Review of Eek! The Cat, Created by Savage Steve Holland
Thanks to the miracle of Youtube and the unerring good taste of my husband, I’ve recently been introduced to a delightful little animated gem by the name of Eek! The Cat (later known as Eek! Stravaganza). From 1992 to 1997, while my brother and I were up to our eyeballs in Looney Tunes re-runs on ABC, this Canadian cartoon was airing on Fox. Don’t get me wrong—I cherish my memories of Saturday mornings with Bugs and Daffy. But I’m sorry to have missed Eek! in his prime. I suspect I would have enjoyed him.
The series follows the (mis)adventures of Eek, a rather portly purple cat whose motto—’It never hurts to help!’—never fails to get him into trouble. Extremely painful and hilarious trouble. But that never seems to deter Eek. He remains indefatigably willing to help whenever and whomever he can. Recipients of his often bumbling assistance include: Annabelle, the enormously fat pink feline next door (who also happens to be Eek’s girlfriend); Sharky the Sharkdog, who guards Annabelle against Eek’s wooing, and whose voracious appetite for the flesh of postal workers is only exceeded by his determination to eviscerate Eek; Wendy Elizabeth and J.B., the spoiled and emotionally turbulent children to whom Eek belongs; their oblivious and ignorant mother; the Incredible Elmo, a cowardly French-accented daredevil elk; and the Squishy Bearz, stars of Wendy Elizabeth and J.B.’s favorite TV show, ‘The Squishy Bearz Enchanted Rainbow of Fun Minute’ (a deliberate parody of the 1980’s Care Bears). But really, Eek isn’t picky. Pretty much anyone who comes along needing assistance—from orphans to talent managers—is sure of Eek’s aid (such as it is).
The animation is simplistic and rather rough (though watching the series on Youtube may be responsible for some of the low image quality), and the action can be manic at times. But as with the best children’s cartoons, there’s plenty here for the adult viewer. The writing is snappy and humorous—I’ve laughed out loud at least once an episode, and usually several times. Episodes often parody well-known films like Apocalypse Now and A Clockwork Orange, and the show has features cameos by a host of delightful celebrities, including Tim Curry, William Shatner, Phil Hartman, Heather Locklear, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (then the stars of Fox’s own The X-Files). So if you get stuck in the house on a rainy day and your progeny insists on an Eek! The Cat marathon, well, rest assured there will be plenty to entertain you.
More than just good clean fun, Eek! also offers an interesting perspective on the Christian parable of the Good Samaritan. As Christians, we know from Christ’s illuminating parable (as well as from countless other Scriptures) that we are to love our neighbor, and that this love will often take the form of offering our neighbor some sort of practical assistance. And, if the story of the Good Samaritan is any indication, that assistance may prove costly to ourselves—after all, the Samaritan took upon himself the cost of his Jewish neighbor’s room, board, and medical treatment. This sort of sacrificial love should come as no surprise to Christians, who know that God Himself, the sovereign and holy Creator, took it upon Himself to suffer extraordinary pain and indignity for the sake of those estranged from Him by sin. Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the God-Man, showed His love for us by dying in our place, bearing the punishment we deserved for sin as a result of our rebellion against God. He loved His enemies to the point of suffering and death, and we are commanded to be imitators of this love, caring for others in a pale reflection of His incomprehensible care for us.
Every time someone comes to Eek for help, he eagerly agrees. And every single time, it costs him big. As it turns out, it does hurt to help. Sometimes it hurts a lot. Yet Eek is never in the least hesitant to offer his assistance. Past injuries are forgotten or ignored. All he knows is that there is someone in need, someone he can help right now. He willingly and cheerfully comes to the aid of his fellow, er, man. Or animal. Or alien. Or whatever.
Granted, there is something to be said for Christian stewardship and wisdom—we can’t help all people in all ways at all times. We are called to use the minds God gave us, and His perfect Word, to discern how best to help others in light of the resources and responsibilities with which He has blessed us. We have special duties to certain individuals—our families, for example, or our local churches—that may limit our ability to provide assistance in some situations. And of course, in some situations the truly loving thing to do may be to withhold the sought-after assistance, or to offer aid in an unlooked-for or even unwelcome manner (as when our neighbor is engaged in self-destructive behavior, or is victimizing another). Then, too, we are to seek to glorify God in all our actions, and thus it is appropriate to deny ‘help’ that involves participating in sin or dishonoring God.
But in general, I think the Church would do well to be more like Eek—to be quicker to help when asked, regardless of the consequences to ourselves. After all, the assistance our neighbor seeks is unlikely to result, say, in being rocketed to the surface of the sun, being gnawed on by a voracious sharkdog, or being repeatedly assaulted by psychotic killer bunny. The costs to us are likely to be more mundane and on a significantly smaller scale. Inconveniences, really. And shouldn’t we be willing to shoulder a few inconveniences in order to give the world a glimpse of the perfect sacrificial love of the God who died to save us?
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Alexis Neal regularly reviews young adult literature at www.childrensbooksandreviews.com and everything else at quantum-meruit.blogspot.com.
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