Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show (2009)

My thoughts here come with a backstory: I was not a *huge* fan of EEnE as a child. In fact, Eddy probably ranked among my least favorite characters in any show, for being a greedy punk and getting his friends in trouble. That said, I looked back on the show with the same vague nostalgia I had for most Cartoon Network shows of its era.

In high school, I found out this movie existed and decided to watch it online. It led me to rewatch, and rethink, the entire series. The Big Picture Show finds the bigger story rooted in an episodic slapstick comedy and runs with it. While funny, it hits more emotional beats than you'd expect for a show like this- and ones that other series finales can only dream of. It recontextualizes Eddy's character throughout previous seasons in a very sympathetic, tragic light, and let me appreciate many of the other characters beyond the often one-note role they played in episodes. It's been 7 years since I watched this film, and there are still scenes from it I think about sometimes. If you haven't watched the Big Picture Show, I can't recommend it enough. It's one thing to be nostalgic; it's another to make you rethink nostalgia.