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Zummi In Slumberland/A Recipe For Trouble
Reviewed: 08/23/2011
Time For A Recipe Of Slumber.
So other than those incomplete shorts in season five; this is the final double shorts I need to do. Both involving the oldest members of the Gummi Bear family. So Let's rant on shall we....?
Zummi In Slumberland is written by Marion Wells and the story is done by Cliff MacGillivray. A Recipe For Trouble is written by Sheryl Scarborough and Kayte Kuch. Cliff's resume is interesting as he wrote episodes for Stunt Dawgs, The Busy World of Richard Scarry 1993 edition, X-DuckX, Trollz, Stuart Little and Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776. Ooookkkkaaayyyy. Zummi In Slumberland is done by Gumnaries Animation; while A Recipe For Trouble is done by Walt Disney Animation Japan or TMS.
Zummi In Slumberland: We begin this one at Gummi Glenn and into the book room as Zummi is sitting at a table fiddling through books calling this terrible. So ZUMMI's the one who has been discouraging reading throughout the ages....Oh wait; he's looking for the shrinking spell. Yeah Zummi; you really want to screw with what happened in Little Bears Lost again? So Sunni storms in and whines about her dirty shoes which is funny considering that they look purple to start with. She complains that Grammi told her to use elbow grease on them since they seem to need an ogre's elbow strength. Another sure sign of a teenybopper: Overestimating the job. Grossly overestimating the job indeed. Zummi decides to help her as he finds a piece of paper containing a shiny spell as Zummi invokes the SPELL OF SATAN less than thirty seconds in:
Zummi:
Stamutt Tamoo Snowmow!
Translation: Start My Tame
Snowblower!
HAHA! Zummi discovered a snow blowing spell and I betcha that is the result we get. I check the video....Damn; I'm so good. Zummi gleefully sums it up as he protects his notes; but not the shoes, nor Sunni. Which is fine by me since she's such a whiny little diva. So we head to the quick tunnels as Gruffi and Grammi unload baskets of Gummi Peppers. Huh? I want to know what Grammi does with Gummi Peppers? Does she make Gummi Pizza in order to take a jab at TMNT?! On the other paw; it's still a better jab than most of Tad Stones' feeble attempts at it. We then see Tummi helping Grammi to bring them upstairs as Gruffi taunts Grammi on it and Grammi, in a major surprise, doesn't splat one on Gruffi's head. She is going to make all sorts of goodies with them which include Pepper Pot Pie. Tummi proclaims that he's thankful they got them all before the first frost...and then he opens the door and here comes the INSIDE THE GLEN SNOWSTORM OF DEATH~! Well; to the Gummi Peppers that is. They all get blown off the stairs onto the boardwalk and Tummi proclaims that he spoke too soon. No; not really Tummi. I should point out that the Gummi Peppers look like green melons. So we head inside as the SNOW BLOWER FROM HELL MUST CONTINUE! Gruffi storms in (Oh the irony?!) the book room as he demands answers to this outrage. Zummi proclaims that he “accidentally” created a blizzard. Anything involving Sunni in any context is no “accident”. Gruffi yells at him to find a counter spell; but Zummi claims that it blew away as he manages to get most of the notes in his hat...and then the counter spell note blows up in his face. Kind of like the in your face BS&P notes Quack Pack suffered during it's run. Zummi grabs the notes and invokes the SPELL OF SATAN...
Zummi:
Snowmow Stopup Nowmow!
Translation: Snow Blower Stop Up No
More!
And of course the counter spell works like a charm. See what happens when your spells make sense writers of the world? Gruffi gets some snow on his pinhead for fun when Grammi proclaims that it worked. HAHA! Zummi apologizes for the snowy mess and Gruffi tells him to forget it and help him find some shovels to straighten this mess. Hopefully; by that time, his head will be back on straight. Note that Sunni doesn't speak up here? Yeah; like she's going to take any responsibility for wanting Zummi to clean her shoes which started this whole mess. Zummi sulks as he grabs some of his notes and admits that he doesn't have a handle on his spell casting. Well; that's no shock there. So Zummi shuffles his papers as has a Krackpotkin plan to memorize them all like a blue mage would. A Blue Mage is a magician who memorizes spells and techniques learned by observing other monsters or enemies during battle. So we segue to Zummi in the book room which has since been cleaned up and he's mulling over his spell notes and having a hard time trying to memorize them. He complains about not remembering them; so Grammi comes in telling him he's working too hard. She has a platter with a loaf of Gummi Pepper Bread to pep him up. She places it on the table and leaves as Zummi eats a slice and is instantly repulsed by it. He proclaims that something this bad must be good for him. So we segue to Zummi in his pjs going into bed claiming that the Gummi Pepper loaf must be brain food as he slumbers to sleep and then we hear him mutter spells in his sleep with the lights on.... He starts with a simple float spell and the bed floats up and out of the room.
We head into the hallway as the bed floats some more and every time Zummi chants; more international objects float into the air behind him. Whew; thought for a minute the bear statue was going to fall and crumble. Zummi falls out of bed and then floats up again (I must be ranting on an old TMS episode since the trademark feet are being animated here, before going back to the 1987 animation team) as we see in Tummi's room three of Tummi's model boats leaving the shelf and floating and circling around. Tummi wakes up; notices the ships; blows it off as a hoax and goes back to sleep. Then his green blanket floats away and that's enough for Tummi to wake up and give chase. Everyone in their night gear runs out (I see Sunni has forsaken the white sock shoes for this episode) as everyone calls for Zummi as Zummi is floating on a chair and he wakes up and drops on his ass managing to stop the spell on it's own as all of the international objects floating in the air (including the CHEST OF DEMONS) and everyone bails to dodge them. Zummi wonders what is going on and Gruffi cuts a bad pun; and gets punished with a plant pot of soil right on his pinhead. HAHA! That'll teach him eh? Or maybe not. Zummi wonders who did this and Sunni and Cubbi deduce that it's a goblin. It's a goblin all right; he has purple skin; looks like a Gummi Bear and knows magic. Zummi walks away to study his spells harder so he'll be ready for his dirty tricks. Grammi pulls the pot off and implies that dirty is right to Gruffi who has a face filled with soil. HAHA! So Grammi is blaming Gruffi for this? I know that he's a jerkass; but he hates Gummi magic and usually not hypocritical in these things. Usually.
So we head to the kitchen as Grammi is mopping the floor. She doesn't like cleaning after bears let alone goblins as we see Tummi with a sack and Gruffi with a barrel of laughs indicating that they will be ready for that pesky goblin this time as he brings out the bear snapper since he's setting traps. You call that a trap Gruffi? None of the ancients use simple traps like that; let alone you. So we go to the hallway AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) as Zummi and Gruffi are walking down the hallway with lanterns looking for the goblin and we hear a metal trap snapping which ends the segment almost six minutes in. Hmmm; I wonder who it could be....Odds: Tummi 2:1, Grammi 5:1, Sunni 7:1, Cubbi 10:1, Gusto 20:1 Zummi 500:1, Gruffi 1000:1, Dukie 20:1, Toadie 10:1, Cavin 7:1, Thornberry 5:1, Me 2:1.
After the Youtube break; the two guys are in the kitchen and it's....Grammi? Okay; this is absolutely dumb because Grammi clearly SAW Gruffi with the trap earlier so she must have known that it was in there. Tummi's a bad choice also since he saw it too. Why couldn't it be Gusto? I can understand the kids not getting it since BS&P is such a loser; but COME ON! If it was to make a conflict with Grammi and Gruffi; that's the worst way to do it. And it's not like Gruffi doesn't have a conflict with Gusto anyway. Idiots! Gruffi claims that he was trying to catch the goblin with his hand in the cookie car while stammering with the exact words. Grammi is not impressed as she waves the cookie jar around with her right arm. Grammi threatens the riot act is they don't get her loose as Gruffi and Zummi pull on Grammi for a while and the cookie jar goes flying with Gruffi; and Grammi goes flying with Zummi (and the bear trap) and Gruffi sticks his ass in the rope elevator version of the barrel of laughs as he springs the second trap. HAHA! Zummi gleefully sums it all up for me as Gruffi does his trademark pose and is not amused. So we head to Gummi Glenn in the morning as we head to the living room as everyone is tired to the gills and everyone exchanges notes on the situation. Grammi corrects Gruffi on the amount of Gummi Bears caught in his useless traps of course. I see Grammi's right hand is bandaged as she wants to take her chances with the goblin since Gruffi's traps are hazardous to her health. Tummi comes in with a suit of armor and a sword as Gruffi goes to it and proclaims that this is war as he tries the sword and the helmet on for size. Zummi proclaims that this goblin cannot be stopped with ordinary armor and gets a Krackpotkin plan to give it magical protection. Oh goody; this should be fun to mock.
Zummi runs out to the book room to find the spell in the great book of Gummi as Gruffi blows it off because he doesn't think Zummi will stay awake. So we head to the book room as Zummi is on the pedestal skimming through the great book and finds it; but he is more and more tired now. The book is in English; but Zummi's paw is covering most of the words as he invokes the SPELL OF SATAN and looks like he's sleep talking again....
Zummi:
Mamake Ohmar Mowmore Strongmaw!
Translation: My Make Armor
No More Strong Aw!
In other words; he's created a defense down spell instead of a defense up spell. It's Reduce Guard instead of Guard Reinforce (Valkyrie Profile purists out there; I know it's Sap Guard in the English version; but I like Reduce Guard better.) as we segue to the living room as Gruffi is shining a sword on a stool (NOT THAT ONE!) and the Gummi armor fuses together to create the LIVING GUMMI ARMOR OF DEATH! No, really; I didn't think Zummi had it in him! Sadly; the stool turns into a chair as the living armor steals Gruffi's sword and Gruffi thinks it's the goblin again. If only Gruffi, if only. Gruffi runs stage left like a Hanna Barbera character as the knight destroys the innocent chair in the process. We get on the table as Gruffi throws wooden chairs at the armor much to the disgust of Grammi and Cubbi who have entered the room. It's funny how the ECW mutants want to get away from cartoon characters and yet the chair throwing spot started in a cartoon. Echo chamber; you have served your purpose well to make another demographic look like the losers that they are. So Gruffi wants Grammi to stay back as the living armor chases Gruffi around the table while Grammi and Cubbi bail to find Zummi. Grammi and Cubbi run into the book room and try to wake up Zummi and then she notices the spell page in the great book and realizes that Zummi is chanting spells in his sleep just as he wakes up.
So Gruffi enters the book room as Zummi flips through the pages of the great book as Gruffi becomes the most unintentional advocate of censorship and book burning in history by throwing a book at the living armor allowing it to slice the book in half with the sword. Zummi finally finds the spell as Gruffi is backed up against the book shelf and Zummi invokes the spell...
Zummi:
Ohmar Nowmore Tummore Paramutt!
Translation: Armor No More
Tumble Apart!
Of course the armor tumbles down to the ground apart after some weird greenish effects. Gruffi checks the armor wanting the goblin; so Grammi presents the goblin to him which of course is Zummi. Everyone is in shock; although I don't know why Cubbi is shocked since he was in the same room as Grammi when they found Zummi. Whatever; Zummi feels awfully bad about this as Grammi claims that he's been studying too hard and Cubbi thinks it's the Pepper Bread he was eating. Zummi groans about it as he leaves as Grammi decides to invoke her Krackpotkin plan to stop this which is Hush-A-Bye Soup which is a home remedy for sleep talking. However; the problem is that it has to simmer for hours. Gruffi proclaims that they will just have to take turn to keep Zummi awake until then.
So we head to the living room as Tummi and Zummi (HA! Violating Anime Dub Conduct Rule #12 is SO COOL!) are sweeping the floors. Tummi straightens a chair as Zummi proclaims that he can barely keep his eyes open and is very tired at this point. Tummi comes over and makes him drop the broom as he suggests a midnight snack to tide him over. Zummi sits down at the table as Tummi tells him not to go asleep and he'll be right back as he goes into the kitchen. That is not smart Tummi as Zummi looks at the conviently placed bowl of Gummi Peppers and accuses them of turning him into a monster. He looks at one and then dozes off to sleep as he drops the Gummi Pepper and it bounces off the table and chair onto the floor. Zummi then sleep talks the next spell....
Zummi:
Tummer Ontomo Nomonster burn!
Translation: Turn Him Onto
Mono Monster Burn!
And right on cue the Gummi Pepper turns into a giant ass Green Pepper monster. He must be the banana monster's boyfriend from Nothing To Fear in Ducktales. AHHAHAHAHAHAHA! CHOMP! OUCH! Ummmm.....So Tummi casually walks back in with a huge tray of goodies as he claims that Zummi must be really hungry since he heard that stomach growling. If only Tummi; if only. Then the shadow of doom beckons and Tummi panics as he shakes Zummi. Zummi wakes up and he panics as Tummi yells that there is a monster loose. No?! Really?! That leads to the SCOOBY DOO CHASE SEQUENCE THE BIG ASS GREEN PEPPER EDITION~! Grammi (in her nightgown no less) walks in and is SHOCKED AND APPALLED. The big ass green pepper blocks the doorway to the hallway to the Great Book as it growls. I see it has Gummi Bear bouncing abilities too. Why doesn't that surprise me?! It also shoots flames as both Gummi Bears duck and it melts the shields on the wall. Tummi sums this up for me as Grammi throws books at it. Yeah; that worked so well for Gruffi eh Grammi? I didn't think so. More flames shoot down as Grammi yells at him to remember at least one spell from studying. Zummi then gets it and casts his snow blower spell from earlier in the episode which freezes the green ass pepper good and then he invokes the spell to shrink him down to size....
Zummi:
Shramink Downmaw Nowmaw!
Translation: Shrink Him Down Now!
What's hilarious about this is that Zummi has already done the shrinking spell and in Little Bears Lost; the spell made NO sense whatsoever when translated. Here; it makes perfect sense almost to the letter. Bad, bad continuity error there guys; although it was probably done for BS&P reason. And another reason why I liked them in this case. Needless to say; the spell not only shrinks him down to a Gummi Pepper; it gets rid of the monster face and ice on it. How about THAT for a spell?! Grammi proclaims that he remembered his spells and Zummi is gleeful not to look at his notes too. Now THAT is character development folks; I wish some modern cartoons would do it more in a way that actually makes SENSE. So we see Zummi in bed eating a tray bowl of of that home remedy of soup to cure him of sleep talking. I betcha Mike Adams would be proud of it...if he didn't have so much hate for television in general. Tummi is in the room as is Gruffi as Grammi proclaims that he will sleep without a peep for life as Gruffi steps in and takes the white bib and gags Zummi! Zummi cannot speak naturally as Gruffi invokes his pose and proclaims that he's taking no chances. What a prick?! That ends the episode at 10:36. Maybe the best Zummi focused episode yet because the finish made sense and involved a big ass green pepper monster. What more could you ask for? **** ¼ (85%).
A Recipe For Trouble: We begin this one at Gummi Glen AFTER HAPPY HOUR as we get a shot of the kitchen door as Grammi boots the door open and proclaims that dinner is ready and it's a Gummi favorite (in her own mind) Stinkweed Stew...and of course there is no-one...AND THE ROCK MEANS NO ONE! Grammi places the stew pot on the table and wonders where everyone went. So we go to the hallway as Grammi then hears the kids talking about yummy cake which doesn't surprise Grammi one bit; until she hears Gruffi agreeing with them. That is enough for Grammi to open the nearest door and we see the GANG OF GUMMI WAY eating chocolate cake on the floor and they are totally BUSTED! Sunni claims that it is not what she thinks and Grammi isn't buying it because the only alternative to this is having a mental lapse and having sex with the cake which is a Disney no-no of course. Or in PC terms; the Terri Garvin School of Self Defense. Sunni then admits that she got it from Castle Dumbwin...ERRR...I mean Dunwyn as Grammi asks why she she makes lots of food. Sunni tries to be diplomatic about the fact that Grammi's cooking sucks (which makes no sense since Grammi cooks some good candy; although according to American releases; this episode was released in the first season. So I'll give the writers the benefit of the doubt here); and Gruffi tries to be direct but stammers. So Tummi becomes the honest one and proclaims that it stinks. He does have a point there Grammi. After all; you cannot spell Stinkweed without S-T-I-N-K! POW! OUCH! Ummmm....Zummi tells her to look at the bright side; it's still better than her Bitter Root Brownies as Zummi seems to want to cast a spell on her with that look. I see where Grubby gets his root stew recipes from too.
Cubbi doesn't like her pie either as Grammi gets the picture and then slams the door proclaiming that she'll show them good. So we head back into the kitchen as Grammi admits that they might be right and it's time to try something new as she puts the ingredients on the counter. She decides she'll try some surprise soup as the glass bottle containing red blood like liquid to grab a green container of spice and she dashes some into the boiling kettle. She goes back to the counter and the boiling kettle explodes right on cue as Grammi gets bumped on her ass. Cubbi opens the door to see if Grammi is all right and Grammi proclaims that she put in too much pepper root. Cubbi agrees with her as he sees the damage. Then Grammi finds a plate with a biscuit on it claiming that it's light as feather as it literally shatters the plate and bounces off Cubbi's foot which allows him to do the foot grabbing spot. Light as a feather my ass. I've heard of heavy biscuits; but this is silly even by Grammi's lowered standards. Grammi tries to console him as she brings out the spatula and tries to get a sweet roll out of the pan; but it is sticking good to the surface of the pan. Okay; there is nothing usual about that happening; since it happens all the time. Don't use a cold pan with cold oil; use a hot pan with cold oil. They play tug of war and both spring backward as Grammi gets all sticky all over on the floor. Cubbi gleefully explains it all for me as Grammi blows him off for that. So Grammi's cooking sucks, stinks, blows and sticks. All she needs is swallow; and she'll have the pentagram of bad cooking.
So we head to the dinner table as the babyfaces is sitting down and Grammi brings in a pot as lunch is served. It's spicy stew as Cubbi is not here for some reason. She spoons some into a bowl for Sunni and it sputters so bad that the entire bowl is eaten up by the acidic soup. Yeap; she has the full pentagram of bad cooking and all in less than three minutes. Did I just say...Oh wait; never mind. And it eats through the table too as Zummi and throws the bowl into the air and it shatters on cue when Zummi tells Grammi to give up. Grammi sezs never on that one. I betcha the babyfaces wishes they had Dukie's red feather right about now. That would make her submit. Oh wait; Cubbi already has a red feather in his hat. Use that. Oh wait; he's not here. Never mind. POW! OUCH! Umm .....Grammi goes for her basket as Gruffi blows her off for not being able to cook. Grammi blows that off proclaiming that she is only as good as her ingredients and she storms out to find some new herbs and spices. Gruffi looks at the borrowed through table and blows it off. So we see Grammi in the forest AFTER HAPPY HOUR as she is looking for something different to finally show that her cooking does not suck. We walk in the forest for a while as Grammi claims that she has not been to this part of the forest before. She finds what looks like a bulb of garlic and sniffs it and claims that it's wonderful. I agree; although the smell will turn away some people. We see her picking the garlic proclaiming that Gruffi will be surprised as we get the cock crowing in the background (to quote Disney Captions in TaleSpin Volume 1) as we head inside a tree as to my surprise we see three elves waking up. Well; one of them (the one with the light blue tunic) as he looks outside and panics as he wakes up Norman (the elf with the red tunic) and Norman blows him off because they didn't oversleep. See; Nestor (the one with the red beard) sneezes when he oversleeps as Nestor is woken up and he proclaims that he didn't sneeze at all. I don't know who voiced who; but I'm guessing they are voiced by Billy Barty, Townsend Coleman and Benny Dennen.
Which by elimination means that the Gnome Root plants are gone and we segue to the garden which all the roots are indeed gone. The elves panic because they have to because this to the Slugger and here he comes and he looks nothing like those monsters in Dragon Quest IX. I'm guessing Slugger is voiced by Frank Welker here as he gets on their cases. Slugger seems to look like a cross between a crocodile and a blue smurf creature. The shadow of doom talks down on the scared elves as the elves goldbrick right on cue. Their voices are high pitched when they respond which is a tell tale sign of a bad liar. Basically Slugger wants the Gnome root for din-din and walks away as the elves say no problem. Of course I'm assuming that Slugger will simply erase the word root and just eat the Gnomes for dinner if you catch where this is going for the elves. Nemo panics and wants to move and change their names to get away; but Norman has other idea and tells Nemo to calm down. Nemo proclaims that Nestor will sneeze if he smells it used within a half mile as he begins to sniff. So we head into the kitchen as Grammi puts some of the root into the bubbly pink stew pot and she is giddy about it as we get the smell tracking out of the kitchen into the hallway as Gruffi and Tummi show up. They sniff and Tummi proclaims that this smells good to eat actually. So they take a peek and notice Grammi stuffing Gnome roots from the basket into the stew pot. The pot bubbles like mad as Gruffi enters claiming that it smells good and then the pot overflows with pink stuff and it's like the ultimate bubble bath inside the kitchen as Grammi bails stage right.
So we segue back to the forest as the gnomes walk on the trail looking for the roots and Nestor sneezes right on cue as he is FEELING IT TONIGHT BABEE! Nemo loves it; but Nestor not so much as he sneezes again and again. They also have their sacks of stinks ready to grab some roots I should point out. He sneezes Norman right in front of the tree which leads to Gummi Glenn. And then we hear rumbling as the elves bail and the Gummi Glenn is shooting out pink bubble bath as all the Gummi Bears gets sucked out of the Glenn. HAHA! Zummi proclaims that Grammi should be more careful what she cooks as Grammi blows it off proclaiming that they are acting like they don't want her to cook at all. Which Gruffi calls an excellent idea; so Grammi throws her apron in his back and storms away stage right proclaiming that she quits more or less. Gruffi blows off cleaning this mess (he has a point; Grammi caused it so she should clean it up) as the elves notices the thieves and Nestor proclaims that the nose knows. And he almost sneezes again before Norman puts a plug on that situation and blows Nestor off. So they watch Zummi complain about getting the mess clean with the SHANE DOUGLAS MOP OF DOOM. Gruffi has his and he's glad it didn't cause anymore trouble as a pink bubble lands in the tree; but then teleports to the bushes somehow and lands on Nestor's nose. Bad continuity there guys. Nestor sneezes right on cue which causes some of the bushes to fly in the air. Tummi wonders what this is and here comes the elves as they sack all the Gummi Bears (which has to be hard considering the bag size and Tummi's weight); except for Cubbi who slides down the tunnel chute right into the bubble bath mess out of sight. Well; that just renders the whole point of sneezing pointless doesn't it?! Nemo panics because there is no roots to feed the Slugger with. So Norman gets inspired as he is going to feed the Gummi Bears with it. I hope that Slugger doesn't fall into a coma with that much sugar flying around. POW! OUCH! Ummmm....
Anyhow; Cubbi pops up from the carnage and slides back into Gummi Glenn as we segue to Grammi in the kitchen scrubbing the floor and she blows off Cubbi for messing up the floor again. Oh; for crying out loud Grammi; stop blaming your stupidity on the poor boy already. You are almost as bad of a projector as Gruffi is. Almost. Cubbi explains that the elves have kidnapped the others and is going to feed them to a monster called the Slugger as Cubbi makes a perfect funny face for said monster. Grammi decides to pack up her food and biscuits and she is going to give it the meal that he will not soon forget. We head back to the elves' home as the Gummi Bears are tied up on a silver platter as the elves are loading food onto said platter. Zummi tries to reason with them; but reasoning is out of the question as we hear the Slugger complaining about his dinner. Here comes the Slugger as the elves present Slugger with his meal and Slugger isn't so sure about this. The elves insist that they are tasty; as the Slugger threatens to eat the elves for desert if he hates them. So we cut to Grammi with her picnic stuff and Cubbi coming in with the pot as we hear screams for help from the tied up bears (I'm guessing the elves couldn't afford to gag anyone.). So Cubbi and Grammi drink their vials of roided juice and it's BUTT BOUNCING TIME~! Glass shattering on grass?! I don't get that one.
So the Slugger picks Tummi first because it's always the fatass that is the most tasty. Tummi struggles as he claims to be nothing but fur and bones....and somehow they are getting thicker and bigger in that order. Thankfully; Grammi bounces in as Cubbi bounces on the Slugger's nose and there's lots to bounce on as he blows him off for eating with his fingers. I take exception to that insult. Eating with your fingers is cool and natural. Eating with spoons and forks is not cool and unnatural. I see the projection is infecting Cubbi right now. Tummi goes free as Cubbi unties him and Grammy throws a pan of biscuits which she claims will stick to his ribs. Funny since it's the same biscuits that were hard as rock and don't stick to the ribs. I see Grammi is now mangling metaphors like Orac on an awesome rant against Mike Adams for burning stupidity beyond the Call of Duty. Needless to say; the logic breaks as the Slugger's mouth is wired shut as a result. Grammi comes to the platter and uses the ACID SOUP OF DEATH to break the ropes and golden hook that tied Gruffi and Sunni together. Personally; I would have let Gruffi get eaten; just to see him squeal like a pig. Slugger still has his TAIL SWIPE OF DOOM as he invokes as the Gummi's bail and the platter is made of glass it seems as it shatters like a regular plate. So then the magical biscuit that stuck to his rib magically reappear OUT OF NOWHERE on the pan as the Gummi's take them and throw them as rocks at the Sluggers. Oh for crying out loud guys! That is just plain stupid from a logical stand point. I betcha parents and teacher were SO thrilled to see that spot appear considering the danger of kids throwing rocks on the school playground (and later on snowballs). So blame this show for that; which is good for us. I'm sorry; I get flashbacks of an acute bloody (and close to broken) nose in Junior High when someone blindsided me with a snowball that felt like a piece of ice. And not knowing until well after a bus driver told me to go to the bathroom which I found out when I went to the bathroom that there was blood all over my face. So forgive me if I sound like a piss ant when I see kids throwing something like rocks.
The Slugger is of course a big fat coward and he runs away literally sounding like a scalded dog stage left and out of this episode for good. Gruffi wipes his hands clean of any responsibility to possible children mimicking this spot (which Toon Disney never cut to the best of my knowledge since I'm ranting on the Toon Disney cut of this episode) as the elves are impressed while hiding behind some mushrooms. Cubbi wonders about them as the elves back up pleading for mercy as Grammi wants a truce because she wasn't in the right of stealing the Gnome root in the first place and doesn't want it anymore. Grammi wonders how she can compensate them and the elves want Grammi to teach them some of that cooking to counteract the Slugger should he return. Grammi isn't so happy to hear that. Where have I heard this before: Oh yeah; Teddy Ruxpin; the end of the first story arc three years ago (or two years before it depending on your poison). I'm just saying.
So we head into the forest with the babyfaces as Sunni feels bad for Grammi who is walking like she's doing a death march. Tummi wants someone to cheer her up and Gruffi ponders it over and goes over to Grammi and tells her that he's hungry and wants some of the Stinkweed Stew after all. Everyone agrees with him as Grammi wonders if they really want the fancy food from Dumbwin and the bears all no sell because it's best to stick with what she knows and is a lot safer. Or maybe the lesson should be to not criticize someone for their cooking unless you have a way to make that cooking better so Grammi could LEARN tastes better. Instead we reset with no real good resolution whatsoever. Just peachy. The Gummi's all walk with her as the episode ends at 10:33. Oh; lord that episode was pretty awful. Bad finish; nonsense ending, logic breaks and a terrible attempt to make Grammi look like a bad cook with such hyperbole that it doesn't sound plausible. It's also made worse by the fact that it aired in the sixth in syndication because the bears liked some of her cooking by the time this episode showed up. At least Sweet & Sour Gummi had Gruffi's character pretty much what I expected throughout the series and therefore the mental illness angle worked. This don't and it shows. And once again; Billy Barty's talents are wasted. ¾ * (15%).
THE REVIEW LINE
Wow; a real whiplash worth of shorts here in terms of quality. Zummi In Slumberland was really fun for me as Zummi actually got some character development for a change and the unintentional antics of screwing Gruffi were pretty funny. The finish also involved a giant green pepper monster which was pretty cool and Zummi finally learning to memorize the spells was well worth it. It's also nice that the writers made the shrink spell make sense instead of the usual nonsense I usually hear; ditto to the snowblower spell. I still think Gruffi's gagging of Zummi was uncalled for and the logic of Grammi getting her hand stuck in a bear trap in the cookie jar was pretty dumb. This is one instance where having Gusto Gummi would have made this make sense. It's certainly one of the better episodes and the animation was just great.
...And speaking of Grammi looking stupid; it was taken to vast extremes in Recipe For Trouble. Chris Barat WARNED me about this episode years ago when I was ranting on the Gummi Bears DVD set and he was not wrong about this episode sucking the meat missile with gusto. It seems like every time Billy Barty is involved as a guest character; the writers seem to make every episode suck, as if they have a personal grunge against him. I agree with Chris on Grammi: Trying to hyperbole Grammi as the worst cook in the world does not work at all and it leads to a really poor episode with a pretty bad finish, some logic breaks (How did Grammi manage to slide those sticky buns off the tray into the Slugger's mouth is beyond me) and the lesson contradicting the whole point of the episode which was to teach Grammi how to improve her cooking safely; instead of falling back on the bad cooking that created this episode in the first place. The Slugger was okay; and the elves I don't have much of an issue with; but Grammi performance makes her cooking look good. To make matters worse; the episode makes no sense since it aired in the sixth season and we have seen Cubbi handle her candy really well before as well as Tummi. And the whole compensation is basically another “Grubby's Root Stew” weapon. Go figure. I think this might be the worst episode of the series right there and considering Just A Tad Smarter; that's saying something.
So for shorts; I just have two rants left with four episodes total; however, My Kingdom For A Pie and Letting Sleeping Giants Lie are not available right now; so I'll do The World According to Gusto and A Gummi A Day Keeps The Doctor Away before I do King Igthorn; and just after The Rite Stuff. So next up is Beg, Borrow & Steal, then I do the season finale Return to Ursalia (my first rant featuring the late Dana Hill) and then the season six starter: A Gummi's Work Is Never Done. Right now; I'm more than ¾'s of the way through this series and it will be a bumpy ride between now and The Rite Stuff before the big series final King Igthorn. So....
Thumbs up for Zummi In Slumberland and thumbs way down for Recipe For Trouble and I'll see you all next time.