Review: The Casagrandes “Race Against the Machine/My Fair Cat Lady”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Race Against the Machine

When Mr. Chang’s job might go to a faster train conductor, he has to prove that he can be just as fast.

My Fair Cat Lady

Adelaide wants to help the city cats clean up their acts for adoption.

Our Take:

In the first episode, the story consists of Chang attempting to save his job as a train conductor when he meets his competition: a robot named GLART-E. Chang’s boss plots to replace him with GLART-E, so Ronnie Anne and the kids help Chang win the race against him with Breakfast Bot’s assistance. Unfortunately, Chang wasn’t as fast as his boss wanted him to be, so he fired him. Eventually, Chang later comes to the rescue when GLART-E’s train gets stuck in traffic. Most of the humor consists of Carl and Adelaide distracting GLART-E while Chang uses Breakfast Bot to make his train go faster than Sonic the Hedgehog, which can lead to some chuckle-worthy moments.  

I liked this episode because it showcases Chang’s undeniable love of being a subway conductor. It’s not just because of his efficiency of being on time, but also his friendly customer service and can-do attitude. Chang’s boss hopes to replace him with GLART-E because of the robot’s speed. However, GLART-E’s customer service is anything but friendly when he tells the guests about the eight-hour delay in traffic. This leads to Chang’s boss realizing that friendly service is just as important as speed, and Chang is the perfect conductor to handle both. 

The second episode sees the return of the vicious city cats that always cause trouble for the Casagrandes and their neighbors. However, Adelaide attempts to turn these dirty felines, led by Mr. Wiggles, into sweet and cuddly ones so they can be adopted and avoid getting taken away by animal control. Adelaide tries teaching the cats about good manners, being cute, and obedience, but they fail at every one of them, which is where the humor comes into play. The people eventually learn about the cats’ significance to the city when the rats attempt to steal the animal control van. The cats may be vicious and poorly mannered, but the only thing that makes them tolerable is keeping the city clean from a group of trouble-making rodents.  

Overall, both episodes offer some entertaining plots centering on characters outside of Ronnie Anne’s family. “Race Against the Machine” is a good episode that showcases the importance of customer service and efficiency from a human worker compared to an A.I. robot. “My Fair Cat Lady” is a fun episode that sees Adelaide attempting to help the city cats be good kittens, leading to an admittedly cool kaiju-like showdown between the cats and the rats.