"Heeeeey! Nice beaver!"

Oh yeah! It's Rocktober baby! And...uh... Sorry. I was listening to the radio. Anyway, it's October and you know what that means! "Soon it will snow and be cold and grey and I'll get the flu and have to shovel the driveway and it will be a pain to drive and..." Shadap you sniveling whiners! No, what I am getting at is that it is Halloween Month! That's right - the whole month of October is a feast for those who love horror/monster/psycho/goofy movies, all things creepy (like Alice Cooper), and of course, CANnnnnDay!

Yes my minions this is indeed the first of the 2006 Halloween Duh Spot reviews! Thank you, thank you! You're too kind!

The Day the World Got Really Screwed Up!
The Angry Beavers Halloween Special

Nickelodeon, 1998 season, episode #13, approx. 24 minutes

voice actors: Nick Bakay (Norbert), Richard Horvitz (Daggett), Tom Kane (Oxnard Montalvo), Adrienne Barbeau (Toluca Lake), William Schallert (Dr. Cowtiki), Jonathan Haze (Mann Servante), Peter Graves (General Warning, narrator), John Byner (alien object, Mann's normal voice)

Written by: Mitch Schauer
Storyboard by: Mitch Schauer, John Statema, Michael R. Gerard
Directed by: Patty Shinagawa

Taxonomy: Fantabeaverlus cartoon parody of b-movies.

Plot: Brothers Norbert and Daggett Beaver help their b-movie idol save the Earth from an evil alien.

Bluntly: One of the best Halloween cartoons ever made.

Overview:

The Angry Beavers ran on Nickelodeon from 1997 to 2001. The show focused on the relationship between Norbert and Daggett Beaver; twin brothers who were kicked out of their parents lodge when a new litter came along. Why? Because as Norbert explained to Daggett, "That's the beaver way." So they find a river, build a damn and a swinging bachelor pad lodge and wackiness ensues. The Angry Beavers was a great cartoon that was silly enough for kids and also threw in lots of hip social and pop culture humor for the parents who would have to watch the show with their youngins.

This episode - the only one longer than the standard 11 minutes - aired in October 1998. "Norb" and "Dag" are out trick-or-treating on October 30th, the night before Halloween, because Dag is certain that they will score more candy without any competition. Norb wants to quit after the first house because the man there laughed so hard he had to be taken to the hospital. Dag begs him to try just one more house and Norb reluctantly agrees. The next house is a swanky place at the top of a hill. When they get to the gate and read the address, the beavers realize that they have found the house of their hero b-movie star Oxnard Montalvo. Or as Norbert puts it, "Our FAVE-o-rite b-movie AK-TOR: OXnard MONtaaallllVO!" I should mention the beavers Halloween costumes; Norbert is dressed as Oxnard Montalvo and Daggett is Oxnard's nemesis The Crawling Spleen.

Once inside the beavers encounter Mann Servante, Oxnard's man servant, who has been possessed by the alien that has crashed into the hillside at the back of Oxnard's house. The Evil Mann wants to capture the beavers for his master. And to this end he uses the alien power to turn all the monster props in the house into real live monsters.

Well, soon Norb and Dag meet Oxnard himself as well as his sweetheart Toluca Lake and Dr. Cowtiki. Everything inside Oxnard's house is drawn in the style of 50/60s horror comic books - very different than the silly style of the beavers themselves. This leads to Oxnard and friends not knowing what Norb and Dag are. They refer to them as strange little pointy creatures. When Norb and Dag inform them that they are in fact beavers, Oxnard and company look doubtful.

Well, soon the alien and the monsters are tearing the house down and the beavers have to help Oxnard and posse save the day. The alien gets it's power from Norb and Dag's overactive imaginations and actually turns everything (except the beavers) black and white! Thus begins parodies of many b-movie cliches such as the woman always falling down while running from the monster, the tough hero fighting the monster while the scientist shows instructional films and creates a super weapon, the military getting involved, stock footage and of course a happy ending.

Goodies:

Babeage: Well, Oxnard's girlfriend is voiced by Adrienne Barbeau.

Sleazeploitation: It's a cartoon!

Beasts, Freaks and Weirdoes: The alien, the b-movie monsters, Mann Servantes and of course, Norb and Dagget.

Violence: Suprisingly enough the limited violence is comic bookish - go figure!

Gore and FX: Some nice animation.

Great Lines: Yes, but they make no sense out of context and some of them require you to be an Angry Beavers fan.

Moral: An angry beaver can be pacified by giving him "CANnnnDAY!"

Conclusion: The Angry Beavers was a great show and the Halloween special episode was one of the most delightful things I have ever come across while channel surfing. The show is still being rerun on NickToons, I believe, but there are no DVDs available. So check the local TV listings or bop on over to YouTube and check out part 1 and part 2 of this fun episode. The video kind of stinks, but it is an upload of a video taped off of TV. The bad video quality kind of makes it like an old b-movie itself!

Well, we are off and running! More Halloween reviews soon, stay tuned! Oh, what about a beer review? Well it seems kind of, I don't know, white trashy to drink beer and watch cartoons. How about rootbeer? Or better yet, you could partake of the real life inspiration for Norb and Dag's FAVE-o-rite beverage.

-BigRuta

Remember: Comments (Leave some comments you spootheads!), questions, suggestions and requests welcome.