1001 Animations: Dan Vs. The Animal Shelter by Regulas314 on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Show: Dan Vs.
Episode: S1 E5
Year: 2011

Writer(s): Dan Mandel, Chris Pearson
Director(s): Bill Kopp

This is where I believe Dan Vs. finally finds its niche and manages to give Dan a morality pet to help remind us that despite him being an asshole and a sociopath he's still a somewhat caring human being. The brilliance of Dan Vs. comes from the fact that Dan is almost never the one to strike first against the thing that he's trying to go after for one reason or another. For example: In Dan Vs. Burgerphile he goes after a corrupt fast food manager because he won't give a refund after he gave him an order that was essentially poison to him (he got a cheeseburger and is lactose intolerant). And I've seen Dan go after tons of crazy things from art to stupidity itself. The show itself is mostly consistent with how great it is for the most part even with some episodes being overshadowed with Elise's spy nonsense (seriously who does she think she is? Perry the Platypus?) luckily Elise doesn't have much involvement here and what she does have is really funny.

What amazes me most about this episode is how they still keep Dan likable even though he's essentially trying to blow up an animal shelter just to get some sleep because of the noise. Even more shocking is that Chris ends up eating the poisoned meatloaf Dan was gonna use to kill the animals or the hippie manager Crunchy and Dan spends a good chunk of the episode dragging his lifeless body around to get him medical help while also trying to get stuff for his plan. Dan isn't in the right for doing this whatsoever, but he isn't really a villain either. Honestly how this episode got past the censors in the post-9/11 era is beyond me. It helps Dan does feel Elise's wrath for poisoning her husband.

More importantly is HOW Dan first gains some major humanity points; when he first sets eyes upon Mr. Mumbles (she's a girl) he instantly loves her and they become lifelong companions. The puppy dog eyes of all the kenneled animals also shows that Dan isn't totally heartless and he frees them before the explosion goes off. I don't blame Dan at all, Mr. Mumbles is best kitty. And don't worry he does get karma for essentially committing an act of terrorism; but I won't say how, but it's way more annoying than yapping dogs and an elephant trumpeting (yeah the shelter had an elephant, I've seen stranger things). All in all, thanks to Mr. Mumbles and this episode Dan's personality fully forms and it helps us side with him much better than if he didn't have her.

As a side note: Bill Kopp who was a director for the first season was the co-creator of and voice of Eek! the Cat. Among other things he wrote the last epsiode of Takes from the Crypt, "The Third Pig" and created the Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show (it shouldn't have ever existed though) and was an animator for two of the Roger Rabbit shorts. He'll also be rebooting Woody Woodpecker sometime this decade for Universal pictures. Also, he was a director for another Hub cartoon, The Twisted Whiskers Show. He's currently a writer on the Cartoon Network series Wabbit.

Dan Vs. is owned by Starz and The Hatchery.

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Regulas314