Let's Talk About: Carl Foutley and Hoodsey
(Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit unprofessional blog post written by an unprofessional blog poster. All purported facts and statement are little more than the subjective, biased opinion of said blog poster. In other words, donât take anything I say too seriously.
âLetâs Talk Aboutâ is a series of articles focused on individual character or characters and their development and commentary throughout the work in question. THIS IS NOT A REVIEW OF THE WORK, but rather what the character says about the world around them. Â If you wish to read a strict review, please click on the link to read it. My reviews focus more on the purely technical aspects of the work. There are bad characters with good messages. There are good characters with bad messages and so on and so forth. Thank you.
Authorâs Note: Okay, this is going to be a weird one. Originally, I wanted to do a review of As Told By Ginger, one of my favorite childhood shows and cartoon I sincerely hope people get to watch. But, thanks to Paramount, the studio that owns Nickelodeon and, by proxy, ATBG, trying to buy the official releases of this show have been a nightmare! While Paramount âhasâ released DVDs of the show, they are very sparse and leave out way too many episodes. Even attempts to upload episodes to Youtube have been shut down by Paramount. For some reason, Nickelodeon refuses to sell episodes of the show digitally through venues like Amazon or itunes. As such, Iâm going to be skipping over my review of this show and focusing on a topic near and dear to my heart.)
Letâs Talk About: Carl Foutley and Hoodsey
As Told By Ginger is probably one of my favorite childhood shows growing up. The characters felt real. The situations were relatable and the humor was on point.
For those who donât know, As Told By Ginger was a Nickelodeon Cartoon that ran through the 2000âs that depicted the everyday life of Ginger Foutley, a middle school student who tries to get through her day to day  by writing in her journal. It was a simple premise but executed spectacularly thanks to the animation studio of Klasky Csupo (who also did other shows such as Rugrats, the Wild Thornberrys and Rocket Power).
While Ginger would be dealing with her problem (such as a cute boy whoâs using her to get a good grade in Chemistry class or helping her friends, Dodie Biship and Macie Lightfoot, with a problem), her younger brother who was in Elementary School, Carl Foutley, and Dodieâs younger brother, Robert Joseph âHoodseyâ Bishop, would be getting into trouble.
In his Doghouse (a memory Carl holds onto in hopes his runaway dog, Monster, will return), he and Hoodsey create ideas to swindle his classmates. Carl and Hoodsey would usually have their own subplot where in Carl hatches a scheme to get money, get revenge or attempt to get his petrified eyeball away from Blake Gripling.
See, producers and executives are a bit wary to catering to a single demographic. In ATBGâs case, catering to girls. (To be fair, even in the original pilot Carl and Hoodsey were there). As such, while Ginger and Dodie were doing âgirlyâ or âfeminineâ things, Carl and Hoodsey were doing âboyâ things and had the share of the gross out humor.
Itâd be easy for Carl and Hoodsey just to be the comic relief. Their material is funny and they break up a lot of the dramatic moments with their antics. But as the series progressed, I began to realize that the show runners were doing a lot more with the two than I realized.
For example, I thought there was a strong sense of âchildren during the face of mortalityâ. Â When Hoodsey and Dodieâs grandmother dies in âLosing Nana Bishopâ, Hoodsey has a different reaction from the rest of his family. See, while Dodie, his father and his mother are all grief stricken with the loss of his grandmother, Â Hoodsey isnât. And he feels weird about it, saying âBut I donât feel sad, Carl.â. A child realizing their apathetic towards their own relationâs death is a strangely mature arc to go through. Hoodsey eventually comes around saying he will miss her but in his own way stating âIâll never look at blue foam or a raisin and not remember how Nana used to laugh at me and pinch my cheek really hard.â
This happens earlier in the series. Carl begins a sort of May-December Romance with Maude, an elderly lady he meets at a nursing home. (To be fair, itâs said that these feelings only come from Carl and Maude doesnât return his feelings but finds him entertaining company). As Carl prepares to propose to her, Maude dies and Carl has to deal with it.
But the biggest impact was during No Hope for Courtney, when Carl realizes Ms. Gordon has retired because Carl pulled a prank too far and traumatized her. Because of that, Carl does everything he can to get her back. Eventually, he wins her over. However, the night before class, Carl wakes up and calls out her name. The next day, itâs revealed that Ms. Gordon died in her sleep. (This was done as a tribute to her voice actress Kathleen Freeman passing away). The final shot is Carl crying over her death.
Religion is also a big part of the show (which is surprising, given that this was a Nickelodeon show meant for children). Carl is an atheist, but itâs only really mentioned in passing when Ginger nearly dies from a burst appendix.
In contrast, Hoodsey is seen more as the more religious of the duo, if not necessarily the more moral. What I mean is that Hoodsey is as willing, if not more so, to get into much trouble as Carl is but Hoodsey does believe in a divine power. We get glimpses of this. When Carl and Hoodsey get Mrs. Griplingâs money so Hoodsey can pretend to be a homeless boy for her (Mrs. Gripling was trying to become the head of a social club and did so by faking to do actual charity work), Hoodsey argues they should give the money back, stating "when the big guy sends me a message, I try to pay attention.â
In âLosing Nana Bishopâ, Hoodsey says that their grandmother is somewhere in âthat great big bingo hall in the skyâ.
Normally, Christianity vs Atheism debates are reserved for the internet Youtube videos or conservative propaganda pieces. In fact, thereâs a scenario you could see how Carl would argue with Hoodsey about religion.Instead, the writers of the show establish this through a clever and subversive way.
Hoodsey believes in Santa Claus while Carl does not. The two get into an argument about how ârealâ Santa is, with Hoodsey being so devoted to Santa he breaks his friendship with Carl.
Eventually the two bury the hatchet and decide theyâre better off laughing at things such as neon signs of reindeer pissing.
âSure youâre cool hanging with a non-believer?â Carl asks Hoodsey.
âTo each his own and all that,â Hoodsey replies.
What led to Carlâs jadedness towards Santa Claus, Carl replies âSomething stupid. I think I used to wish my dad would come home for the Holidays or something like thatâ. This is a reference to the fact that his birth father left his family when he was young.
In the world of sitcoms and cartoons, the showrunners sometimes depict various family units and how they contrast with one another. Carlâs family had a Single mother, Lois Foutley, and Ginger. He was the only male character in the house and the youngest child.
Through the 90âs most shows had nuclear, if dysfunctional, families with a mother and father and multiple children. Even if the sons were often trouble makers, they had father figures to look up to. Bud Bundy had Al, Chris Griffin had Peter, Eric Forman had Red, Bobby Hill had Hank and Bart Simpson had Homer.
Hoodsey, whose parents are still together and havenât separated, even makes a side comment to Carl âYou see how complicated having two parents can be?â
To be fair, as time went on other cartoons and cartoon characters have commented on divorce. Sharon Spitz from Braceface, Pepper Ann Pearson from Pepper Ann, Sammy âSquidâ Dullard from Rocket Power, Will Vandom from W.I.T.C.H. and Tino Tonitini from the Weekenders are all products of divorced/separated couples. But whereas their mothers they stay with are considered embarrassing, overprotective, smothering, or strict, the absent father figure is usually idolized and admired, even with their actual presences hidden or built up. For the first times we hear about them, we never actually âseeâ what Pepper Annâs father and Tinoâs father looked like until later in the series after theyâre mentioned.
Itâs also implied that the absent father figure is the better off or the richer of the two households with a âcoolâ profession. Pepper Annâs father is a pilot, Squidâs father is an executive, Willâs father is seen driving a sports car (implying heâs wealthy) and Sharon Spitzâs father is a rock star. As such, itâs seen as an idolization of the absent father figure. âMy dadâs not here because heâs busy being cool somewhere elseâ.
Then, we finally get hints of who Gingerâs father is.
In âHello Strangerâ, Ginger gets a congratulations letter for graduating Elementary School (an event, as her friend Darren mentions, that happened ages ago) from her father. Ginger invites her father to attend her poetry reading only for him not to show up. Lois decides to send flowers to Ginger and has them written to be from Gingerâs Father (even though he had nothing to do with them). Ginger sees through the guise but thanks her mother anyway.
When we do finally meet Gingerâs Father, Jonas, the truth is finally revealed: he is a mall Santa who canât be bothered to make it to her daughterâs poetry reading. Itâs also implied heâs not well off financially. âIâm sort of a Jack of all trades and Master of noneâ he says in a later episode.
When Carl and Jonas do meet on Christmas Day, Hoodsey inadvertently stages a meeting between them, Carl, meets him with scorn and hatred. He even says âMy Mom always warned me about getting in a car with a total stranger.â Jonas gives Carl a globe full of peanuts, not knowing that Carl is violently allergic to them.
The show doesnât mince words; Jonas Foutley is a deadbeat dad who doesnât know his own children and his attempts to be there fall flat. (To be fair, the show gave him redeeming values such as giving GInger good advice or having him wrestle rogue attacking turkeys).
Ginger and Carl have very different reactions to their birth father. Ginger attempts to get Jonas back into her life as much as possible while Carl wants nothing to do with him.
Consider how strange that is. Ginger, the older female child, idolizes her father while Carl despises him. Carl instead attempts to help Dr. Dave, a recurring character and co-worker of his mother, help woo Lois. Carl whoâs the younger child instead feels more comfortable with his step father while Ginger, who would be older and would have more memories of her father leaving her, is dedicated to making her father a part of her life as much as possible.
Itâs interesting to see how he, who is barely entering middle school not only wants to embrace his potential new father, but harbors resentment against his birth father. He even goes so far as to address him as Jonas while calling Dr. Dave Dad. Carl even accuses Jonas of conspiring to ruin Lois and Daveâs wedding!
In one of the final episodes of the season, Carl helps Lois find a new house. Lois decides to indulge Carlâs gross out side and shows off houses that she thinks Carl would like before settling on a real house. Except, throughout the episode, Carl dismisses each of the houses and commits himself to finding an actual home.
When Lois asks why Carl is acting out of character, Carl responds.
âItâs my last duty as Man of the House before Dave steps into the roleâ, he says.
Think about that. Carl, despite admitting he loved the creepy and gross houses Lois showed him, decides to take the responsibility of house hunting seriously because he considers it the last duty âas man of the houseâ before Dave comes in. He is deliberately choosing to step away from his own selfish desires and deciding to âact like a manâ. Not masculine as in gaining muscles or beating up people or acting as an authority figure, but doing something as simple as helping his mother and changing his attitude and behavior.
Consider the context: Carl favors Dr. Dave, a step-father, despite Dave not being his birth father and him acting squeamish and cowardly, more of a man than his actual parent. Why? Because Dave is there and helps his family while Jonas, Carlâs birthfather, has been mainly absent from his childhood.
So naturally, Carlâs viewpoint of masculinity and manhood are changed. Rather than being assertive of muscular, itâs simply being there and supporting his family when he can.
Thatâs strangely profound in a child.
It feels like Carlâs arc is that of maturity. But through the series, attempts into forcing Carl to mature all fail. Ms. Gordo and George (a strict boy scout who uses military training to straighten out Carl), all fail. Attempts to force Carl to destroy the dog house, his secret lair and his nostalgia into hoping his long lost pet, Monster, will come back fail. Even when a classmate tricks Carl into growing up fails. But instead, Carl chooses by his own accord when heâs finally ready to destroy his dog house. He chooses to turn his back against pranking. He chooses to help his mother out with the wedding and move.
(It should also be mentioned that Carl was willing to let his dog house be destroyed when George blackmails Carl that by leaving he would cast the blame on Ginger whose program is failing). Then, on Loisâ wedding day, Monster, the dog Carl has been waiting to come back, returns to him.
In some ways, Carlâs story is a view of masculinity but through the lens of grade school boy. Through this sense of jadedness, we see a boy whoâs grown weary of the world but works through it by being as gross and angry as possible. But instead of pursing masculinity as a form of power or revenge fantasy, he views it as an aiding tool and someone who genuinely wants to help (even if that help causes more trouble than aids).
Tress MacNille is a voice acting professional whoâs shown her merit through shows such as the Simpsons, Futurama and other works. But itâs with Hoodsey that she embodies a character and gives said character real depth. But itâs Jeannie Elias who absolutely delivers as Carl (she also played Botley in Jumpstart 3rd grade adventures). Â Itâs not uncommon for female voice performers to voice young boys (this is done for a variety of reasons as animated shows can go on for years and female actresses tend to âsoundâ younger than male ones), but Elias performance while holding a scratchy voice manages to convey anger, sadness, humor and cunning at all the right times. Kudos to her.
The series ends, showing an Adult Ginger reading her book to a group of her adult friends as well as Darren with their child. Hoodsey and Carl are seen sitting next to each other.
Though, there is one detail I do find funny. In an episode, Carl says âI can see Me and Hoodsey being friends 30 Years from nowâ.
I guess some friendships do last a lifetime after all.
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