User blog:Scrooge200/Season 11 Review

Season 10 is one I actually liked. Will season 11 continue this trend? Also, see my review index!

Swept Away
Season 11 starts off with a good episode! I like the first part of this episode, it's very fun. Arthur, Buster, and D.W.'s sandcastle is visually cool, particularly in the dream sequence. Plus, this episode is set entirely on the beach, which is a change of pace and adds to the atmosphere. There are some jokes I like, such as D.W. disliking the name "Starfish Enterprise" and consistently referring to it as a princess castle. The ending is what really impressed me. It's slightly sad, with a moral about how while good things won't last forever, you'll still have memories of the great times you had. D.W. keeping the starfish from on top of the castle as a necklace is a nice detail, too.

Germophobia
Watching this episode during the 2020 COVID pandemic (or 2021 now...) certainly puts it in a different light.

It explains that neither extremes are good: being a neat freak makes you overly paranoid and nervous, while being dirty means you'll get sick and spread bad germs. Buster's friends aren't happy with either of these. The visions of the germs are truly scary, with the screen warping around the edges and the creepy giggling noises. It's impressive how the harmonica is symbolized as the climax of Buster's bad hygiene. The pool party is also discussed ahead of time, so you have an idea of what the ending will be, but it isn't too predictable. Other than that, I didn't find this episode very entertaining. It's stressful, particularly in the second half. "Wild rice" is a good joke, at least. Okay.

Arthur Sells Out
Here we get an episode dedicated to making fun of false advertising and lame marketing techniques. Jokes like Arthur putting toy soldiers in a bigger box and advertising them as "new larger size" are good, and there's also a surprising amount of legitimate marketing advice, like using appealing colors and stylized fonts. I agree that Arthur goes too far, but he genuinely makes up for it by buying James a replacement for the broken toy he sold him, even skipping out on buying the Dark Bunny game he wanted. And then there's the amazing reveal that the game is nothing like in the commercial and isn't any good, which is very easy to relate to. With the plot of Muffy pushing Arthur and Buster into more immoral business practices, I feel like this episode comes closer to what "Buster's Green Thumb" was going for. I think there's just enough in this episode that I like for me to call it good.

Mind Your Manners
This episode has elements of both "My Fair Tommy," which is given a nice call-back, and "D.W. the Picky Eater." Here, the Tibbles are both really trying to do something nice for their grandmother. And yet, it doesn't feel out of character. There are great moments like when their grandmother recalls an incident at a restaurant (which isn't unrealistically exaggerated like in "D.W. the Picky Eater"), which they happily look back upon and ask if she wants to go there again, or when Timmy spills his drink and Tommy is quick to retaliate before remembering Molly's advice. The "Extreme Babysitters" opening is also very funny. This isn't a super exciting or memorable episode, but again, there's enough to push it to good.

Buenas Noches, Vicita
I remembered not really liking this episode, but when I watched it for this review, I was surprised how much of it worked for me. Seeing how the characters help Vicita is funny, and my personal favorite part is when Buster tries to hypnotize her, and then ends up falling asleep himself. It's realistic that Vicita doesn't remember the story exactly, and ties into the scenes earlier where she points out plotholes and weird elements in classic fairy tales. Arthur and D.W.'s recreation of The Very Magic Mango Tree is impressive. The character designs and animation look kind of strange, and it fits perfectly with something an 8 year old would draw -- in particular, the jaguar and macaw, since Arthur probably hasn't seen those animals and is drawing them based on Vicita's description. There's also a cool wraparound where we get to see the animals in the regular Arthur art style during Vicita's dream. And honestly, this dream is where the episode kind of goes downhill. It's not very entertaining, besides the "magic papaya" line. Raulito's voice got on my nerves eventually. I do like how Vicita finds the real book and Raulito in the same place once she wakes up, though. It's a logical conclusion. Overall, I'll give this episode a high okay since the dream sequence drags it down a bit.

Prunella Packs It In
I'm not really sure what the purpose of this episode is. When I was a kid watching this show, I wasn't even thinking about middle school, much less college. I guess the more general moral is not to overwork yourself when you have plenty of time. Also, Rubella just disappears from this episode after the beginning. I'd have expected her to be the one to tell Prunella she doesn't have to worry about college, not Marina. The ending also means that Prunella will be fine for college, and it'll be Muffy who struggles, so... that's our resolution? This episode also isn't very funny. I like Prunella's nightmare about clown college and the Czech class, but everything else is kind of dull. I'll go with okay.

Rating Counts

 * Great: 0
 * Good: 3
 * Okay: 3
 * Bad: 0
 * Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

 * 1) Swept Away
 * 2) Mind Your Manners
 * 3) Arthur Sells Out
 * 4) Buenas Noches, Vicita
 * 5) Germophobia
 * 6) Prunella Packs It In
 * 1) Prunella Packs It In