It’s Saturday morning, and we all know what that means: cartoons! Welcome to Saturday Morning Scares, where we take a look at horror media meant for the younger fiends. In keeping with Hotter Than Hell month here at Nightmare, this month’s cartoon is set in Hell!
Well, I guess Hell is overstating it a little bit. Jimmy Two-Shoes is technically set in Miseryville, where a little red guy works to make everyone miserable. That’s definitely a lot easier to sell in a kids’ show than Hell, which is something you’re probably not even allowed to say with a TV-Y7 rating.Jimmy Two-Shoes is more comedy than horror, like many of these cartoons, but the setting is firmly in spooky territory. There are demons and monsters everywhere you look, and the town is the location of a company that exports pain. Let’s take a look at the denizens of Hel- I mean, Miseryville!
Cast of Scare-acters
Jimmy, The titular Two-Shoes, is a happy-go-lucky kid who doesn’t seem to mind living in Miseryville. He doesn’t really fit in with the monsters who live there, but that doesn’t bother him. Beezy Heinous is Jimmy‘s best friend, the big dumb demon son of Lucius Heinous. He’s lazy, perpetually hungry, and would rather hang out with his pals than be evil. An utter disappointment to his father. There’s also Heloise, the most diabolical mind in all of Miseryville, and one of the few humans. She’s three feet of cunning, which doesn’t leave any room for fear. She also has a crush on Jimmy, but don’t tell anyone!
Lucius Heinous is the evil ruler of Miseryville, head of MiseryCorp, and father of Beezy. He’s red, short, and everything he does is calculated to cause the maximum amount of agony. Prideful, wrathful, mean- you don’t want to get to close to Lucius. Many characters refer to him as Luci. And let’s not forget Cerbee, a Demon puppy! Now, if you don’t have a background in literature or religion, some of those references might have slipped past you. Those names are puns for Beelzebub, HELL, Lucifer, and Cerberus! If this show had come out in the 80s, it would have seriously pissed off some parent groups.
Reruns: Best Episodes
Each broadcast of Jimmy Two-Shoes featured two short segments. For clarity’s sake, the episodes I recommend here are just half of an episode of the show as it aired.
- Heat Blanket Jimmy: August is Hotter Than Hell month, you say? Well, this episode features a heat wave in Miseryville! Luci is making everyone miserable by eating ice cream in front of them, but Jimmy wants to throw a beach party!
- Ghost Smackers: Heloise leads Jimmy and Beezy in a paranormal investigation. The boys are scared stupid, but Heloise is ready to smack a phantom. What will happen when they come face-to-face with a PIZZA GHOST?!?
- High School Mule-sical: Full disclosure: I simply had to pick this one based on title alone. However, it features a talent show and a singing mule, so I regret nothing.
- Zombie Pickles: Every one of Jimmy‘s scary campfire stories end with him being chased b a giant, evil pickle. Things get worse when he finds himself in a bakery where everything tastes like PICKLES!!! Oh, and anyone who eats one turns into a bumpy, green, pickle zombie. An episode that would probably scare younger viewers!
- Slime, Slimier, Slimiest: Jimmy, Heloise, and Beezy love Slugmeister, a TV superhero. Luci puts together a contest to find a sidekick for the slimy hero, but this time the mean little demon has some ulterior motives. This episode served as the series finale.
Theme Song: Does it SLAP or is it CRAP?
The Jimmy Two-Shoes theme song is simple, straightforward, and everything a cartoon theme song should be. It’s not gonna win any awards, but it does what it needs to. It also sounds like if you asked an alternative rock band in 1997 to record a “punk rock” song for your cartoon, which I obviously mean as a compliment. For these reasons, I award the Jimmy Two-Shoes theme song the rating of SLAP.
Quick note: season two features a new theme song which is not nearly as good. I won’t deduct points for that, though.
Crunch Time
For this month’s Nightmare on Film Street-exclusive cereal pairing, I got a little weird with it. To celebrate Hotter Than Hell month, I’m going to recommend you pair Jimmy Two-Shoes with a big bowl of grits, which are officially listed as a “hot cereal.” Kick things up a notch with a splash or six of your favorite hot sauce and really brighten up your morning! Additionally, there’s a single episode of Jimmy Two-Shoes where Jimmy repeats the phrase “I’ve totally shredded my cheese” like a hundred times, so feel free to throw some shredded cheese in your grits!
What’s the meanest thing you’ve ever done just to make someone miserable? Let us know over on Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and the Horror Fiends of Nightmare on Film Street Facebook page! For more horror news, reviews, and cartoons, stay tuned to Nightmare on Film Street.
