAL chemistry found in Dexter's Lab. All in all, "Dexter's Laboratory" is worth a look, although it's probably best to avoid the special "Ego Trip" (in which Dexter comes off as highly unpleasant) and the revival episodes released in 2000/2001; a new production team and new voice for Dexter were employed for those, and unfortunately as a result the series lost much of its heart and humanity. But the early seasons are golden. If you're in need of a laugh with a touch of heart, it's worth paying "Dexter's Laboratory" a visit.
Bingo Crosbyana (1936)
Bing Crosby was probably justified
In fact, there were a lot of black actors back then who also should have sued Warner Brothers too for defamation of character. Unfortunately, they didn't have Bing's clout. There's a difference between using a famous face as a caricature and using it as a means to debase someone. In this Family Guy era, we see celebrities and politicians trashed all of the time, and there's not much the victims can do about it (for instance, Carol Burnett tried to stop Family Guy from using her Charwoman character in an R-rated parody, and lost her case. I think she had a point. That character is part of her legacy and she has a right to try to protect it, in my opinion). But back in the early 20th century, standards were different, and it's not surprising Warner Bros. backed off of caricaturing Crosby...for a while.
As to whether or not Crosby himself was a good or bad person, it depends on who is talking about him. A couple of his sons described him as a cold disciplinarian. One of his sons, however, denied that and said that Bing was a great father. And his second family of children (those he fathered with second wife Kathryn Crosby) were devoted to him. There was a story in the newspaper many years ago in which Bing said he hoped to not repeat the mistakes he made with his first family. So clearly there were some issues, issues that Bing came to regret.
To my mind, Bing had some justification to be protective of his image, but Warners had the right to freedom of expression. It's a paradox that plagues show business to this day, and likely will never be fully resolved in any instance in which such a situation arises. As usual, the only clear winners will probably be the lawyers.
The Fairly OddParents in Fairy Idol (2006)
"Fairy Idol" is the first GOOD "Fairly Oddparents" episode in a long long time
"Fairy Idol" helps repair some of the damage done by some truly horrible "Fairly Oddparents" episodes of recent years, written by substandard writers and allowed to be produced by the "Danny Phantom"-obsessed FOP creator Butch Hartman (shame on you, sir!) It's almost too little, too late, but at least in this episode Cosmo helps make up a little for his callous cruel behavior towards his long-suffering wife Wanda in episodes such as the detestable "Big Wanda", "Big Bash" and "Teeth for Two". Timmy Turner also redeems himself by acknowledging his selfishness and learns not to take people for granted. Norm, the devious genie, is at his best here (although lacking his usual voice actor, Norm McDonald,) as he plots to shed himself of his hated lamp and servitude to foolish mortals by tricking Cosmo and Wanda into quitting their jobs as fairy godparents to Timmy. High points of the special include sweet scenes between Cosmo and Wanda (they defend each other from insult at one point, and kiss at the end of the episode), a true star turn by the selfless and likable Chester McBadbat, and some hilarious comic bits by soft-hearted tough guy Jorgen and Binky, his well-meaning but bumbling assistant. Plus, although this special, like the prior FOP special "School's Out", is a musical, the songs are mercifully kept to a minimum and don't interfere with the narrative. All in all this is a good outing for FOP, not quite up there with "Abracatastrophe", but easily better than "School's Out" and other Butch Hartman efforts. Although this special doesn't completely wipe out the stain left by some truly terrible episodes, it does serve as a decent series-ender to "The Fairly Oddparents" - a good show that went bad.
The Fairly OddParents (2001)
Good show gone bad
During the first 3 seasons Fairly Odd Parents was as tasty as hard candy, bright and sweet and addictive. Now it's as tasty as Pepto-Bismol. And unfortunately Pepto-Bismol is what you'll need after viewing the more recent episodes, where all the sweetness has been replaced by insults and violence resulting in no laughs. Cosmo, once one of the more endearing Nick characters, has devolved into an abusive unfunny cretin that the cast of Family Guy wouldn't even want to know. Timmy has become a selfish arrogant jerkwad that Bart Simpson would happily beat the snot out of (and given Timmy's snottiness, that would take a lot of beating). And poor Wanda...a real charmer who's become the victim of her husband and godchild, she's now labeled a "nag" for caring about the well-being of others. Plus Cosmo's stupidity causes pain to everyone else but he's never punished for it, nor does he learn any lessons. Which pretty much sums up Butch Hartman's attitude towards kids: they're crude, vulgar and not too bright. Thank god this crummy toon has been cancelled, along with Butch Hartman's darling, Danny Phantom. At least Butch got what he deserved - unlike Cosmo.