I Spy Fun House: A Retrospective
1/16/2023:
I Spy Fun House is another well-composed book brought down by its choice of subject matter. The circus theme is certainly evocative, but especially for a modern audience, the theme is quite dated. It evokes thoughts of trashy entertainment and exploitation, given the modern poor reputation of circuses, not to mention the recurring use of clowns in horror media. I Spy fun house does its best to present a lively circus environment, but is unable to avoid the cultural baggage of its theme.
Balloons for Sale
What a weird start to this book. The background with the blue sky suggests that this is outside, but the dark upper half of the photo makes it look like it’s indoors. The balloons are vibrant but also feel monotone, since they’re about the same level of mid-tone saturation instead of being bright and vibrant. Combined with how dark the upper-right of the scene is, and the whole vibe of this scene just feels off.
I have to address the elephant in the room: the clown puppets are unfortunately accursed. Something about them just looks sinister as they’re not really smiling or laughing. Even more unfortunately, these guys show up in every single photo in this book. It’s really too bad. Jean Marzollo talked about how Carol Devine Carson thought they were cute, but at least for me, they definitely bring down this book on the whole.
I’m not really a fan of this one! Despite my misgivings, though, it sets the very mixed feel of this book quite effectively.
The Laughing Clown
Why isn’t this the first scene in the book, it would make way more sense! The line of people here helps convey the feeling that this is the entrance to the circus. I really like it when Wick does photos that have a real sense of place as opposed to more abstract scenes.
I like how this scene mixes the classic floating objects scene with something that grounds it more. It really helps sell the feeling of walking into a fun house. The floating objects are kind of basic, especially compared to dedicated floating objects scenes, but it’s a neat concept. This is an alright scene!
Fun House Mirror
This is a middle-of-the-road photo. The smear effect in the funhouse mirror is kind of cool, but it mostly just makes it really hard to recognize the objects and reduces the number of objects that can be used in the riddle.
One thing this scene does have going for it is the first instance of a riddle instruction that tells you to turn the book upside down. The one in this scene isn’t that interesting, it just makes an abstract shape look more clear, but a few future photos will use this trick to incredible effect.
The scene looks kind of cool but isn’t that interesting. Wick really likes optical illusions and visual distortions, and this makes sense for the fun house theme, I just don’t find it that appealing.
Circus Band
What a neat, minimalist scene. I like seeing the reflections of things in the instruments, it’s a really neat way to hide props. It feels more intentional than seeing the studio in the reflections in the last book. I also really like the colors in this one. The blue background contrasts nicely with the gold instruments.It’s a super simple image without a lot happening, but sometimes that just works.
Mirror Maze
This one is the highlight of the entire book. The infinity mirror illusion is super cool, and Wick does it really well, especially with the holes in the mirror where he can hide more props that won’t be reflected as many times. I love how overwhelming this scene is. Part of the challenge is figuring out how many objects are real and how many are just reflected, and that makes for pretty unique search-and-find gameplay. The riddle is pretty short, though, since there’s not that many real objects present in the scene, but that’s okay. This is a fantastic scene!!
Magic Show
What a classy, minimalist scene. There’s very few props in this one, but that gives it a unique edge. The floating objects have a new context when they’re part of a magic show, and I like that! It’s hard to talk a lot about this one, since there’s not that much happening, but it’s a neat and evocative photo. In a book that’s pretty maximalist, especially with the detailed puppets showing up in every single scene, Magic Show stands out.
Clown Dressing Room
It’s so, so orange. The warmth of this scene with the light bulbs around the mirror feels suffocating, especially with all the bright clothes and clown props hanging off every single possible place. The density of props in this one feels less cozy and more suffocating and claustrophobic. The composition is plenty detailed, and there’s enough things to find, it just doesn’t feel that pleasant or atmospheric. I’m not a fan of this one.
Puppet Theater
I kind of like this scene, it’s probably the best use of the puppets in the entire book. In other scenes, surrounded by newer and shinier objects, the puppets feel cursed. When surrounded by other antique puppets and well-loved toys, they feel properly like antiques and bother me less. Sometimes, it’s all about context.
Additionally, I like the colors in this one a lot! The cool greens and yellows of the stage feel right at home with the muted reds and yellows of the puppets on stage. I also really like how the stage itself is made out of common objects! I always prefer that to more purpose-built sets, it gives scenes a more tangible feeling. This is a decent little scene.
Peanuts and Popcorn
This one is sweet! The main “floating objects type” scene in this book is one of the better scenes. I love how much depth the spirals of tickets give the scene. The props are also really vibrant, and there’s just enough color among the snacks to make the scene not too monotone. There’s not that much to say;, it’s yet another scene of floating objects on a white background, but it’s just fun!
Creepy Crawly Cave
This is my favorite scene in the book. I love the dark background and bright neon creatures, the color contrast is really satisfying and helps give this photo a unique tone. I like how the silhouettes of the puppets are used to add more texture to the background instead of just being a flat color. I also really like the detailed textures on the neon creatures in this scene.
The tone of this one is pleasant; it feels less loud than the other scenes in this book, which helps it stand out. The scene just feels really nice.
Prizes to Win
What a cute scene! I like seeing the same plushie show up in different colors; it’s a satisfying pattern. The dark background also provides a nice contrast to the bright props.
One thing I really, really like about this photo is how it uses depth. At first glance, it just looks like a set of prizes on the fence. With the guidance of the riddle, though, you are shown the full depth of the photo. Objects are hidden in the foreground and the background, with smaller objects resting on the plushies in the front, and the silhouette of a ferris wheel hidden in the back. Once you find these from the riddle, you start to see even more objects on both of those layers. Unfortunately, this also includes noticing the puppets lurking in the background, looking on nefariously.
What a neat little scene! The colors are nice, the composition is balanced, and the riddle helps guide you through it smoothly. This one is really well done!
Carnival Warehouse
Hhhyaaaahhhh! The giant eyeless masks, the worn out, sinister looking puppets, the choice to light the scene exclusively from below like a horror movie… this is the pinnacle of the unfortunate circus themes in this book. Surrounded by other puppets and props, especially with title, this one makes the recurring puppets feel even more lifeless.
The composition is fine, the lighting is kind of interesting, the scene is definitely not compositionally bad, there’s definitely enough props to find… It’s just that the theme for this one is really off-putting. I’m not a fan.
On the Boardwalk
This is a nice finale. I love how the choice of colors makes this feel like a sunset. The pinks, indigos, and oranges contrast nicely with the dark silhouettes of the people on the boardwalk below. Once again, the recurring clown puppets look more appealing in silhouette.
I really like how the riddle for this one keeps you looking between the distinct zones of the photo. The big colored sky and the people on the boardwalk look obvious at first, but there are also objects hidden on the side of the boardwalk. This is a recurring thing in I Spy, but I particularly like how it works in this one since the side of the boardwalk looks nondescript until you look closer.
I like this scene a lot! I always like it when I Spy books end on a more low-key note, and this one definitely qualifies.
Conclusion
I Spy Fun House is another well-made book. Some of the scenes in here are quite evocative and classy, even beginning to experiment with minimalism, like in Magic Show. The book successfully explores many facets of its circus theme.
Unfortunately, some of those facets may not have been as fun as intended. I cannot help but notice that my favorite scenes in this book have the least to do with the circus theme. On the Boardwalk, Creepy Crawly Cave, and Mirror Maze are only tangentially associated with the theme. I also find the ones that focus on the clowns to be the most unpleasant. Fun House Mirror, Clown Dressing Room, and especially Carnival Warehouse are some of the least appealing I Spy scenes in the whole series because of the unpleasant associations they evoke.
I Spy Fun house has some excellent highs but is brought down by some true lows. It’s not my favorite I Spy book by any means, but it’s definitely interesting.