Life with Loopy - Time's Up - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Time's Up

KaBlam! S04E03 In It to Win It

Premiered November 13, 1999

Quickly

Loopy time travels.

Thoughts

There's nothing out of the ordinary in this episode with Loopy. Everything she accomplishes is within the skillset she's demonstrated previously. Loopy uses her skill to assemble scientific equipment in an almost intuitive way. She created a cloning machine and she built a power drill from the junk in her pocket.

Too Much Detail Recap

Loopy can't wait a week to find out the resolution to a cliffhanger on Creature From Planet Zero. Loopy demonstrates her time control remote. She uses it to eat her peanut butter pizza breakfast twice. Then she uses it to fast forward the week. Before she can reach the end of the episode, she's stopped by a time cop. She's taken to time court. She's convicted (without a trial) and sentenced to an eternity in limbo. But no one thought to take her time remote away. Loopy rewinds to the beginning of her adventure. She concludes time travel is not worth the trouble.

Life with Loopy - Mister Macho - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Mister Macho

KaBlam! S04E02 Takes a Knockin' and Keeps Tick-Tockin'

Premiered November 6, 1999

Quickly

Larry gets buff.

Thoughts

The ads on the opposite page in the comic Loopy was reading were actual ads.

• Giant Life Size Moon Monster - It was a poster.
• Hypno-Coin
• Polaris Nuclear Sub

I was unable to discern the rest.

It's possible they took an actual page but doubtful. The versions of the ads I found were full page ads. Given the colorful background on the ads I'm guessing they used larger ads printed them, copied them onto colorful printer paper and created a collage.

Too Much Detail Recap

Larry and Loopy are hanging out at the beach. Their day is interrupted by a bully kicking sand on Larry. Larry is fine to let it go but Loopy chimes in. The bully arranges to fight Larry in a week. Loopy suggests Larry get Sven Strongaard's Body Basics Kit and bulk up for the fight. Larry does bulk up. He also develops some macho, aggressive and selfish behaviors. His personality change starts to alienate him from his family. Loopy calls Sven for help. Sven visits the Cooper residence. They are shocked to learn Sven gave up body building. Larry is soon back to normal thanks to the Zen of Sven. He wins the fight when the bully punches Sven's book under his shirt.

Life with Loopy - Alternative Hamsters - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Alternative Hamsters

KaBlam! S04E01 Sasquatch-ercise

Premiered March 26, 1999

Real Quick

Loopy and Larry solve the energy crisis.

Thoughts

This episode of KaBlam had a Richard Simmons caricature. When I was little I knew Richard Simmons from the commercials for Sweating to the Oldies tapes. He's always seemed like someone who had a good sense of humor. He even voiced himself for this cartoon.

Too Much Detail Recap

Larry enlists Loopy's pet hamster to power his science class project. After Edison, the hamster, eats a bag of Super Gro Soil Additive he grows to immense proportions. The army is called in to take the hapless rodent down. Loopy sneaks into the Fairground to save her pet. She gets Edison to use the Ferris wheel as a hamster wheel and rewires it to work as a generator. Edison becomes the energy source for the whole town.

Life with Loopy - Larry's Girl - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Larry's Girl

KaBlam! S03E11 KaFun!

Premiered March 19, 1999

Real Quick

Loopy helps Larry make a love connection.

Thoughts

The sound design tells the story as much as the design does. When at the Junior High Dance, there's room noise in addition to the music. It's a wonderful detail. There's even shots where background characters have slight movements adding to the setting of the dance.

Too Much Detail Synopsis

Larry doesn't have a date to the dance. Loopy goes to a dating service. She meets cupid. He uses his computer to search for Larry's perfect match. After getting a match, Loopy and Cupid go to see the sparks fly. Larry doesn't mesh with his match because she hates Charlie Chicken. When Loopy tries to help, she accidentally shoots another girl at the dance. This girl does like Charlie Chicken. They hit it off and start dating.

Life with Loopy - In the Doghouse

Life with Loopy - In the Doghouse

KaBlam! S03E10 You May Already Be A...KaBlammer

Premiered March 12, 1999

Quick Summary

Loopy is imprisoned by the neighbor dog.

Thoughts

Have you ever watched a movie or a tv show and thought "this is taking forever"? I like good, cute, funny cartoon shorts. The Life with Loopy shorts range from 3 minutes and 20 seconds to just over 5 minutes. They also feel fast because the plots are good. Considering how much work it takes to create a single shot, they are action packed. The animation shortcuts and incorporation of other mediums likely lightened the work load a bit but in the best way possible. It's a little easier to do a puppet for 5 seconds then the 7 to 30 frames per second for animation and I like that because it gave them the opportunity to do more within the time span while making the mixed media part of their aesthetic.

Way Too Much Detail Recap

Loopy goes next door to reclaim her lost frisbee. Seymour, the neighbor dog, imprisons Loopy in his personal prison. Loopy meets the other inmates. Loopy crafts a screwdriver from the junk in her pocket. She lifts a panel of the steel floor. Gus the Gopher, a fellow prisoner, digs them a tunnel. Myron Whimplemire (best guess at spelling), another fellow prisoner, navigates for them. Myron might need to work on his navigation skills because they wind up back inside the prison. Loopy distracts Seymour with her frisbee. Seymour is devastated at his failure. Loopy tells him to start enjoying life. Seymour leaves for California (Did he just live alone?). Myron takes on the job of neighborhood security (How does that work?).

Life with Loopy - Whale of a Time - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Whale of a Time

KaBlam! S03E09 You'll Love Our Selection

Premiered March 5, 1999

Quickly

Larry and Loopy get swallowed by a whale.

Thoughts

This features a great example of a static crowd. In the Charlie Chicken Live Summer Spectacular scene, Larry and Loopy are shown cheering enthusiastically while surrounded by unmoving figures. I do not point this out to criticize it. It makes sense not to animate the crowd. The focus on the focal characters is economic and it means the detail is being put into the part that matters the most.

Way Too Much Detail

The Cooper family are on vacation in Aquaworld. Larry is devastated when the Charlie Chicken Live Summer Spectacular is cancelled. Larry joins Loopy while she uses her metal detector on the beach to treasure hunt. 

They investigate an island, it turns out to be a whale. The whale swallows them. Inside they meet Charlie Chicken and Turkey Thompson. The comedic pair don't want to escape the gold and riches filled whale. They are oblivious to the fact that they can't do anything with the money while inside the whale. They only care that they are rich. Loopy convinces them to tell whale jokes. The whale gets sick and offended by the whale insult comedy. The whale blowholes them all out. Charlie and Turkey return to do their show with a new appreciation for the thing they love to do...tell bad jokes.

Life with Loopy - Bull in a China Shop - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Bull in the China Shop

KaBlam! S03E08 Great for Paper Training

Quickly

Loopy joins Awkwards Anonymous.

Thoughts

This episode opens with clips from previous episodes to explain Loopy. The clips come from "Butterfly Loopy", "Lunar Loopy", and "Hi-Fi Frankenstein".

My all time favorite bull in a china shop joke was in A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy breaks her mother's swan and her father's turnip trophy. She goes to a china shop (even though most of the stock appears to be crystal but I'm just being picky) to replace her mother's swan. She meets the proprietor, the legendary bull in a china shop. She joins him in Awkwards Anonymous with an injured woman and a French chef (primarily portrayed by marionettes). The bull conducts a workshop to practice being careful to overcome their awkward natures. All three pass their final test then destroy the bull's shop when they go for their certificates. Rather than being devastated at the destruction of his inventory, the bull feels free. They all decide to accept their clumsiness. Loopy solves her problem at home by buying unbreakable décor. 

Life with Loopy - Fang Fairy - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Fang Fairy

KaBlam! S03E07 The New Class

Premiered October 23, 1998

Quickly

Loopy meets the Fang Fairy.

Thoughts

The fake vampire film at the beginning of the episode is adorable. I love old horror movies. The campier the better (but that's my rule for everything). Svengoolie is fantastic because I get the camp regardless of the film. 

Way Too Much Detail Recap

Loopy leaves a pair of plastic vampire fangs under her pillow for the Fang Fairy. The Fang Fairy is insulted she left him fake fangs. He puts a curse on Loopy to turn her into a werewolf. She doesn't think it's that bad until her family runs away from her. Loopy resolves to get the curse reversed. She finds him easily. He refuses and brags about his reputation as a fang collector.  Loopy breaks the news to the Fang Fairy that no one knows he exists. She helps him start his new career as a dentist.

Life with Loopy - Sweet Dreams - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Sweet Dreams

KaBlam! S03E06 - Year Round Fun

Quickly

Larry's boring dreams are stopping him from getting a good night sleep.

Thoughts and Details

This features another artistic and practical substitution for stop motion. The dinosaur deflates. Based on the look and what I expect was easiest, it appears they had a plastic toy and an inflated version.

The dinosaur's look made me think of Future War.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry's been having a recurring dream of being in a classroom. It's so boring he feels like he's not sleeping at all. Loopy visits Dreamland Studios. The writers behind the production of dreams are burnt out and out of ideas. They go to Larry's dream and Loopy offers some suggestions. She accidentally opens a dangerous door and releases the nightmare. When the nightmare attacks Loopy, Larry's inner psyche projection goes to Loopy's protection. He deflates the monster. The dream writers are inspired. Larry no longer has trouble sleeping but he does have trouble waking up.

Life with Loopy - Goin' South - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Loopy escapes the winter

KaBlam! S03E05 It's All in the Wrist

Quickly

Loopy and Mike, the Canadian Wingless Duck, team up to fly south.

Thoughts and Details

Mike reappears in a later episode. In his second appearance, he's a Canadian Flightless Duck. This isn't just a change in the name. In this episode, he only has little feathers and no hands.

The penguins gave me a flashback to the Hearthsong Penguin Race Toy I had when I was little. It was basically penguins on an escalator. 

This episode reminded me of the Tom and Jerry cartoon, Southbound Duckling.

Way Too Much Detail Recap

Loopy is bummed about the impending winter. Loopy teams up with Mike to go to warmer weather. They try a travel agency. The travel agency packs them in a crate and ships them south...to the south pole. They meet penguins. The penguins teach them to have a new perspective on winter. Frolicking ensues. Loopy leaves after a week and arrives home just as winter starts. At home, she freezes her family.

Life with Loopy - Loopy and the Snow-Lady - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Loopy and the Snow-Lady

KaBlam! S03E04 Holdeth the Pickle, Holdeth the Lettuce

Quickly

Loopy makes a friend out of snow.

Thoughts and Details

This short features a few new animation solutions like the ocean, the boardwalk and the truck driver. The ocean is animated with paper water moved back and forth. The boardwalk is a new and a specific location. The backgrounds are very simple with characters drawn in and no significant color aside from the paper. Hank, the Ice Cream Truck driver, is portrayed by a human and a static action figure in the front seat.

The Snow-Lady is a part of the grand tradition of snow golem type supernatural creatures like Frosty, Olaf and the snow golems in Minecraft that I'm taking the name from.

Loopy's Snow-Lady takes design cues from Rankin-Bass stop motion specials but it's keeping with the Loopy style.

I was extremely angry with Loopy's dad. They see the Snow-Lady as alive at the end and Loopy's experiences are shown in many episodes to be objectively real. So, he wanted her to send her sentient snowperson creation outside to die in the summer heat. And when his little girl takes her friend to try to save her life, he doesn't offer to give them a ride or arrange a ride.

I showed my mom the short and her only comment was she thought it would have been darkly funny if Snow-Lady stayed just a head. 

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy crafts a friend out of snow. Her careful work includes a brain made from ice cream. Loopy spends the winter playing with her. When summer comes, Loopy puts her in the Snow-Lady in the freezer. Her father objects when he has nowhere to keep his block of meat. Loopy is inspired to bring the Snow-Lady to Winter World. Loopy and Snow-Lady catch a ride with the ice cream truck. Snow-Lady gets out to explore the beautiful summer. The ice cream truck leaves them behind. Loopy and the Snow-Lady race against the melting. Snow-Lady makes it inside just in time to save Snow-Lady who has been reduced to a head. Loopy and Snow-Lady continue their friendship.

Life with Loopy - Secret Agent Mom - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Loopy and her Mom kick out a house guest

KaBlam! S03E03 Your Logo Here

Quickly

Loopy's mom has been hiding an alien in the basement.

Thoughts and Details

I watched every episode of Avengers (the Emma Peel seasons) when they ran it on basic cable. The sixties mod aesthetic holds a place in my heart. Loopy's mom looks like she raided Emma Peel's closet and I love it.

Too Much Detail

Loopy is suspicious of the fact that their mother plans fishing trips but never joins them on the trips. She stays behind to spy. Loopy's mother takes a call from her secret agent boss. She changes into a very 60s catsuit and hair style. She tries to deny it but Loopy is basically like "Mom, you're wearing a catsuit." She confesses that for the last 15 years she's been caring for an alien. The alien has failed to provide any insights into the universe. She's been tasked with evicting the little green potato. When she tries to evict him, the rocket breaks down. Loopy starts training him to help him lose weight. Loopy's Mom repairs the rocket. They get him launched just in time.

Life with Loopy - Big Burp Theory - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Big Burp Theory

KaBlam! S03E02 Money Train 2

Quickly

Loopy and Larry make first contact.

Thoughts and Details

The aliens are played by puppets with a kind of  an Australian accent. It doesn't sound like any of the Australian podcasts I've listened to. The googly-type eyes in the puppets add a sense of motion when the the puppets aren't moving. The general style of these puppets resemble the previous puppets in Loopy and the Lost Voice and 20000 Leagues Under the Sofa but they're blue. The others had more human qualities like flesh tone skin and hair. It's a very mushy style of movement. The rest of the puppet is bouncy.

Here's something I always do when I rewatch animated shows. I look at a character other than the main focus. This can be especially uncanny when I watch shows with scenes in theaters or classrooms. The background characters often don't move or are off model. In Life with Loopy, this can be fascinating when a main character is sharing screen time with a puppet character.

Way Too Much Detail Recap

Larry apparently moonlights with SETI. He picks up a signal. Loopy slows down the message and hears it is a burp. Larry tries to communicate by talking. Loopy burps into the microphone. Extraterrestrials land in their backyard. The aliens share their Big Burp Theory of the origin of the universe. They party with Loopy and Larry and trash the house. Loopy is terrified when they explain they are going to call down their 50 billion people. These extraterrestrials are refugees from their trashed world. Tragedy is averted when Larry lets out a fart and they leave in disgust. The fart that saved the world.

Life With Loopy - Send in the Clones - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Too Many Socks

KaBlam! S03E01 More Happiness than Allowed by Law

Quickly

Loopy clones her dad.

Thoughts and Details

The idea of cloning recurred in the 90s. Family Matters had Steve Urkel clone himself in "Send in the Clone". Multiplicity had Michael Keaton cloning himself. I don't think there's anything significant about this. Maybe one of these influenced Loopy, maybe it didn't. It's not always that deep.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy is frustrated by her inability to get her father's attention. She turns the washer-dryer into a cloning machine and creates three clones. Larry and their mom start to feel the stress of a crowded house. Their mom is nearing a nervous breakdown over the amount of laundry and the lack of a washer-dryer. Why isn't one of the clones doing their work? Loopy feels overwhelmed by the attention. Loopy creates dozens of clones. Three of the dads decide they would rather cease to exist than deal with a mob of Loopies. The Loopies persist and they have to deal with an even fuller house.

Life with Loopy - Kung Fu Loopy - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Poultry Themed Comedians on Ice

KaBlam! S02E10 Cramming Cartoons Since 1627

Quickly

Loopy and Larry go to see Charlie Chicken do Kung Fu on Ice.

Thoughts and Details

How many kids do you think understood the "Flan 9 from Outer Space" joke?

I subscribed to Nickelodeon Magazine for years including when I watched KaBlam!. I wish I still had my issues or a convenient way to see the issues again or could at least get a trade paperback of the outstanding comic section. One comic I loved was the Southern Fried Fugitives, about a bucket of vivified chicken parts. Charlie Chicken always makes me think of them. 

KaBlam! featured Action League Now in every episode. I like Action League Now. The best part of those shorts was the voice work by the WDVE radio personalities. I still have my fast food Meltman action figure. I love the way his base is designed to look like a puddle of melted Meltman. I like the expert simplicity of the shorts. All of that being said, Life with Loopy ranks higher than Action League Now for me. 

This episode of Life with Loopy is a strong example of why this series is good. It's not all about Loopy. This is a Larry centric episode. She makes a scene at the show but most of the episode is dedicated to Larry's passion. 

Way Too Much Detail

Larry is passionate about martial arts and the Charlie Chicken show. He's thrilled when the Kung Fu themed Charlie Chicken road show is announced. In the lead up, he gets more and more psyched until his mom says he has to bring Loopy. He takes Loopy to the show. She starts shouting at the chicken after she gets a whipped cream pie to the face and it gets all over her dress.  She gets pulled out of the audience as a volunteer. Things go bad when the chicken is knocked unconscious by a frozen pie. Loopy has a solution, her brother Larry. He takes over the roll and has a blast in the chicken suit.

Life with Loopy - Late Night Loopy

Life with Loopy: Couch Potato Larry

KaBlam! S02E06 I Just Don't Get It

Quickly

Loopy gets lost in the television.

Thoughts and Details

Does the idea of late night television mean the same thing to kids now that it used to?

This episode features clips from Coronet Educational films including Shy Guy (1947) starring Dick York.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry gets to stay up and watch late night television. Loopy's jealous because she has to go to bed. She sneaks out of bed to watch from behind the couch. Larry falls asleep. When Loopy criticizes the quality of the programming, she's sucked into the television. She's carded (asked for her Mature Viewer ID card). She flees until she reaches the home shopping. Larry needs to buy Loopy to get her home. Larry and Loopy are stuck doing housework to pay for the home shopping order bill.

Life with Loopy - Loopy and the Flu Bug - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: It gets gooey.

KaBlam! S02E05 Tastes Like Paper

Quickly

Loopy hunts the flu bug.

Thoughts and Details

To quote Henry, "Sock it to Me." 

I think one of the writers watched "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In". "Sock it to Me" was a running gag. I'd recommend Laugh-In to anyone like me who likes it weird and appreciate old television. As with all things, it's a product of its era and Laugh-In's era was wild.

Way Too Much Detail Recap

Larry's sick with the flu. He's going to miss his little league game. Loopy goes on the hunt to find the flu bug and to rough it up for Larry. She finds an apocalyptic downtown. The flu bug flees into the sewer. She finds him suffering from the symptoms of the flu. Loopy sympathizes with the bug, she reassures him that he's not so bad and recommends he go to a tropical climate. Larry recovers. Loopy gets a postcard from the flu bug and a box of viral infection.

Can I learn to make a good flipbook from Andymation's videos?

Andymation is an animator with a YouTube channel. He's well known on YouTube for his impressive work with flipbooks.

First Step - Watch His Videos

Mutts!!

I dove deep into Andymation's back catalog on YouTube and I got to see Earl and Mooch animate for the first time. Oh my heart...too sweet.

Flipbooks

The early videos got me excited especially seeing where he started.

My first breakthrough came with "1 Hour Flipbook Challenge - Based on My Son's Drawing". I took a little doodle I made of a guy and animated him to walk away. It's not the first flipbook I've made but it's the first in a long time. I did the first once to remind myself I could do it. Sometimes the most important thing is to get traction and doing the thing is a good way to do that.

Next Steps

The minor successes I've experienced has progressed me to the weird over ambitious state. I went through lists of ideas until I walked back to a simpler idea that was more executable with my skill level. The goal isn't to do the minimum, the goal is to do it well and push myself to create something I'm proud of.

The advice I always give myself is "Do the thing". I learn more from doing the thing than I do from anything studying. I look forward to making another.

So here's the thing...

I also did a thing with my nephews. Working on animation inspired me.

Life with Loopy - Loopy and the Lost Voice - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy makes some noise.

KaBlam! S02E04 Harold's Glow-In-The-Dark Butter

Quickly

Loopy loses her voice.

Thoughts and Details

The voices are little balls with lips and boy are they creeptastic. Such a fun way to demonstrate the idea.

Lost and Found are the same puppets from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sofa with the same voice characterization but it is not specified whether they are the same characters. Although they have a similar focus on lost things.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy is playing Viking Cheerleaders from Venus. She runs around the house shouting like my younger nephew...actually he's louder. Her mother warns her she's going to lose her voice. She does. She goes to look for it at Lost and Found. Lost and Found, the proprietors, give her a loaner voice of a deep "Barry White" type voice. They tell her she can find her voice at the opera. Loopy entreats her voice to return to her. Her voice does and the deep voice goes to the opera singer. Loopy learned to treat her voice better and make noise in new ways.

Life with Loopy - Goldfish Ghost - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy finds a hungry kitty in a garbage can

KaBlam! S02E03 Hurts so Good

Quickly

Loopy gets closure with her late goldfish.

Thoughts and Details

First episode with a callback to a previous episode. The cartoon features a recap of the pilot where Loopy searched for Goldfish Heaven in the toilet. 

This rescue cat story is something straight out the Dodo.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry tells the story of Loopy's saturated sheets. She explains her dead goldfish, Elliot, is visiting her at night. On one visit her goldfish says he isn't going to visit her anymore. In an effort to help her find a new pet, her goldfish takes her to a shop. Loopy refuses because her relationship with Elliot was special and she can't replace it with a new fish. A stray cat notices Elliot and chases him. Elliot gets into the toilet bowl in time. Loopy realizes the cat is hungry and alone. Loopy adopts the cat.

Life with Loopy - Upside-Down Loopy - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Everything gets turned upside-down.

KaBlam! S02E02 - Won't Crack or Peel

Quickly

Loopy decides the world is better upside down.

Thoughts and Details

I have seen this episode of KaBlam! many times. It's one of those episodes that feels like it was replayed more than others. Out of the twelve I've gone through so far, I've seen them all previously. My opinion is impacted by many factors. I like the show, I watched it when I was younger, I like the styles of animation, and I like the style of humor. Basically, I'm biased. I could pretend to look at this objectively but I'm not objective.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy has the hiccups. Larry suggests she stand on her head and count backwards. Loopy realizes she loves being upside down. She decides to remain that way. Loopy puts suction cups on her shoes. She puts her furniture on the ceiling. The family begins to chafe under the situation. Loopy makes friends with a cloud of bats. Larry calls Kwik Fix Construction to flip the house over. Everyone is happy until they have to use the toilet.

Life with Loopy - Butterfly Loopy - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy Takes Flight

KaBlam! S02E02 - Won't Stick to Most Dental Work

Quickly

Loopy metamorphoses.

Thoughts and Details

The KaBlam! episode ends with temporary co-host Hector being thrown into a car trunk. Dark.

I tend to eschew "reviewing" because I love cartoons. Even the ones that I don't fall in love with, I watch to see what I can like about it. I would just keep writing top ten lists of my favorite parts of episodes. Although that might actually be a good idea. When a cartoon has a dimension I don't like, like a Merry Melodies I saw recently involving squirrels that bugged me and made Dr. Texas sad, I can see the quality of the animation, the creativity, the historical context and the reason behind the choices even if the end result isn't much fun. That being said, I love this cartoon...let's try a list.

Top Ten Favorite Things About Butterfly Loopy

1. KaBlam! is a great show and this episode has a particularly strong story for Henry and June.
2. Life with Loopy has a unique character style that is so clearly Life with Loopy. The characters are drawn concisely and they're not just drawings. They have dimension even if they are flatheads.
3. Charlie Chicken Crunch Cereal
4. Loopy's Mom's fuzzy slippers
5. When Loopy flies out of the kitchen, it appears to be a switch to basic puppetry. I love puppets.
6. The toy robot on Larry's desk.
7. The etymologist hosting the nature show at the beginning is the same etymologist that tries to capture Loopy at the end.
8. I love how stop motion characters have tiny props. I have loved miniatures since I was little and there was a dollhouse store in town.
9. Loopy is a cloud cuckoolander in a cuckooland.
10. The end of Hector.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy is frustrated by her appearance. She wants to look "beautiful and glamorous" like her mother. She hears the butterflies achieve in a week what take people a lifetime. She builds a cocoon. At the end of a week, she emerges with wings. She flies around the yard. At dinnertime, she doesn't want to come inside. A mad etymologist pursues her with a net. Larry makes a butterfly suit to get to her down for dinner. Loopy lands to get away from the mad etymologist. She loses her wings to a bug zapper. The etymologist gets his prize in the Amazing Butterfly Boy Larry.

Life with Loopy - 20000 Leagues Under the Sofa - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy to the Center of the Earth

KaBlam! S01E10 - A Little Dab'll Do Ya

Quickly

Larry loses his baseball.

Thoughts and Details

The human hand close ups make it easy to do things like baseballs because you just buy a baseball. It's a little more difficult when you need a dresser drawer but they did it. They created a full-size dresser drawer (probably just the part shown on screen) for the actor to search.

There's a reappearance of the Cannibal Cheerleader mask.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry loses his beloved foul ball. Loopy figures out he lost it in the sofa. She jumps into the sofa to search for it and falls into the tunnel in the sofa. She meets two men in the Mines of the Lost and Gone Forever. They explain to her how the things lost in the sofa eventually become planet fuel. Unfortunately, Larry's ball is among those things. Loopy gets the ball just in time to rescue it from the flames.

Life with Loopy - Mom's Mystery Casserole - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy's Mom serves spoiled food.

KaBlam! S01E09 Untitled

Quickly

Loopy discovers the secret ingredient to her mother's casserole.

Thoughts and Details

The idea of a dinner so disgusting it was beyond belief appeared in movies and shows when I was younger. It always seemed to reference 1950s icon salads and gelatin entrées. Although, that could just be my experience. I don't remember getting served a super gross dinner with unidentifiable ingredients.

I think Loopy is a superior show to Phantom Investigators. It could be the length of the short or the unbridled creativity the premise offers.

Way Too Much Detail

Every Friday night, Larry and Loopy's mom serves her mystery casserole. Loopy resolves to find the secret ingredient. She searches her mother's pantry. She finds expired food. Mrs. Cooper seems to be a dangerous chef because so much of her pantry is spoiled.

Food finds Loopy in the pantry. The food is going to can her until Sauce-A-Lot Fish Sauce intervenes. He reveals himself to be the secret ingredient in her mother's casserole. He takes offense to Loopy's criticism and condemns her to be canned. As she is about to be canned, her last words are "I'd rather eat Pickled Yams than you." Pickled Yams appreciates this. The fish sauce starts insulting everyone. The other cans are done with fish sauce's insults and attack him. Loopy escapes during the commotion.

Their mom can no longer make her Mystery Casserole but she has a new recipe, Pickled Yam Loaf.

Life with Loopy - Mother Nature Bowl-Off - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Mother Nature Vs Loopy

KaBlam! S01E08 You've Tried the Rest! Now Try The Best!

Quickly

Loopy and Mother Nature bowl.

Thoughts

Whenever I watch bowling in a show, it makes me wish there was a bowling alley near me.

The bowling-thunder connection was just one of those stories kids got told by someone. I remember thinking it briefly but not really believing it. It was a funny idea.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry explains why his summer vacation has been a washout.

One night during a thunderstorm, Loopy can't sleep. Their mother explains to Loopy how the thunder is Mother Nature bowling. Loopy is incensed at Mother Nature's lack of consideration for people trying to sleep. She grabs her shoes and her ball. She walks out into the backyard and challenges Mother Nature. Loopy and Mother Nature play a competitive game. Loopy wins. Mother Nature cries. She continues crying. Her crying makes it rain and it keeps raining.

Life with Loopy - Goldfish Heaven - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy jumps in a toilet.

KaBlam! S01E07 KaBlam! Gets Results

Quickly

Loopy searches for goldfish heaven.

Thoughts and Details

This is the Life with Loopy pilot. There's a clear difference between the style of Goldfish Heaven and all previously shown shorts. I think it's a little more expressive and experimental. Interestingly, the characters have four fingers unlike other episodes where they have five. A switch that was probably made for the sake of the human hand gag.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry talks about Loopy's habit of getting strange ideas. When their goldfish died, their mom told Loopy goldfish heaven was in the toilet. During the Charlie Chicken Show, Loopy announces her plan to visit Goldfish heaven. She disguises herself as a goldfish and dives into the toilet. After returning, Loopy relates her visit with her dead goldfish to Larry. The dead goldfish assured her he was well. Later, she asks Larry if the donut shop Donut Heaven is where donuts go when they die. He tells her that donuts were never alive.

Life with Loopy - Lunar Loopy - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy steals the moon

KaBlam! S01E06 What the Astronauts Drink

Quickly

Loopy meets the man stranded on the Moon.

Thoughts and Details

The design of the moon reminded me of La Voyage Dans La Lune in the sense that they are both highly stylized representations. The moon in the classic film looks like a person covered in frosting. The moon in Lunar Loopy is a little orb with round ridges.

I recommend La Voyage Dans La Lune to anyone who likes interesting production design. The sets, the costume, the effects, it's all beautiful.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry and Loopy look at the moon through a telescope. She sees the man on the moon and decides to prove to Larry that she saw him by lassoing the moon. Larry and Loopy play on the moon in their backyard. They raise their dad's polka dot underwear on a flag pole. The Man in the Moon is the man on the moon. He's a stranded astronaut from the 60s. He's happy to be rescued but angry at NASA. He leaves to get his revenge.

Life with Loopy - Back To Nature - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: Loopy doesn't wash behind her ears.

KaBlam! S01E05 All Purpose KaBlam!

Quickly

Loopy refuses to take a bath.

Thoughts

Did your parents ever tell you to clean behind your ears otherwise you'll grow potatoes? This is the ad absurdum of that.

The placement of the mushrooms in Loopy's head is a bit of body horror because they're below her hair.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy doesn't like baths or soap. She refuses to take baths because she'll get dirty again. Her parents decide to wait her out. Soon Loopy is growing produce from every part of her body. When her dad lays down the ultimatum of you live in my house, you bathe. So Loopy moves into the backyard. Loopy continues to grow until she's declared a national forest. When Loopy sees the tourists arrive, she decides to take a bath.

Life with Loopy - Goop on the Loose - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy: The One with the Thing on Loopy's Dad's Foot

KaBlam! S01E04 Not Just for People Anymore

Quickly

A creature emerges from a jar of goo.

Thoughts

The twist ending with the goop is clever. The episode sets up a mystery and gradually builds it up until resolving it in a satisfying way. The story is well constructed. It's also about a giant foot wart and that's gross. So there's that.

Way Too Much Detail

Larry starts the story with a serious gross out of his father's foot. Then talks about his challenges with shaping his hair. Loopy stops him from using a jar of gel in the bathroom. Loopy's been watching the development of the jar. One day a creature emerges from the jar. It goes into her parents' bedroom and...urgh her father's foot. Anyway it turns out the jar was wart remover. And the creature is happy, her father is able to comfortably wear shoes again, Loopy is always happy and Larry is bald.

Life with Loopy - Egghead - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Loopy almost gets hatched.

KaBlam! S01E03 Comics of Tomorrow Today

This episode of KaBlam! premiered October 25, 1996.

Quickly

Loopy turns into an egg.

Thoughts and Details

A detail of the (W)holesome style is the vibrant colors and the consistent character forms. Attaching specific colors, details or patterns to a character means the shape of the character can be transformed and still look like itself. Loopy's transformation isn't extreme but retaining the colors and the expression make the character unmistakable.

Way Too Much Detail

Loopy's mother made hardboiled ages for a PTA lunch. Loopy eats all of the eggs while Larry is day dreaming about getting a larger allowance. When she finishes the bowl, she is the shape of an egg. A chicken appears at the front door. Larry calls the Giant Pest Hotline for help. Pest control can't come but he advises Larry to not let the chicken have Loopy because the chicken will insist on hatching her. Loopy has a plan. She burps in the chicken's face. The chicken flees and Loopy is back to normal. At least, she's normal until she gets a plate of waffles and devours them to Larry's shock.

Life with Loopy - Trouble with Inflation - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy - Trouble with Inflation

KaBlam! S01E02 It's Flavorific!

Premiered October 18, 1996

Quickly

Loopy tries to help her dad with the bills.

Thoughts and Details

This short showcases the mixed techniques beautifully with the inflated house. It's a nonsensical image because the house wouldn't inflate like that but it sells the idea. I am one of those people that thinks too hard on things. Yes, I am a contradiction, I love the absurd surreal and I over analyze them to the point that my nephew tells me "It's just a cartoon." 

Too Much Detail

Larry tells the audience about his family (What was Loopy doing with that chainsaw? Playing Plushie Chainsaw Massacre?). 

His dad is grumpy about the bills. Loopy blames the Mailman for consistently bringing bills. She tries to charm him away. She tries to scare him away. She tries to escape him by inflating the house. But the bills will find a way. The mailman arrives and their dad freaks out so much he deflates the house. Loopy gives up on trying to stop the mail and instead sends her dad a nice letter.

Cartoons, Puppets, and Joy - Toonstalgia

Toon in with ME

The Puppet Show

I was flipping through the channels and I caught the second half of the first episode. It was a lucky break. A red fish puppet and classic cartoons. It took me a little bit of effort to convince the nephews to give my show a chance but now we watch every episode together. I record it in the morning and we watch it at night. We get rowdy and we argue about the characters. We pause for the title cards because they want to learn how to read the dates. This is the perfect way to watch the show in my opinion. We make stupid jokes that don't even make sense unless you're there in that moment of the commercial break with that commercial we've seen a thousand times with Larry Mendte (a commercial only people in New Jersey who watch MEtv would know). I love it. I'm happy I get to watch it with them.

Toon in with ME features Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Betty Boop, Popeye, Droopy, Tom and Jerry and other classics. 

Life with Loopy - Hi-Fi Frankenstein - Toonstalgia

Life with Loopy- Hi-Fi Frankenstein

KaBlam! S01E01 Your Real Best Friend

Premiered October 11, 1996

Quickly

Loopy builds a new friend.

Thoughts

Loopy lives in a candy colored world of chaos. She can do anything. She decides to create a robot and creates intelligence. This isn't the pilot. The pilot wouldn't air till episode 7 of KaBlam! They have the characters figured out. Loopy can do anything and Larry can tell the story.

The heads are flat cut-outs. Minor gestures and complete facial expressions are possible but they can only show full-view and profile but no 3/4 view. 

Way Too Much Detail

Life with Loopy's framing device is Larry telling a story about Loopy.

Larry is rocking out to his favorite band, Bugsteak when Loopy asks if he wants to join her in playing Cannibal Cheerleaders. She's insulted when he sings the song at her. It's ambiguous whether he intends to call her a "goober" but he kind of does. Loopy is dejected and lonely. Loopy's mom suggest she make a new friend. She resolves to do that.

Loopy constructs a new friend out of a stereo system and other materials found around the house. She enjoys playing with her new friend. Larry is suspicious. Frank reveals himself to be extremely ambitious. He admits to Larry he plans to take over the world and enslave humanity.

Loopy and Larry find Frank in the basement rallying the support of the household appliances. They team up to stop him. They render him harmless by using him as a stereo with Larry's Bugsteak tape.