JB’S EPISODE REVIEW
Molly Coddled
4 out of 5 Krakatoa
Specials
Summary
After harrowingly dodging a cargo freighter that blocks his way towards
the cliffs corridor,
Gidget:
Guess the donut shops were closed. ;)
The crooks overhear
Early morning back at Higher for Hire,
Half-finished, Baloo and Kit hear Rebecca’s voice as she comes their
way. Panic-stricken, they hide the remaining mess inside an already-bulging
locker that the large bears forces shut, using his considerable weight as a
barricade just in time for the businesswoman and her daughter Molly, in her
customary makeshift Danger Woman
costume, enter the plane.
While Rebecca is impressed by the seemingly “shipshape” ship, Molly
is disappointed by the cleanliness until she notices a scrap of paper close to
Baloo’s foot. Ever the detailed nitpicker, his employer demands that he picks
it up (jb: What
an anal retentive :p) which he does so reluctantly, causing the locker door to
burst open, releasing the junk all over the deck, much to the little girl’s
delight.
Disgusted by the mess, Rebecca goes on a rant over the lack of glamour
and excitement in the air-freight business, obviously a thinly-disguised
complaint over her own personal life (see Commentary
on this topic), Molly tries to soothe her to which Rebecca softens and assures
her that nothing matters more to her in the world than her precious child, yet
longs “to meet someone with charm, with culture, a real man of the world.”
Baloo:
Huh! So what am I, chopped liver?
Rebecca:
You have more culture in your mouth than in your whole philosophy, Fly Boy.
Baloo:
(grinning) Oh, that ain’t the only place where I got culture, Beckers…
(reaches around to his backside)
Rebecca:
Don’t you dare, buster! ;)
Suddenly on cue, Covington – resplendent in a naval captain’s hat and
fine-tailored clothing – theatrically bounds from his speedboat, onto the deck
and straight into Rebecca’s heart by giving her all the charm he can pour on,
much to her delight, Baloo’s revulsion and Molly’s distrust. This is
exemplified more when she gives him a swift kick to his shins (a running gag
throughout the episode) when he turns his attention to her.
Molly:
Believe me, if I was a lot taller, I’d have aimed a lot higher than that!
Gidget
(as
Rebecca:
Did someone say ‘jewels’? Where? Where?
Dismayed by her daughter’s behaviour, the she-bear apologizes to the
would-be suitor who graciously smooths things over with his effusive compliments
to her and her pilot as Molly stomps off to pout until she discovers the
talisman in the satchel that she takes for as a doll and instantly adores it. As
Baloo gives a brief tour of the seaplane, Covington is distracted and horrified
by the little girl’s discovery and diplomatically tries to get her to show him
the artefact, which she refuses and kicks him again. Rebecca scolds her and begs
the jaguar’s pardon over Molly’s hostility. The little girl pleads to Baloo
if she can keep the doll, to which the pilot more than agrees without much thought.
Gidget:
Spoiled brat. She misbehaves and gets rewarded?
jb:
If she was Baloo’s child that would be a good argument. But since she’s not
and considers the artefact as just some useless junk, she was entitled to have
it at his discretion. Besides, finders-keepers, losers-weepers!
The con-artist is angered by this setback, but schemes to further woo the
businesswoman in order to get back the talisman away from her hellspawn somehow.
Gidget
(as Rebecca): Oh
Covie, I’m terribly, terribly sorry! (angry aside to her daughter) Molly, what
are you doing?
Molly:
Protecting my interests, Mother. They call me Hellspawn.
Gidget:
More like the Manson Family. ;)
Several weeks pass as a whirlwind romance blossoms between Rebecca and
Rebecca has a talk with Molly in her bedroom sometime later, trying to
explain her “very special” relationship with Covington as her daughter still
expresses her reservations over the man that has entered their lives through
Kara and her other doll Milly who “think he’s creepy.” When her mother
begs her to try to be nice to him, she reluctantly agrees much to her mother’s
elation, but goes back on her word and pledges to Kara as “Danger Woman” to
protect her and her mother from the slimy smooth operator.
Gidget:
(singing as Sade):
Smooooooth operator…smooooth
operatooooor…
That evening, Rebecca and
Her giggles get her busted by Rebecca when she discovers her under the
table and angrily drags her off to her bedroom to reprimand her. Now completely
out of patience,
No sooner does Rebecca leaves the apartment that
Gidget:
LOL! At first I thought that was ‘crappy bed’! And isn’t Molly too old for
blocks? 0_o Moving on…
jb:
I just call ‘em as I see ‘em, G. I didn’t write this episode.
Running back to the foyer, she tries to open the door, only to have the
jaguar tauntingly dangling the key (
Gidget:
I wonder what the distance is between the apartment and H4H? Rebecca always
seems to get there by car. Molly’s not Danger Woman, she’s Spider-Man!
jb:
Or in
Meanwhile at the office…
Baloo: Fer da eighth time, Rebecca, we didn’t
call!
Kit: Honest, Miz Cunningham!
Rebecca: (confused, then suspicious)
Something’s not right.
Baloo: (Puts arm around her shoulder
and leaves H4H) C’mon, we’d better check this out.
Gidget: B&Bers…all together
now…WA-HOO!!
jb: Hold on, hot-breath! ;) Kit’s with
them! Are you suggesting a ménage a trois
or something to scar the kid for life?
0_o
Kit: (slobbering) Naw, I’ll just
watch…
B&Bers: We’ll get the popcorn!
jb: (sighs) Perverts. ;D
Gidget:
Oh, give them a break. Television hasn’t been invented yet.
jb:
What do you think adult cinemas are for? ;3
Molly, with the feline crook in hot pursuit, just misses them by a
few seconds after they drive away from Higher for Hire. Hiding in the Sea
Duck, she quickly finds a safe place to hide Kara when
The jaguar finally corners Molly into a dead-end alley and grabs the
satchel from her, when at the very moment his peeved ex-partners show up
("Gentlemen! What an opportune arrival!") and
apprehend the satchel only to find Molly’s other doll Milly inside as it
bleats: “Mama!” Furious, the badgers grab hold of the petulant thief and
prepare to beat him up;
At Higher for Hire, a frantic Rebecca calls the authorities to report her
missing daughter; the trio hears noises coming from the Sea
Duck and discover that it’s
Quickly deflecting the pilot’s questioning over his obsession with
Molly and the artefact, he proffers to get her back from the kidnappers’
clutches on far-off
En route in the seaplane, Baloo questions the artefact’s worth to the
kidnappers while the businesswoman just wants to get Molly back, feeling guilty
that she put her own needs ahead of her daughter’s welfare. In a small hut on
Gidget:
(hopefully) Is it full of wine?
jb:
(in a Sideways rant) So long as it’s
not Merlot, because I am not drinking any @#*%ing Merlot! ;3
Carrying the barrel together at the exchange point upon hearing the Sea
Duck’s arrival, they unknowingly put her in a bottomless one which the
girl easily scampers off her escape.
Gidget:
That. Was. Dumb. Who makes an open-ended barrel?
jb:
Writers with a lack of an imagination? ;P
At the rendezvous on a pier,
Dashing through the jungle,
Gidget:
Oh, gee…where could she kick him?
jb:
Might I make some suggestions?
Trapping her inside in a small-sized tree cavity,
Now facing the very wrathful businesswoman along with her righteously
angry flight crew for endangering Molly and their lives, the flustered jaguar
stammers his explanations over his actions, even boasting the fact that he could
fool his ex-partners, who then suddenly dive at him in a greedy attempt to grab
the idol, but causes it to accidentally fly from his hands and into a deep,
boiling hot mud pit, now lost forever.
Infuriated over the loss of the ruby, Covington also faces a more
pressing issue to worry over – his safety from his ex-partners and pleads with
the badgers to pardon his clumsiness but they’re going to get their payback
when they haul him out of the cave, knocking off his toupee in the process. As
the crooks leave the others behind, Molly runs into her much-relieved mother’s
arms.
Gidget
(dramatic announcer’s voice):
Find out his fate in that overblown fanfic epic, A
Fair to Remember at http://www.baloolagoon.com/gid_fic_files/tsfanfics_gidget.htm.
(Evil plug) ;)
Heading back to Cape Suzette with Baloo and Kit at the controls and Molly
in Rebecca’s lap in the cockpit, the little girl bravely tells her mother that
there was nothing to worry about as long as she’s “Danger Woman,” but is
regretful that she was unable to keep the idol for her. Rebecca realizes that
the real treasure she could ever want is her daughter’s love as the Sea
Duck flies off into the promise of a new day dawning and the comforts of
home.
Quibbles
and Bits
-
Why
would Baloo be sleeping outside (especially when it shows the bed bunks are
lowered down a little later) and leave the plane’s back ramp open for all the
world to see to have Covington stash the talisman? Did he come back from a night
run and was too tired to bother lumbering into his room inside Higher for Hire?
Gidget: That, or else his pseudo-wife Rebecca made him sleep
outside…again.
jb: Why? Did she have a “headache”? ;3
-
Speedboat/car
crash audio effect sounds like the boat hit the police cruiser about two seconds
before
-
How
did Covington manage to bail himself out of jail, get his speedboat repaired and
recovered after trashing the police cruiser in time before Baloo and Kit got to
work cleaning out the Sea Duck?
Gidget: He’s rich. My guess is that he’s a bored aristocrat who turned
to crime for kicks.
-
Gidget:
And how did he get all dried and duded up in time for his dramatic entrance?
jb:
Same point I make a little later during his chase with Molly in the alley, but
onwards…
-
Why
didn’t Kit notice
-
The
Sea Duck – according to available
diagrams – has only on onboard locker, yet the flight crew finds another empty
one and fills the remaining junk with it. Where’d that extra locker come from?
0_o
-
Baloo
moulds right into the locker when he’s holding back the bursting garbage when
the ladies enter the plane, then reverts back to its original form when
everything piles back onto the deck. Is it made of rubber?
jb:
Duh, it’s an animated locker. Remember, everything defies physics in
animation. :D
-
When
Baloo, Rebecca and Kit state in unison: “A clean
plane is an efficient plane,”
Kit’s mouth stops talking at ‘efficient.’
-
How
did the satchel with the wooden talisman end up all the way at the end of the Sea
Duck’s back ramp, when the collapsed garbage stayed all in one heap for
Molly to discover it?
-
One
strange thing about Covington’s introduction: He’s obviously not a customer,
yet Baloo’s willing to give him a tour of the plane and Rebecca blissfully
overlooks the fact she’s not making a dime right now (Rebecca: (dreamily) Who needs business when you can get romance?;)).
Wouldn’t that be a red flag into why he’s really here to anyone except
Molly?
Gidget:
That always bothered me. He says he’s looking for “Miz Rebecca
Cunningham,” but sucks up to Baloo, gushing about the Sea
Duck and “the tales I’ve been told!” (Baloo probably got drunk and
droned on about his ‘baby’ at Louie’s
Place, torturing the barflies)
jb:
*sniffs* Poor little flies ;). Seriously, it’s probably obvious that he can
cater to people with large egos, as quickly demonstrated with Baloo as the pilot
later boasts that the Sea Duck can
“look a hurricane in da eye an’ never blink” when he detects Baloo’s
skepticism with his intentions.
-
Romantic
vignette #1(Walk in The Park): Where’s the park flower vendor when
-
Romantic
vignette #2 (Sidewalk Café): Notice that a) there’s only two coffees between
Molly: Yeah! Not even as much as a Frosty Pep either, that cheap creepface!
;D
b) the coffee stain on his shirt goes white for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it
second then turns brown and c) when Rebecca scolds her bad behaviour, her lips
never move – just an open mouth and wagging finger.
Gidget (as Baloo):
That’s what she looks like if I plug my ears…
-
Romantic
vignette #3 (Teddy Bear bribe): Covington unsuccessfully tries to bribe Molly
with a large teddy bear in exchange for Kara in the apartment when Rebecca
previously places his coat on a rack in the foyer, but she’s missing in the
foyer background when Molly refuses his gift (or was that intentional?).
Gidget:
Easy way to show Molly and Covie in a quiet, hostile “real” moment in the
middle of all that wooing.
-
Romantic
vignette #4 (Ballroom): The dancing scene is so completely lame-o when it only
has a bruin couple just standing there like a background piece (probably was); a
canine couple jerking back and forth and the swine couple constantly twirling
around in a circle. Talk about your cheap
animation jobs! :P
-
Curious
to note for this one time in the series, Molly’s regularly-toted around doll
Lucy doesn’t make an appearance, just the “Mama”-speaking doll Milly with
Kara. It probably was for humorous effect to foil the thieves during the
latter-half of the episode.
Gidget: Hey, your
right! I think Lucy should have been featured. Except she wouldn’t be able to
bleat “Mama.” Wouldn’t be the same.
-
During
the candlelight dinner sequence, it looks like they’ve finished their meal
already because the plates look incredibly spotless (did they lick them clean?
;)) and there’s no food spread on the table. And why a long dining table?
Wouldn’t a shorter one been more intimate and practical?
Gidget: I never
understood the appeal of a long dining table for two. It’s just awkward.
jb: It’s to avoid contact with really…bad…breath.
;D
-
As
-
During
dinner, Covington sports a purple bowtie and cummerbund and a magenta shirt with
gold buttons (the same outfit he wore during the Ballroom vignette, BTW), yet
when he places his toupee back on his head as Rebecca takes Molly to her room
he’s back to wearing his customary blue jacket and red jabot for the remainder
of the episode.
Gidget: I didn’t notice that!
-
There’s
a telephone in the background on the stand all alone during the dinner scene
behind Rebecca, but as
-
-
When
Baloo, Rebecca and Kit return back from her apartment (very quickly, mind you),
it looks like Baloo has gotten out the driver’s side of her car. Rebecca
didn’t believe him on the “phone call” at first, yet she still trusted him
enough to allow him to drive? 0_o
Gidget:
Oh, that bugged me on so many levels.
It’s her car, and he drives like
he’s the ‘man of the house’?
jb: Perhaps she
was feeling too panicky to drive in her state with Molly gone. Besides, would
you have allowed Kit at the wheel?
-
After
jb: Again, ‘toon physics. Why ask why?
-
Got
to wonder from escaping Covington’s clutches in the apartment right to the
final confrontation in the Skull Island cave, wouldn’t Molly’s toes get
awfully sore from shin-kicking three
bad guys all in one night?
Molly: Danger Woman doesn’t feel
pain! I bruise on the inside! ;)
-
Comical gag works when the badgers place Molly in the bottomless barrel,
but then a bottom appears very briefly as they approach the bears and
Gidget: Like I
said…dumb.
-
Upon
arrival at the cave door, there’s a touch of light green lighting that’s
supposed to simulate the light coming the bottom at a poorly-placed diagonal
slant, but after
-
As
-
There’s
an accidental voice switchover of Zoot Suit’s dialogue into
Gidget:
I remember that. It was very distracting.
(And
we really don’t want to know what
Gidget: That was wicked. Bruce
Willis is my hero. :D
-
If
the talisman was “worth millions” according to Covington earlier on, why
didn’t anybody bother to get it back
from the cave entrance lock and return it for a reward from where it came from
and/or sold it for a tidy profit when they left?
H4H Crew: (smacks foreheads) D’oh!
;D
-
Notice
there’s an extra pilot’s hat above Rebecca and Molly in the cockpit that is
almost similar to Baloo’s in the epilogue scene.
-
Who
is Rebecca referring to at the end on the Sea
Duck after Baloo’s condolences over
Gidget: Exactly!
Somehow I think it’s Baloo. Why would she want romance from her daughter? 0_o
jb:
Not unless you want to report this to Child Welfare Services. ;P
Neat Little Details
-
Nice
dreamy effect on Rebecca’s face when Covington woos her and goes into a
love-struck pose before fading to black for the forthcoming pastels-and-pink
romance vignettes; the one she usually gives Baloo before she bats her eyelashes
at him to get her way. What a flirt…;3
Gidget: “Flirt” is a euphemism, right? ;)
jb: Last time I checked, I think it was a noun and/or verb. ;D
-
Molly’s
shin-kicking moments throughout the episode. Hilarious! ;)
-
Simplistic,
if not slightly saccharine, nausea-inducing romance sequence that’s vivid in
colour, complete with a thematic score to accompany it.
-
As
Molly’s scolded for scalding
Gidget: “Scolding for scalding?” Scandalous! :D
jb: Try saying that six
times fast! ;-)
-
Molly’s
ever-present disapproval scowl throughout the romance sequence, but more so in
the Ballroom vignette where’s she made to wear that hideous pink dress and bow – and what’s with that uglified
hairdo? 0_o
Gidget:
What? Rebecca couldn’t get a babysitter? And putting the kid in a little boat,
excluding her – I think that’s abusive!
Molly: Why do you
think I looked so P.O.’d? ;D
jb: Calling Child
Welfare Services! ;)
-
For
once, Rebecca is wearing an evening gown (and matching choker) that
isn’t pink. Actually, if you look at it very carefully, the design is
near-similar to the Disney version of Cinderella’s ballroom gown ensemble,
just minus the cocktail gloves (the long sleeves almost match), earrings and
hair ribbon.
Gidget:
Ugh. It’s still a hideous prom dress to me. Why can’t Rebecca dress like a
grown woman instead of a little girl playing ‘Princess’?
jb:
She got it on sale at The Disney Store’s costume section? ;D
-
Covington
unsheathes his claws and
growling menacingly at Molly when he traps her in the apartment. It’s almost
as intimidating as Shere Khan’s air-slicing talons moments. That’s really
freaky stuff! 0_o
-
Good
action choreography with Molly’s escape from the apartment.
-
Great
(and real creepy) skull rendering of the mountainous rock formation on
Funny
Stuff/Quotes
-
During
the speedboat chase,
-
Kit:
Baloo! Papa Bear! Miz Cunningham is gonna have a surprise inspection.
Baloo:
(wakes up with a start) Huh? Wha? An inspection?!
Kit:
Yeah. She’ll be here any minute. And you know
what she said about, “a clean plane is –”
Baloo: “–
an efficient plane.” I know, I know. We’d better git movin’, Kit boy!
Baloo: Say, howja know ‘bout this inspection, anyway?
Kit: (slyly) Uh…I “accidentally” read it on her calendar.
Baloo:
Ya mean, the very private “trespassers will be shot” calendar that she keeps
locked in her desk?
Kit:
(cheerfully) That’s the one!
Baloo:
(chuckles) Heh-heh! I love that boy!
-
Rebecca:
(complains) I
thought the air-freight business would be full of adventure
and romance. All I get is clutter and disorder! Where’s the glamour?! Where’s the excitement?!...
Molly:
Don’t worry, Mommy. There’s always clamour an’ incitement when
Danger Woman’s on the job!
-
Rebecca: (automatically swoon on sight) I…I’m Rebecca
Cunningham.
Molly
looks at him with instant dislike.
Rebecca: (blushes and simpers) Oh…my!
Baloo: (rolls eyes) Oh, brother!
jb:
My sentiments exactly. *gag!* Do women really
fall for this type of crapola?! >_<
Gidget: That would explain the female visitors to Death Row.
;)
-
Molly:
You stay away from my mommy! (Kicks him in the shin)
-
Sometime later in Molly’s bedroom:
Rebecca:
Molly, I want to talk to you about Mister Covington…you do realize that
Molly:
I know, Mommy. But Kara and Milly thinks he’s creepy.
Rebecca:
They want me to be happy, don’t they?
Molly: For sure, Mommy, but…(resigned sigh) oh, they’ll try real
hard to like Mister Covington.
Rebecca:
(kisses Molly happily) Oh, thank you, honey. (Leaves bedroom and closes door)
Molly:
(darkly) But I won’t. (Vows to Kara)
“Creepy” isn’t getting you or my
mommy.
-
Cool
audible/visual “ting” of the fork Molly places on
-
Molly:
(giggles after seeing
-
As
Rebecca prepares to leave to investigate the H4H “robbery”:
Gidget:
This always gives me the willies…it’s frightening (if you don’t count the
doll). I have to wonder at Rebecca’s willingness to leave her child with a guy
that Molly finds creepy. The kid even told
her so!
jb: Love
can cloud your judgement, even among the smart and/or economically-dependant
(not in Rebecca’s case here). Can you explain why some parents can leave their
children in the care of someone who’s (potentially) abusive?
-
After
colliding with a telephone pole, peels off and slides down to the ground after
chasing Molly down the wire:
Molly:
Just wait ‘til I tell my mommy! (Scoots off down the road)
-
Confronted
in the Sea Duck after he discovers the
artefact and goes nose-to-nose with an angry Baloo:
Baloo: (grabs him by his lapels, growling) Kidnapped?!
Rebecca:
(remaining calm, restrains him by pulling them off each other) Baloo, I’ll handle this…(then grabs
Gidget: I
love the way they form a united front under stress. It reminds me of the how
they both yell at the mailman at the end of Your
Baloo’s In the Mail when they’re crying in each other’s arms about the
late lottery ticket: “Go away!” or
when Kit asks in I Only Have Ice For You,
“Can I fly? Can I?” They bark at
him: “No!”
-
Covington
: (dramatically)
Oh, it my fault she’s gone. If only
I wasn’t allergic to pain! I shall deliver it [the talisman].
He
starts to leave, but Baloo holds him back by the arm.
Baloo: (suspiciously)
Now hold it! Haven’t you
been sniffin’ ‘round after this doll?
Rebecca:
Don’t worry, Covie. We’re all
going. We’d never make you do this by yourself.
Gidget: I
love that guy. He’s slimy, but his dialogue is so much fun!
-
Flying
to
Baloo:
(looking down at the talisman in his hand, worried and annoyed) Why would anyone
want this ugly ol’ doll, anyway?
Gidget: LOL!
-
After escaping from a large scimitar slicing, yawning floor booby trap
underneath a boiling mud pit and inadvertently swinging on a python’s tail
from harm:
Gidget: Do pythons have
tails? They’re nothing but tail!
jb: Flunked biology in high school, did we? ;3
-
Molly
jumps on
-
Trapped
by
Molly: You can’t have
her [the idol]! You never loved my
mommy!
All
three bears behind him react to these cruel words with shock. Finally
Molly: No!
Rebecca:
(hurt and enraged, fires off her wrath on him) Easy
way? Why, you two-faced,
thimble-headed, no-account…man!
Gidget: What’s that
supposed to mean?
jb: He meant...“Easy like Sunday morning” ? (Worked for Lionel
Richie) J
Rebecca: (fold arms across her chest) Oh? Hah! And what about your partners?
Zoot Suit: (tackles
The
ruby idol slips from
Zoot Suit:
(grabs