The Big Problem! (The Fairly OddParents)

The Big Problem! (The Fairly OddParents)
The episode that started The Fairly OddParents series on a banger, following the Oh Yeah! Cartoons pilot era.
Part of Season: 1 Episode Number: 1a Air Date: March 30, 2001 Writer: Steve Marmel Director: Butch Hartman Jaime Diaz Previous episode: "Super Humor" Next episode: "Power Mad!"

"The Big Problem!" is the first episode in Season 1, and the first regular episode of The Fairly OddParents.

Plot

Timmy gets a quick lesson in “be careful what you wish for” when he wishes to be a grown-up. Rather than becoming the strapping, muscular, older Timmy of his dreams, he turns into a short, bald, hairy-backed, middle-aged man!

Why It’s Not A Problem

1. The art style visuals and character designs are a notable step-up from the original Oh Yeah! Cartoons pilot era, and are much better looking too. The animation has also switched from cel to digital.
2. The faces of Mr. and Mrs. Turner are finally revealed, compared to the OYC era, where you only see them from chest to toe.
3. The episode introduces any newcomer, who has never seen the OYC era before, to Timmy, Cosmo, Wanda, Mr. and Mrs. Turner, and Vicky, except in this series premiere's case, it's Timmy's friends, Chester and A.J., and the stereotypical school bully/villain, Francis, being added to the mix.
4. It has a decently interesting premise about Timmy wanting to be an adult without waiting for his childhood to pass, but learning the consequences of it without even having patience.
5. Throughout the episode, Timmy gradually learns how hard it is to be grown, from driving, to having a job, to watching adult films, etc. A reassigning fairy declares that Cosmo and Wanda have to be re-assigned to a mean and scary kid since Timmy is no longer a kid. So Timmy bribes the fairy in order to spend two more hours with Cosmo and Wanda and say their final goodbyes to each other. Timmy has an idea: maybe if he acts like a kid, he can become a kid again.
6. Vicky does her job as a babysitter very well in this episode. Despite not recognizing Timmy as an adult and savagely kicking him out of the Turner household, she freaked out when she thought Timmy was missing and feared losing her job and going to jail, so she spreads posters of Timmy around town to get the townsfolk's attention and help in finding him. She also went to the police near the end of the episode to inform them about Timmy being missing.
7. Timmy tries various childhood activities, but none of them work out. Instead, because of his creepy activity, Timmy gets arrested. The reassignment fairy comes back and says that someone has to be assigned to the new kid, but Timmy cries and yells that he wants his parents. Watching Timmy's tantrum, Wanda sticks a thermometer in Timmy's ear to measure his childishness. With that, Timmy wishes himself back as a 10-year old, while the reassigning fairy ends up getting reassigned to the freaky kid. Timmy gets out of jail and goes home with Vicky, who was conveniently at the jail cell filling in a lost child report.
8. When Timmy goes back to school, Francis is bullying him again, but Timmy, who is no hurry to grow up, is not bothered by Francis' jokes and realizes that being a kid is great, especially since he still has all of his hair and none of it's on his back. After seeing Francis' back hair, Timmy gives him a razor and shaving cream with the episode ending with Francis thinking shaving will be fun as he goes off, but he ends up experiencing the same pain as Timmy did earlier. Timmy and his godparents then laugh their heads off as Francis screams in pain offscreen.
9. Good moral: Don't be in such a hurry to grow up and enjoy your time as a kid.
10. It starts the first season on a decently positive note, as does its sister episode, Power Mad!

Bad Qualities

1. While the premise is decent, along with the aforementioned good moral, most of the episode was just simply Timmy Turner Torture that could have been executed better.
2. Adult Timmy's appearance is creepy and weird.
3. The "creepy adult" gag is overused.
   • This gag would later be used in Season 10's "Dimmsdale Daze".
4. Some gross-out humor here and there, though not much to be found.
5. If anything, its sister episode "Power Mad!" should've been the pilot episode.

Trivia

• Although this episode marks the first appearance of Chester and A.J., their names are not revealed until its sister episode "Power Mad!".
• This is the first episode where Tara Strong voices Timmy Turner due to Mary Kay Bergman's death.

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