Happy Birthdays

Happy Birthdays (1-6)

Written by: Russel Marcus

Storyboard by: Fred Gonzales

Directed by: Timothy Björklund

Date of airing: August 21th 2004 (On a 2-hour Series' Premiere)

Synopsis: Brandy explain to Whiskers that it's her birthday, but they were two things that goes wrong with it: The first, nobody wanna celebrate her birthday by her mean nature and the other one, Whiskers don't even known what a birthday is about. Brandy convince the Jungle denizens to made a party for him, but without success.

The fact that this is one of the most earlier episodes of the series and that is written by creator Russel Marcus speaks volume of how creative the series was when he hold the writing for these characters. Such a control that he will soon lose when the series start to shown its true colors, but having all said that, that's a practically funny short, from begin to end.

The beginning in which Whiskers enjoy his fun by even use his own ears like a rope dance is a mini-movie by and itself. It speaks us that such slapstick moments are equally entertaining, original and hilarious. If only such moments could be lasted much longer, but we'll know that if all the cartoon looks like this, any interest will be faded out.

However, Brandy is depressing and sad by lay herself in her own bed. Because of what? Because it's her own birthday and that she's still stuck on the Amazon Rainforest. But thankfully, we don't have another "Brandy trying to get back to Florida" attempt that have hampered most of the Season 1 segments.

Brandy try to explain to Whiskers that it's her birthday soon. The rabbit have no clue of what a "birthday" means if he never gotten one before. The rich-spoiled pooch is fully structured of her beliefs by even hold a chart of what her birthday party have to be. Fortunately, we don't have the same generic mistakes of others animated works of "unloved character gotten a party" for no reason. But it was muchly close to fallen to this very tiring trope!

One clear indication of why Russel Marcus was needed for the show's writing is how he known how to elaborate gags without vaunting himself how revolutionnary and novel most of his ideas were. (The family photo replaced by a ham picture in the framework is one example that was done right) He didn't prolonged the show with an obligatory callback/gag like most writers have do with the pair. It's as if someone need to made a wordy Road Runner cartoon. And sadly for us, there was more examples of this pattern than one may thinking, notably in the Post-theatrical era of the Warner Bros. animated shorts.

Then, in the jungle, Mr. Whiskers whispered to all the Amazon creatures about the birthday of his friend as a secret nobody have to tell her. The pacing is just perfectly timed with almost to none tiring filler. The one lone drawback is it ended by a crazy monkey throwing fruits to Whiskers' rear like in the begin of the story. And then, none of the animals feels interested to go on the party of a somewhat narcissic and pampered bitch spoiled-brat.

There's lots of things to like in this adventure. The gag about Brandy expressed herself to the camera as a star is a good example that from another writer, it would be a drag, at a point she's a star or a survivor in this? It's even less incoherent and static like the quickie vignettes that was showed on several season 2 segments as if they never looks real to its audience. Like the way Kid Toussaint and Aveline Stokart put back the horrendous mess of the villainous side of Daffy Duck in the mid-60s Speedy shorts to Elles. I still wonder three years later if they all deserve the hype, to how I never like one-note characters to act like terrible people such as the way social medias has infuriate the status of stardom forever.

On a talk, Brandy goes to explain Whiskers that everyone have a birthday as long one is in life. Whiskers seems to don't have one, and it's not by incompetence or stupidity, but that no one seems to have honor him in his past life. But then, we gotten an elephant's butt as a joke. This is the drastic problem with these cartoons: There's some great meat to make your work effective in order to intriguing a very likable fandom, but there's also too much filler that cushionning out of the whole thing. Some scenes would be better if they were cut to the final version, but apparently, the Walt Disney Animation executives were also saddled to this existence.

Brandy plan to organize a birthday party to Mr. Whiskers by even put a some "bossy" attitude to the denizens who do anything for his, or rather, her own pleasure! Her "bossy" felt is not without consequences, by put much damages than if it was the rabbit who announced Brandy's birthday first. The Rainforest gang have done right for honor him but then, they all quit the waterfall when Brandy aware Whiskers that his party is ready, or at least, it's what she thinking...

By see the waterfall empty, no decorations at all, Brandy was devastated, not only that Whiskers never would experienced a birthday party but to herself, that she ultimately pay the hard price to be a "pampered, narcissistic spoiled-brat". That nobody want to go on her party by sobbering loudly, by give Kaley Cuoko an unique opportunity to give newer dimensions for a somewhat generic fursona character. Whiskers does offering a present to her that it's a framework with a picture of them together. I love the fact that the drawing was the way real kids would doing this. It's all cute and unpretentious. That made them more real than we ever give credits for.

The whole percentage gag shows its effectiveness in the climax when the gang surprising them in a hurray. That make it one of the most likable endings ever made for the show. But some things bogged down like Whiskers vomiting on the bushes after Brandy hugged him and when the rabbit falling to a ravine by doing his party dance. Happy Birthdays would worked better without these two annoying parts.

Critique:

Early on in the episode by seen Whiskers doing his funny "dance", we're thrilling to another good moment on the Brandy & Mr. Whiskers TV series. Like in Mr. Whiskers' First Friend, Russel Marcus gets credited for the writing while Fred Gonzales does for the storyboard and the two succeed it in better directions than it ever was in the first cartoon of the show, making it like a follow-up by comparison. It also shows that the Amazon Rainforest animals were already familiar with the presence of Brandy Harrington in their environment, by not only refuse to go on her party, but also pointing her bossy attitude in the second act, by avoiding the lead-character to be one by default. It's a rare sense of characterization that went novel by the 00s decade on a time most characters were seen at stock hero/heroine by the show's title or the device behind it. Mr. Whiskers is perfectly capped by his joyful lunacy and innocence by have no clue what a birthday is, and everything done to him is perfectly crafted without to make him like a butt for jokes (Minus the ending and his vomiting in the bushes). Brandy however, emerged her true colors to the Amazon population by planned a surprise party for the rabbit. It's not plays the loud stock Girl Power thing that has suffocate lots of TV cartoons at that time, because the rich pooch start to regretted her mean actings when none decorations, trimmings et all are there in the waterfall. The Mr. Whiskers' birthday present to Brandy is one of the most touching moments of the early series, by shown her that the rabbit is probably the best friend she could have. It's a testament of why a fandom of them have emerged on the long mid-00s to the earliest-10s decade in the internet without to be over-promoted by Disney itself. Very entertaining earlier episode of the series and in which Russel Marcus will soon lose his contract as writer, by be solely credited only as the show's creator. If only that was so the case by its long two-years pre-production time the crew had endearing.