Radda radda radda!  Sleeper hits need no translation: Chowder is just that funny. On the heels of the announcement of its renewal for a second season, the Cartoon Network hit brewed up two more winners with "The Heavy Sleeper" and "The Moldy Touch". Other shows have fallen short with the same ingredients, but when Chowder gets it right, the random gags, experimental art, and cookie-cutter plots make intricate comedy look effortless.  Every time you think that's not going to make you laugh, they'll time it just right and surprise the giggles out of you.

In "The Heavy Sleeper", Chowder and his master Mung Daal treat a bout of insomnia by mixing up a sleeping aid.  Always enthusiastic to help, Chowder adds too much of the active ingredient, and before he can muster up a warning, Mung's face-down in the sauce.  Chowder switches from guilt to denial (yes, he leaves Mung zonked out in the kitchen, and haven't we had nights like that), but at breakfast Mung is still asleep.  With catering orders to fill, Chowder hides the evidence from Mung's irascible wife Truffles, and begs for help from their long-suffering assistant Shnitzel.

A word about Shnitzel: radda.  There's a long tradition of characters who only say one word, and Shnitzel's up there in the popularity polls.  (He does say "oooh!" on occasion, as in "oooh, burn!")  It helps that Shnitzel's voice actor is none other than John DiMaggio, the voice of Futurama's smart-alec robot Bender.  This episode is a great showcase for the rock-monster, who has to retrieve the unconscious Mung while flailing around on roller-grapes.  

The puns and gags make it easy to play with English idioms as they literally pop, splash, and gush on the screen.  Chowder is really at its best when it's random, so I'll highlight a recurring bit to avoid spoiling the fun.  When Shnitzel, the sleeping Mung, and Chowder chase through the streets of Marzipan, they're weaving around harried drivers in vehicles shaped like snails.  They're S cars!  It's the old joke about escargot.  Not bad for a show about cooking.  Unfortunately another fixture is the sloppy combination of funny names and funny voices; some of the puns are lost in translation.  That's too bad, since fantasy names make it easier to tell younger viewers that recipes with "stinnamon" and "clawfee" are for imaginary kitchens.

That's a minor quibble for a brilliant madcap episode, especially since it features Tone Loc, who plays a pint-sized junk collector named Chestnut.  I'm not sure what to make of Chestnut with his finders-keepers philosophy and his referring to himself in third person.  I did guffaw when he bumped into Mung's unconscious foot: now there was a punchline!  Hopefully the rapper will reprise his role, just in case they think of a play on "Funky Cold Medina".

Last but not least, the teaching moments in this episode are spot-on.  Besides "don't abuse sleeping pills," the sequence where Chowder gets himself into trouble by not admitting his mistake is worth a hundred G.I. Joe PSA's.  It's another great excuse to watch the show again!

The next episode, "The Moldy Touch", is also about when to tell the truth...

The fun and cleverness continue with "The Moldy Touch". Once again Chowder's good intentions run amok, this time pushed along by a malevolent mold pixie. The episode has the same dark tone of the earlier "The Puckerberry Overlords", though the peril is not quite as operatic. Amazingly, this gross-out turn on King Midas's touch works as a funny episode and also as a serious talking point for kids. It's not unlike a cop being held up by a robber with an ice cream cone.

Chowder is set up to tilt over and go splat like a carefully aligned row of nomidoes (a domino-like dish of gigantic proportions). He's trying to help with the recipe, only to knock over the nomidoes no matter which task he's assigned. ("Then I shall hold this spoon as it has never been held before!" is one of voice actor Nicky Jones's best deliveries.) When even that busy-work causes destruction, Mung banishes Chowder from the kitchen.

That is, until Mung and Shnitzel realize they're out of fizzle spice, which means a trip to ... the cellar! (Dun dun dun.) When the whole town pulls a dramatic reaction shot, we can see what's coming: Chowder's enlisted to help. Eager to redeem himself, Chowder plunges into the stygian portion of the tale. Instead of fizzle spice, he runs into a disgusting green Iago named Funjl. This baddie is voiced by Jon Polito, a regular in Coen Brothers films and recently voicing a Water Tribe character in Avatar: the Last Airbender. Make no mistake, Funjl is bad news.

This episode is pure Chowder fun with a remarkable layer of gritty metaphors. The epic emotional struggle is literally and figuratively placed in the background to the soundtrack of two wizened seniors bickering over a chess game. It's writing that's dense enough for a research paper. On the one hand, there's the hilarity of our gullible hero proclaiming that he'll make Mung pee in his pants. On the other hand, there's Mung's shell-shocked voice as Chowder stampedes off.

"The Moldy Touch" is another great episode to re-watch. You can sit back and enjoy the silly monster flick. Or you can read into it, and engage younger viewers with age-appropriate discussion about any number of topics: the difference between a good surprise and a bad surprise; how to tell if someone's lying; to the proper way to deal with an adult who says "You gotta keep me a secret." It's rarely that funny to make "bad touch" jokes, but a joke is a great way to open the subject with kids.

Either way, the obvious affection among the characters—whatever their foibles and however poorly communicated—holds the story together. This subtle approach is Chowder at its best; I much prefer it to the lessons-like-anvils method, and it's funnier besides. Let's hope the trend continues well into the next season, and beyond!