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- home of the ED, EDD n EDDY ZONE
Floating in a sea of doubt? Perplexed by the mysteries of
life? Better yet, maybe you're just looking for a little rundown on Ed, Edd n
Eddy and what makes the show so darned spiffy, well then, you've come to the
right page.
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ALL ABOUT EEnE What the heck is
'Ed, Edd n Eddy'? In 50 words or less it's the brainchild of Danny Antonucci
and AKA Cartoon, a show about three social misfits united by a common name
and a love of jawbreakers and the situations they get into as they try to
scam the socks off (and quarters out of!) the other kids on their cul-de-sac. Simple, no? Well ... no, not
really! Of course there's far more to it than that, countless qualities that
make it a perennial top-ranked show on Cartoon Network and keep its fans
coming back again and again. And while we've already got plenty of pages
that'll give you the low-down on the characters, the plots, and all the rest,
here we'd like to let you in on just what it is about Ed, Edd n Eddy that
makes it so much fun, so uniquely enjoyable to fans young and old alike.
THE CHARACTERS Peach Creek is home
to some pretty strange residents, to say the least! There's Jonny, the
amiable loner whose best friend is a wooden board. Overachiever and
all-around-genius Edd communicates with his parents solely through sticky
notes. Rolf's Old Country customs make him an oddball to beat all oddballs,
and woe to anyone who dares touch the Kanker Sisters' heirloom "ship
inna bottle". Even the most normal-seeming character has a few quirks -
just watch trendy Nazz-girl blatt away on the tuba in Hands Across Ed - and
indeed, a lot of Ed, Edd n Eddy's humour comes from the way the characters
behave and interact. Hey, these kids are funny! But no matter how
weird the average Peach Creeker may be, each one has a strongly realistic
element and more likely than not you can name people in your own life of whom
they remind you. The bratty little sibling, the cool kids you could never
quite match up to, the overbearing girls who just won't leave you alone no
matter how much you wish they would - the characters ring true as kids you
might have known (or been!) in your own childhood. They all have strong and
well-established personalities that develop over the seasons but never
contradict what they were in the very first episodes, and each one - from the
smartest to the dumbest, from the coolest to the dorkiest - all display both
strengths and weaknesses, moments when they're at the top of their game and
moments when they're - well - not! Despite (or maybe even because of) those
less-than-triumphant moments they remain identifiable, remain characters we
can laugh with even as we laugh at them. They may be dorks and oafs but no
more than you've probably been yourself at times and that goes a long way
towards making the cast of Ed, Edd n Eddy convincing, easy to relate to, and
easy to like.
THE REALISM What is this
nonsense of which we speak? Yes, in Peach Creek phones and boomerangs can be
in cahoots with the supernatural, houses can be carried around at will, and gravity
is more of a suggestion than a firm & fast rule but even so the show
rings true in all the ways that count. Most of the Eds' exploits are grounded
in those experiences we all went through as kids, and plots centring around
babysitting, pimple problems, awkward encounters with members of the opposite
sex, or being grounded are likely to bring back "fond" memories
from your own childhood. EEnE doesn't sugarcoat it, either - this is awkward
stuff we're dealing with and it's all the funnier because 9 times out of 10
you really can relate. Hey, they always said one day you'd look back on all
those experiences and laaaugh ...
THE ARTWORK You need only look at Ed, Edd n Eddy to realise it stands out in the world of animation - and please do for words alone could never do it justice. That trademark "wobble" comes from the hand-inked nature of the show and is very intentional: as creator Danny Antonucci explains, "The wobble effect reflects back on the cartoons of the '30s when everything was black and white and hand inked ... [it] comes because when you're inking it's impossible to do it the same way twice so in effect we're utilising human error - it's animation by mistake!" (you can read more of Kit's interview with Danny at our sister site, Animation by Mistake) Moreover, Ed, Edd n Eddy has the distinction of being the last of any 2D animated show to use traditional cel painting techniques, and even now that they've had to switch to digital colouring AKA continues to hand-draw and ink the characters and to hand-paint all backgrounds on paper. But you don't need to know any of this to realise the artwork of EEnE is special; simply watch the show. See how much you can tell about a character by looking at him or her. Doesn't Jimmy just look foofy? Do you even have to hear Lee speak to get a sense that she's just a little bit scary? Watch the characters "be themselves" right down to the smallest of gestures. Double Dee scrupulously stays on the pavement and avoids the grass even while running for his life from a very irate Eddy in 3 Squares and an Ed; Eddy lets slip the briefest of grins as he suckers Double Dee into a guilt-ridden apology in Once Bitten, Twice Ed; Ed rides joyously along in Edd's motor-cart with tongue flapping like a dog's in Don't Rain On My Ed. These characters aren't just talking heads - they really are animated and they truly do "act." Their personalities come through consistently in facial expressions and body language even during little throwaway moments or when they're not the focus of attention. Beyond even that,
notice the creative storyboarding and "camera angles" in every
episode. There's nothing static about this show - Ed, Edd n Eddy draws us in
with unique shots and frequent changes in perspective that enhance its pacing
and give us a sense of being in on the action. We find ourselves looking over
characters' shoulders, through their eyes, even peering up from the depths of
Ed's stomach(!) - and from the silhouetted night-time scene in One of Those
Eds to the first-person video-camera perspective in An Ed is Born, EEnE keeps
the viewer engaged with dynamic visuals that support and enhance the
story-telling, bring the characters to life, and most importantly, make the
show undeniably fun to look at.
THE WRITING Sure we're biased but that won't stop us from saying it: Ed, Edd n Eddy provides some of the most consistently and creatively funny television on the air today, animated or otherwise. Where but on Ed, Edd n Eddy can you get lines like "I am a zombie and I will malice you with a shoehorn!"? Where can you revel in the bizarreness of That's My Horse or The Yeshmiyek Song? And what other show could limit its focus to 9 characters and a distinctly narrow choice of settings (the entire first four seasons are staged almost entirely within the cul-de-sac!) and yet continue to offer new and unexpected comedy in every episode? As we've said earlier a lot of the humour comes from the characters themselves and this can make even the simplest of storylines successful. Who needs complicated plot twists when it's fun just to watch the Eds pretend to be one another all afternoon? Why should we even leave Eddy's driveway when it makes such an apt setting for Edco, where the entire cul-de-sac can join in the fun by taking up "jobs" that fit each character so perfectly? The writers for Ed, Edd n Eddy have a knack for letting their characters drive the plot rather than be driven by it and moreover they manage to do so in ways that seem "right" without being predictable. Of course Jimmy's Christmas traditions involve a lovingly-staged display of "gingerbread sailors out on the sugar-glazed plains of wintertime shore leave" - but would YOU have ever thought of that? Of course Double Dee would object to the impending destruction of Ed's violin - but did YOU guess he'd come up with that marvellous Rube Goldberg/Wile E. Coyote-esque Statue of LibEDy to thwart Eddy's plans? This gift for blending the expected and the bizarre also extends to the plotlines themselves, and EEnE gives us stories that are both familiar and wholly unique. Most of the storylines centre around those things we all face growing up, but in the world of the Eds even the most common of situations has a kooky bent. Thus Eddy's embarrassing pimple problem gives Rolf the chance to demonstrate his head-shrinking, pickled-towel-and-fish-entrails "remedy," and the Eds' attempt to fit in with the in-crowd yields Fad Freaker costumes consisting of mailbox helmets, train-track "skirts," pinwheels and even a water feature. Tres chic! Ed, Edd n Eddy never
loses its ability to surprise, but in ways that remain believable within the
parameters of the show, its characters, and its audience's own experiences.
The writers give us what we know should happen, before we even realise that
we know - and they make it funny every time. How the heck do they DO that? EVERYTHING ELSE Well, maybe not
everything, we could never cover it all! But for a start, take a look at the
background of any scene: note all the perfectly Eddy-ish items in his school
locker or the monster movie posters in Ed's room; check out the AKA license
plates that pop up from time to time; watch for all the props and failed
inventions from earlier episodes that show up in later ones. See how many pop
culture references you can catch. The Beatles, Quick Draw McGraw, The
Jetsons, Frankenstein, King Kong, Errol Flynn, Driving Miss Daisy - these are
just a few of the icons that have managed to sneak their way into Peach
Creek. Listen to the
characters talk - doesn't May just sound sort of goofy? Doesn't Ed's laugh
say it all? Can't you tell just by listening when Double Dee's on the verge
of total core meltdown? And while you're at it, note the background track of
any episode. Characters like Rolf and Sarah have their own "theme
music," dogs whine, buzzers sound, trucks back up - Ed, Edd n Eddy is
not a quiet show! And while those clucks, hoots, yowls, dings, and screams
may not be what you'd expect to hear they're funny in their own right and
together with the outstanding voice acting they go a long way towards fully
realising the characters' personalities and underscoring the flow of the
plot. These types of
details, are they even necessary? You might take them for granted the first
time you watch an episode but they are there and they add to the overall
"solidness" of the show. They make EEnE more fun and re-watchable,
they give Peach Creek a dimension and colour it would not otherwise have had,
and when it comes down to it, they demonstrate the tremendous amount of
thought, effort, and attention to detail that goes into every episode.
TO WRAP IT UP... So there you have
it, some of the many things that we love about Ed, Edd n Eddy. And while
we've separated these elements out for the purposes of discussion, it's the
way AKA blends them all together that make Ed, Edd n Eddy a great show. The
artwork supports the writing just as much as the writing supports the
artwork; both come together with the voice acting, the nostalgia factor, and
all those "extra" little details to give us strongly likeable
characters in wonderfully silly situations that somehow manage to remain
identifiable no matter how weird things get. Everything about the show has
the distinctive feel of something created by talented people who care about
and are proud of what they're working on. And we think that's
pretty special.
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So how about you? We'd love to know just
what is it about Ed, Edd n Eddy that gives the show it's special place in your heart so if you feel like sharing, why not drop us a
line. If we get enough feedback
we'll include a fans' opinion page here too. |
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This page was complied by Zeph at
Edtropolis.com
Do not copy, plagiarise or reproduce this
article either in whole or part. If you wish to use it for any purpose
whatsoever please seek our permission to do so first.
The EEnE images on this section of the site are
copyright of a.k.a. Cartoon INC / Cartoon Network
UPDATED: APRIL 2005