A 20-Year Retrospective on Camp Lazlo

Attention, nerds! Attention, nerds! It’s time for Camp Lazlo!

If you’ll recall some of my more recent posts for The Game of Nerds, then you’ll know how much I adore Camp Lazlo. Airing on Cartoon Network from 2005 to 2008 and created by Joe Murray, the creator of Rocko’s Modern Life, Camp Lazlo was the channel’s equivalent of Rocko and SpongeBob rolled into one. That wasn’t a coincidence, either. Many key figures from Rocko came back to work with Murray on Lazlo. Combine that with an extra decade of experience working on shows like SpongeBob, and we’ve got a darn funny cartoon. Now, I never got to experience what it was like to be a scout or stay at a summer camp as a kid, nor do I think I would’ve enjoyed it. However, if my experience had been like Lazlo’s, I know I wouldn’t have minded.

With the series celebrating its 20th birthday on July 8th, and this whole year making me feel nostalgic for 2005, I thought now’s the best time to look back on one of my favorite shows from Cartoon Network. I’m RJ Writing Ink, and this is my retrospective review on Camp Lazlo.

In the Beginning, there Was Nothing…

Our journey begins with the ending of one of the most impactful cartoons of all time, Rocko’s Modern Life. With production on the popular cartoon over, its team began to go their separate ways. Many of them would wind up joining co-worker Stephen Hillenburg on his own creation, SpongeBob, but they all agreed to stay in touch. And if Rocko creator Joe Murray ever wanted to make another show, they promised they would come help him if they had the chance. That said, Murray spent the next decade working on ideas for his next project.

These ideas began to coalesce into a story about a group of campers at a summer camp, and in 2003, one of his team members, who had gotten a job at Cartoon Network, called him up and offered to let him pitch his idea to the channel. It got some pushback at first (got the go-ahead pulled out from under it), but eventually, Murray got the green light for what would become Camp Lazlo.

First and foremost, Murray wanted to take his new show in a different direction from that of Rocko. Rocko’s Modern Life had been all about what it was like living in (at the time) modern America. However, Murray had grown weary of how much technology was permeating people’s lives, especially kids. He wasn’t wrong! I spent most of my childhood watching TV instead of playing outside. Inspired by his own memories of summer camp and nature-filled cartoons like Yogi Bear and the Bugs Bunny shorts, Murray wanted Lazlo to focus on the simplicity of nature. Thus, in contrast to the modern urban lifestyle of Rocko, Camp Lazlo would be set deep in the mountains, far away from modernity as possible. In hindsight, this let Lazlo serve as a good contrast to Rocko, letting it be its own thing while retaining much of its older brother’s sense of humor and writing.

Then there was Camp Lazlo!

Speaking of which, many of the Rocko alumni kept their promise to Murray. After he “coerced” them into coming back, Camp Lazlo essentially became a Rocko reunion. Most importantly, though, was that the returning team members had put that last decade to good use. As said before, many of them had gone on to work on SpongeBob, and that gave valuable experience refining their crafts, whether it was voice acting, writing, animation, or art. As a result, the show became a fusion of the DNA of both Rocko and SpongeBob. While I wouldn’t learn about this connection until years after the show ended, even 10-year-old me was able to recognize just how similar Camp Lazlo was to SpongeBob. Granted, it helped that they both used the same sound library, but with how much I loved SpongeBob, it was perhaps inevitable that I would love Lazlo.

And loved it I did. That whole summer, I would watch this new show with the kind of fervor only a kid could demonstrate. Of course, it did help that Cartoon Network heavily promoted the new show, giving it a summer block hosted by characters Slinkman and Lumpus, a personality test on their website, and tie-in games where you could earn print-out merit badges. Between Lazlo and the Cartoon Network Summer theme going on, it was a good summer.

Enough of that, though! Let’s go over the series itself.

The Jelly Cabin of Camp Lazlo

In keeping with Murray’s desire to get away from it all, Camp Lazlo is set entirely in nature. Nestled deep within the Pimpleback Mountains and situated next to Leaky Lake and the town of Prickly Pines, we have Camp Kidney, home of the local chapter of Bean Scouts. According to the show’s page on their website, they used to be a peaceful group of campers who spent their summers obeying the rules in an orderly fashion.

Then Lazlo arrived.

Lazlo

Lazlo is the titular character of Camp Lazlo, as well as the leader of the Jelly Cabin that’s home to the three main characters. Voiced by none other than Rocko’s VA, Carlos Alazraqui, Lazlo shares Rocko’s background of being an immigrant, due to him being a Brazilian spider-monkey. However, that’s where the similarities end. Whereas Rocko is high-strung, easily stressed out, and anger-prone, Lazlo is laid-back, goes with the flow, and hardly ever gets angry. He’s the primate equivalent to SpongeBob, seeing the good in everyone and everything, often to the point of naievte. While this can be grating at times, one cannot deny that his optimistic outlook on the world makes him fun to be around and brings out the best in others. Especially when it comes to his best friends, Raj and Clam.

Raj

Raj is an Indian elephant and the second member of the Jelly trio and voiced by Jeff Bennett. He’s the super-cautious, super sensitive member of the group. When things start to go wrong, he will be the first to freak out. In fact, there are several episodes focused on him trying to overcome whatever he’s freaking out at the time, ranging from swimming, bugs, or something else. To be fair, the origin special implies that he comes from a wealthy and priveleged background, so camping is a new experience to him. Yet despite being the most reluctant to go on whatever crazy adventure Lazlo has in mind, he’s ultimately a loyal friend who will face his fears for their sake.

Clam

Rounding the main trio of Camp Lazlo, we have Clam, an albino pygmy rhino, also voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. There has been some debate online on whether or not Clam is on the autism spectrum. And, as someone on the spectrum myself, I can see the argument. He doesn’t talk a lot, and when he does, he just repeats a few words someone else said, making others think he’s not that bright. However, looks are decieving. In reality, Clam is, by far, the smartest and strongest character in Camp Lazlo.

He’s been able to paint an copy of the Mona Lisa, can perfectly imitate someone’s voice, turned a hairdryer into an RC plane, and can play Beethoven’s Ninth with a soda bottle! Not to mention he’s able to lift and move things several times his size! He’s the kind of genius who could become rich and famous, and even had a chance to do so one episode. Despite this, though, he chose to stay at Camp Kidney with his friends, because he’s smart enough to know that some things are more valuable than money or influence.

Together, the Jelly Cabin trio are the heart and sould of Camp Lazlo. They’re brothers for life, ride or die, and the kind of friends every kid wants to have growing up. However, they’re not the only characters worth mentioning.

The Other Bean Scouts

Given how its a summer camp, Camp Kidney is home to more than just the Bean Scouts, and the show features several recurring characters as well as other background characters. When it comes to importance, though, there are four main scouts outside of the Jelly trio that the show places importance on.

Edward the Platypus

Firstly, we have Edward the platypus, leader and one of the three members of Pinto Cabin. He’s voiced by Mr. Lawerence, who Rocko fans know as Filburt, but most people know as Plankton on SpongeBob. However, Edward’s personality resembles neither character, having more in common with Squidward’s, as he serves as the show’s straight man. He’s one of the few characters on the show who remains grounded and possessing common sense. As such, Lazlo’s free-thinking ways often get on his nerves, making him despise Lazlo and often attempting to find ways to humiliate or prank him.

Despite being the guy who thinks that he’s surrounded by idiots, Edward often proves to be no better than his fellow campers. He’s shown to be just as dumb and gulliable as the other scouts at times, and his attempts to prove otherwise and garner respect always backfire on him. While he seems like a total jerk, though, it’s not entirely his fault. He lives in the shadow of his four older brothers, all of whom were better Bean Scouts that he’ll ever be, and something they regularly bully him over. Deep down, Edward just wants to be accepted by people.

Chip and Skip the Dung Beetles

The other two members of Pinto Cabin are Chip and Skip, AKA the Dung Beetles, each voiced by newcomer Steve Little. While most of the Bean Scouts aren’t that clean or bright, Chip and Skip take the cake. They’re the dumbest, dirtiest, and grossest scouts at Camp Kidney; they even have a cloud of flies that they keep as pets. Edward tries to use them as minions in whatever plan he has, but they’re so dumb, they often make things backfire. They’re mostly good for gross-out gags or slapstick, but they do have an episode or two focused on them.

Poor, Poor Samson

The last Bean Scout to get a lot of focus on him is Samson the guinea pig of Fava Cabin, voiced by Jeff Bennett. Originally, he was another one of the supporting cast members, but over time, he grew in importance until he was one of the main characters alongside Lazlo and the others. Don’t let his name fool you, though! His namesake might have been the Torah equivalent of He-Man, but Samson Clogmire is anything but. He’s more cowardly than Raj and twice as obssessed with cleanliness, suffers from multiple allergies, and is incredibly neurotic. Then again, if you had the kind of lot in life that Samson has, you might end up like him.

I am not exaggerating when I say that Samson might be one of the most disrespected and put-upon characters I’ve ever seen in a cartoon. Besides regularly falling victim to his allergies, he’s often the subject of much of the series’ slapstick humor, the most frequent involving him being pelted by random volleyballs. Not only that, but he’s so ignored by his peers that they have mistaken inanimate objects for him at times! It gets to the point where its revealed that he was born unlucky! The only other character I can think of that tops Samson in butt-monkey status is Meg from Family Guy!

Good Old Camp Kidney

Now, you can’t have a summer camp without a camp, and this is where Camp Kidney comes in. However, despite how much Lazlo loves the place, there’s no hiding the obvious: Camp Kidney is a dump. It’s a run-down, third-rate, hand-me-down camp barely kept together by a shoestring budget. Most of the buildings are dirty and ready to fall apart, with it even being stated that the Scouts own uniforms have been handed down since the days of Napoleon. Unfortunately, this also rings true for the camp’s limited staff, each of whom ranges from competent to “how did these people ever get hired?”

McMuesli the Health Nut Chef

Firstly, we have Chef McMuesli, a goat and the camp chef voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. If you thought the food they served at lunch in school is bad, you haven’t met McMuesli. He’s a vegatarian and health food nut who wants nothing more than to keep the campers eating a healthy diet. Unfortunately for everyone, he’s a terrible cook, with his so-called “healthy” dishes consistently portrayed as disgusting and inedible. Even worse, he’s on a one-man crusade against junk food, confisicating it and keeping it locked away in a safe that only Samson can get into. I get the importance of eating healthy, but taking away kid’s ability to choose what they eat? That’s just mean!

Nurse(master) Leslie

Secondly, we have Nurse Leslie, a nurse shark (LOL) voiced by Mr. Lawerence. He’s the camp’s nurse, and is thus in charge of keeping everyone there healthy. While he is shown to be quite competent at his job, his effectiveness is hindered by how much he hates it. Thus, he’s usually in a constant state of “IDGAF.” Not helping matters is that he hates how gross Camp Kidney is and the lack of respect he gets from Scoutmaster Lumpus. Once he does get the respect he’s owed, though, he’s good at his job.

Slinkman (the responsible one)

As far as responsible adults, though, the most consistent one is that of Slinkman the banana slug. Voiced by none other than Rocko alumni and voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny, Slinkman’s official title is Scoutmaster’s Assistant. Unofficially, though, Slinkman is the one running things. At the start of the series, he’s portrayed as being very meek and submissive, lacking any metaphorical backbone and doing whatever Scoutmaster Lumpus tells him to do. However, as Camp Lazlo progressed, and he started to become the primary authority figure, Slinkman started getting that backbone. Instead of doing what Lumpus wanted without question, he started to push back, becoming the guy who would keep Lumpus in line when necessary. By the time Camp Lazlo ended, Slinkman was scoutmaster in all but name.

Scoutmaster Lumpus (the Jerk)

Also voiced by Tom Kenny, the final member of the staff, and often the main antagonist of Camp Lazlo, is the moose known as Scoutmaster Lumpus. He’s also the last adult that you would want in charge of a group of kids.He’s an immature, greedy, lazy and apathetic man-child who wants everything to be the way he wants it: as miserable as he is. He regularly confiscates the Bean Scouts’ care packages, hates his job and life and complains about it rather than do his job, and can’t stand Lazlo because he refuses to conform to his misery.

The reasons why Lumpus is the way is change depending on the episode. Some of them imply its because he’s jaded by his failures in life and the fact that his parents never told him they love him. Others think he’s just been like since day one. Some would say it’s because he might be an imposter who stole the job from Heffer. Either way, if I had had a scoutmaster like Lumpus, I know that I wouldn’t have respected him. At all. I would have actively gone out of my way to antagonize him for being a jerk.

Commander Hoo-Ha

There’s also Commander Hoo-Ha, a bison played by Jeff Bennett. He’s in charge of all scouting groups in the area, and he’s a no-nonsense drill sergeant and the only character that Lumpus fears. He doesn’t really do much outside of showing up, yelling at the top of his lungs, potentially causing trouble, and leaving. However, he’s not only concerned with the Bean Scouts.

Meet the Squirrel Scouts

Like the Boy Scouts in real life, the Bean Scouts of Camp Lazlo have a female counterpart. In this case, it’s the Squirrel Scouts of Acorn Flats. Located across Leaky Lake from Camp Kidney, Acorn Flats is everything that Camp Kidney isn’t. It’s clean, organized, and both its staff and scouts are competent at what they do. They serve as a gender-foil to the likes of the Bean Scouts, and that’s best reflected in their members, who can be antagonists to the Beans as they can be frenemies.

For staff, the Squirrel Scouts has two adults, a deer named Jane Doe and a warthog named Ms. Mucus. Played by Jodi Benson, best known as Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Jane Doe is the object of Lumpus’ affections and everything he isn’t. She’s kind, motherly (most of the time), and super supportive of the Squirrel Scouts, and even the Bean Scouts at times. She may not be that bright, but she’s a better leader than Lumpus is.

At Jane Doe’s side is Ms. Mucus, AKA Slinkman’s polar opposite. Whereas Slinkman is meek and submissive at times, Ms. Mucus is loud, brash, and downright intimidating. She also has a deep-seated hatred for the Bean Scouts, to the point where she even tried to get Camp Kidney shut down. In addition, another episode reveals that she’s spent years confiscating any toys that end up on her property. Needless to say, she’s a little boy’s worst nightmare!

The Squirrel Scout Trio

As far as the Squirrel Scouts themselves, Camp Lazlo focuses on fewer of their members as opposed to the Bean Scouts. The main trio that gets attention is the Jelly Cabin’s counterparts, Patsy, Nina, and Gretchen. Patsy is a mongoose also voiced by Jodi Benson and the Squirrel’s leader. She’s confident, bold, and as adventurous as Lazlo. Which is fitting, as she has a massive crush on him. She’s also Commander Hoo-Ha’s daughter.

Then there’s Nina the giraffe, the smart and timid one of the group. She’s the one who has her head in a book most of the time, and like Raj, she cares a lot about cleanliness. She’s one of the nicer members of the Squirrels, as when an episode doesn’t call on them to be antagonists, she gets along well with the Bean Scouts. There’s even an episode where she bonds with Clam and pretends that he’s her little brother.

Last, there is Gretchen the alligator. Whereas her friends are nice when the plot allows it, Gretchen is mean 24/7. Violent, short-tempered, and quick to use her fists, Gretchen will jump at a chance to bully the Bean Scouts. She does have a soft spot for Edward, though this rarely comes up.

Prickly Pining Dining

The only other location notable to Camp Lazlo is that of the nearby town of Prickly Pines. Serving as the show’s only connection to modern civilization, Prickly Pines is a rustic mountain town populated by ancillary characters. The cast will ocassionally visit it when they need something, but otherwise, there’s not much noteworthy about the place. In fact, the only recurring castmember there is Mayor Pothole McPucker. Hideous, obese, and disgusting to look at, McPucker might be the one character that has the Dung Beetles beat in terms of grossness. Whenever he appears, it’s usually for gross-out visual gags!

The Legacy of Camp Lazlo

Given how it was made by the creator of Rocko and had many of the OG team-members behind SpongeBob, it was perhaps inevitable that I would find myself drawn to Camp Lazlo. At a time where I was beginning to wean off of SpongeBob after the movie and was starting to watch Nickelodeon less, Camp Lazlo was there to draw me in. And I am not exaggerating when I say that I spent the remainder of that summer groveling at its feet. It got to the point where my parents thought that it was as bad an influence on me as other goofy cartoons like SpongeBob and Ed Edd n’ Eddy. They weren’t wrong. I went through a phase where I imitated Clam’s manner of speaking!

Regardless, I would watch Camp Lazlo for the majority of its run, and it performed fairly well during it’s three-year lifespan. It got its own Halloween and Christmas episodes, an hour-long movie showing how the Jellies met and came to Camp Kidney, and won three Emmys in 2007 and 2008. Yet it would be the final episode of the series that would end up being its most controversial.

Yes, that Happened

The short version: Lumpus starts encouraging people to paint clothes on their bodies so we don’t waste time doing laundry. However, a sudden downpour of rain leaves the Bean Scouts and residents of Prickly Pines naked. Then, to top it off, a cop car pulls up, and out comes a supsiciously-familiar steer who reveals that he was the real Scoutmaster. Lumpus was just some lunatic who held him prisoner all summer and stole his job, leading the moose to be hauled off to an asylum, and that’s where the series ends.

This ending is considered controversial for good reason. Not only does it end Camp Lazlo on a downer note, it also contradicts the various elements to Lumpus’ backstory that the show had given us. As I didn’t find out about the ending until years later, though, I don’t mind. Personally, it feels more like an excuse for Murray to give Heffer from Rocko a cameo at the end of Lazlo. Make no mistake: that steer is meant to be Heffer. He only looks different for legal reasons, but there are fan-edits that give him Heff’s appearance.

I still love this Show

Since it ended its run on Cartoon Network, Camp Lazlo has since fallen into relative obscurity. While plenty of people remember Rocko for its humor and the impact it’s had on the animation industry, few remember Lazlo. Which is a real shame, because like Rocko, Camp Lazlo would serve as a starting point for a new branch in the Rocko tree of success. Thurop Van Orman and J.G. Quintel, the future creators of Flapjack and Regular Show, both worked on the show, and they went on to find their own success. That alone makes the show worth remembering, yet it’s hard to find. A few episodes are up on YouTube, but if you want to watch the full series, you’ll have to find third-party sites to do it.  

Ultimately, Camp Lazlo is one of those funny shows that came into my life at just the right time, and it still holds a place in my heart today. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t always as funny as you’d think, but it was still entertaining to watch, and that was good enough for me. So, if you made it to the end of this long post, consider looking it up on YouTube. It will not disappoint!