This off-the-wall cartoon follows three boys living in a suburban neighborhood during what feels like a perpetual summer vacation. The boys bond originally over their shared first name, Edward. Ed (Matt Hill) is the brute force of the trio, and he’s obsessed with B-horror in all of its forms. Edd (Sam Vincent), or Double Dee as he’s most often called, is the brains of the group, noted germaphobe, and follower of rules. Eddy (Tony Sampson) likes to think of himself as the brains, but he’s more of an ideas guy and a con man.
The boys cook up all kinds of crazy schemes including trying to build a waterpark inside of the neighborhood, trying to sell garbage as street food, and various tailored services for the children of the Cul-de-sac. With over a dozen repeat characters and zany plots, there’s certainly something for any child in Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy.
This was a formative series for me, personally. The first season aired in 1998 and was consistently re-run on Cartoon Network for the next two decades. There’s a charm to this series that doesn’t exist in a lot of kids shows, a realness and simple everyday tone to the wacky stories. Imagination is a constant theme: In episodes like Urban Ed and One+ One= Ed, The Eds and the other children of the Cul-de-sac become lost in the cardboard jungle built by the boys to simulate city life or, scheming to know everything to make a bunch of quarters, disassemble the very fabric of reality.
While those two episodes are personal favorites of mine, there are no weak episodes in Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy’s second season. There are some strong moral lessons to be learned from the Eds including the value of friendship and loyalty or the downfalls of rudeness, hubris, and greed. Highly Recommended.
What library shelves does this series belong on?
Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy would be right at home alongside children’s television, but consider prominent placement to draw in teenage and adult patrons who may want to see the series for nostalgia purposes or introduce their children to their childhood favorites.
What type of series could this show be used in?
Any screening of classic children’s media would be invigorated by the addition of any episode from Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy’s second season.