Timmy Turner – Tara Strong,

Wanda/Mom – Susanne Blakeslee,

Cosmo/Dad – Daran Norris,

Vicky/Medusa/Artemis – Grey Griffin, 

Mr. Crocker – Carlos Alazraqui,

Cosmo’s Mom – Jane Carr,

Cupid – Tom Kenny.

Namely: 

The Fairly Oddparents… 

…Enter the Cleft! – Game Boy Advanced (2002).

…Breakin’ da Rules – Game Boy Advanced, Game Cube, Play Station 2, Xbox, Windows – exclusively in North America (2003).

…Shadow Showdown – Game Boy Advanced, Game Cube, Play Station 2, Windows (2004).

…Clash with the Anti-World – Game Boy Advanced (2005).

Previous episode (S01E04a): Father Time!

The following episode (S01E05a): Chin Up!

Premise of the series: Timmy Tuner is a 10-year old only child living with his parents in the suburbs of Dimmsdale, a fictional town somewhere in California. Every time Mom and Dad (we don’t know their names) go out, they leave him with the evil 16 years old babysitter, Vicky. The life with dull parents and a wicked teenager changes when the Fairly OddParents, Wanda and Cosmo, appear out of nowhere to grant the boy’s wishes. Almost every time they get Timmy in trouble and ultimately teach him a valuable life lesson. The show is kept in a humorous, sometimes even absurd, style.

In Apartnership! Timmy celebrates two anniversaries: of his parents’ and OddParents’ marriages. He wishes to prepare a dinner for Mom and Dad, however, his plans get ruined due to Cosmo and Wanda argument. Cosmo, thinking that Wanda has forgotten their anniversary (while actually, she has not), leaves Timmy and goes to his mother’s house in Fairy World. Cosmo’s mom hates Wanda and denies that her son ever got married to her. Timmy and Wanda follow Cosmo to Fairly World and confront him and his mother. After a huge fight, Cosmo’s mother suggests that the couple should test their relationship in a dating show, where, if it is true love, they can save their marriage. Actually, she wants to trick the fairies and arrange a marriage for Cosmo with one of her perfect looking fairy-robots: Star or Twinkle. 

“The Fairy Dating Game” is hosted by the one and only Cupid, the god of love and by one of the fairies. Besides loving himself and being in a centre of attention, Cupid loves money. Cosmo’s mother uses that and bribes the host to make Wanda look bad in comparison to Star and Twinkle. At the end of the show, Cupid plans to shoot the magic love arrows to the winning contestants to solidify their love (which would make them be in love forever). 

Timmy sees through Cosmo’s mother’s plan and tricks her by shooting one of the arrows at Cupid – who falls in love with the evil fairy. The boy dresses up as Cupid and makes Cosmo choose Wanda. The couple of OddParents falls in each other’s arms and ultimately – the true love wins. 

In Apartnership! Cupid plays a rather typical role, according to his ancient roots. He is a symbol of love and lovers. Just like in Hellenistic art, as well as in later periods, his attributes are bow and arrow, with which he makes mortals fall in love. The tradition of associating Cupid with love and depicting him as a plump baby with wings was present in almost every cultural period: whether he was presented as a tragic character (like in the myth of Cupid and Psyche) or as one of the amorini, adorable babies in the renaissance art, inspired by the late ancient Roman tradition. Nowadays, Cupid is a commercial symbol of love, appearing on Valentine cards and chocolate boxes. In Apartnership! his portrayal is only slightly different. 

In the episode, Cupid is presented as a not really nice god. In spite of being a god of love, he is not showing much love to other characters: he is greedy, egocentric, narcissistic, and shallow. Not only is he easily manipulated, he turns out to be less powerful than he claims: when Timmy replaces him, he proves that true love always wins. Cupid ends up to be only an empty symbol of the contemporary idea of love, that has lost its original power. Just like the mythical god, the emotion was commercialized – not only in the Fairy World.

Bignell, Jonathan, Postmodern Media Culture, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000. 

Kelen, Christopher and Björn Sundmark, eds., Child Autonomy and Child Governance in Children’s Literature: Where Children Rule, London, New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. 

Parandowski, Jan, Mitologia. Wierzenia i podania Greków i Rzymian [Mythology. Beliefs and Legends of Greeks and Romans], Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 1989 (ed. pr. 1924). 

Singer, Dorothy G. and Jerome L. Singer, eds., Handbook of Children and the Media, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publication, Inc., 2012. 

Translations: Multiple languages