I might have more to say on this subject once I finish the episode, but I’m just imagining having to do an entire episode developing on a character that doesn’t talk when all the other characters do. This can occasionally serve as a challenge to animators for a children’s show, but as we know, it is not impossible. We see it everywhere, and while Abu can manage a few decipherable words, we have entire episodes centered on him with similar challenges.
This is the first time in the series, though, where a character’s inability to even make sounds in order to communicate becomes a sticking point for a conflict. We’ve seen Carpet play charades before – in Forget Me Lots he tried his best to explain to Aladdin that he’d forgotten his anniversary, so that’s twice now, at least, where Carpet’s ability to interact with his family is challenged.
Juxtapose this with the fact that even the movie sets Carpet up as probably the smartest character in the cast, something reinforced in episodes like The Wind Jackals of Mozenrath, too.
There’s a lot of potential here.
There’s an opportunity to explore how a character may feel about being misunderstood because they haven’t the same tools everyone around them has to make themselves be understood. And that’s kind of an important issue to explore in a kids’ TV show and it’s kind of a shame that this probably isn’t going to be the central focus.
I don’t think this is going to carry on for very long because for the sake of the episode moving forward and only having twenty minutes to tell a story, the writers don’t always have the opportunity to hold on an issue or explore deeper.
The DVD Fairy 