The Charge

No Norm MacDonald = lots of sad children.

The Case

Okay, kiddos, are you ready to buckle up and brace yourselves for another bout of The Fairly Oddparents? Nickelodeon has packaged a trio of episodes, including the titular jumbo-sized 48-minute behemoth installment. I haven't had much success with these mega-episodes, discovering, after a punishing onslaught of Cosmo's grating voice and the hypoglycemic pacing, that this usually-delightful show is best digested in small doses.

Perhaps "Fairy Idol" will be the exception? Let's not be held in suspense any longer:

• "Fairy Idol"
Norm, the malevolent genie, (not voiced, unfortunately, by Norm MacDonald this time) is dying to free himself from his lava lamp prison. He cooks up a scheme to have Wanda and Cosmo resign, after he replaces Timmy with a jerk clone. Fed up with the way the clone treats them, the Fairy Godparents quit in disgust, and because of the fairy rules, a position has opened for a magical being to step in as a Godparent. To fill the vacancy, Fairy World holds a singing competition—"Fairy Idol"—where all the wannabes audition. It's a non-stop pop culture reference as fairies compete, but ultimately Norm will land the gig, and will fall to Timmy and his former GP's to thwart his evil machinations.

• "Truth or Cosmoquences"
When Cosmo hears about this school reunion he is at first reluctant to go. Apparently he was pushed around a lot and is not eager to return to the bullying. But when he convinces Timmy and Wanda to go with him and play flattering parts, he arrives at the party ready to steal the scene. Wanda is his secretary, Timmy is his well-behaved boy (struggling to keep his bladder intact), and on his arm is a hypnotized trophy wife. Things go bad quickly.

• "Timmy TV"
When Timmy wishes to go to Fairy World, he is shocked to discover that he is considered a major celebrity. Apparently, he's been the star of a long-running reality show, where all the Fairy World residents have been watching him lead is crazy life. But fame comes at a price, and he will have to eventually choose between renown and his beloved Fairy Godparents.

I think my theory still stands: The Fairly Oddparents works best in small doses. In its natural 12-minute-long episode incarnation, the lightning pace and quick wit works the best. It really is a great little cartoon, sporting more than a few laugh out-loud moments for your grown-up reviewer, but as the runtime expands, the charm proportionally decreases. "Fairy Idol" is okay, and has some fun little moments, but it grates eventually. It's by no means the insufferable feature-length, train-wreck that School's Out! The Musical was, but it ain't a joy. The high points are the obvious American Idol spoofs, like the fawning Paula Abdul-like judge, and the William Hung wannabe. Low points? The bloated story and the mind-numbing art direction. Still, it's not a complete letdown, and the two bonus episodes are righteous F-O fare. Three "Oh Yeah!" proto-Fairly Oddparents cartoon shorts can be found in the bonus bin.

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