Rifftrax Year: 2016 (Live Performed), 2017 (Released On Website)
Riffers: Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett
Our child Jimmy is upset about washing up when he gets dirty, afraid it'll make him a "sissy." But a specter named Soapy, a giant talking soap bar, projects himself into Jimmy's room to clear up a few misconceptions about cleanliness.
Shorts like this where a talking mascot sells us viewers on the wonders of a particular product/activity of the week are a dime a dozen. Soapy, the Germ Fighter is just the latest. What makes Soapy stand out is that unlike a lot of shorts Soapy isn't a cartoon character, just some guy in a cardboard box pretending to be a talking bar of soap. Somehow this makes the short even creepier than it would have been, because it sucks the whimsy out of the attempted education.
The short's point is put across well, though it tends to drone and nag a little. Soapy is fine as an educational short, I suppose. It just has hilariously ill-conceived title character.
Like Halloween Party, this short is performed live in front of an audience as part of a Live show they are unable to release on their website, in this case Mothra. Soapy, the Germ Fighter was also riffed by the core of Incognito Cinema Warriors several years prior. Some might conclude that I'm "sticking it to" ICWXP by posting my positive review of the Rifftrax version so soon after my lukewarm reaction to the ICWXP version, but in reality this is just a coincidence based on the random selection method I use.
Even still, the Rifftrax to ICWXP comparison isn't exactly apples to apples. For one this Rifftrax take has the benefit of being performed in front of an audience, whose reaction to the short is hysterical. Mike, Kevin, and Bill don't need to imply much about how creepy it is because the audience is underlining it themselves.
Ignoring audience reaction, this Rifftrax version tends to be less one-note than the ICWXP version. The short's creepyness is a target, but it's not always the one they go after. The riff script plays with a lot of portions of the short, with my favorite string of laugha coming from the short showing off mundane objects germs might be dwelling in, while the guys list off the various diseases they carry.
If memory serves, Soapy was probably the highlight of the Mothra live show, which was okay to above average. If we were to only have one portion of it then I'm glad Soapy survived. I'd love to have home copies of these unavailable live shows one day though, just to be sure of course.
Like Halloween Party, this short is performed live in front of an audience as part of a Live show they are unable to release on their website, in this case Mothra. Soapy, the Germ Fighter was also riffed by the core of Incognito Cinema Warriors several years prior. Some might conclude that I'm "sticking it to" ICWXP by posting my positive review of the Rifftrax version so soon after my lukewarm reaction to the ICWXP version, but in reality this is just a coincidence based on the random selection method I use.
Even still, the Rifftrax to ICWXP comparison isn't exactly apples to apples. For one this Rifftrax take has the benefit of being performed in front of an audience, whose reaction to the short is hysterical. Mike, Kevin, and Bill don't need to imply much about how creepy it is because the audience is underlining it themselves.
Ignoring audience reaction, this Rifftrax version tends to be less one-note than the ICWXP version. The short's creepyness is a target, but it's not always the one they go after. The riff script plays with a lot of portions of the short, with my favorite string of laugha coming from the short showing off mundane objects germs might be dwelling in, while the guys list off the various diseases they carry.
If memory serves, Soapy was probably the highlight of the Mothra live show, which was okay to above average. If we were to only have one portion of it then I'm glad Soapy survived. I'd love to have home copies of these unavailable live shows one day though, just to be sure of course.
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