This episode of the cartoon series concentrates on some of the pros & cons of mortality & immortality. As mortals, we are already aware of the cons of mortality, but if we could become immortal, then we would also have to deal with its cons; you get the cons with the pros! 1 specific con the story concentrated on the most was being unhappy about something, although you would live forever.
At the beginning of the story, Groundman AKA Grovel Ravel wanted Smokey the Genie to undo his wish for immortality, but Smokey told him that the wish could not be undone. When he was mortal, Groundman specifically wished that he could live forever without worrying about being murdered, so Smokey has to keep his word because if the 1st wish were to be undone, then it wouldn't actually be granted. (Genies are logical but a little tricky!) Now Groundman is destined to live an endless "life". (In the realm of infinity, things are very different since they have no endings or boundaries!) The sequel of this episode: "Grovel Ravel & His Large Nose" explains why he made this wish in the 1st place, which you can find on Comic Strip Page #11! It's a little ironic that Smokey is immortal, too, since he's a genie!
Fortunately, Candy & Dottie were able to cheer Groundman up after the genie said his wish couldn't be undone. He said that he was tired of feeling the footsteps of other nearby characters. At least he got used to it. However, he has to go back into this pocket dimension whenever he falls asleep, and only these special G-shaped rocks can bring him back out when somebody breaks them.
After Dr. John Von Foolish summoned them back into his rocket for a next space mission, Groundman & Goldilocks had a conversation about his wish of immortality. She felt happy for him and says that she would like to live forever, too. After Groundman says that she could actually be the lucky one for being mortal, she gets quite upset about his comment! (By the way, Goldilocks' voice is a soprano/mezzo-soprano; she's a soprano when she's happy or sad, but a mezzo-soprano when she's mad or disgusted!) In a deep, but feminine voice, she says: "What do you mean by that?" Groundman tells her that an eternal life of unhappiness is worse than death. She cries & tells him the sad story about her parents; her father was good, but her mother was evil! Her mother killed her father, but of course that's another story. (You can also find this story in the Comic Strips Section since it's a whole saga with 3 episodes) Despite what Groundman told her, Goldilocks still questioned death, so she received a special mail from the Grim Reaper (the special guest character of this Halloween-themed episode), which Principal Character Derek C. Jr. delivers to her.
After reading the mail, she had to go on this space journey to get to the Grim Reaper's place to attend the special meeting. It was necessary to conquer her necrophobia (fear of death). During the meeting, the Grim Reaper explained all about the facts of life (& death) to her. Below is my personal favorite part of the meeting!
The Grim Reaper is correct about us mortals being emotional sometimes; people have feelings about situations. That's the whole point. As much as it disappoints us, we eventually do have to accept that in a way, death is part of life, it's the end of it. (The ending is part of the story, too!) Furthermore, the end of a story (or life) doesn't always have to be an unhappy one, as the Grim Reaper told the boo-hooing Goldilocks in the image above.
I really do believe that there must be a next step of life after death called rebirth. Besides, the end of 1 story can be the beginning of another! Speaking of beliefs, some cultures believe in reincarnation, which is when a dead soul gets a new body & life after a previous one has ended. Heaven & its unpleasant counterpart are perhaps interdimensional to the realm of the living. They may not only be away in space, but also in time, millions & billions & trillions of years into the future! There's something for us all to wonder about! There's a very special book that explains more about life & death; guess which one it is!
© Derek Cumberbatch