Review: Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero “Defending the Earth / Number One Number Two

 

 

“Defending the Earth

Penn is the President of the USA and with the help of Boone and Sashi they have to defend the world from invading aliens. Problem is, another race of aliens sucks up Rippen’s lead race to be part of a game show where two races vie for survival. After a rousing couple of rounds of trivia, we’ve got an obstacle course to get through. Rippen tries to cheat, but Penn stops him and saves the day.

Our Take

On one hand, I liked the idea that it wasn’t Rippen vs Penn in some sort of battle. But, I’m really tired of game shows in cartoons because I see them all the time. Granted, the most of them aren’t for the life line of Earth, but just about all of the cartoons on TV have done them, so hopefully Penn Zero has gotten this trope out of the way early.

Number One Number Two”

Rippen wants to get rid of Larry, but the little guy isn’t going quietly. They get zapped into the times of the renaissance where Rippen takes the town’s gold and Penn’s gotta get it back. He decides to audition for Rippen’s new #2 which looks like a rather heavy field. One montage later, and Penn Zero gets the job leaving Larry to hit the bricks.

Trying to be both the bad guy and good guy turns into a case of Mrs. Doubtfire with Penn sometimes being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rippen eventually finds out when Penn goes for the gold, but Sashi and Boone come to the rescue. Rippen rehires Larry, and the duo get zapped home.

Our Take

I love Larry, he might be my favorite character. He’s just so god damn adorable, almost reminding me of Milo from Fish Hooks with his character design. I also enjoyed getting to see how Rippen and Larry get their days started, and as luck would have it, it’s none too dissimilar to the heroes’. The Mrs. Doubtfire bit was fun, too and even though the setting wasn’t my favorite, this was by far the better of the two episodes.

Score