[8.3/10] What a fun episode. I love how basic and yet still enjoyable this one is. There’s a very simple problem at play here. Jack can’t jump as high as he needs to in order to reach the portal in Aku’s hands. (It’s honestly kind of hilarious when Aku basically plays keep-away with it.) The friendly monkeys that Jack runs into can’t defend themselves from the bad guy gorillas who are stealing their stash of food and wrecking their homes. So Jack teaches the monkeys how to defend themselves in exchange for them teaching him how to jump so high.
It’s startling the simple, but the brilliance is in the execution. For one thing, it’s fun to see Jack run into what is basically Tarzan - a guy raised by apes who knows their ways. He’s a fun liaison between Jack and his tribe. But it’s also a great episode in terms of music, from the rhythmic thumps as Jack trains with the rocks tied to him, to the outstanding score when his primate buddies are in the throes of combat.
Because this is really an episode about great montages. It’s cool to see Jack doing a “Let’s get down to business” montage of teaching the monkeys how to defend themselves. The imagery of Jack lugging all those rocks and failing in his various obstacles until he understands the monkeys’ secret jumping skills is exciting and mythic. And the almost Looney Tunes-esque sequences of the monkeys tricking, trapping, and thwomping their aggressors is outstanding.
Something tells me that Jack doesn't actually defeat Aku here (maybe it’s the 60+ remaining episode), but it’s nice to a simple problem and solution laid out with such enjoyable panache.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-01-31T22:55:01Z
[8.3/10] What a fun episode. I love how basic and yet still enjoyable this one is. There’s a very simple problem at play here. Jack can’t jump as high as he needs to in order to reach the portal in Aku’s hands. (It’s honestly kind of hilarious when Aku basically plays keep-away with it.) The friendly monkeys that Jack runs into can’t defend themselves from the bad guy gorillas who are stealing their stash of food and wrecking their homes. So Jack teaches the monkeys how to defend themselves in exchange for them teaching him how to jump so high.
It’s startling the simple, but the brilliance is in the execution. For one thing, it’s fun to see Jack run into what is basically Tarzan - a guy raised by apes who knows their ways. He’s a fun liaison between Jack and his tribe. But it’s also a great episode in terms of music, from the rhythmic thumps as Jack trains with the rocks tied to him, to the outstanding score when his primate buddies are in the throes of combat.
Because this is really an episode about great montages. It’s cool to see Jack doing a “Let’s get down to business” montage of teaching the monkeys how to defend themselves. The imagery of Jack lugging all those rocks and failing in his various obstacles until he understands the monkeys’ secret jumping skills is exciting and mythic. And the almost Looney Tunes-esque sequences of the monkeys tricking, trapping, and thwomping their aggressors is outstanding.
Something tells me that Jack doesn't actually defeat Aku here (maybe it’s the 60+ remaining episode), but it’s nice to a simple problem and solution laid out with such enjoyable panache.