English Dub Review: The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi “The Magic Pencil”; “Pandora’s Box”

 

 

Overview:

“The Magic Pencil”

Always the good friend, Benjamin helps his friend Leon by lending him a pencil in art class. However, both are shocked to discover that the writing utensil holds magical powers: whatever the pencil draws becomes reality. Leon takes the newfound abilities too far when he starts bullying the bullies. Thankfully, when the pencil is broken in half, a new player enters the game.

“Pandora’s Box”

The professor and Benjamin have found themselves at a local paranormal convention. The highlight of the event features the world-famous ‘Ghosthunters’ as they open the legendary Pandora’s Box. Unfortunately, the myths about its contents within are true, as it releases a powerful evil upon the world. Now it is up to Zarbi, Benjamin, and a struggling clairvoyant to close the box once again before the evil spreads.

 

Our Take:

Last weekend, The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi opened their own Pandora’s Box when the series dropped its first trilogy. The risk paid off by gifting the titular characters more depth and adding many new layers to this universe. This week, the show continues the momentum by literally opening Pandora’s Box.

Before the big reveal, the night’s first episode featured a tale of a nerd’s revenge. Unfortunately, it is at the cost of Benjamin, who must own up to the fact that he stole his mentors cursed pencil. Not to worry, the disciple pays for it when the Professor gets a hold of the other half of the broken stick.

The result is one of the most action-packed sequences of the series thus far. With the pencil able to transform people to whatever the artist wishes, Benjamin and the school bully find themselves the subjects. Meaning they are mutated into unique creatures with their own powersets. The scene plays out like a player-vs-player video game, but with higher stakes.

The highlight of the night featured an appearance by Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd. Okay, not the actual actors, but caricatures of them representing the in-universe Ghostbusters, The Ghosthunters. And while they were not the real actors, the ode sang loud enough.

The Ghostbusters appearance also brings up the idea that Professor Zarbi may have had other celebrity caricatures already appear. We know from another Quebec series, Doomsday Brothers, that often characters are made to represent their real-world actor. And with Quebec having its own system of recognizable stars, English speaking Canada may have missed some other hidden references.

Surprisingly, however, this episode was not about The Ghosthunters or Zarbi’s suggested rivalry with the group. Instead, they were just the vessel to reveal what is inside the famous dark magic artefact, Pandora’s Box. The mystery does not disappoint as it results in Professor Zarbi parodying another fantastic film genre, the undead, or zombies.

It is difficult to decipher whether the show has gotten better or we just like it more after that memorable trilogy of episodes. Regardless, this was one of the most entertaining episodes of The Bizarre Stories of Professor Zarbi that has been released yet. Whether the show is actually getting stronger, or they are just on a role, it is an exciting time to be watching this little French animation.