Camp Lazlo review

Rocko's Modern Life stands the test of time as one of the best classic Nicktoons ever, being one of many kids cartoons to incorporate more adult elements in a way we can pick up on them when we get older. While it wasn't the first ever, it was one of the first to truly make an impact.

Camp Lazlo is basically the exact opposite, when you get older, you stray ever further from this show, and with Joe Murray's line of programs it's like he's Benjamin Button.

Background

This was Joe Murray's second major cartoon series. Similar principle to Rocko's Modern Life, we have SpongeBob alumni and Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny and Doug Lawrence are in it. This was around Cartoon Network's more forgettable era. When it comes to the City era, people only remember the city, and hardly the show's involved with it.

Here's a little interesting fact, apparently Danny Antonucci pitched Ed, Edd n' Eddy to Nickelodeon initially, but didn't want to sell as they'd take grander creative control, likely to make it more bog standard to kids. It makes sense when you find the contrast between this and Rocko. It's almost as if they wanted their own Rocko but assumed they can get an artist to draw something, only to follow a very cryptic set of instructions.

I remember watching the show a lot as a kid, while Foster's was the very first show I started to hate, it took a little while longer with this, though later on it was left on thin ice, for reasons that will be discussed where its suitable. 

So, the show

Basically going to summer camp and whatever oddities are thrown in the way, plus some gags. That isn't some cheap summary, a lot of these are bubble plots, only things notable are most characters and whatever oddities occur for the day.

Beyond some good jokes here and there, the only thing I find interesting is that they're one of the few shows to acknowledge how useless most characters are, though to be fair they do this more than once. Many of the characters stick to a key personality with very little divergence outside of getting the plot going, even harkening back to the days of yawn. Edward's the rude one with a soft side.

Now look, it's been ages since I've seen the show, but I'd like to say I remember a substantial amount of it, and it's not good enough for me to wanna dig it up again. I am aware that Heffer cameoed in the finale, but I never saw it, and the show wore so thin for me I have no confidence in it.

I'm going by the characters here because they were the biggest stand-out for me in the show, otherwise the plots wouldn't look out of place on a classic nicktoon (or past era Cartoon Network show), and because one character killed the show for me. The only character I ever really liked was Raj, and that's because in spite of being the middle ground one he tends to have some bad judgement here and there, he makes it work, that's all I have to say.

So why is one character such a detriment to me and how bad are they? Well, it requires no introduction if you hate the main character, i.e., who you'd see a stark majority of the time. Lazlo is basically the warped lovechild of Rocko Rama and Charlotte from Making Fiends, in terms of a Carlos Alazraqui character with a dementedly cheery demeanor.

Lazlo isn't always the focus, just a stark bulk for many of the episodes, any instances where he breaks from this are either for the sake of a plot or so minor you wouldn't be tarred for not acknowledging it. In an era where toxic positivity is a thing, Lazlo's overt optimism didn't really age all that well, for most people anyhow. His constant positivity serves as a benefit, a key to victory, everything always seems to go super for him, at least a lot of the time.

Be happy all the time, be ignorant to why someone can feel down, they're just jealous property, repress those negative feelings, keep away from your old school unless your store doesn't sell guns.

I don't want to knock him for being happy all the time, which is why I did it just now, but here it feels hollow. His happiness is always played as beneficial, it's always the mean cynic that portrayed in the worst light, or dim enough to become the butt of the joke. For some he can be very unlikable. He represents child naivety, an antithesis to Rocko's Modern Life, worth bringing up for an obviously backwards progression on Joe Murray's part, but rather than seeing where it could truly go wrong, it's seen as invincibility. When you pick up on who gets it in the end, every episode becomes a draw, especially if you don't like anyone else.

A positive character can work if it's done right. Harkening back to Rocko, he was a huge thorn in the side of Ed Bighead, whether he intended to be or not. But in other episodes we see Rocko face equal measures of disrespect, and even Ed got even with him sometimes. Lumpus was the scoutmaster, Ed was just a neighbor who hated Rocko for whatever reason. It gets worse on Lazlo's part when you force someone to be happy in a way they don't want to be, especially for your own reasons.

Outside of that, Milo Murphy works as a positive character because unlike Lazlo, he is more self-aware and he's basically finding a brighter side to a jinx that actually has some major ramifications, he's used to it, and it isn't a problem to his friends. Hell, the demented chill Charlotte from Making Fiends has works for the dark comedic aspect of her show. She is the antithesis to Vendetta and shows how good can evil just the same.

If I had to guess what they were going for in Camp Lazlo is to just be happy, it's one of those bubble shows, what happens in one episode stays in that episode for the most part. Maybe Cartoon Network really assumed SpongeBob would've ended in 2004, so decided to get their own SpongeBob by whatever means. Keyword is maybe, as in just a crazy theory and not a rip-off allegation, people take that way too personally these days, isn't that right fans of The Mighty B?

Sure, you probably would've enjoyed it when you were younger, and ripe for who the show aimed for, but as you get older or if you find it hard to make friends, you find yourself relating to the people who get the short end the most often. The only way to get by is to fold and be like them, not yourself, because no one would give you a chance to let it out. Soon enough, people can feel entitled when they act on your behalf and when you reject the things they do you never even wanted, suddenly you're the asshole in that situation.

Other than that plots for many of the episodes were otherwise forgettable or just watered down in comparison to what you may see in Rocko.

Overall

Camp Lazlo is an example of a contemporary show you feel you'd become too old for. The worst thing you can do when it comes to cartoon is act like an entitled schmuck and blind yourself to more logical details just to simp for a creator who you pretend you've known for years but don't even know what he smelled like.

Every show has an appeal, whether or not you could relate to most characters as an adult and relive some good memories. Here it feels like the show is telling you that your life is gonna suck when you get older and more cynical, how dare you not be optimistic. Just the fact that was my biggest takeaway shows how uninteresting the show was in hindsight.

It seems even Joe didn't like the show much in hindsight, sure Camp Kidney appeared as a cameo shot, but Lazlo was a no-show. Or copyright, yeah probably.