Cartoon Network is airing pretty much an all-day Foster's marathon today, and I got to watch a lot of the old Season One and Two episodes that I haven't seen in a long time, and one thing that really struck me is how much Wilt's personality has evolved as the seasons of the show have progressed. In the first-season episodes, he was much more talkative, and seemed to have far more self-confidence. He could be a bit of a cut-up at times, doing impersonations like he does in the pilot, or picking on Bloo at bit when he thought Bloo was scared of the lame "Kweatuh Featuh" movie in "Blooooooooo!". He didn't have any problem getting on someone's case when they were out of line, even doling out his own brand of punishment like he does to both Mac and Bloo in "Adopt-Calypse Now". The "I'm sorry's" were there, but were more of a habit, like people who constantly say "you know", for instance, rather than real apologies. There was none of the nervousness and edginess that began to creep into Wilt's personality sometimes around Season Three, when he seemed to become more of a worry-wart, and more and more obsessed with whether others were upset with him or disappointed in him, and the "sorry's" started really taking over his speech, while the longer, more articulate lines became fewer and fewer. It's pretty intriguing how the show's creators have managed to pull off a rather realistic fall into near-madness, pushing this character to the brink of a breakdown, in an animated "kids' show", but if you watch the older episodes, followed by progressively later seasons, you can clearly see what I mean. Most people focus on Bloo's increasingly hedonistic, selfish and jerky personality change, but Wilt's is just as dramatic.
pitbulllady
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