Hello and welcome back to House of Mouse Week. Today, I've decided to try my hand at something a bit different. This Vs. will not be like any other I've done in the past. No, it's more like one of richb's Sitcom Faceoffs I've decided to take two episodes and have them go up against each other. Both of these are Max centric episodes and I enjoy them both immensely. So instead of the usual Vs. categories, here is what I'll be using, Plot (Round 1), this will look at both of the plot's episodes, Shorts (Round 2) , seeing as this show also had shorts that aired and the club storyline wrapped around them, I feel that it's important to look at the shorts. Ending Ad , (Round 3) at the end of most episodes House of Mouse would have a fake ad that somehow tied into the episode's overall theme such as the two themes here cars and love. This round will be a look at which ending ad, I found funnier and more memorable. Resolution (Round 4), How did the characters solve the situation? This is a look at that and which episode did it better and finally, Rewatchability (Final Round), which episode am I more likely to watch again.
Plot (Round 1)
Max's New Car
Max is the valet of the House of Mouse but he doesn't have a car. A fact pointed out by Mickey when we see a video of him parking the different vehicles of the characters. He asks for help from the staff to convince his dad that he is responsible enough for a car. Now there is one moment that bugs me and I know contitunity is loose with these characters but Minnie calls Max a teen, perhaps it was just me assuming that because this came out after An Extremely Goofy Movie, I assumed that Max was in early twenties. Ah, minor nitpick but all the same, it was a fun episode and it had some nice cameos such as Herbie and Mr. Toad and of course in the end, Max gets a car but way he convinces his dad is oh so genius but we will get to that with Resolution.
Max's Embarrassing Date
It's Max's big date with Roxanne and she wanted to come to the House of Mouse. Max wants it to go smoothly and that's why he asks for help from the staff as he doesn't want to get his dad in the way as he is afraid that he'll mess it up but Max finds out that was a mistake as the the rest of the staff start to smother him and can't get any alone time with Roxanne. I like both of these plots, it's a hard choice but I think I enjoyed the plot for Max's Embarrassing Date more, so this round goes to that episode...
Shorts (Round 2)
House of Mouse usually did a good job of finding shorts that tied into the theme of the episode and I'm going to take a look at how these episodes handled shorts, let's begin.
Mickey's New Car/Car Washers (Max's New Car)
Max's New Car chose two shorts that perfectly fit the theme of this episode. The first short, Mickey's New Car is the first short and the basic premise is that Mickey is going on a date with Minnie and doesn't want to be late but his old jalopy is acting up and decides to sell it and get a new fancy car with all the bells and whistles but this car seems to have a mind of it's own and doesn't want to cooperate with Mickey. This was a great short and had a lot of great gags and the way, they tie this short into the episode is just perfect. After the short closes, Minnie asks Mickey whatever happened to the car and then, we see the car pull up to the club and then Max takes it for a joyride. That is just perfect. The second short, I swear reminded me of an older short that had a similar premise. The basic plot is that Pete has hired Mickey, Donald, & Goofy to wash his car and of course if it can go wrong it will. Pete's car does look pretty clean but there are some big black spots and all of the different, the guys try to get them off are just so funny. Now I won't spoil the climax but let's just say that Pete's car doesn't survive this car wash.
Pluto's Penthouse Sweet/How To Ride A Bicycle (Max's Embarrassing Date)
I don't think Max's Embarrassing Date did as well tying in the shorts in the episode to the theme, which was dating and love. Now the first one dealt with that one. Pluto's Penthouse Sweet is a nice short and it's fun seeing Pluto being infatuated with a female dog and as seen in the title, she leaves in a penthouse guarded by Pluto's enemy Butch. The female dog soon falls for Pluto and Pluto imagines life with her to the point of having kids and then he imagines a lonely Mickey throwing sticks to a Pluto that isn't there and tries to escape. Okay, I have an issue with this one, Pluto can have both his love and stay with his owner. I mean, sure it would've taken some work but something could've been worked out. Anyways, the female dog falls for Butch at the end. Now the second short, How To Ride A Bicycle really has nothing to do with the overall theme. It's not bad short, it's a How To short about riding a bike. Something which I'm not very good at and really, the inclusion for this short felt a little shoehorned as Mickey states that it had been one of his favorites since he was a tot on a trike in diapers and then goes to show said picture of a tot version of Max. I hesitate to call these bad but I do think overall that Max's New Car did a better job of tying in their shorts and therefore this round goes to...
Max's New Car
Ending Ad (Round 3)
Supercalifragilisticexpial- Auto Insurance (Max's New Car)
This is just clever, it is a take on those auto insurance commercials but it's so smart with the characters it uses such as Cruella getting a ticket or Mr. Toad going to jail because of his wreckless driving. And it says it'll help atrocious drivers but then it does the warning thing that we can't really help atrocious drivers. This is just a brilliant ad.
Sebastian's Guide To Romance (Max's Embarrassing)
I also find this one to be clever but not as clever as the ad from Max's New Car as it just seems to recreate moments from The Little Mermaid but swaps out Ariel and Eric and replaces them with Max and Roxanne. It's cute to be sure but here again, I just think Max's New Car pulled it off better and again, I have to give this round to...
Max's New Car
Resolution
This is the hardest category to judge as both episodes have great resolutions but I do feel that one edges out over the other.
Max's New Car
Okay, this is just pure genius. Max makes his House of Mouse stage debut and decides to play a tribute to his dear old dad. The tribute happens to be clips of Motor Mania showing that Goofy was a careless driver in his younger days. Now yes, I know that's Mr. Wheeler but just go with it and I know that goes against what I said above but it works well and it brings Goofy down a peg.
Max's Embarrassing Date
Again this is another great resolution. Goofy basically says that the staff are ruining Max's date and smothering Max and Roxanne after all night Max had been worried about Goofy being the one ruining it and it also has this great line.
Not now son, I'm helpin' ya
This is a sweet moment but I kinda saw it coming and I think that would've been the case for any new viewer as well. I actually think that the resolution to Max's New Car is pretty clever and I also like that they acknowledge some of the older shorts in that episode and therefore this round once again goes to...
Max's New Car
Rewatchability
Now even though Max's New Car has pretty much swept the competition, there is one category left and perhaps the toughest to judge.
Max's New Car
Everything about this episode just works from the garage cameo that I've talked about in the past and the pacing is just perfect and it truly feels like a Max episode and there are so many great cameos as always such as Herbie. It's one of my favorites for a reason.
Max's Embarrassing Date
This is a good episode but the cameos I find aren't as memorable and that's kind of a bummer and Max and Roxanne do seem to be overshadowed by the antics of the staff but it's cute and it is nice to see Roxanne again but I've watched Max's New Car more times than this episode and it still feels new to me. I can't say the same for this episode, it's not bad but I think that I'm more inclined to watch Max's New Car again before this episode. Therefore the winner is...
Max's New Car
The End Result
At the end of the day, I like both of these episodes but I had to go with Max's New Car as I feel that it gets more things right. I'm not saying Max's Embarrassing Date is bad. Far from it but rather, I enjoy Max's New Car more. Join me next time as I continue my look at House of Mouse as I review the episode House of Crime
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