Clarence is an obnoxious kid that is clearly spoiled to the point of ignorant common sense. He doesn’t feel the ramification of his actions and continues to find new levels of absurdness to achieve on a day-to-day basis. In other words, what a fun character to watch in motion. What more could you ask from a cartoon with no E/I regulation?
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Much like Steven Universe, this is a young CN show that does its best to make itself different from the rest. It does a pretty darn good job at it as well with great character development and subtle stories to help push the development along. While I can see the potential of Clarence because of the likable characters, I like the style and substance of Steven Universe just a little bit better. Anyway, the first go around for Clarence is a decent one and here are a few of my favorite episodes from this DVD release:
Fun Dungeon Face Off — Never steal a kid’s fries! And definitely don’t put them in your pocket. Clarence, Ryan and Jeff go to a fast food restaurant for some food and fun. Well, Clarence and Ryan want to have fun, Jeff just wants to eat his fries. Disturbed by the lack of fun, Clarence takes Jeff’s fries while he’s ‘away’, which forces Jeff to hunt Clarence down in the play area. This episode is certainly intense as heck, but what it does beautifully is that it introduces all our main players perfectly. Clarence is reckless, but meaningful. Jeff is a bit OCD and set in his ways. Ryan is just a follower, who is oblivious to the world. The story isn’t the best, but the execution and redemption through character development is what makes this a great episode. Oh, and enjoy the cow ending.
Jeff’s New Toy — Jeff gets an amazing toy called a Ginsbot, a robot from his favorite cartoon, and he doesn’t want to get it out of his box to play with it. Of course, Clarence desperately wants to give the robot a go, so he does. As predictable fate would have it, Clarence breaks the toy and does his best to make it right. Somewhere in everyone’s childhood we all have experienced such a situation. This is a tense episode that spirals into a bit of weirdness, which is fine. At the end it all works out, but the pacing and quick rise of tension makes this one a good one.
Slumber Party — Clarence goes to a girl’s slumber party and ends up having a fun time with them, plus ends up torturing Jeff over the phone because one of the girl’s likes Jeff. Speaking of Jeff, he and Ryan throw their own slumber party. The joy of this episode is how the stereotypical boy/girl slumber party is thrown out the window with both groups. Hilarious episode that is lead by a wonderful speech from Clarence.
Lost in the Supermarket — The creators of the show nailed how kids react in this episode. Clarence goes with his mom to the supermarket to reload on grub. Miserable at first, he soon meets up with Ryan and finds multiple moments of mischief including indirectly causing his mom to lose her coupons that she worked hard on gathering. In order to make good, Clarence goes on a coupon collecting raid, regardless of obstacles and people. The episode captures the misery that almost all kids feel when having to go to the grocery, as well as capturing the adventure that comes with that trip. Loved this episode, though it was a tad short on substance and humor.
The complete list of episodes is as follows:
– Fun Dungeon Face Off
– Pretty Great Day with a Girl
– Lost in the Supermarket
– Clarence’s Millions (enjoy that one)
– Jeff’s New Toy
– Zoo
– Rise ’n’ Shine
– Average Jeff
– Slumber Party
– Dream Boat
– Too Gross for Comfort
– Neighborhood Grill
Overall, I like where Clarence is heading. I think the show has some legs to run with and I hope that Cartoon Network gives it enough time to develop. It has a bit of everything you would want out of a wacky cartoon — tension, outrageous situations and likable characters. The humor does need a bit of cultivating (sometimes it works well, but sometimes it’s too subtle), but it’s very promising.
