Jake realises that they need to come up with their own happiness-spreading act instead of trying to copy James, and they experiment at home with BMO recording their attempts. They have some success, but pursue their objective at the mystical Institute of So Und, a palatial recording studio complex.
Finn and Jake finally come up with an act where Finn pretends to play Jake in trumpet form, and then balances on a spherical Jake, while they make a weird bibbling noise. They successfully try it out on the Candy girl, but when they try it on the same funeral the ghost of the dead person loses his temper, grows enormous, and attacks them.
The ghost is about to squash the boys into mush when James Baxter turns up and entertains him into forgetting his rage. The sun goes down, and James deflates his ball and gallops off into the sunset.
Tropes
- The Ace: James Baxter somehow manages to help everyone and is very likable despite his Pokémon Speak.
- Allegory: James Baxter expresses himself in a way that brings happiness to all around. Finn and Jake try to copy him exactly and everyone hates the results. But when our heroes put their own spin on the art, they are able to spread happiness, too. Now... are we talking about jumping on a ball and making funny noises, or are we talking about animation as an art form?
- Always Someone Better: Even after perfecting their happiness-spreading act, Finn and Jake still aren't quite as good as James Baxter himself, who's still able to cheer up the angry ghost who was unswayed by Finn and Jake's act.
- Animation Bump: James Baxter is animated far more smoothly than the rest of the show.
- Casting Gag: The beautifully animated horse that makes people happy, James Baxter, is voiced by...
James Baxter, a Disney animator that undoubtedly made people happy. See what they did there? - The Cavalry: James Baxter turns up to save Finn and Jake from the ghost by making him laugh and forget his anger.
- Ectoplasm: The ghost spits ectoplasm over Finn and Jake.
- Epic Fail: Finn and Jake's attempts to imitate James Baxter only cause confusion, annoyance or fear.
- The "Fun" in "Funeral": Finn and Jake attempt to cheer up the participants in a funeral. When they finally succeed, the dead person has been so annoyed by their previous attempts that he reanimates and attacks them.
- Humor Dissonance: Invoked in canon - it's part of the show's surrealism that a horse balancing on a beachball and constantly shouting his name is a beloved celebrity.
- Non-Standard Character Design: James Baxter is animated more fluidly than the rest of the show.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: One ghost that Finn and Jake cheer up has a large chin and is apparently wandering.
- A large, more vengeful yellowish ghost later shows up with a corpse with a Mexican decorated skull.
- Pokémon Speak: James Baxter can only say his own name.
- Riding into the Sunset: James Baxter at the end, without a rider.
- Shout-Out:
- The amusing noise that Finn and Jake make is similar to the guitar solo in "Blinded By the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
- When the dead person first animates, his skeleton spider-walks like Regan in The Exorcist.
- Trivial Title: The episode's title makes you think it is about James Baxter, only that the real story is about Finn and Jake trying to cheer people up, and James Baxter is the guy who inspires them.
