Doing something that I never do, I am going to tell you about the last episode of the series, simply because it will not ruin anything. I would almost recommend watching it first. "Rookie Monsters" has our trio reminiscing about how they first met when they are trapped in a trash can by a "bark and bite" (a dog). I really like seeing the difference in their personalities from when they were younger. It really shows how much you can grow and change during your school years. Ickis started out thinking he was a big shot because his father, Slickis, is such a famous scarer. Oblina was shy and polite, humbled by meeting more famous monsters. Krumm was a crying mess, scared of being away from home and very homesick. None of the three had any clue how to scare when they first got there. Ickis got smaller every time he tried to loom, while Oblina could only pull out her tongue, not her guts. Krumm couldn't figure out what he could do to scare anyone. You might think from the rest of the series that these three have always been friends, but this particular episode makes it clear that friendship is something you have to earn.
Now back to the beginning… AAAHH!!! Real Monsters opens the series with the classroom full of monsters preparing for Halloween. Since they did so poorly on their midterms, the class isn't allowed to go out on Halloween. The classroom is being guarded, just in case they decide to try and defy the teacher. Of course, they're going to sneak out. What else would kids do? Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm discover that everyone thinks they're in costume, so they go trick or treating instead of scaring and end up at a Halloween party. A human child there named Nicky has dressed as Ickis for Halloween. As you can imagine, Nicky and Ickis are going to end up stuck in each other's lives temporarily. Shockingly, they do a pretty good job being each other. You'll actually see this theme of changing places with other throughout the series several times. Usually, the whole trio is involved, but sometimes it's only one or two of them. In another one, a convicted criminal tries to hide in the dump, which works out rather well for him since the police grab Ickis as they see him first. Ickis ends up in human jail because they think he's named Shorty and still wearing a costume. They are content to leave him in the costume. The many ways that he tries to escape in the two days that he is in there are more than humorous. I do find it interesting that in the entire episode, you see no other monsters. Oblina and Krumm don't appear to even be looking for him.
Usually, this trio spends all of their time together looking to keep each other out of trouble. This isn't easy when they have a teacher like the Gromble and his enforcer, the Snortch, to deal with. When it comes right down to it, the Gromble really has the best interests of the students at heart, but it's hard for the students to see that through his usual policy of tough love. Whenever they mess up, get in trouble, or cause trouble in any other way, he sends them to the Snortch. The Snortch almost never speaks intelligibly (other than an episode where he gets a voice), but he is continually a major force in the kid's lives, especially since his best friend Zimble usually speaks for him and Zimble hates the trio. Obviously not everyone loves these monsters, but they have lots of friends and lots of adventures in their time during school.
Personally, I love AAAHH!!! Real Monsters. I can't promise that it will appeal to everyone, as it is a bit different and sometimes gross or potentially a bit scary, but even in that, I think that it helps keep kids from being afraid of monsters as it helps make monsters seem a bit less scary. If you're looking for something different from what's on TV now, check out AAAHH!!! Real Monsters: The Complete Series today!
