Sonic Boom, Episode 1.29: Curse of the Cross Eyed Moose

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.29: Curse of the Cross Eyed Moose

Original Air Date: July 15th, 2015

Moose is a funny word. It’s like “pickle” or “goober” or “mukluk," where the combination of various phonetic sounds just tickles our funny bones in a way that's hard to describe. Wikipedia has a whole article about "inherently funny words," so we know this is a very real lingual phenomenon. The double o sound in "moose" stretches out in an odd way, followed by the curt conclusion of the "se" sound, makes a simply goofy word that is fun to say. Just roll that around in your mouth a couple of times. Moose. Mooooose. See, it's fun! It's also one of those wacky words, like fish or sheep, that singular and plural. "A moose" and "A herd of moose" are both correct phrases. 

And if any animal looked exactly like how its name sounds, it's the moose. They have these long, awkward looking snouts that narrow down to doofus-y lips. Their coats are shaggy, their legs are scrawny, their ears are cute, their bodies are lumpy. They are these big, lumbering creatures that usually docile. (Though there are many exceptions.) The velvety, "open-hand" look of their antlers are a lot less threatening than your typical horns. All of this makes it unsurprising that, since at least the time of Bullwinkle, moose have occasionally shown up as figures of frivolity in animation. The same gangly physicality is probably by there aren't too many moose "Sonic" fan characters, as far as I can tell. This did not dissuade Natalys Raut-Sieuzac from giving a moose title billing the second time she did double-duty as both a "Sonic Boom" director and writer. 

Of course, the titular cross-eyed moose – who has also briefly appeared in a few previous episodes, confusing me why this normal moose is just walking around – doesn't have much to do in this episode. He doesn't appear again outside of the first scene. Which means that rambling two paragraph introduction might have just been an excuse for me to talk about how much I like the word "moose." Anyway, Sticks is out fishing when she crosses oath with a cross-eyed moose. She believes this to be a grave omen and becomes convinced a curse now afflicts her and her friends. Sonic and the gang are not so sure, even as bad luck begins to befall them. They still go along with Sticks' plan to traverse the dangerous forest and meet a marmoset mystic, who can remove the curse. Shenanigans, as they often do, ensue. 

As I've watched my way through "Sonic Boom," I've noticed that how an episode turns out really depends on who's writing it. I don't just mean whether an episode is funny or not. I mean the style of humor it employs. The best episodes of "Sonic Boom" tend to be self-reflective about sitcom tropes, action/adventure clichés, or at least the roles its own characters play in these stories. Like half the episodes of this program are built around subverting the limits of the hero/villain relationship Sonic and Eggman have in every other branch of this franchise. Other episodes favor wackiness over sarcasm, seeking to revel in the cartoon absurdity of these characters and scenarios. And yet other installments reflect another comedic sensibility, that's more about kid-friendly silliness and goofy puns. 

"Curse of the Cross-Eyed Moose" is squarely in the last category. In fact, this one frequently feels like an extended homage to old-time-y vaudeville slapstick. There's a montage midway through, of our heroes encountering spider and log related bad luck through the woods, set to jaunty ragtime music. I half-expected the Keystone Cops to show up. A lot of comedy here is derived from Sticks reeling off paragraph about her kooky conspiracy theories, while in that (still inexplicable) goofy Brooklyn accent of her's. When the gang finally tracks down the marmoset mystic – whose name appears to be "Mr. Monkey-Face" – he speaks in a similar Borscht Belt fashion. Considering his blasé attitude about the curse lifting business, I'm reminded a lot of Miracle Max from "The Princess Bride." It definitely feels like a throwback, a bit corny, though not in a way that isn't amusing. 

In fact, this episode has got some decent gags in it. After finally finding Mr. Monkey-Face, who is none too pleased to see them, he assigns tasks to the heroes that will supposedly lift the curse... And it becomes apparent quickly that he's dictating a guacamole recipe to them. The idea of a mystical healer who is seriously fed up with the entire thing is a decent gig. So is Eggman coming to his door because he wants to "diversify" his evil career. Sticks leaving moose traps out around everyone's cabins, in an attempt to capture this cursed moose, leads to a couple of funny moments. There's also a pretty good beat in the action scene where Sticks jumps on a Bee-Bot and directs it into another Bee-Bot, a rare clever action beat in this show. 

For an episode this goofy, there's not much for even an overly analytical nerd like me to dig into. This is just a bit of slapstick silliness. However, I think there is an interesting theme of sorts here: Sticks' beliefs are, obviously, completely disconnected from logic and reason. Considering she's already a completely unhinged conspiracy theorist, having Sticks also believe in any number of bizarre and imaginary magical practices doesn't seem unreasonable. Her friends, less crazy than her, don't really believe any of this shit. They humor her, go along with it, just in case she's right. Yet Tails, the super-genius inventor of the group, constantly points out how illogical the whole ordeal is. I feel like a show with more time or depth probably could have develop a funny and deeper story out of the debate between magical thinking and straight logic.

Compared to the last episode Natalys Raut-Sieuzac wrote, this one is a lot smoother. It still feels kind of weirdly off-key and out-of-date with the rest of the show. I still get this lingering vibe that Raut-Sieuzac did not have a clear grasp on the American sense of humor. Yet, instead of just being unfocused and awkward like "Let's Play Musical Friends" was, this one comes off as kind of charmingly old fashioned. I didn't know I wanted an old vaudeville bit reenacted with "Sonic" characters but I sort of liked it. I don't know if that's a thing that needed to exist either but, if "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" could do all the random and stupid shit it did, I think "Boom" is entitled to a few episodes like this too. [6/10]