Cartoon Buffoon

Cartoon Buffoon is the 47th episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! In this episode, King Dedede decides to make his own TV show and has all of Cappy Town assist him.

Synopsis
King Dedede wants to make his own animated TV show having himself as the main character. With NME Enterprises helping to fund the project, he hires a team of members to work on the cartoon. However, the group only has a few days to get the first episode done before it airs... as well as a few disagreements with planning.

Episode Summary
The episode starts off with Tiff showing Tuff, Iroo, Honey, Spikehead, and Kirby a flipbook. Tiff proceeds to flip through the flipbook, which surprises the group. Honey asks Tiff what it is. Tiff tells her that it's an optical illusion and that each picture is a little different, but they change so fast that the brain thinks that the picture is actually moving. Tuff says that that's the coolest thing ever and Iroo asks Tiff to show it again. While Tiff is doing so, King Dedede and Escargoon spy from the castle balcony. Escargoon then tells the king that he didn't know making a cartoon is so easy. Dedede then says that he has an idea.



Back inside the castle, Dedede shows Customer Service an animation he made. At first, it isn't focused, but after a yelling, Escargoon fixes it. The animation is that of a horribly drawn Dedede jumping rope. The film ends shortly and Dedede asks Escargoon why it was so short. Escargoon says that he would've needed to make thousands of drawings for one minute of film, but they could hire a staff to do the work. Customer Service then explains that it needs a lot of time and plenty of money. The king than exclaims that that's what Customer Service is for and that he'd give them the dough and they'll broadcast the show. Back at Cappy Town the Cappies look at a sign for a cartoon staff. They also start questioning this thought, but Tiff says that it takes thousands of drawings to make a cartoon. Mayor Len Blustergas then states that it's be okay to have some work in Cappy Town and Chief Bookem agrees as long as it's legal. At the front of the castle, the citizens line up to sign up for the project. Back inside the castle, Dedede tells Spikehead that he's the most important person, the producer. Spikehead asks what does a producer do and Iroo says that they do nothing. Speechless, Dedede sits back in his chair and Escargoon chuckles saying that he got him there. Dedede then becomes angered and appoints Escargoon the director. The mayor then asks Dedede for a coffee break, which disappoints the king. Tiff then suggests a production meeting.

Tiff proceeds to proclaim that their finding out their target audience, production budget, what's the story, and who are the main characters. Dedede then yells at Tiff, saying that he already knows who the star character is, a superhero named DededeMan! He claims to have designed it himself, but Tiff says that that's the sloppiest and ugliest character she has ever seen! Dedede then asks her to come up with something better. Tiff then draws a character who is cute, strong, nice, and lovable: Kirby whom Prof. Curio says has all the qualities of an ancient warrior. Tiff then exclaims that they have to come up with a premise: the situation and setting of the show. Escargoon then tells her to write the script, but Dedede grabs Escargoon and says that he wants DededeMan to be the star. Escargoon then tells the king that she will be the assistant, but Tiff overhears this and complains. Esargoon then tells her that's she's the writer/assistant and that she better write the script or else she'll hear it from him. Back at the castle, Tiff tries writing the story, but crumble it up, claiming it to be hard because she can't think of what to write. Her mother tries to help her, but her father suggests a battle between the protagonist and antagonist. He explains that the audience will go wild for a fight. Sir Ebrum also recommends an exotic setting. Tuff says that the good and bad guys fight in space, but Tiff says that she can't write that. An ecstatic Sir Ebrum then writes the story, at which he falls asleep after spending all night working on. Dedede is angered that he isn't the main character, but Escargoon says that they'll add him in later. Tiff then proceeds to explain the storyboard. She explains that they are the drawings that go with the premise. Dedede then asks her to make them, but she explains to him that it takes a lot of work to draw and animate it. Escargoon tells her not to fret as there are many people willing to draw.



The Cappy citizens proceed to draw King Dedede as an example. The king passes by Chief Bookem and checks his drawing. He grabs the paper out of the chief's hands and asks him what it is. Bookem states that it's the king. Dedede doesn't take it too lightly and rips the drawing to shreds, but Escargoon tells the king that the chief is only drawing what he sees. Tiff tells everyone to take a break to show the king their drawings. The Cappies gladly hold them up, but they are all horrible. The king snatches them all, but when he gets to Chef Kawasaki's drawing, he faints because of his horrendous drawing. Tuff then explains that they are all horrible and Tiff says that she knew it was a bad idea. Escargoon orders Tiff to fix up all the pictures, but Tiff tells Escargoon that he's the director. Escargoon then appoints Tiff as animation supervisor and she has to fix up all the drawings. While Tiff is fixing the drawings she turns around to see Tokkori. Tiff asks what Tokkori is doing there, and he says that he's in charge of quality control. Meanwhile, Dedede and Escargoon browse the room where the coloring is done. Dedede notices Lady Like coloring in Kirby and tries to grab the paper. Escargoon stops the king and tells him that they'll put his part in later. Hana and Buttercup questions Kirby's color, but Honey says that they have to do it correctly or they'd be in trouble. They duo, along with Kirby, then browse the place where the backgrounds are made. Yabui runs out of paint and asks Kawasaki for more. Kawasaki hands Yabui two bottles and upon closer inspection, Yabui states that they are bottles of ketchup and mustard. Dedede stares at a background made of ketchup and mustard, stating that it makes him hungry. Kirby tries to eat it, but Escargoon luckily stops him. Gengu and Curio are working on the framework. Dedede interrupts Curio's framing to press the button. Kirby is also intrigued and presses the button too, but unfortunately, this ruins the frame and Curio yells that he can't work under these conditions. Later on, Dedede and Escargoon explain that they will cut Kirby as the main character. Tiff and Mabel work the film process. Tiff hands Mabel an unfinished film, stating that it nobody had the time to finish coloring it.



Late at night, while all the Cappies are asleep, Dedede, Escargoon, and a couple Waddle Dees sneak into the studio and replace all the finished products of Kirby with products of DededeMan! At the castle, Dedede tells Customer Service that they need more time for the cartoon. Customer Service agrees, but warns Dedede that he'd have to pay $90 billion if he didn't do it though. Back at the studio, Dedede tells his workers that they need to finish the film in two days or else. The Cappies start to complain about unfair treatment, but the king just yells at them, claiming that he's the boss. Two days later, Dedede comes into the room and threatens his workers to work or they'll get hit with a hammer. However, Escargoon notices the sun rising and tells the king that they better air what they have. Tiff states that they will not be finished, but Dedede says that they need to be done in 20 minutes. Tokkori, however, states that they're too far behind, so Dedede decides to pay another visit to Customer Service, who tells him that either they see the show or the king pays the dough.



In the morning, the a show is about to start and the king and Escargoon rush into the voice casting room. Tiff complains that they haven't rehearsed their script, but Dedede tells her to forget about it. The intro begins and has Dedede as the main character instead of Kirby. Tiff is horrified and Dedede and Escragoon laugh. The commercials begin to roll and the other Cappies start to bring the other parts of the episodes. After a minor mix-up, the episode starts to begin. The episode starts off with a horrendously animated Dedede in a spaceship flying through, similar to that of Kirby in the first episode. Meta Knight tells Tiff that he's nervous, but she says that it's okay. Meanwhile, in Dream Land, Kirby, (who is supposed to be Octacon), starts eating the sheep of Dream Land. Tiff and Tuff try to tell Kirby that he is set up to be the villain, not realizing that they are on screen at this point. Meanwhile, in the anime, Kirby attacks the castle and chases Dedede around. Escargoon interrupts and chats to Dedede, with many variations of drawings shown, from horribly drawn ones to more anime-esque ones. Kirby attacks the castle again and chases Tiff, Tuff, and their parents throughout the castle. Kirby even crushes the mayor and the chief under his weight. Tiff, Tuff, and their parents criticize the animation for their horrible ad-libbing and no action. Back to the anime, Kirby blows a stream of fire and Escargoon tells Dedede to suck it up; Tiff claiming that it's something "original". Dedede then transforms into Fire Dedede, who Meta Knight proclaims. However, the colors and backgrounds ran out, but Dedede didn't care, stating that it's the performance that counts. Kawasaki then comes, nervous. He tells Tiff that he has to play the part as Kabu and is afraid he'll mess up. Tiff encourages him and when it's Kawaskai's turn, he does it perfectly fine, relieving him. Escargoon then tells Dedede that the next parts have to be ad-libbed. Dedede becomes angered and smacks Escargoon on the head with his hammer.



Back in the episode, Fire Dedede hops on the Warp Star and heads straight towards Kirby. However, though Escaragoon and Dedede become confused at the drawings and Tiff and Tuff state that Kirby drew the next part. What appears on screen is just incoherent, horribly-drawn pictures of Kirby with pink colored pencil. To make matters worse for Dedede, is jumping for joy in front of the camera now that his pictures are on screen, all the time saying "Poyo!" The episode soon ends with the film messing up, skipping to a mediocre picture of Dedede, and melting. Both Dedede and Escargoon are disappointed in their efforts. Later on, back at the castle, Customer Service tells Dedede that the cartoon had to be of professional quality and that they'll have to be the cash. King Dedede and Escargoon plead for another chance. Escargoon then tells Customer Service that they're give him 20 free episodes. Customer Service contemplates this and states that it's a good deal and agrees. The show starts and the first part of the episode is Dedede jumping rope. The first slide ends and Dedede asked where's the other one. Behind the scenes, Escargoon was rapidly coloring all the blank slides and a plethora of Waddle Dees were drawing the pictures. On screen, it looks like a huge mess with a horribly drawn Kirby and Dedede. Everyone laughs at the show and Tiff says that it's one of the shows that is so bad, it's funny. The episode ends with Kirby losing his color, but a kind paintbrush recolors him, making him jump for joy.

Changes in the Dub

 * The theme song at the beginning of Dedede's show was originally a remake of the Japanese theme, whereas in the dub, it is a remake of the dubbed theme.
 * In the English dub, if Tiff didn't write the script, she'd "hear it" from Escargoon. However, in the Japanese episode, Escargoon threatened to give her the death penalty.
 * In the English dub, Meta Knight says that he is nervous since he has never acted before, but in the Japanese version, he says that it isn't sane for not rehearsing before the show airs.
 * In the English dub, Dedede says that he's "a super star warrior" in his show while in his spaceship, but in the Japanese version, he talks like a baby to imitate Kirby.
 * Several small scenes were cut out due to time restraints.
 * The letters on Tiff's keyboard were airbrushed out.
 * When Escargoon tells Tiff she is the supervisor, she argues back at him for why she has to supervise. However in the English dub, she wasn't added a mouth scheme for unknown reasons.
 * When King Dedede's cartoon is about to start, they show different clips of Cappies watching the broadcast, including a clip of Doron with a cup of wine in his hand. The cup of wine was airbrushed out and replaced with water due to alcoholic references.
 * The 4kids dub added a picture of King Dedede's face right before his cartoon.
 * Scenes where it shows credit for Holy Nightmare were removed and replaced with Nightmare Enterprises.
 * Some words were airbrushed out when they showed incomplete pages of King Dedede's cartoon.

Trivia

 * This episode is likely a commentary/criticism of the tricks and shortcuts that the Kirby anime staff saw in other Japanese anime shows, e.g. only the mouths moving in a lot of scenes, camera work to make it look like there was more motion then there was, cutting such corners to conserve money, etc. This is further supported as, during the live voice-overs, Tiff and her family point out some of these flaws, and Escargoon breaks in saying there wasn't the time or money.
 * This is one of the few episodes that breaks the fourth wall. Examples include-
 * When Meta Knight says: "Look, it's Fire Dedede, our Hero!", he looks at the audience, shakes his head and explains that he "would never say that". In the Japanese version, he starts to say: "Yes, that is Fire Dedede!" enthusiastically, but then stops part-way though in disbelief, remarking to the audience that "...even I can't make that sound cool".
 * At the end of the episode, Kirby's colors disappear, leaving him just as a transparent line sketch. After turning to the audience, a giant paintbrush appears from off-screen and paints them back on, to which he reacts positively.
 * Dedede's anime is heavily based off the first episode of the series, Kirby Comes to Cappy Town.
 * Cartoon counterparts-
 * Dedede = Kirby
 * Kirby = Dedede/Octacon
 * Cappy Town residents = Themselves
 * Kawasaki = Kabu
 * Escargoon = Tuff and Tiff, as he told Dedede to inhale Kirby's fire and called for the Warp Star.
 * This is the only episode where Dedede actually uses inhale, although he does it in a cartoon.
 * In this episode, King Dedede has horrible drawings and no idea on how to make an anime, but when TV was first introduced to Cappy Town, there was a perfectly OK anime based on Transformers which Tuff loved along with his parents, even.
 * This episode was released on DVD as part of a Perfect Circle Selection on April 2003.
 * It is shown that Dedede knows that Kabu hides the Warp Star, as a scene in "Dedede: Comin' at Ya!" (cheaply) mirrors it. This caused a plot hole, as in "Air-Ride-in-Style", Dedede doesn't know where the Warp Star is.
 * During the entire process of creating Dedede's cartoon, there was no one shown to be working on sound production nor creating music. It can be assumed that the Waddle Dees took care of the job, though.
 * Even though King Dedede can't read, he is able to read the script.
 * The realistic detailed drawings of King Dedede and Escargoon resembles very heavily of the art style in F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu (Also known as F-Zero: GP Legend in the dub version) which is an anime based on another Nintendo franchise. It's possible that the same artist who worked on the F-Zero anime worked on those segments.