The Dreamstone/YMMV: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:59, 12 March 2014

Nightmare Fuel: Zordrak, in the opening of every episode. Weakened somewhat by his Villain Decay as the series goes on. Also, the Zordrak-possessed Amberley in episode 3.
Awesome Music: "Better than a Dream"
Badass Decay: Within the duration between the first and second season premieres, Rufus devolved from a Cloudcuckoolander Badass Adorable with a sword to a generic Useless Meddling Kid. Amberley ended up pretty much the same. In addition they became cheery and innocent enough to make your teeth rot.
Cry for The Devil: While it's mostly in a comical tone, the show really wants you to feel bad for the Urpneys at times, who are generally not-so-evil bumblers who are abused and forced into going after the Dreamstone non stop by Zordrak. The introductory scene in the pilot perhaps jams it in the most, where Blob and co watch in utter terror the horrible fate of their predescesor, before taking their place.
Designated Protagonist Syndrome: Rufus and Amberley, who were arguably the least effective of the hero ensemble, often causing more problems than they solved and being reliant on the other heroes (or pure luck) to save the day. Not to mention a lot of episodes give more Sympathetic POV on the Urpneys, with the actual hero alliance somewhat one dimentional in comparison and less capable of setting up plot devices on their own. The fact it was so hard to root against the Urpneys only worsened this. A large amount of times, Rufus and Amberley bordered as cardboard Hero Antagonists.
Ensemble Darkhorse: Urpgor, with the rest of the Urpney cast not far off.
Jerkass Woobie: Urpgor is a psychotic weasel who constantly relishes in any torture Blob and his minions recieve. However his right hand role with Zordrak only leads to him suffering even more abuse and pressure from their boss, and, despite his beliefs, is considered no less despensible than the other Urpneys because of it. Naturally whenever he tries getting the stone instead of Blob, things usually go just as well too.
Misaimed Fandom: Urpgor is easily the most popular character in fandom
- Zordrak, Blob and the rest of the Urpneys aren't really far off for that matter. Granted the show does present them as Villain Protagonists to an extent.
Nightmare Retardant: Zordrak in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses in episode 6.
- And sock-suspenders, if you look closely.
- And let's not forget the temporarily good-willed Zordrak in "Spildit".
Periphery Demographic: The show is fairly cutesy and childish in tone (cartoon hosting site Jaroo even lists it as a Pre School show) however it has gained more than a few older fans, largely for it's witty Urpney humor.
Rooting for The Empire: Come on. Say you didn't want the Urpneys to win at least once.
Suetopia / Sugar Bowl / Tastes Like Diabetes: The Land Of Dreams really leans into this trope. Not only is the place candy colored and endlessly cheery and cute, most of the protagonists are pretty low on jerkish or cynical traits and generally fall a lot less to slapstick than the bad guys. A possible reason for the Misaimed Fandom above.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: While the dream making concept is rather unique, it is actually rarely explored or developed in favor of the Urpneys' Road Runner vs. Coyote antics. The actual process for making dreams is depicted in a rather sparse and mundane manner due to the heroes being kept somewhat underfocused and flat, while the dreams themselves are shown once in a blue moon. If it weren't for its name, The Dreamstone could often be seen as any other generic MacGuffin stealing show (not to say it's a bad one however).
The Woobie: Frizz and Nug are hapless cowardly minions with all the malice and callousness of someone's left shoe. They are shanghied into endless numbers of torturous methods of stealing the Dreamstone which almost always end in failure (and a resulting punishment from Zordrak). Add to that the constant bullying from Urpgor and the usual lack of sympathy they get from the heroes despite their position (who generally beat them mercilessly as much as they would any genuinely ruthless villain), it's really hard not to feel sorry for these guys (as funny as their abuse may also be). Sgt Blob leans somewhere between this an a Jerkass Woobie.
- Though more often in something of Hero Antagonist roles, a few of the hero characters got at least one moment in the spotlight where you were meant to feel incredibly sorry for them (eg. Rufus in the opening special, Albert in "Albert's Ailement").
Villain Decay: In early episodes, Zordrak was rather calculating and implied to actually concoct many of the plans to steal the stone. In later episodes, he is largely an Orcus On His Throne, rarely having much of a role outside ranting at the Urpneys to steal the stone (with Urpgor mostly taking over in devising the means to do so). His demonic tantrums were also exagerrated as time past (in comparison to the pilot, where his most malicious acts are done in a completely stoic and focused manner).