Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip is an animated television special based on the American animated television series Dexter's Laboratory. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera (now Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and originally aired on December 10, 1999. The special follows Dexter, the series' protagonist, as he travels forward through time and meets futuristic versions of himself and his rival Mandark.
Plot[]
In Dexter's laboratory at night, his archrival Mandark infiltrates the lab when he tries to steal Dexter's most prize invention the "Neurotomic Protocore," after Dexter chases him out, he routinely tells his troublesome sister Dee Dee to leave his lab, instead she unwittingly enters a time machine stored near the entrance. Suddenly, Dexter is confronted with a group of robots that have then appeared out from this time machine. They declare that they are here to "destroy the one who saved the future" and make ready to attack. Dexter easily destroys them with the use of various tools and gadgets from his lab, though for some reason the robots don't attack at all. The news that he is "The One Who Saved the Future" intrigues him, and he decides to travel through time to discover how "cool" he is.
However, in the first time period he visits, Dexter finds a tall, skinny, weak version of himself (known only as "Number 12") working in an office designing cubicles- and Mandark is his rich, successful and abusive boss. Kid Dexter criticizes his older self for allowing Mandark to bully him around and manages to convince him to come along to see how cool they become, but carelessly leaves blueprints regarding the Neurotomic Protocore out in his cubicle, and Mandark steals the core after the two Dexters move forward in time. In the second time period, the two Dexters meet their much older self, a wizened senior citizen Dexter (and Mandark's brain in a vat who cannot do anything other than complain about his situation). All the technology from the blueprints has been implemented, creating a utopian society of science and knowledge where anything can be materialized and shared with the power of the mind. Due to his golden age, Old Man Dexter can't remember how he saved the world, so they travel back in time to find out.
In the third time period, which takes place between the first and second periods, they find a dystopian world where everyone is stupid; fire and technology are prohibited, controlled by Mandark thanks to the Neurotomic Protocore. They meet action hero Dexter, who is muscular and bald, resisting Overload Mandark. Action Dexter explains that he and Mandark had been employed as corporate research scientists many years ago, when the jealous Mandark stolen Dexter's ideas and used them to rise through the ranks, eventually taking over all industries in a coup reducing Dexter to the weakened cubicle designing employee from the first time period. Ultimately, Mandark got hold of the Neurotomic Protocore (kid Dexter slaps D12 for leaving it out in the open). Mandark tried to employ the core's power, but set the core's positive flow to negative due to his incompetence, twisting his already evil mind as its now negative waves swept over the world, numbing the minds of the population, and allowing him to take over the world, hoarding all science and knowledge for himself.
Dexter, no longer able to stand being enslaved, and determined to stop Mandark, spent years digging underground to escape Mandark's tower, growing a large beard and huge muscles in the process. By the time he emerged the world was in its current state. The four Dexters go back to their ruined laboratory and use its resources to build a giant robot to invade Mandark's fortress. They manage to fight their way in (though the robot is destroyed in the process) and confront Mandark, now morbidly obese with brain matter, with his only form of locomotion being carried around his lair by a hook-and-winch. Outnumbered, Mandark summons versions of himself from the other three time periods to oppose the Dexters. A battle royal ensues, with each Dexter fighting the Mandark of his own respective time period.
When all the Dexters and Mandarks ended up stuck in a row, the kid Dexter almost reaches the button to save the world. Just then, Dee Dee emerges from the open time gate who wanders in and unintentionally saves the world by 'pressing the button' herself that reverse the waves of the Neurotomic Protocore, thus creating the utopian world, and she casually goes back into the time gate?! This effect causes Mandark's head to burst open with only his brain intact, and the other three are automatically teleported back to their own time periods. Old Man Dexter then angrily recalls that it was Dee Dee who actually saved the future. The Dexters, overcome with jealous rage at having their thunder stolen, create a group of scrap robots and commands them to "destroy the one who saved the future," and send them through the time machine to take care of Dee Dee, unwittingly setting the whole series of events in motion. All Dexters return to their own time periods. At this point, Action Dexter began the creation of his new civilization, and his technically unearned status of "savior of the future" with in all (not that Dee Dee really cares anyway).
Kid Dexter returns right before he originally left at the beginning of the movie and notices his past-self fighting the very same robots he and other selves just built (meant to go after Dee Dee, not Dexter, which led to a great misperception due to the time anomalies). Regardless of figuring out the time loop he created, Dexter decides to ignore this and goes to eat lunch. When Dee Dee shows up, still angry, Dexter walks away. Dee Dee, unaware of what she did, is left baffled.
In the golden ages, Old Man Dexter can be seen with Old Gal Dee Dee, despite everything, the two remained close siblings.
Release and reception[]
Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip first aired on Cartoon Network on December 10, 1999, and re-aired on New Year's Day 2000.[1] The special was released on VHS in Region 1 on November 7, 2000, and in Region 2 on July 23, 2001.[2][3] The VHS also includes the episodes "The Justice Friends: Krunk's Date" and "Dial M for Monkey: Rasslor".
Marc Bernardin of Entertainment Weekly called Ego Trip "drawn-out", saying that Dexter's Laboratory does not do as well in an hour-long format as it does in normal television episodes.[4] Christine Cavanaugh, the voice actor for Dexter, received an Annie Award in 2000 for the category "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting By a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production" for her role in the movie.[5]
References[]
- ↑ DeMott, Rick (December 1, 1999). Cartoon Network to air Dexter's Lab Special. Animation World Network. Retrieved on 2013-04-22.
- ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified. Amazon.com.
- ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters url and title must be specified. Amazon.co.uk.
- ↑ Bernardin, Marc (November 24, 2000). Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip Review. Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. Retrieved on 2013-01-22.
- ↑ 28th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2000). AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved on 2013-04-22.
External links[]
Template:Genndy Tartakovsky
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