HRRP: Part 6

Okay, so I took a week off, but there was a reason. Basically, the next bits of content were mostly old menus and stuff in the museum. I decided to not grade those but instead move on to the next toon. From now on I will only review toons. Any menus or games will come after I finish going through the cartoons, ok? OK! So let's get back on the wagon with. . .

In Search of the Yellow Dello

In this cartoon we first see Coach Z, Homestar, and Pom Pom on the athletic field doing. . . sports, apparently. . . Anyway, Homestar apparently looks sad and Coach Z asks him what's up. Homestar says he doesn't understaaaaaaand the ladies. He tells Coach Z that it's Marzipan's birthday and he doesn't know what to get her. Coach Z tells him to get her something really special, i.e. "Don't just get her a flower. Get her some rare flower from the tallest mountain! That way she knows how much she means to yahs!"

Homestar sits on a rock and thinks for apparently several days and then, suddenly, he "has" the solution! He's going to get Marzipan the Yellow Dello, "the most rare and beautiful bird in this entire cartoon." It's a yellow bird with a long neck, small wings, and some fine gams (is it offensive to call them gams? If it is let me know).

Homestar enlists the help of Pom Pom and Strong Sad in going to northeastern Potamia to find the Yellow Dello. The traveled very far and encountered many dangerous, but they made it to the mountain. After the get to the mountain, we cut to Strong Bad telling Marzipan that a) Homestar is getting her the Yellow Dello and b) Strong Bad is getting her absolutely nothing. Homestar seems quite excited for her birthday present.

Next we see the trio at the bottom of the mountain with the Yellow Dello in a bag. They then go home to get ready for the party. Marzipan arrives at the party and they greet her with a large roasted bird and a hearty happy birthday. Marzipan assumes the roasted bird is the Yellow Dello, killed, stuffed and dressed for a delicious dinner, and is outraged, she screams, slaps Homestar and storms off. The Yellow Dello then pops out of the present in the house and says, "Gee, whaddya think her problem was?" We end with Homestar again lamenting that he doesn't understaaaaaand the ladies.

So, this is the old version of this cartoon, it has limited dialog and sound effects and the drawings are kinda weird, although in the DVD Commentary, Matt Chapman says that for the storyboards he drew he had the weird drawings and Mike basically just said, "Yeah, do it exactly like that." I think the weird drawings and odd animation stuff works well humor-wise. The story is pretty simple, but so are most stories on the website. We do get a little intro to Coach Z's accent, although it isn't as pronounced yet. Also, this is the first toon in which both Coach Z and Strong Sad speak. Also, if you'll notice, this is apparently before the involvement of Missy Palmer, the voice of Marzipan, as the only sound she makes appears to be a stock scream. I give this toon a B+.

The Reddest Radish

This cartoon takes place on the day of the Reddest Radish Competition and opens on Marzipan working in her radish garden. The Cheat throws a forged note from Homestar at Marzipan's. . . feet?. . . telling her that Homestar is sick. Marzipan then rushes to Homestar's house to check up on him. After she leaves, The Cheat, Strong Mad, and Strong Bad jump out from behind the bush and steal the radish that Marzipan left behind so they can win the competition.

Marzipan arrives at Homestar's house and knocks on the door with her head (which I find odd, seeing as how she slapped Homestar and left a hand print in the last cartoon, but, like we'll do many many times, let's ignore continuity). Homestar doesn't answer because, as we see in the next cut, he's waiting for her at the competition. Pom Pom suggests that he kick a can to make himself feel better that Marzipan isn't there. The can hits the wagon that Strong Bad and Gang are using to transport the stolen radish. (Also to be clear, Marzipan has left Homestar's place at this point). The radish flies into the air and Strong Bad, Strong Mad, The Cheat, Pom Pom, and Homestar start fighting over it in a cartoon fight cloud. Homestar ends up winning and shows Marzipan the radish up on stage. Marzipan informs Homestar that the stolen radish was not, in fact, her entrant into the contest. Instead she pulls a much larger and much redder radish from off screen and handily wins the contest.

This is another with a non-orthodox animation style, portraying the characters as paper cutouts and colored with crayon. None of the mouths move and the entire toon is played as if it were filmed in front of a live audience, with laughs and cheers and boos added at appropriate (and sometimes inappropriate) points. The canned laughter actually adds to the humor of the toon, poking fun at sitcoms with canned laughter. This toon is also the introduction of Missy Palmer as the voice of Marzipan. Overall, I give the toon a B.


Okay guys, apparently no one has been reading this, but I'm gonna keep doing it, for my own fun! But if you are reading, please agree with me, or disagree! I don't care, tell me why I'm wrong!