User blog:AustinDR/The Best Special?


 * 1) To me, 11 Louds a Leapin'  is still the best special to come out of the show. To me, it is a perfect reflection of the true meaning of Christmas that being how you should care for others rather than be up in arms about what gifts you feel you deserve, and how what makes the holidays truly special is family. The episode also had several side plots that were actually very funny ranging from Lola trying to act good in order to receive presents - even though Lisa bluntly states how it's scientifically impossible for Santa to exist - to Lucy and Lynn trying to find the gifts, and Luan making holiday-related puns that actually plays into Lana's side plot of trying to catch one of Santa's reindeer. Other than that, it was also nice that we got some insight into Mr. Grouse and how seeing the Loud family spending Christmas together is painful to him since he is unable to do the same with his own family. And of course there's the song that is sung towards the end and how they all pitched in to get Mr. Grouse a ticket. It's sappy, but it gets you in the right mood for Christmas.
 * 2) Tricked: One thing that struck me as great was the animation. It was very slick and fluid, and it also accentuated the dark tone. The side plot was also very interesting with seeing how seriously Lucy takes Halloween, and how several of the costumes that the sisters had worn are very amusing. My favorite part would have to be Lisa receiving a bag-full of candy when she showed off Lily as the baby joey. And we also get to see someone actually get made into a human pretzel. That had to be pretty difficult to animate. And of course the two bullies getting scared off when they're tricked into going into the maze.
 * 3) Relative Chaos: It wasn't a bad special, but I personally felt that it was a ratings trap. The promos for the episode made it seem as though Lincoln and Lori would try to figure out a way to keep Ronnie Anne and Bobby from leaving. While there is some minimal effort in the actual episode, ultimately, Ronnie Anne and Bobby end up moving. After the special, I had mixed feelings about it. With a show like the Loud House, I thought I knew every trick that the writers would try to pull as more than one episode is predictable in some fashion. But, that actually wasn't the case here. While I do like that it kind of rustled up the status quo a bit, I also felt that it was undeserved. With Ronnie Anne, I couldn't really bring myself to be worried for her because we hardly knew anything about her before the whole moving debacle. At least with someone like Clyde, it would feel more emotional as we know more about him, and he is very close to Lincoln. With Ronnie Anne's extended family, I couldn't really say much on them either. I guess in a way, it was a disappointing special, but it was far from bad.