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Tuxford's Turnaround
Reviewed: 08/30/2011
Does That Mean Lazybones Is No Longer Lazy?!
Up to this point; there really haven't been any episodes focused on Sir Tuxford yet as he had become the Chip of the Gummi World. So; I was surprised to discover this episode as being a Tuxford focused episode. So does Sir Lazybones turnaround? Let's rant on shall we....?
This episode story is done by Eric Lewald and Kevin Hopps. The teleplay is done by Kevin Hopps. The animation is done by Walt Disney Animation OZ. That's two for them.
We begin this one with a far shot of Castle Dumbwin....ERRR...I mean Dunwyn as we pan over to the apple trees as Cubbi cosplays a knight and uses the wooden sword to cut down apples for Tummi who Cubbi is standing on his shoulders. Tummi thanks him for the apples as Cubbi cuts another apple from the tree and challenges anyone to fight him. Then we see three knights in armor on horseback coming into view and both bears bail into the bushes as the steers go past. Cubbi then realizes that they are the knight of Gilmore. Don't ask; it's a dated reference I do not want to know. Cubbi thinks something big is going on in Dumbwin as he goes to the rock trapdoor as Tummi doesn't want to because they promised Gruffi to help fix the water wheel. Cubbi blows it off because somehow looking at knights is more important and it's a no miss. Tummi isn't so sure; but dives into the hole anyway. So we get a closer shot of Castle Dumbwin (with red, orange and yellow flags flying on the towers) as we zoom in and onto the streets as Sir Tuxford is walking and apparently he lost a part of his right leg armor by the looks of it. We see Cavin trying to reason with him to get the helmet and boot on and Tuxford sits down and Cavin helps him with the boot. Lazybones sounds a lot less lazy then usual since he has important matters with the king. In other words; his normal routine.
So we cut to Cubbi and Tummi inside a stone hallway going up the stairs towards a circle iron door (well; the Gummi connections are becoming more and more modern with every episode) as they both try to pry the door open; but it's stuck. So we cut back to Tuxford as Cavin manages to get the boot on somehow and we cut back to Cubbi as Tummi tells him to go back and get Gruffi's help. However; Cubbi isn't about to as he and Tummi (with much reluctance) charge at the door and they do the whirlwind spot around it outside right in front of Cavin; but behind Tuxford. Cavin panics; so he puts Lazybone's helmet on and closes the visor and turns it 180 degrees. Heh. Tuxford walks around blind as a bat (or for the rest of us; his normal walking stance) as Cavin whisper yells at Cubbi and Tummi if they are all right. Tummi would be once he stops acting like doing the Airplane Spin. Cavin puts the barrel of laughs against the door (how convenient for it to be in the right position eh?) as the bears run behind a wagon and Cavin then twists the helmet around and apologizes. Tuxford blows off Cavin's sanity in roundabout terms and both he and Cavin leave to see the king. Cubbi runs stage right; because he clearly doesn't want to miss all of this inaction...ERRR..I mean action. Tummi follows not looking confident at all. No shock there.
Scene changer of doom as we head onto the terrance as Cubbi is in awe as we see a stage as the denizens are lining up (sadly; only around 20 this time around) to watch King Gregor, Sir Lazybones and three Happy Gilmore knights on stage as Gregor addresses the crowd. Tomorrow is a big day because it's the torunment of knight where the winner gets a golden shield with a blue opal in the middle. And we find out that Sir Lazybones is going to be representing Castle Dumbwin. The crowd actually pops for him as Cubbi cheers; but Tummi covers his cover when he jumps. Damn; if Tummi wasn't there; he could have made Ducktales Huey BE JEALOUS! Sir Tuxford states that it's a pleasure as Happy Gilmore Knight #3 (The one currently not wearing the helmet and showing long brown hair) mocks Lazybone's weight as HGK #1 and #2 giggle under their breaths (#1 is wearing a red cape, #2 is wearing a blue one just so we don't get them confused since they look almost alike in those suits of armor). We find out from Tuxford that HGK #3's name is Sir Gaia when he blows him off. Really?! I thought Disney was above Captain Planet references?! Gaia counters with the POINTY FINGER OF DEATH (You can put an eye out with that!); but Gregor breaks it up. I'm guessing Gaia is voiced by Chuck McCann or Townsend Coleman. Besides; Gregor wants no fisticuffs until tomorrow as Cubbi loves this tournament of knights.....
….and we segue to Drekmore BEFORE HAPPY HOUR and into the throne room as Dukie is pacing around pissed off at all this. See; this is not a real tournament because it's missing the greatest knight of all as ultra-cool sidekick Toadie enters with a towel asking who that is. And the aquamarine daisy on it blows off the instant Dukie screams that they forgot about him. Toadie goes behind the change panels as Dukie proclaims that he will have the last laugh because while the denizens of Dumbwin are acting like idiots and watching them knights show off their man hoods; he'll take over the empty castle with the troops and all Toadie has to do is signal. UH OH! I think we know where Toadie is going. Dukie doesn't call it a bad plan as Toadie comes out and.. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh boy! BWHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm guessing this is Dukie's way of punishing Toadie for the season opener since the piranhas all got fried by the animators. Or the finish to Duel Of The Wizards. Either one works out for me. Toadie states that this is going to be a drag. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments. So we head to Gummi Glenn and somewhere in the dark side as Gruffi is fixing the water wheel and looking grumpy. In other words; perfectly normal behavior.
He complains about the lack of hands as he has the mallet and here comes Cubbi and Tummi as Cubbi greets him. That allows Gruffi to miss his target and he oversells and falls into the river. HAHA! Cubbi and Tummi run in apologizing and helping Gruffi out of the river as he asks Gruffi to guess where they were. Gruffi thinks that they were out saving the world. If only Gruffi; just to see Raoul's reaction to it. Cubbi corrects him of course and Gruffi squeezes his tinfoil hat of water and blows Cubbi off because it's time to show some responsibility. Cubbi claims he didn't mean to; but Gruffi doesn't want to hear. Gruffi gets onto the water wheel again and Tummi mentions the broken door and Gruffi falls backwards into the drink in a stupor. HAHA! So we head into the farmer's market as we zoom in on an apple wagon as ultra-drag queen sidekick Tammdie (why not?) steals two apples and runs to the back alleyway. He has to eat you know as we see a duck waddling behind him and around him into the street as Tammdie foolishly chases him and runs right into Dumbwin Knight #1 and #2 (you know which ones). D'OH! Tammdie tries some juggling to counter; but the apples turn into tomatoes on cue when they splat on his dress. The knights call him out as a thief and Tammdie bails as the knights try to lunge; but miss their target altogether and squash each other. Oh well; better luck next time.
So we head back to the circle iron door as Gruffi and Tummi reposition the door and Cubbi brings the mallet over as Gruffi proclaims that if anyone finds this door; their gooses are cooked. Which begs the question: Why build a door and hallway near a human castle like Dumbwin in the first place? Gruffi uses a wooden spike on the top of the door as we cut to the castle ground as several knights are swinging like Tarzan over a mud puddle. Seriously; the thing looks to be 10 feet wide at best. Talk about lower standards! We pan over to another knight walking through wooden rings on the ground as Sir Lazybones runs in through the start (lined with a green cloth with gold trim) as Cavin joins him. Sir Lazybones proclaims that he'll show these whippersnappers how he does it and he tries to go through the barrel of laughs and he's stuck. HAHA! That was really showing them Lazybones! He does manage to pop out; but he trips and slips and slides on the wooden wheels and I betcha he falls into the mud puddle. I check the video....Damn; I'm so good. Face planting E-VAN~! Now I hope Gaia responds with the “out of your depth in a mud puddle” crack just to rub it in. And it doesn't happen. DAMMIT! Lazybones claims that he needs some more practice and he decides to wash up as Gaia proclaims that he's all washed up. The most obvious crack and they went for the lame washed up crack? IDIOTS! “You're out of your depth of a mud puddle” pays off the joke. This doesn't Eric Lewald. Cavin is pissed off as he gives Lazybones his helmet as he is standing behind an armor dummy with a helmet that has a Christian Cross on the face. And a mace. Cavin tells Tuxford to show the Spinning Tuxford Turnaround. Yes folks; the title of the episode is Tuxford's finishing move. That is just plain sad folks.
Tuxford is not sure about this as Gaia gives him a sword proclaiming that even Tuxford can handle a dummy. Ummm; Tuxford doesn't do well with dummies. Ask Gad and Zook about it. POW! POW! OUCH! OUCH! Ummmmm.... Anyhow; Tuxford accepts the dare as he slices and dices the armor dummy as Cavin tells him to finish it off. Lazybones then makes the fatal error of addressing Cavin and then gets MURDERED in the back of the head with the mace. See what happens when you care too much about that page? Lazybones gets knocked on his face as Gaia thinks that Lazybones should be a court jester. I do admit that Tuxford has the chops of being a fool; but if Gregor didn't hate ogres so much, then Toadie would be the court jester. After all; Dukie seems to think he already is one. AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cavin and Tuxford don't feel happy about this as we cut back to the Gummi Door of Broken Doom as Gruffi is using iron nails this time and has a few in his mouth which is not the safest thing to do by a long shot. Cubbi and Tummi walk in and ask how he's doing and Gruffi has one more spike as he pounds it into the top of the door...and then the walls crumbles from the top of the door and the door falls down and squashes Gruffi like Alexander the Grape. Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk! Yeah; I'm supposed to buy that a wooden mallet can crumble a wall like that. Logic break #1 for the episode 7 and a half minutes in.
Tummi calls it some trick as he helps Gruffi up and Cubbi points out the next trick as we see Tammdie still running away from the knights as it's AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) now. And Tammdie has a goose by the way in case I forgot that. So we see the babyfaces push a wagon of hay against the door and then hide behind it on the left side (when you go out the door of course) as Tammdie bumps into the wagon and that ajars it enough to expose the hole. Tammdie bails away as he loses the goose of course. The knights notice the secret passage (despite the bears blowing out the torches); but decide to ignore it for now and chase after Tammdie. Yeah whatever. Gruffi and Tummi push the wagon to the door again as Gruffi proclaims that it will take all day tomorrow to fix it and Cubbi complains about it for obvious reasons. Gruffi blows it off and walks down the steps to grab some mortor and bricks and demands that the kids guard the door entrance. Tummi worries about the knights coming back as Cubbi tells them not to worry. Here's a good idea; have Tummi guard the door and have Cubbi watch the tournament. Everyone goes home happy. And the wagon moves as Cubbi does the Scooby/Shaggy spot on Tummi and it's just Cavin. Tummi and Cubbi claims that they are not scared as Cavin states that he needs two brave bears to help Lazybones solve a huge problem as he winks on camera.
So we head into the streets AFTER HAPPY HOUR as Tummi and Cubbi are dressed up like a red haired maiden hiding behind a white veil and have a cone hat and purple dress. Tummi isn't liking this one bit; but Cubbi tells Tummi to relax. Besides; they cannot let Lazybones down. I think Lazybones does a great job of that on his own. We see Cavin dressed up as a bard with a mustache. Cavin looks like a complete tool in that outfit; although not half as bad as Kit looking like a tool in a pickle outfit. So we hear Cubbi squealing for help as they do the damsel in distress. Oh PLEASE Noelle North; you are the voice of Princess Calla. Use THAT voice instead. We cut to the tower as Lazybones wakes up with his purple pjs on. Cavin grabs the damsel in distress as Lazybones runs out of the room (with the helmet with a cross on the face on the front of the bed) as he runs in with his sword as Cavin's acting is so Z-Grade; I think we were relieved when R.J. Williams took over. And then Lazybones is surprised by Cavin's reaction that he trips on his pjs and bumps into the “damsel in distress” and into Cavin blowing their covers. Well; Cavin's anyway since the “damsel in distress” has somehow bailed stage left. Tuxford is not amused accusing Cavin of playing a joke on him. Cavin claims that he wasn't; but Tuxford doesn't care because he's only good for a laugh anyway as he sulks back to his room with Cavin following him.
Tummi and Cubbi bail back to the door as Cubbi proclaims that Cavin will have a hard time explaining this one and Tummi is worried about explaining this to Gruffi (who has the Rebecca's complex at times) as they need to get back before he does. So we cut back to the wild goose chase of doom as Tammdie is tired of fast food as the goose somehow manages to get inside the secret passageway as Tammdie adjust the hay wagon and corners the thing inside. Sadly; Tammdie's torch manages to catch fire on the wooden ceiling (D'OH!) as Cubbi does the end around rational thought about no one finding the door as Tummi claims that it's good since they will be fighting as fire as it's FIRE IN DA....HOLE (Slurp!). Cubbi and Tummi are shocked and that ends the segment nearly 11 minutes in.
After the commercial break; we see Cubbi and Tummi taking buckets of water from the well and then they dump it onto Tammdie as she bails out of the hole and Tummi wonders why she is here. Cubbi ignores it as the fire must be put out first. So we cut to the knights on a pan shot on the street exchanging notes on the secret passageway. Sadly; they get bowled over by Tammdie and the goose. Wow; these guys must be trained by Sir Lazybones too. No wonder Dumbwin needs the Gummi Bears help all the time. Tammdie excuse himself and the knights go after the drag queen again. So Cubbi and Tummi put the damn fire out at last and it was small enough to not get anyone hurt; but here comes Gruffi and he's pissed off for some reason. Cubbi then makes the biggest mistake by telling the absolute truth here. Now here's a case where twisting the facts a little would have justified the thing like saying that they “unintentionally caused the fire” and needed to leave to get water to put it out. Sure; it wouldn't change anything, but at least it would have made Cubbi and Tummi look like mere idiots trying to prevent a situation from getting worse instead of goofing off like they usually do. Which I predicted from Gruffi as he proclaims that there is more to life than fun and games. If the world would just have more fun and games like kids; maybe the world wouldn't be so damned in the first place. There's work to be done as they say as they need something to cover this hole. Of course; who's to blame for destroying the entrance in the first place: Gruffi, DUH! Cubbi and Tummi didn't destroy the hole; they merely broke a mere iron door which was an easy fix which Gruffi screwed up.
So we head to morning outside the tents of Dumbwin (same place as Girl's Knight Out I should note) as we get a horn flourish and we cut to Gregor's royal soapbox tent as he declares the tournament to begin right here and right now. DRUM ROLL PLEASE ...... Good.....We see the knights on horseback arrive as the denizens pop for them. I see at least five competitors coming in as we zoom in on Castle Dumbwin and Tammdie going up the stairs chasing the goose some more for fun. Tammdie is getting fed up of this; but then notices the tournament going in the background. So he forsakes the goose and heads up to the tower and brings out the MIRROR OF VANITY to flash a sparkle as we cut to about half a mile away as Dukie notices the signal as he looks at the tents in the background to his left and whines about not winning first prize; so he marches with the ogres (with spears) as he gets the ultimate prize which is Castle Dumbwin of course. We then get a closeup of Tammdie flashing the mirror some more as the goose steps up to the tower and bites Tammdie right in the ass. Tammdie loses his balance and bumps down the steps and manages to bowl over the knights again. This is not their day I see. Knight #1 even more so when Tammdie kisses the knight right on the lips before bailing. Knight #2 laughs him off as Knight #1 blows him off and they give chase again.
So we head back to DA....HOLE (God bless Baby Plucky.) as Gruffi is fixing his handiwork as he is relieved that they can work on this all day without further interference since the humans are too busy dealing with the tournament. Cubbi isn't too happy about it as he's mixing cement it looks like. So we head to the tournament as we see two full armored knights on horseback with helmets jousting at each other. This goes on for a while; as the green clothed horse knight trumps over the other one (I believe on the red clothed) as we find out that the one on the ground is Lazybones himself who somehow jump cuts his helmet off. Dammit guys! The one on the green clothed horse is Sir Gaia of course. Oh wait; Tuxford isn't the one who got clobbered by Sir Gaia, my mistake as Cavin (who feels bad) gives Lazybones his spear (Lazybones is on the blue clothed horse) and wishes him good luck. Gregor tells him that he's next and Lazybones stammers like an idiot. Tuxford then whines about his back as his horse walks off. Sir Gaia gleefully sums it up for me. FINALLY! A retort that pays off the joke! Good for you Eric Lewald; good for you. Or maybe Kevin Hopps has stepped in. Cavin is not amused by this at all as he storms off.
So we head back to the door as Cubbi wants to take a break from work; but Gruffi blows him off as he orders him to stop thinking about that damn tournament and then pounds his thumb right onto the iron door. HAHA! Tummi gleefully sums up the pain by showing his bandages on his hand. Gruffi blows him off and then realizes that this was the last spike he had. Damn; and he was close to finishing that door too. Cubbi offers to look for some spikes and Gruffi decides to let him...and be quick about it too. So we zoom in on the castle walls of Dumbwin as we see yet another Christian Cross (Jeepers! What is with the religious symbols today?!) as we pan down to the drawbridge and notice the knight complaining about guarding the castle while the rest watch the tournament. And then Tammdie steps in and seduces them. You would think that Toadie would have enough of this nonsense but he wants more it seems. The knights are smug and they tackle and grab Tammdie. Tammdie is such an idiot as the knight think that the sitting duck is theirs. However; Tammdie wants to bet on it and here comes Dukie and the ogre army with the SHADOWS OF DOOM. Heh. HOLY SETUP BATMAN~!
Dukie laughs out loud as we head to the empty streets as Cubbi looks around and hears the cheers of the crowd. Cubbi ponders it over and decides to watch the tournament after all for a while. See; if he had just done that from the start and had Tummi guard the door; Gruffi wouldn't be so pissed off. Okay; he still would be pissed off; but only a little. Anyhow; we head to the royal dressing room as Cavin tries to reason Lazybones into not quitting the tournament; but Tuxford has had enough and wants Cavin to find someone else. So Cavin calls his bluff because and calls Tuxford a phony and Tuxford didn't like that one. Cubbi looks behind the window as Cavin points out that knights do not run away from their duties and Tuxford realizes that he is right and cannot let Dumbwin down. Cubbi then gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY and realizes that he cannot let Gummi Glenn down and decides to forsake the tournament and help Gruffi find some nails. However; he is forced to hide and look on to notice Dukie and the ogres are inside Dumbwin's walls. Dukie paces around in glee as Tuxford and Cavin walk in calling Dukie out and they get grabbed by Zook and Gad. Dukie states that he's here for an invasion party and wonders if they didn't get the invitations. Dukie orders the ogres to take Cavin and Lazybones to the dungeon as Gad and Zook sell and walk away remembering to step on a barrel of laughs in the process. Cubbi is in horror and that ends the segment sixteen minutes in.
After the commercial break; we see Cubbi running back to the Gummi Bear Door as Gruffi wants the spikes and when Cubbi doesn't answer; he accuses him of running off for the tournament again. Cubbi insists that the tournament means nothing now that Dukie has invaded the castle and even Gruffi doesn't like that; albeit not for the same reason as Cubbi's as Gruffi and Tummi runs off while Cubbi asks about Cavin. I felt Gruffi would be tempted to say that he'll worry about him later; and that preventing Dukie from finding the Gummi Bear Door is a bigger importance right now. However; we instantly scene change to the dungeon as we see Cavin and Lazybones chained up together hanging from the ceiling right side up. Tuxford proclaims that it's no use since he's lost the tournament and Dumbwin castle on top of it. We then cut to a fly buzzing around a torch as we see yellow and orange ogre sleeping and playing on the job as usual. Gruffi and Tummi are hiding behind a door as Gruffi complains about the ogres again...as usual. Cubbi wonders how to get past them and Tummi has a plan: Yell at them that there is free food in the kitchen as ordained by Dukie. The ogres wake up and sell as they clobber each other to get first in line as they scatter stage left.
Gummi stepladder ensues as Cubbi grabs the keys. Gruffi is worried about Tuxford seeing him; but Cubbi insists that he'll be careful. So we return inside as Tuxford proclaims that he let Castle Dumbwin down. Considering how dumb they are; I think letting them down is an overstatement. Cavin proclaims that a knight never gives up as Cubbi opens the door and sneaks in as Cavin winks at Cubbi. Cubbi undoes the lock and sneaks back outside as Cavin proclaims that Lazybones can break these chains and Lazybones blows him off as he struggles and they both drop onto the ground with decent bumps. Heh. The power of lazy suggestion strikes again! Cavin lies that Lazybones did it and Lazybones proclaims that he did as Cavin winks to Cubbi who is hiding underneath the bench. Tuxford and Cavin run out and then open the door where the two knights are imprisoned (Logic break: they are not chain and hung out to dry) as Gruffi and Tummi notice the knights of Dumbwin are going after Dukie now. So we head back to the streets of Dumbwin at the catapult as we pan to the west as Toadie checks the hay wagon for no reason that I can think of. Yes; I'm done with the drag jokes; live with it as Toadie checks the barrels for the goose and Dukie grabs him. Toadie claims that he is looking for shifty spies....which are dressed up like gooses eh? Dukie throws him towards the catapult and blows him off.....
….and here comes Lazybones and the knights. Lazybone walks in as the knights stop in their tracks and look scared as Lazybones doesn't see where he is going. Ah; blind ambition, so much like a Dumbwin denizen. So Dukie counters with his sword and Tuxford goes berserk and manages to somehow cause the sword of Dukie to bend and then return to it's original position. How about that?! The sword fight continues on as Gad and Zook run in for fun and the two knights shake like Shaggy and Scooby after seeing a ghost and bail out of the castle like scalded dogs. Okay; that's fine because that means Tuxford gets to redeem himself here. Good call Eric and Kevin, good call! Cubbi and the gang notice the ogres chasing the knight as Cubbi and Tummi drink their vials of roided juice while Gruffi and Cavin bail stage left. IT'S BUTT BOUNCING TIME~! Cubbi and Tummi bounce onto the handles of the watermelon wagon and the watermelons fly onto the street and Gad and Zook are dumb enough to make this spot work to perfection as they slip and slide. Good thing there are no BLACK ogres present otherwise; THAT'S RACIST~! They crash into the wall with a wussy off-screen bump. Sigh. We pan up the terrance as Gruffi and Cavin pour a wooden vat of mortar over Gad and Zook for good measure. Well; the door is finished basically; so this makes perfect sense. Gad and Zook are now harden criminals as the white doves perch on them. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments.
So we head to a window perch and GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY; WHAT THE HELL WERE THE ANIMATORS SMOKING ANIMATING TOADIE LIKE THAT?! Seriously; that is the ugliest animation this side of Fish Hooks. I'm all for Toadie cheer leading; but damn, that animation is too off model here as we pan down to the circle below as the sword fight continues. Cubbi and Cavin hide behind the barrel of laughs as Cavin wants to help; but Cubbi points out that Tuxford has regained the upper hand. Tuxford forces Dukie up the steps and this proves WHY Dukie was NOT invited to the tournament. Dukie claims that it's not bad for an old man as we get the biggest logic break ever as the window sill where Toadie was standing has teleported from the far right to just underneath Tuxford on the opposite side. Again; see the first sentence above. Toadie grabs a flower pot (with a yellow daisy which matches the yellow streak down Dukie's back) as he wants to bring the odds to his favor; but he stops. Why? Because the goose is on top of the terrance silly. And then it poops out eggs; I s*** you not right in Toadie's eyes. Windjamming; this goose is not. The flower pot drops on Dukie's pinhead for good measure. I'm guessing the goose hated the teleport spot as much as I did.
Tuxford seems ready to end this; so Dukie does the old shoelaces are untied gag and Tuxford breaks logic by growing the brains of Dumptruck as he looks down and Dukie pushes him into the mud. Memo to writers: Tuxford is NOT as dumb as Dumptruck at any point of this series. Overmatched at times; yes, but not Dumptruckish stupid. Just so you would like to know. Lazybones blows him off as a cheat and Dukie thanks him for the praise. Ummm; Dukie didn't cheat, you got dumber Lazybones. You need Brain Age STAT! Tuxford then notices the CROSS HELMET DUMMY OF DEATH and runs to it telling Dukie to try harder. And so Lazybones stands in front of the shield as Cavin points out that he's going to do the Tuxford Turnaround as Dukie goes for the kill....and he gets killed. I think you can guess what happens here as Dukie lands in the catapult which breaks logic because when we first saw it; it had a rock in it and now the rock is gone completely. What is wrong with the animators today?! Cavin runs in proclaiming that Dukie screwed with Tuxford the Brave as Tuxford takes the wooden SLEDGEHAMMER OF PLOT; breaks the chain and Dukie gets POPPED OUT OF DUMBWIN CASTLE! Now you know how Toadie feels; O' coward one. We then discover that the tournament is over as the knights and Gregor have returned to the drawbridge as we do the Stupdor Duck promo (plane replaced with crane of course) as Toadie runs out stage left and out of the episode as Tuxford yells to never come back again. Wait; Sir Gaia has the golden shield. So he won the tournament? The knights and Gregor ride in and Gregor proclaims that Tuxford pretended to be injured to protect the castle. No, not really, but close enough.
Lazybones stammers on cue but Gregor wants everyone to apologizes and Sir Gaia apologizes by giving him the golden shield instead. Wow; that sounds so contrived and forced after the jokes he played on him. I would tease the heelish out of him before doing that. Gaia winks at him as the babyfaces cheer for Sir Lazybones. Well; he DID save the castle; so props to him. Tummi wants to celebrate; but Gruffi points out that they are forgetting something and everyone gets the LIGHTBULB OF BLOODY CLAIRTY as we head to the door as the babyfaces pushes on the door to DA...HOLE as the knights arrived much to Tummi's dismay; but they manage to get the hole sealed up before the knights noticed. And they do not suspect a thing and all is right with the world again. Knight #1 pulls #2 away blowing him off because next he'll claim Gummi Bears are real. We cut back to inside as the gang of Gummi way breathes a sigh of relief. Gruffi thanks Cubbi and Tummi for helping him as Cubbi is amazed. Gruffi proclaims that Cubbi learned to be responsible and he's on his way to becoming as good as Tuxford. That is not a good sign for Cubbi, Gruffo. Cubbi proclaims that he's learn something else which is Tuxford's finisher (you know which one) as Gruffi gets whirlwinded. HAHA! That ends the episode at 21:08. Okay story; great finish, not so good animation; most so during the sword fight. Tuxford's Turnaround is a sort of success. *** ¾ (75%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Well; Lazybones isn't so lazy after all and Kevin Hopps' writing managed to reel in some of the lameness of Eric Lewald's writing of jokes that didn't catch like the washed up line which should have been “out of his depth in a mud puddle”. The problem I had with this is that they had to make Tuxford look incredibly dumb to pull off him redeeming himself when throughout most of the series; he was over-matched most of the time. The most obvious brain fart from the writers was invoking the Dumptruck gag from I Only Have Ice For Day during the actual sword fight. On the other hand; some of the spots were funny; so it didn't have the UGH factor Recipe For Trouble had. The whole goose chase was silly and Toadie in drag was a riot to watch. The whole story of Cubbi learning responsibility was good enough and Gruffi's assholish attitude was kept in check throughout most of it so the overall episode turned out better than expected. Although WD-OZ is still green as goads at this point. It took a few more years before they really got going as the animation studio to count on when it came to DTVA. WD-Japan pretty much got it during it's TaleSpin and Gummi Bear run though. Overall; a good episode that could have been a thumbs up with better writing and animation.
So next up is the four episode marathon starting with Toadie The Conqueror, then Patchwork Gummi, Thornberry to the Rescue (R.J. Williams' debut!!) and Once More Crimson Avenger (Ed Gilbert's one and only appearance!). Then I revert to the old two episodes a week plan which has six episodes left before the mini rants from season four and then the grand finale King Igthorn which should conclude at Canadian Thanksgiving if not by the end of October. So......
Thumbs in the middle pointing up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.