Posted 8th February, 2023

When Arnold’s pet pigeon Chester starts feeling ill, he decides to take the poor bird to the legendary “Pigeon Man”. Arnold’s friends warn him that Pigeon Man is a disturbed psychopath, but once Shortman meets the eccentric Pigeon Man? The dude turns out to be a sweet gentle guy who genuinely loves birds!

“Hey Arnold!” has always been great at making us care about the outcasts of society, all thanks to Arnold’s natural empathy for the downtrodden or neglected. In this case, Arnold helps Pigeon Man to see that good DOES exist in humanity, because he’s a kid who sincerely adores pigeons just as much as Pigeon Man, but also has an optimistic view of people.

Pigeon Man is distant at first, but he slowly grows to trust Arnold, and the two of them develop a friendship founded on a mutual admiration for birds. In return for curing Chester, Arnold helps Pigeon Man to revisit human society again, and even buys Pigeon Man a pizza; something Pigeon Man has actually missed. It’s a friendship that works both ways.

It helps that Pigeon Man is voiced by the amazing Italian-American character actor Vincent Schiavelli, who gives the character this subdued calmness that’s very soothing. It’s Vincent’s dramatic and earnest voice-over that makes Pigeon Man feel all-too-real. Vincent is acting, truly acting.

This isn’t to say that Pigeon Man’s return to civilization is all gumdrops and rainbows, because while Pigeon Man is away, a bunch of bully kids decide to trash Pigeon Man’s home; which he shares with his pigeon friends. It’s a heart-breaking moment, a gut-wrenching scene that shows how humanity CAN be needlessly cruel – especially to unusual people and animals. Pigeon Man meant no harm, he just found stronger bonds with birds than humans, that’s it.

The episode ends bittersweetly, with Pigeon Man thanking Arnold for reigniting his belief that there are good people out there, but also deciding to fly off into the sun with his fellow pigeons. While there’s a tragedy to Pigeon Man’s rejection of human society, we can also understand his perspective, because there’s a truth to simple-hearted animals being easier to understand than people.

Pigeon Man is considered by many to be a magnum opus “Hey Arnold!” episode. I honestly can’t disagree with this consensus. It’s an emotionally rich and profound cartoon that explores the complexity of humanity, while also making kids better appreciate the rich intelligence of pigeons; a bird that’s pretty unpopular in the mainstream.

Posted: 7th February, 2023

When Spongebob and Patrick pry through Squidward’s “Fancy Digest” magazine, they become inspired to start a career as entrepreneurs, but what will they sell? After some hard thinking, they pick chocolate bars! However, each door-to-door sale is one conflict after another for the lads.

This cartoon takes the very basic storyline of Patrick and Spongebob becoming door salesman, and fleshes it out into a series of banger comedic sketches. No attempted sale goes to waste, because the writers consistently find SOMETHING funny to happen. From a customer rejecting chocolate for the sake of their health to Patrick getting uncomfortably intimate with one man, every interaction is laced with the hilarious humour that we all associate with classic Spongebob.

At the same time, it’s not just back-to-back different gags, because there’s also two sort-of antagonists on our heroes’ tails! A deranged fish who is chasing after them while screaming “Chocolate!!!”, along with a con artist who keeps outwitting the gullible Spongebob and Patrick. It’s these two characters who add some running tension to the very simple episode setup; giving it some conflict beyond Spongebob and Patrick trying to get rich.

There’s also a sense of character development for Patrick and Spongebob. At first, these two approach their business with a huge naivety, with both clearly having no selling skills at all, but their constant failure drives them to resort to exaggerating the chocolate bars’ worth to customers. It’s a rare occasion where these wholesome characters surrender to doing misdeeds.

I’ve rarely seen these characters ever experience a rags to riches arc before, but I guess it just took the appeal of the fancy wealthy lifestyle to push them to become corrupt businessmen. While it’s charming that Spongebob and Patrick are simple-minded lads who don’t need much in life, I do kind of like the thrill of seeing them lose themselves to natural temptations. Don’t worry though! The boys do get their comeuppances later on.

Chocolate With Nuts frequently ends up on best Spongebob episodes lists, which does NOT surprise me in the slightest, because it’s full of golden comedy moments that have become iconic memes. Heck, I’d go as far to say that 90% of the gags in this episode are still quoted or referenced in internet culture to this day.

Posted on 6th February, 2023

I come from a country where we get more rain than sunshine, so I thought I’d re-watch a classic Recess episode that centres on drizzly weather! In this cartoon, TJ and his schoolmates are forced to stay inside while a rainstorm rages on outside. Not only has Miss Finster banned all forms of fun, but the activities she’s provided are also VERY underwhelming too.

It must have been hard to create a riveting story around a week of rainy days at a school, but this show tends to go above and beyond with simple premises. It helps that the episode opens with urban legend keeper Butch nervously giving a stern warning, as he urges TJ and his gang to be afraid of the week ahead. It’s a terrific way of raising anxiety for our characters over the days to come.

The escalation of stress each day adds to this tension too. Just as Butch prophesised, the kids begin fighting each other, while also mentally declining. Sure, this isn’t the only Recess episode where kids become vegetative shells, but this episode focuses on a day-by-day at a slow decay that happens in emotional stages.

You could defend Miss Finster’s strict stay-inside policy on rainy days as practical, seeing as kids could injure themselves or catch a cold, but Finster has banned outdoor play MAINLY out a spiteful desire for control. There’s something creepy about a teacher getting giddy and excited over students going braindead from a lack of fun, but that’s Finster for you.

Even though the cartoon has a sombre tone, it’s actually one of my favourite Recess episodes to watch when I want to relax. In spite of it’s melancholic atmosphere, there’s something laid-back about the rain trickling against window throughout the episode, or the mundanity of Finster’s no-thrills activities like bingo and puzzles.

Heck, this is also a surprisingly funny episode for what it entails. From Butch warning how they kids will eventually “Laugh at jokes no one is telling”, to Gus melodramatically threatening to jump off a small chair, there’s bound to be at least joke you’ll get a kick out of.

Not to mention, TJ still has his plucky spirit to keep everyone going. His trademark optimism radiates through the episode, as he stubbornly rebels against Butch’s predictions or snorts at Finster’s villainous smirks. It’s actually TJ’s determination that stops this episode from being a complete downer, which totally pays off once TJ realises that rain is harmless, and they disobey Finster to have the messiest Recess ever.

If you’re after a Disney cartoon that’s about overcoming boredom and fears of the rain, then I can’t recommend this one enough. It features Finster at her most campily devious, all while challenging TJ’s optimism after having his favourite time of day taken away by bad weather.

Posted on 5th February, 2023

In this Powerpuff caper, the girls have their sleep interrupted by the funky “Boogie Man”, who has blocked out the sun with a giant disco ball to create an eternal night for nocturnal monsters.

The premise for this episode alone is pretty great. I mean, it took some inspiration to twist Boogie Man folklore into something more akin to it’s namesake (You could argue that Oogie Boogie came close, but he was more jazzy than funky). The episode really commits to this idea all the way too, by giving the Boogie Man a full-on 70’s makeover that’s reminiscent of a Blaxploitation antagonist; which is unsurprising when this show’s rogues gallery is one of it’s biggest strengths.

The Boogie Man himself walks with a confident swagger, rides a luxury limo, dons hip fashion, and has the mighty pipes of Kevin Michael Richardson. It’s his charisma and style that has helped him earn a celebrity status in the monster world, hence why monsters love him.

While the Boogie Man doesn’t get much screen-time with the Powerpuff Girls, the girls do make things VERY personal once they threaten to destroy his beloved disco ball; the one time where the usually cocky Boogie goes into panic mode. What follows is a brilliantly funky spoof of Star Wars, with Boogie’s limo turning into Vader’s ship, while the girls pose as Starfighters, and the disco ball serves as a shiny Death Star. It’s so genius how the cartoon carries on it’s Disco-theming right into a Star Wars parody.

At the same time though, there’s a subplot about Bubbles becoming self-conscious about her fear of the dark. Luckily, the professor teaches her the effective lesson of knowing that even the brave can be scared. This sentiment is then cleverly weaved into the previously described finale, in which Bubbles overcomes her timid nature to defeat Boogie Man ALL ON HER OWN! Not only did she conquer her fear, but she did it without any coddling or assistance too.

Boogie Frights is a classic Powerpuff Girls episode that has a lot of fun with it’s groovy concept, all while teaching kids about how bravery isn’t THAT black & white. If you’re after a more interesting tweak on the Boogie Man lore, then give this cartoon a watch, because you’ll definitely come out dancing after.