A Tree Huggin' Bunny

A Tree Huggin' Bunny (1-23)

Written by: Andrew Gottlieb

Storyboard by: Carson Kugler

Directed by: Timothy Björklund

Date of airdate: December 3rd 2004 (According to the epguides.com from the TV show, althought it could be already played overseas before its US first airing.)

Synopsis: An activist Mr. Whiskers and Lola Boa tried to stop Brandy to chop down the most older and sacred tree of all the Amazon Rainforest.

Seems that it's Earth Day this monday. I think it's worth to make a review of this episode that is theme about.

The cartoon start whith Brandy and Whiskers eating a bunch of peanuts on the Treehouse, by have a Airline tag in each of these tiny bags. (Not known if there's a connection with the first episode where they've met first) The two friends gets lots of laugh by thrown bags in the ground by also annoy Lola Boa which she explained to be more careful by been more sensitive to care of the forest they been fostering. Brandy put all the box onto the female boa and it's up to her to teaching Brandy about preservation of nature without ever be preachy... If it was so simple if Brandy did just care of her own pampered nature.

There's a lot to enjoy about this adventure, but also a lot of drudge to get that payoff. At this point the crew been more comfortable to work with these characters, there is still a flair to figure if it's a Disney production or some of a collateral damage that looks more the rampant 2003s Ren & Stimpy series that was yanked by SpikeTV (aka Paramount Channel) after just three airing episodes. Though this is not at cringeworthy, it gives some disservice to the writing like for instance, Whiskers using a golf club to fetch a flower, a long and very listless gag about a hippie-esque Whiskers holding a chain to him and maybe the most tiring part of all, Brandy giving to the rabbit lots of water when the latter became thirsty until he have to go pee. (Why is Disney would ordered a cartoon series that have toilet humor in the background?) And there's strange bits about random French prononuns like Brandy's Oui Oui (Not the stop-motion character that had this name) or the groundhog father says Bon Voyage, Suckers! through the end. You know that "Oui Oui" can also means going to pee in english? Get it?

Here's the real Oui Oui character if you ask. Stick with the original instead of his later re-incarnations.

Back to the plot, Lola teached to Brandy about to protecting the nature and elements against pollution and deforestation by showing her a old, sacred and dusted tree. That leads to the canine girl a bright idea: And we're again in another "Brandy tried to escape the Amazon" episode that was already torn to death. This one is perhaps one of the lasts one to make this step. I like that every animals creatures been a participant in this cartoon, like asking peanuts by Brandy or help Mr. Whiskers and Lola to their mission to protect the tree to be chop down. Because it's appear that a family of groundhogs living there, but the father is just loud and obnoxious, which makes ask which kind of model he is for his own kids.

Mr. Whiskers and the gang started to be confused about Brandy's plans to chop down the old tree just for go back to Florida, which makes him one of the most sympathetic characterizations of the rabbit for a while. Not at a Ritalin kid like he was in To the Moon, Whiskers, neither stupid for stupidity's sake like in the first adventure, the dumb dog from that Butch Hartman cartoon that is quite like the bunny or Bagel from that horrific and needless Bagel & Becky Show that it's also close to be a direct Odie rip-off.

Brandy is more than determined to established her quest, but a very activist Whiskers wearing on a sort of a hipster-esque outfit put at the defense to protect the tree in any circumstances. Thought a valiant effort to made him comitted, he shown sadly another time his own underwear (Is animals need to have humans privacy parts, even by be Anthropomorphized?) which would be better if it was cut off until he shown a very long chain that ran like forever, just enough for cover all himself to the old tree. The rage between Brandy and her activist friend is on, and then, some middling efforts were made for avoid it to be like a talkier PSA, but a decent Captain Planet and the Planeteers companion, which it was Ted Turner's baby! (Seriosuly!) 

The message about protecting the planet and our environments never been more topical and relevant than in was in decades, only because years of scientifical approach have claims that climatic crisis exists for many decades, by proving the Al Gore's documentary movie An Inconvenient Truth from 2008 or something. It's by this year I been more and more concerned that speaking of climatic change are not a joke, but I know people would keep to disagree with everything says from science.

By staying for days and nights, a very thirsty and tiring Whiskers just wanted water, when Brandy arriving to give him comfort and everything he need. But like everything needs to have a gag (albeit logical), the whole thing fall apart like a middling late-40s Screen Gems short and it end with Brandy says something in french that sounds and looks going to toilet in english! For many years I complain that most Disney productions having subliminal messages that does about like bragging child abuse, sexual harassmment, vaunting cynicism, violence or hate in there. Besides, lots of the newer Disney animated characters don't stop to talk, talk and talk that it end up to be like most Disney Channel kidcoms that started to matured at that time.

But thankfully for our rabbit hero, he is not alone, when Lola, Cheryl and Meryl make their turns to stop Brandy and her sadistical plan. And then, all the animals are on their sides, which means by be all a participant in this silly cartoon. Brandy return with a big tractor for end it up with that old tree. Whiskers convincing her doggie friend to stop and thought of preservation of nature. As predictable it is, Brandy turned the key off and she give up her plan to chopped the tree. She carry the rabbit on the tractor by do lots of ways by fall apart others trees on their way. Seriously, that would ended with this sequence and I doubt anyone would ever complain.

There's a lot of drudgery to all the characters' eyes. What Björklund, Russel Marcus and others have thinking before they will came out like bland Spum¢ö rip-offs?

The finale is another one that does with some inane call-back for a prior sequence. In this, the groundhog family have chopped down the tree by Whiskers and Brandy's frustration. They have the intention to go on Miami Beach until they will be ate all by a big fish. How's that can came out in a Disney production, I must say? And then, Brandy's closing line about "Protection of nature" is emblematic of what the concept of the episode (and the show for the matter) eventually is.

Critique:

Björklund and his crew continue to established some above-than-average efforts but in this, we start to be comfortable of the TV show without that worn its welcome. The beginning is a rather refreshing change of pace when Brandy and Whiskers hanging out and have fun together instead of the "Little Brother vs. Big Sister" feud that was too heavily focused in many kidcoms. Lola Boa plays like a third protagonist in this one, by giving to Alana Buach a rare sense of dimensions and traits to acting than it was already explored since the boa's former introduction. All animals creatures plays like real participants in the Brandy's plan to chopped down the old tree like giving them peanuts or the climax when they were all in Whiskers' side. The gags however, feels a tad off and sometimes pretty gross, even for an absurd animated show aimed for a kids audience. (Whiskers's long chain took forever to get the gag or the infamous Oui Oui/Wee Wee wordplay) And what a change of pace to see Mr. Whiskers to become an activist against Brandy's sadistical schemes and playing at a nature hero! The ending gag with the groundhog family who have chopped down the old tree is a very fun way to square off our heroes but is sadly killed by a giant fish who ate all of them. (In the other spectrum, Brandy's closing line about "Protection of nature" is more depressing to hear than commited) This is a very fun episode to watch, but not different to anything seen of wacky shows from the likes of Ren & Stimpy, Xilam, Cartoon Network or Disney productions made just before this.