The Going Bananas Republic

The Going Bananas Republic (1-10)

Written by: Brendan Sawyer

Storyboard by: Shawn Björklund

Directed by: Timothy Björklund

Date of airing: August 28th 2024

Synopsis: Brandy launch an election against Gaspard for make the waterfall beach available to everyone, including her.

Author's Note: This is among the most lowest-quality screen frames the person who sharing these episodes gotten have. Sadly, it's all blurry which it's quickly odd for a 2004s production. But this is THESE or the newer HD master albeit with the dreaded Photoshopped titles. For the purpose of this blog, we will review the episode from the original issue when it was originally airing and made.

After to be charmed by the two-hours World's Premiere of the show, (depending your tolerance to these) we'll start to get some familiarity with others shows from the same period. In this, it's an electional cartoon. By a current bittersweet Presidential Election that divide the America all around, (A thing Canadians knows that well, for sure) it's the perfect opportunity to review this adventure, which to its credit, is the first true appearence of the French-dialect gecko dictator Gaspard since Mr. Whisker's First Friend. This time, he posed more menacing to our protagonists but it also make him all the more buffoonish. It's a memorable cartoon at its own right.

The episode begins by an iris-in instead of a fade in (A first in the series) with Brandy and Mr. Whiskers hurry to swim and having fun in the waterfall beach, (Whisker's swimsuit is even more consistent than it was in The Babysitter's Flub) but two servant monkeys stopped them to get access to the beach, just because it's Gaspard private property. 

Frustrated of the Gaspard's ego and senses to lead a country, A savage Brandy asked if he's know something about public property and sense of freedom... until Lola intervened that she is no longer in the United States but on Brazil. Which is two very different countries in terms of citizenship, freedom, democraty and cultures as a flash-sequence shown us the Brazil and the FREE name in neon to the map.

Ugh! Poorly-encoded master, and that it's showed on PAL!

In order to teaching Gaspard about democraty, Brandy claims an election on the Amazon Rainforest jungle. Like seen in the Robert McKimson's all-time patriotic short, Bugs Bunny's Rebel Rabbit, any nods to real-life elections are made without just be a mere parody and every Brandy and Gaspard's intentions to gets the votes of denizens are respectful to these conventions. When the pooch was too busy to her blabbings, Mr. Whiskers playing to dig an ants hole in order to get them, but he stumbled to the ground by shredded his prison-suit. He screamed by be out of embarassment. Then, he took two snakes on his feets and he screamed again, until he's rolled himself to a tree arousing with some brown liquid juice. Then, all the jungle laughed of him and Brandy gets the idea to strike against Gaspard's nefarious way to lead a country: She put Mr. Whiskers as a new candidate. But things will get our more predictable by this.

Unlike in most Season 1's episodes, Brandy posed no threat to Whiskers, either she just wish to evicted and rid the rabbit out of her pampered life. She was supportive to help on his candiatory by have no idea how an election is made, instead of the absurd setup of random characters says more than he actually knowns the subject matter like too many cartoons shows. This is what made this bond very special. It's an animal version of the Pokemon's Ash Ketchum and Misty friendship, minus the savage romantic bond from too much online fans. Due to some inconsistency that was prevalent in the farmed Disney TV animation of this era, the cartoon series thrown on the trash the lush, hand-drawn animation style that using to be a marvel of animation in the 1980s and especially, the 1990s! Thought this is still more watchable than anything Disney does now. Like, who ever wanna watch again Encanto or Wish?

We also seen Gaspard and Whiskers kissing babies, that it's a nod to another election-themed Bugs Bunny short, Ballot Box Bunny, with a savage and tyranic Sam posed as candidate for get rid of rabbits by kissed babies until Bugs disguised on a baby kissing him back and then, yelled that Sam bitting his nose! It made the situation more in-line with real-life elections than any shows that features an election in school. Whiskers says by one of his numerous speechs, "...I really really like pie" was a very cute touch. That will be enough clever if Whiskers didn't just read his cards!

Later, Brandy beginning to act at more tyranic and nefarious than Gaspard ever was, by put cards allowing anyone to the access to the beach, except her! Whiskers started to disagree with her statements. The Jungle denizens ranted about Brandy's philosophy of politic while the latter lay comfortable to the beach. You know, that something Gaspard earned back in the first minute of this cartoon? Whiskers warned Brandy to apologize them to this fraud, that she just wanted to win unlike for the obvious: To get the beach property available to all the jungle.

Contagious frustration the first day after the new candidate was elected!

Then, our heroes have to run for their lives until the two Gaspard's servants save them on the tree, but only for an agreement with him. Gaspard have understood the basics of a good politic reform while Brandy and Whiskers plays like amateur beginners in this, ultimately make it too young for understood how the real-life issues of democraty have to work. Gaspard, Brandy and the silly rabbit made all a compromise in order that the beach will be not only available to all the jungle, but, that they would be going to enjoyed this moment as well. Which make a perfect happy ending for once... except for Gaspard when he's been a lifeguard. Others Beach-themed episodes will be set in future segments like Better Off Wet and A Small Problem.

Critique:

 Few months shy of the bittersweet real-life Presidential Elections from 2004, Björklund and company delivered a timeless and charming electional-themed episode with the leads. It's also the first "major" appearence of Gaspard Le Gecko since his debut in Mr. Whisker's First Friend, and thankfully, he went more menacing and a muchly three-dimensional villain than he ever was in the first episode. The many nods to real-life elections are clever and honest, without levitated it to puns words, thought Mr. Whiskers ended his claims to "I really really like pie" (With Brandy posed a card to says his speech) is an absurdly cute one-liner that is more memorable than it gets credited by. The cartoon set of the way politics can delivering a very dark premise without just letting the "good character" winning. When Brandy finally get the property of the waterfall beach for herself, all the Jungle denizens stopped to trust her candidatory by claims her like a fraud. The duo's bond is mercifully free of that outright conniving scheme that plagued most of the Season 1's adventures and it's also free of any gross jokes unlike the ordeal of Funky Bunny featuring them. The resolution of all this is a compromise that forced not only Brandy and Whiskers, but also Gaspard to share the beach with all the population. The episode found more echoes to the polling cartoons of old like Rebel Rabbit or Ballot Box Bunny unlike the bland formula of elected-themes in most TV animated shows. Another bag of innovations that would made the series a hit-or-miss to the audience, but won quickly to its online fandom's popularity.