"Supernatural" Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie (TV Episode 2012) Poster

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8/10
"If it bleeds, you can kill it" true.........but What if it is a creepy clown that bleeds glitter!!!!!
zombiehigh1812 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
It is very extremely interesting that though the Winchester boys are practically two tough hunters who both had gone to Hell and back, still carry out ordinary childish phobias. Like Dean's fear of flying and germs, Sam is still scarred by a childhood experience that kept him terrified of clowns. OK lets admit it, Clowns are creepy, I have no fear for them but never liked them as well, with all their freakish color and creepy smiles, I can't see how does children find them amusing.

With Yet another brilliant stand alone episode, Supernatural invites us to explore a pure piece of art, Writers Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin cheer fans up with a brilliant story, giving us our own old Sam and Dean, reminding us why we used to love the show in the first place. Starting with the beautifully done colored title card, We accompany the boys on an ordinary MOTW hunt where they are just brothers teasing each other and enjoying their job once again, With no trace of the gloomy angst that has been clouding the air of season seven so far.

With no "dick on Dick" and no leads on the Amazonians, The brothers take a job in Kansas where people die by Octovamps, unicorns and shark attacks in ball pools. Sam is forced to go back to a place where he has to face his worst childhood fear.

It was extremely good to see Dean in a good mood and drinks nothing but coffee which we didn't see on the show since God knows when. He seemed to have learned his lesson from last week, hence putting new rules (no babies, no hot chicks, no booze, Which is kinda sad but hey this is Dean , he didn't hesitate to go check out the naughty hot nanny). Dean was so adorable with his geeky attitude over the giant slinky. I enjoyed Dean's interaction with Tyler and his heart felt laugh at the end, (We haven't seen Dean laugh like that since season five's "Free to be you and me") and it was good that even Sam seemed to enjoy making his brother laugh that hard. I was touched when Dean apologized to Sam for psychologically scarring his childhood (But Yeah Dean really which time?).

On Season Two it was well established that Sam has a crippling clown-o- phobia due to some unknown childhood trauma, and though we are provided some insight on why he had this kind of fear due to Dean ditching him in a lame place with puke smell, grainy ice cream and creepy clowns (It's nice that the show reminds us how Dean was practically Sam's primary caregiver), Yet judging on his reaction to Dean's question "What in the world did they do to you?", I still think there is more to Sam's clown story. Jared Padalecki delivered a great comic performance portraying Sam's fear of clowns (Who said that guy can't do comedy) and I absolutely liked his bad cop performance which was utterly ridiculous (and I find it great that we saw no traces of soulless Sam during this). However, I personally think this episode explored Sam's state of mind in a beautiful way, having him repeating Dean's words "if it bleeds you can kill it" like a mantra in his head, showing how much vulnerable the guy is and how much he is depending on his elder brother's support in his time of ordeal and I'm sacred to see what will happen when Lucifer makes his powerful appearance next week (We all know that won't be pretty for Sammy, yet I can't wait to see what happens).

Finally I enjoyed the old school brotherly scene beside the non-Impala with a glittery Sam and a Joyous Dean. I loved the motel room and I'm certainly adding it to my personal favorites. And did anyone notice the "no sideburns" on the employee rules board? That was smart:)
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8/10
Superb, funny, thrilling: the usual Supernatural package
renuka-ckgf11 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This one's a surprisingly 'light-weight' episode with more than the usual amount of humor which I found surprisingly enjoyable!

Before I sat to watch this episode, I was hoping for a continuation of the main overarching plot. But it turned out to be one of those filler episodes that just make you love and enjoy Supernatural even when the main story slows down for a bit.

This episode is one of the many that portray the wonderful balance the writers strike between elements of horror and thrill, and of humor. Sam's bad-cop routine is the funniest part of the episode- narrow eyes, stiff upper lip, and everything! I still cannot suppress a chuckle when I remember it. The episode is of a lighter vein than the general dark mood that was building up slowly in this season. Although the story actually seems predictable at some point, it is still very enjoyable. It is good to see the brothers getting along well and having recovered after the passing away of Bobby and Cass. For instance, I've never seen Dean laugh so freely and loudly in any of the previous seasons, as toward the end of the episode!

Do I even need to say that I cannot wait till the next one comes out?
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7/10
Recycled episode
mm-3919 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
After seven years, Super Natural recycles earlier episodes. The plot has someone again using curses to create destruction and mayhem. This was funny as the site was at a children's play land like Chucky Cheese. The two funniest parts of course involved Dean. Dean threatens a boy who is not playing by the rules. You are not supposed to cheat at Skee ball. One of the kids tells Dean that the pizza tastes like bum. Dean didn't believe him as you know how Dean is where food is concerned. One bite and Dean did accept the boy's decision. He couldn't believe pizza could taste so bad. The plot is predictable, but the script writers did not take it too seriously and made the show into a comedy. Funny! 7 out 10
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10/10
This is a return to the fully comedic episode that the show hadn't done in awhile
CubsandCulture23 April 2020
I think one of the reasons why I like this episode as much as I do is how much it is a stand alone comedy. It doesn't connect to any ongoing plot element and outside of Sam's fear of clowns it isn't a reference to something else. It has been a few years-I think "Monster Movie" in season 4 is the other episode to have this fully separate quality-since they have done this. Other comedic episodes, i.e. "The French Mistake," tend to tack on ongoing plot development as the bookend of the episode. This one however is just meant to be fun and funny.

And that it is. Pretty much every joke lands and the overall story has enough chills to be worthwhile as horror. This is a great throw back to some of the earliest episodes.
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10/10
Two words: mind. blown.
deeksha221111 February 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was perfect, right from the opening. The boys were phenomenal. I absolutely LOVED Sam's face when he had to face the clowns! I loved EVERYTHING involving Sam and the clowns. Also, what can I say about the unicorn that shoots rainbows out of its ass? Sam as the 'bad cop' and Dean as the 'pervy guy in his 30s' was SO AWESOME! I loved how Dean kept teasing Sam about the clowns throughout the episode, and his reassurances later on about how 99.99% of clowns couldn't hurt him. I absolutely LOVED how childish he was with the giant slinky, the tickets and, of course, Sam's complete oblivion to Dean's amusement at the "ball washer". I loved the surprise clown attack, right from the glitter to the seltzer to the creepy laughter. I have to say I was pretty surprised with the choice of villain. Sam's appearance covered in glitter, Dean constantly ribbing him about it and the exchange of gifts left me in tears of laughter. It had almost everything I'd been hoping for. There were no depressed Dean moments, lots of laughter and brotherly moments and a whole-hearted laugh shared between the boys! This was the first shared laughter scene since Hell House in Season 1! I am SO overjoyed. Unfortunately there was no hug, but let's not be greedy, it had everything else I wished for.
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10/10
Wacky crazy fun while actually contributing to the brother's relationship
shwetafabm23 June 2020
I absolutely live this episode, not only is it nostalgic of those childhood places, it deals with Sam's phobia in such a hilarious way, goof mystery and golden moments in between, the ball washer the what the ball lmao
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6/10
Childhood Fears
claudio_carvalho19 February 2013
SPOILER: Dean and Sam go to Kansas to investigate the mysterious death of a man. Soon there is another weird death and they realize that both cases are connected by the pizzeria Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie. Both victims were fathers that brought their children to birthday parties in the pizzeria.

In the Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie, they find that children draw their fears and expose on a mural; somehow their fears come true and kill their fathers. Sam leaves the pizzeria to protect a mother but out of the blue, he is attacked by evil clowns that are his worst childhood nightmare.

"Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie" is the weakest episode of the Seventh Season of Supernatural. The idea of childhood fears killing the parents is goof, but the story is silly and not well resolved. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie"
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4/10
Disappointing, too plain, &^&**$$##$%
entaggy11 February 2012
This episode is simply terribly horrible. Do not expect much out of it. Too plain, predictable, boring, etc. If the writers come up with another one like this, i'm stopping watching Supernatural all together and catch up with Seinfeld reruns. This what happens when 2 great supporting characters get killed off. I was really looking forward to watch this episode having read the 2 previous reviews. I know its a matter of taste and we all have different tastes but i think in order to really enjoy this episode u would have to be no older than 12...no disrespect intended. I really miss great plots from the previous seasons. This show definitely has a REAPER on its tail and time is running out fast. And when it dies i'm gonna burn its bones myself, i don't want no spooky ghost spin-offs.
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