Handy Manny

Last year I babysat a lot. But it was great because I got to watch a lot of kidz showz, one of them being Handy Manny. There’s not a lot to say about this show besides the fact that it’s basically Bob the Builder combined with Dora the Explorer.

Manny is the owner of a small town repair shop and has talking tools that help him with his job. These tools are so extremely annoying, I don’t know how Manny stays sane. I have a weird feeling that Manny is an illegal alien and that’s why he’ll take the job that no one wants to do. That, and he’s really good with tools. Mostly because he doesn’t have to pick them up since they move on their own. I mean, I could be a repair man if that’s all it takes.

Manny speaks English and tosses in some Spanish words on occasion. Like, for whose benefit is he throwing in these words? Is he trying to teach his tools another language? That’s all the show needs-bilingual tools. Meanwhile the cats and dogs on the show only meow and bark so how is that fair?

Manny is also superrr boring. I’m blaming this on the fact that Wilmer Valderrama does his voice and he puts not effort into it at all. Like, I’ve never seen Manny excited or have any change in his demeanor. Maybe this is how all Mexican repairmen are and Wilmer is doing an excellent job portraying this role, but I just don’t get it.

The tools aren’t even bound by the laws of gravity. They float around and kind of do whatever they want which would cause me to have an anxiety attack. A flying screw driver just isn’t safe.

Why is he carrying them when they can float around on their own?

I read on Wiki that apparently the show takes place in the Arizona desert where a number of Spanish speaking residents live. That makes a little more sense. I was wondering why so many people knew what Manny was saying. He’ll always say the name for something in Spanish and then repeat it in English. It’s like, why don’t you just say the word in English and save yourself some breath?

All of Manny’s tools have different, quirky personalities. I can’t really keep them straight, so here’s a list of their names and what they are:

Felipe- Phillips head screwdriver.

Turner- Flat head screwdriver.

Pat- Hammer.

Dusty- Hand saw. (voiced by the same person who played Phil and Lil Deville on Rugrats!)

Squeeze- Hand pliers.

Stretch- Measuring tape.

Rusty- Monkey wrench.

A surprising amount of guest stars have lent their beautiful voices to this quality show: Lance Bass, Snoop Dogg (why?), Ed O’Neill, George Takei, Florence Henderson, Jim Belushi, Donny Osmond, Kathy Lee Gifford, Jane Lynch, Henry Winkler, Ashley Parker Angel, Weird Al Yankovic, and lots of others with latino-sounding last names.

As you can probably assume, there are many towns people and other prominent characters, but I don’t really care about them so neither should you. When it comes down to it, this show isn’t exciting and full of life. This isn’t a new concept, the animation kind of sucks, and the tools will haunt your dreams.

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