ChalkZone: The Truth
ChalkZone is an underlooked Nicktoon that ran from 2002 to 2008 that featured a young boy named Rudy who has a magical piece of chalk that can take him to another dimension called ChalkZone. We often see him with his friends Penny and Snap, as well as several antagonists, such as Skrawl and Reggie. The show is fun and wacky overall, but there was a rather not-so-fun episode that never aired. This episode was "The Truth".
I came across this episode at Nickelodeon Studios when I was searching for episodes to review for my YouTube channel. I thought that if I came across some unaired episodes of shows, then I could share them with the world. At the time, I didn't know what Viacom would think of this, but I still managed to smuggle two DVDs out of the studio. One of them was a Making Fiends DVD titled "The Kite" and the other was a ChalkZone DVD titled "The Truth". I decided to watch the ChalkZone DVD first, as I watched the series more as a kid. I felt as if this would be a fun trip on the train of nostalgia. It wasn't.
I popped the DVD into my PC and began watching the episode. There was no main menu. The episode started normally with the theme song. However, there was no title card. The episode itself was unfinished, as it was done in a rough animatic style without sound effects or music. The voice lines, however, were clear and finished. The episode opened with Rudy and Snap exploring ChalkZone. They were having fun and playing together for about two minutes. I was bored. Yes, it was cute, but was the series always this dull? Things began to spice up afterwards, when Penny came in. She had a somber look on her face and her hands were folded.
"Rudy, I need to tell you something," she murmured. Rudy looked away from Snap and asked, "Hey, Penny, why do you look so upset? What's wrong?"
"Listen, Rudy," Penny began, "I know that this place is very close to your heart, but you need to let it go."
"What?!" Rudy and Snap interrupted.
"I know this feeling. It's guilt. You feel as if it was your fault," the girl sighed, then continued. "You have to understand that their deaths weren't your fault. There was nothing you could've done."
I was puzzled. Someone died during the series? Who? What happened?
Penny continued her monologue. "Rudy, I've been playing along with you for years. We all have." As she said this, every human character stepped into the scene, all with somber looks on their faces. They remained silent as Penny started again.
"Rudy, these people here," she gestured towards the people who were portrayed as Rudy's parents, "aren't your biological parents. They adopted you when your real parents died."
I began to feel unsettled. I figured out why this episode was called "The Truth". There was no ChalkZone. The episode continued. Snap was nowhere to be seen.
"We've all been playing this game for years," Penny went on. "You need to let it go. Please. Visiting hours are almost over." Rudy had a look of disbelief on his face as he began to cry.
The scene changed to a padded room. Rudy was now in a straightjacket and the rest of the human cast stood, awaiting his response when a voice called "Visiting hours are over!"
Penny sighed and said "I'll be back next week. Please," she kneeled down, "let it go."
Rudy sighed again as everyone left the room. The camera zoomed out as he sat alone and muttered "I can't." The episode ended.
It was at this point that my heart tore in two. This was how they ended the show? I removed the DVD and destroyed it, holding back tears. Months have passed by now, and I just watched an episode of ChalkZone. It just wasn't the same since I found out the truth.
Original author unknown
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