Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show Review

Warning: Spoilers for a near 10 year old movie.

Greetings and Happy New Year Ladies and Gents! It is I, The Shaman of Animation back with a new review; and it's one that makes me feel a little old. Today marks the 20 year anniversary of Ed, Edd n Eddy. Growing up. EEnE was one of my favorite cartoons and it along with Dragon Ball Z were the reasons I was such a diehard Cartoon Network kid. I was thinking of the perfect episode to review to celebrate such an accolade, and then it hit me: 2019 isn't just the 20th anniversary of the series' premiere, it also marks the 10 year anniversary of its finale. 

Without further ado folks, let's take a look at Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show!

Big Picture Show is a 2009 made for TV movie that serves as the finale to the series. A scam gone horribly wrong forces the Eds to leave the Cul-De-Sac and search for Eddy's brother in a desperate attempt to find protection against the other kids of the Cul-De-Sac who were horribly maimed from the scam and are out to harm the trio.

If you've seen or heard of this movie, then this complaint you may have heard, but it's never outright stated just what the scam was that forced the Eds to leave their home. And considering the bad stuff the Eds have done over the series from ruining parties to unintentionally insulting the traditions of someone's family, it does make you curious as to how this thing they did is worse than anything else they've pulled. 

But at the same time, if I could try to poke in the writers' brains for a bit, maybe that was the intent. That what the scam was wasn't an important factor but rather the aftermath of it. Which if that is the case fine, it's really just a small hole in what is overall a great movie.

Everything you love about Ed, Edd n Eddy is packed in this film from the 4th wall breaks, to the slapstick, to its...unique dialogue, and on top of that several callbacks to previous episodes and specials from the reappearance to Captain Melonhead, to a 2 second cameo by Lothar, it's a really cool thing to do for fans that have followed the show and there's something about that that really helps reinforce the sense of finality.

With this being and hour and a half finale to the series, Big Picture Show effectively uses every major character from the series in a meaningful way as they're all for one reason or another trying to chase down the Eds in a race against the clock sort of deal; and taking this movie outside of the Cul-De-Sac and Peach Creek Jr. High gives it a much bigger scale, one that's necessary for a movie like this.

But more than anything, perhaps what really makes this movie stand out is when it gets serious. I remember being taken aback when I first saw this movie because serious conflicts don't happen that often, if at all, in the series, and when it does, it's normally played for laughs. So when Eddy and Double D are arguing, it adds a great little wrinkle not only to the story but to these two characters, Eddy specifically because a big sticking point to this film is Eddy coming to grips with who he is and his actions as a person; and nowhere else is this better reflected than when he finally meets his brother.

You wanna talk about wrapping things up for your series.

After several episodes (and a special) referencing him, Big Picture Show finally reveals to us Eddy's Brother and very quickly it shows that he isn't the awesome hero Eddy made him out to be; and watching everyone's reactions to how Eddy's treated by his brother and his admittance to the person he really is makes for a pretty satisfying conclusion to Eddy's character and to the show itself.

What can be said about Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show that hasn't already been said? With a plot that makes use of all its characters and reveals that fans have wanted for a long time (Except for showing what Double D looks like without the hat on!) I can't think of a better or more satisfying conclusion for any other series.

Happy Anniversary Ed Boys. Here's hoping your creator and Cartoon Network can work out some deal so that I can own the series on Blu-Ray.

Til next time folks, I'm The Shaman of Animation and I've got a bunch of Kingdom Hearts games to power through.

It's so close...and I'm so ill prepared.

Take Care...