Beavis and Butt-Head: "Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest (aka Butt-O-Ween)"

Premiered October 31, 1995.

Beavis: That sucks that we're like, too old to get candy.
Butt-Head: No way Beavis, they're aren't any laws about Halloween.

It's Halloween in Highland and kids are trick or treating.

Beavis and Butt-Head (both voiced by Mike Judge) hadn't realized this. After getting clocked for taking candy from kids, they become angry that they're now too old to get free candy.

Beavis and Butt-Head decide to create make-shift costumes and go trick or treating anyway.  The boys are rebuffed at every house, everyone says they're too old for Halloween.

When they arrive at the home of their neighbor Tom Anderson (Judge again), he's going to turn them away too, but his phone rings.

While Anderson is distracted, Beavis finds a bowl of Halloween candy and consumes every piece of it in seconds.  Beavis is suddenly transformed into his hyperactive alter-ego, the Great Cornholio!

As Cornholio, he continues to roam the streets of Highland, terrorizing children and eating their candy.  (As well as pissing off Butt-Head who still hasn't gotten any candy.)

Beavis & Butt-Head meet ... The Great Pumpkin? 

Beavis and Butt-Head later encounter local tough guy Todd (Rottilio Michieli).  Butt-Head wants to hang out with Todd and his crew, but he ends up being thrown in the trunk of Todd's car.

The night grows late and the trick or treaters are fewer and further between.
Cornholio and Butt-Head find themselves in a deserted field near a graveyard ...

RigbyMel says:

I remember watching this when it first aired.  I always enjoyed Beavis and Butt-Head in small doses (and my younger brothers were HUGE fans).  Having been on the receiving end of the "aren't you too old to be trick or treating?" wheeze from adults, I can understand the duo's frustration.  Their methods, however, are ... questionable.

The Halloween hijinks and mayhem are right in line with what you'd expect from two dim-bulb. miscreants such as Beavis & Butt-Head.  It's a nice touch that they initially didn't even know it was Halloween and mistake trick or treaters coming to their door for salespeople giving out free samples.

The Doofus Duo shows off their "costumes"

Their eventual "costumes" are painfully uninspired  -  Beavis puts his underwear on his head and says he's a "nad" and Butt-Head elects to pour hot melted cheese over his head in order to be nachos. (Ouch!)

Beavis terrorizes the Red Ranger (and his parents)!

We see 90s relic kids out and about dressed as Power Rangers (both Red and White Ranger costumes are seen during this cartoon), which may add a twinge of nostalgia for cartoon viewers of a certain age.

It's also evident that Mike Judge (who created the series and voices the titular morons) had a lot of fun doing the voice-over work for our "heroes" in this episode.   Some of Cornholio's rantings are particularly inspired.

Cornholio strikes fear in the hearts of the hapless Stewart Stevenson and friends

The only issue I have with this special is the ending -- which feels like it flew in out of a (mild SPOILER) slasher movie.   I think it could've ended a minute or two sooner to no ill effect.

If you're a fan of Beavis & Butt-Head and want to revisit the 1990s (or see a Halloween special very much situated in said decade) "Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest" is worth checking out but I cannot quite give it my highest rating.

RigbyMel's rating:

3 jack o'lanterns

J.A. Morris says:

Beavis and Butt-Head was a polarizing series two decades ago.  It's funny to think about that now, since they seem so tame by today's standards.  It might sound simple, but if you enjoyed Beavis and Butt-Head, you'll like this episode, since it's a typical episode with some nice Halloween elements thrown in to the mixture.

The boys' hippie teacher Mr. Van Driessen sports a Nixon mask--the scariest thing he can think of!

I enjoyed "Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest" and laughed out loud more than I expected.  Beavis' talking into the mirror, rehearsing his "How's it goin'...I'm a nad" introduction is particularly funny.

I agree with RigbyMel about the joy on display when Mike Judge is voicing Cornholio.  I would guess that lots of Cornholio's rants were ad-libbed on the spot by Judge.

I also share my co-blogger's disappointment with the ending.  It seems like Judge and company just ran out of ideas.  But that's not enough to ruin what comes before.

This episode can be streamed on Amazon  and has been released on dvd.

"Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest" is a very funny Halloween episode.  If you were in high school or college (like I was) during Beavis and Butt-Head's heyday, this will be a nice way to get reacquainted with the boys, and newcomers will also likely enjoy it.  The lackluster ending means "Bungholio" gets slightly less than my highest rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 and a half jack o'lanterns