They're Back..........Maybe?

So it has come to my attention that Matt Groening's sci-fi comedy Futurama might be returning for the second time. Ok? I'll start off by saying that I've always been a fan of Futurama. It's one of my favourite projects of Matt Groening, second only to his yellow nuclear family. This series encompassed Groening's brand of provocative humour, but it managed to be strong in its own right. I admired how its world-building presented a variety of imaginative and wacky predictions, however, these predictions would also be used as satire on our culture and society in general. But the social commentary always took a back seat to the clever storytelling and the humour that was applied to certain tropes. The characters could be funny, but they could be multi-layered too. For example; Bender may have a questionable moral centre, but he remains so likeable. Like how he considers his co-workers to be his friends, even if he doesn't wanna show it. Not only could you feel for them, but they were made stronger with great vocal performances. It explains why it still has a dedicated cult following to this day, whether or not they're fans of the sci-fi genre.

But unlike Matt's long-running series, Futurama has the distinction of ending not once, but twice. When it had its rebirth (the first time around) it was like the show had never ended. Sure there may have been a few alterations, but I felt the Comedy Central era was just as great. I also believe it ended on a high note, it really tied up everything while also being kinda open-ended. However, I considered the possibility that we might return to the "World of Tomorrow" for a second time. But with these recent revelations, I must ask; do we really need to?

This may be a hot, spicy take but I feel the series did all that it can. As much as I greatly enjoyed the Comedy Central era, I'll be honest I thought its well of ideas was beginning to run dry. I feel the last season provided closure for the characters, so I'm glad the series ended before it lost its momentum. And I'm glad it didn't end up like other shows that have passed their prime and gone on longer than they needed to. I know this may sound hypocritical of me, considering I'm still a fan of 'The Simpsons' in its modern era. I'm in the minority that's willing to give the new episodes of that series a chance, no matter what. So what it had its share of duds over the years; if a show has been on air as long as Homer and his dysfunctional family have, it's bound to happen. And that's the concern I have for this possible revival, because the more episodes that are made, the chances of them being consistently good are less than likely.

However, I could be wrong on this. There's a possibility that these new adventures might be just as good as it was, if not better. That's a best-case scenario. Worst-case scenario, they might lack the inventive spark it had. I might depreciate the whole series in my eyes. Also; considering Groening is still busy working on 'Disenchantment', he obviously won't be prominent in the production of these new episodes. I just think he needs to focus on his current airing projects. This series could take the franchise in a completely new direction, that we might welcome with open arms.

So those are my thoughts concerning Futurama's potential return. I just feel the series had its time and I don't see any reason for it to come back around again. Only time will tell if it will see the light of day or not, or if it'll even have the same charm. Maybe it's time to give new show ideas a chance or if you're going to revive old properties, why not the ones that didn't get a proper conclusion. Otherwise, we'd just be repeating the past rather than moving forward. But I digress. So tell me your thoughts on this, are you looking forward to seeing Planet Express again, or are you hesitant? Let me know if you think this idea is as farcical as any of the show's predictions.

What Cow and Chicken Means To Me

If you were a child in the 90s, there's a chance you watched Cartoon Network in its early days. This channel got its start broadcasting a library of animated shorts from Warner Bros and MGM respectively; as well as Hanna Barbera's vast programming. But it wasn't long till the channel started creating its own original programming, their first wave of shows was called the 'Cartoon Cartoons'. One of these shows that helped build their empire was Cow and Chicken. The show was about these interspecies siblings, who would be put into various scenarios. But as each episode goes on, these situations would get crazier, they would often have encounters with a devil called the Red Guy. This was a show I watched a lot on the channel as a child, there was something to its characters and settings I adored. However, as my interests shifted away from it, I would want more out of the kid's shows I watched; but is there something about it that people are forgetting to appreciate?

On the surface, the stories might seem nonsensical, you might even think they sound absurd. I mean a 

young calf has a fully grown udder, and a boy fowl is called 'chicken'. But that's just the type of bizarre logic that the show lives by. By removing realism, it can make for more interesting stories. If you're willing to buy surreal ideas like talking farm animals eating pork butt and potatoes for dinner, you can buy this too. As long as it can pull you in with its bizarre logic and antics with the relatability of its characters. The lines are delivered in a way that gives the stories their own spice and flavour. The show also contains gross-out humour, I may have criticised other shows for using that brand of humour, but it works here. A lot of it involves meat products, as well as innuendo. People often compare its comedy to 'Ren and Stimpy', but I feel the show offers its own approach to that style of humour. I'd dare say this show did a better job with this trend of grotesque wackiness. I was worried that it wasn't the masterpiece I remember it to be. The gross-out doesn't bother me much as it's not the main focus, the real meat of the story is how it plays with tropes and your expectations. I love the show so much I don't question its logic or sanity. But the way it pushes things to an extreme also applies to how it's drawn. The designs on the characters and backgrounds give them a distinctive style, the features make them look strange, but they fit with the world they live in. The movements on the characters don't go overly surreal, there's a weight and restraint to the fluidity that make the motion and physical humour effective. It's really the comedy and stories that carry the visuals.

Looking back, the two lead characters have such a strong dynamic. Cow may be overly cheery and optimistic but she can also get emotionally attached to certain characters. She's always looking out for her older brother, despite all the pain and mayhem she puts him through. But she also has a superhero identity to help out those in need. Chicken is the more cynical and aggressive protagonist in contrast. His attitude and manic energy is reflective of young boys. His reactions to the character's stupidity and to his setting make him the straight man, he is able to work off Cow extremely well. But I think the character everyone remembers the most is The Red Guy. He makes for a comical antagonist who likes to mess with our main characters, as he serves as the catalyst for the situations. He appears in a wide variety of personas depending on the story, it's always interesting to see how his schemes turn out. His deviousness is a joy. What makes him so funny and memorable is his flamboyant mannerisms and fierce remarks, part of that comes from Charlie Adler's voice performance; he's able to give off such a vociferous range when portraying these characters. The supporting characters also have their share of funny moments, like the human parents who are seen from the waist down. There's also the main character's cousin, Boneless Chicken who has a deprecating sense of humour; he doesn't let his handicap hold him back. 

It is one of the funniest TV shows of the late 90s, without a doubt, it showed David Feiss as a pioneer in the field of animation. It's shows like Cow and Chicken that prove that they don't necessarily need to be deep or complex or have story arcs to be great. You just have to be good at what you do, and what this cartoon does is make me laugh. And if you can tell engaging stories and portray compelling characters that'll draw you in while also making people laugh; that's an impressive feat. Coming back to this show made me see how humour can be just as important a factor. It's worth going back to for some bonafide laughs. 

But the question remains, would I replace Gravity Falls on my favourite animated shows list for this? Well, while Cow and Chicken has been in my life longer than that show has, Gravity Falls just has the right balance of humour and lore. Gravity Falls may contain details and plot points for the viewers to decipher, but you can tell the makers of C&C tried to connect to a specific sense of humour. Dipper and Mabel may have a similar dynamic, but they're fleshed out throughout, but that doesn't make the ones from C&C any less charming or well written. It also has ambiguously LGBT characters, but C&C had ones long before, in a banned episode may I add. Gravity Falls did open up to mystery and world building for children, C&C did the same for mine and other people's sense of humour by presenting a wild part of it. Well, depending on what mood I'm in, I could like one or the other either way. 

A Terry Jones Tribute

On January 21st 2020 Terry Graham Parry-Jones, one of the members of the British comedy group 'Monty Python' (as well as one of the two Terrys of the group) passed away after a battle with dementia. I've talked about my artistic influences before, but when it comes to my writing and storytelling influences; Terry Jones was one of them. Everyone has a member of a team that they like the best, someone who we can point to as the glue that holds the team's efforts together. Many regard Monty Python as one of the biggest staples in British comedy, not just that but people's senses of humour as well. Many of us have quoted a line from one of their sketches or movies at some point in our lives, that we owe that to Jones. It was Jones that brought a sense of wit and cleverness to what are seemingly farcical and absurdist routines, there was more to it than cross-dressing or putting on a silly voice. Whether he was playing the straight man of the looney character, Jones could pull off such a great performance that convinced us, even we leant to tell it was him. But its not one man that makes a project work, sometimes it can work as a collaborate effort. The Pythons could work off each other with their ideas to form a joke. If the other pythons were the vital organs, then Jones was the brain.

But Jones also branched out his writing prowess to all age groups, what do I mean by this? Not only was he the foundation of Monty Python, but he also wrote fantasy stories for children. With the help of Michael Foreman's illustrations, these children's books paid homage to the fairy tales and myths that were passed down through generations while also adding his own spin on them to make them feel brand new. These are stories that deserve more recognition, because looking back on them, they were really innovative. They probably ushered in a renaissance in children's literature. I don't know how many are aware how significant he was with the fantasy genre at the time. You can tell both Foreman and Jones worked in tandem, as Foreman would bring Jones' wild ideas to life. While Foreman's lush pictures drew me into these stories as a child, its the writing that would be one of the building blocks of my storytelling sensibilities. And it was only when I got older that I realised this. When I was younger, my main priority was to be a visual storyteller, but it was Jones that showed me that I can implement my sense of humour into my writing. I saw him as guidance for how I can add sprinklings of comic relief when its appropriate. Even with the Monty Python movies, he was able to capture the weight and feel of their respective genres and playfully made jokes about how funny the source material would be. Something spoof movies nowadays need to take note of. He showed me that comedy can be just as important as any other factor.

It saddens me that such genius has deteriorated, as someone who had a family member who went through a similar hardship, its hard to swallow. It's also sad when the laughter dies, and we lose another comic pioneer. It's Jones that showed us that in times of sorrow, all we need is a good laugh to cheer us up. He and the crew told us to always look on the bright side of life, they showed that humour can really be a defence mechanism. He never would have wanted us to be sad that he was gone, but to be glad what he made existed. He and his characters provoked many feelings of wonder, shock, intrigue and joy, he knew how to make fun of legends, but he made legends fun. I know he and Graham will be spending this Christmas in Heaven. Terry Jones not only left an impact on British humour but many of us as well. He knew when to face the curtain with a bow, gave the audience a grin. He saw it was all a show and kept us laughing as he would go. And for that we thank you for it, Terry, we really do.

RIP 

Terry Jones

1942-2020    

A Bash on Teen Titans Go!

You may remember that I reviewed the British cartoon "Pet Squad", that short-lived series about 3 super powered animals that took the superhero genre in a comedic direction. The one that tried to imitate the works of Jay Ward; even though it didn't use their tongue in cheek charm and wit. And despite the fact it had talented people working on it, it never really took off. Well, I take back what I said about it. Hell, I take back what I said about Clutch Cargo, Mighty Man and Yukk, Transformers, Captain Planet, Jonny Quest and Dynomutt Dog Wonder. I take it all back because I'm convinced I've seen the absolute worst cartoon the action/superhero genre has had to offer. What is this cartoon that's so bad you ask, it's none other than Teen Titans Go!

Based on the DC comic book series, this franchise has a concept of a team of teenage crime fighters;

however, the characters people mostly associate with the Teen Titans are Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven. And their most well-known incarnation that featured those aforementioned characters was the Cartoon Network series from 2003. Now what can I say about the 2003 series, I'll admit when I was younger I remember watching some episodes out of morbid curiosity, but since then I haven't seen or thought of it considering I don't care for DC. Even though I didn't hold on to it; looking back there were admirable things like the voice acting, how it balanced action with comedy relief and its characters. Hell, there was even a tear-jerking moment, so I can understand why it had a strong and dedicated fan base.

Why I do I bring this up, well 10 years later there came a new cartoon based on the Teen Titans. Not only did it have the same main characters, not only did it adapt the same designs to a more cartoony style but the same voice actors returned to reprise their roles. So you can imagine it gained a bit of attention as well as hype. However this latest incarnation focuses more on the comedic aspect than the early one; fans were quite hesitant but when they saw the final product, it would be regarded as the biggest slaps in the face of the decade. Instead of giving us a revival of the 2000s series, they gave us a series that has become so infamous that even the mention of its name would strike fear to superhero and cartoon fans alike. In fact, it has gone by different names like Toddler Titans, Teen Titans No, Teen Titans Go F*** Yourself, but I would like to call it Teen Titans Go Away.
An animated series that has become so reviled in recent history, that practically everyone on the web has covered; now it's my turn.

To start this review off; I will not associate this with the 2003 series or anything from the Teen Titans franchise, I'll be strictly looking at this show on its own. Teen Titans Go! revolves around the same team of 5 titans; only in this comedic take on the superhero genre, it shows them in a variety of scenarios. And when I say variety, I mean it's less about fighting crime or trying to save the world; but more about the titan's goofy shenanigans! The plot basically has the Titans minding their own business, they get into a predicament, the story gets blown out of proportion as it goes on and it ends with the Titans either resolving the conflict or failing in a comical fashion. These plots have a typical set up you see in other comedic shows; but here, it's executed badly. This show seems to be trying to do what "The Justice Friends" segments from Dexter's Lab did; in this case, the writers did a poor attempt. Other than having consistent storytelling, it focuses more on telling jokes and being as silly as possible. Not only do the plots go in outrageous directions, but also it has this mean spirited vibe towards the protagonists.

But you know what else Teen Titans Go! offers in its subject matter? The titan's adventures would involve using the bathroom, eating vegetables, what to do on a rainy day, and seeing how many times you just say the word 'waffles'. I know this show is aimed at older kids and teenagers, but I think this show was secretly made for 4 year olds. You know those spin-offs that had well-known cartoon characters and made them younger; well this is what this show feels like. This is on par with 'Bobinogs' it's that bad. No wonder they call this "Toddler Titans". Even if that is the case, it doesn't work because there have been instances where it inverts lessons. There were times where it is seemingly trying to teach a moral, but they turn out to be false or spoof aesops. Yes, the show is playing itself for laughs, but I worry that the younger audience would take it seriously. And those kids who are expecting it to be action-packed would feel deceived.

But considering this is a comedy; is it at least funny. Well, this show is just as funny as cancer. This

series throws in every different type of joke it can, and none of them tickle my funny bone. Much like the stories, the "humour" tries its hardest to be over the top and lampoon the superhero genre. To put it simply, it really takes the mick here. Depending on who you are, it might get one or two chuckles out of you, but that's how desperate it is to make you laugh. But anyone with common sense would not laugh at all. I throw the phrase 'lowest common denominator around, but that's the best way to describe its brand of "humour". Much of the jokes contain very lowbrow toilet humour, pop culture references, they also have a tendency to use running jokes throughout one episode. It gets really frustrating and the jokes aren't even funny to begin with. It gets so zany and wacky to the point the stories become stupid and ridiculous. It's noteworthy how it's able to push your suspension of disbelief, but your patience as well. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with making a funny cartoon that includes action, but you have to capture the spirit of the specific genre. Play around with the conventions and make sure to have a balance of action and humour. The 2003 series did have moments of comic relief, it came from the character's expressions going really cartoony and exaggerated. However, those humorous elements were only an ingredient, with TTG it's like making a sundae only to end up serving a bowl of sprinkles. I also throw the word stupid a lot but that's the best way to describe this excuse for "comedy".  There's a difference between 'laughing with' and 'laughing at' someone, but in this case, it's the latter. What do I mean by this; because the only time you see TTG and 'laughing' in the same sentence, is that it would be a laughing stock to the animation industry.

As a comical show, the visuals are meant to be much more cartoony than your typical superhero fare. In a similar vein to 'The Powerpuff Girls', the character design has bold outlines and the heads are different shapes and sizes. But the whole look doesn't appeal to me; it's a very generic use of a style that doesn't do anything for me. The colours are also very saturated; I get sick of seeing the same colour scheme for each location. One detail I notice with the background designs is that there's this jagged pattern effect that gives a shading illusion from a distance. The movements are done in Adobe Animate (or Flash, as people used to call it); despite the fact that the tool has come a long way in the past decade, it doesn't make the designs look any better. I can tell that the timing is very fast, but by modern cartoon standards, the movement makes the show look awfully cheap and minimalist. I can't get by the lip movements and how obvious it cuts corners. When it does incorporate fight scenes, they don't lead much to the viewer's imagination. It uses the same basic composition as opposed to adding any depth or dynamic angles. It's able to think of wild expressions, but like the writing it gets overbearing. I must say the mediocre art direction does match with the quality of the writing. I really feel sorry for the artists and animators who had to work on this, because I'm sure they're doing the best they can with the material they're given. It's too bad what they have to work with are garbage scripts, it's upsetting that their talents are being put to waste. You know what's ironic; in the 60s when we started to get more action/adventure cartoons, I never cared for the action shows that went for a pseudo realistic look, yet I respect the shows that tried to take that genre for a comical approach. But when it comes to Teen Titans, it's the complete inverse.

Now let's get to what people really hate about this show, and that's its characters, starting with

the titans themselves. Robin, the leader of the group is a former sidekick who aspires to be a great leader and hero. Unfortunately, he often gets the short end of his staff and never catches a break. He gets into humungous tantrums whenever things don't go his way; he becomes so assertive and bossy towards the others that he comes off a loudmouth. Though can you blame him when he has to put up with the other characters? He just wants to take his missions seriously, yet no one else appreciates him and has to put up with his orders. Cyborg is a half human half robotic hero with hidden weapons and gadget at his disposal. Beast Boy, who is able to turn into every animal, is also the laid back one. He also speaks in slang and tends to use the suffix 'es' with certain words. They're both slackers who would rather ditch their responsibilities so they can lie around doing their own thing. While Cyborg is the 'party dude', Beast Boy is a dimwitted slob. The female titans are not much better. Starfire appears to be the one member who's gentle and kind, but even she has moments where she uses non sequitur phrases. She has a sunny disposition, in which she's shown to be happy and naive. Because she still hasn't gotten used to earth customs, she can get into misunderstandings and becomes obsessed over things (like cats). Raven is the demonic gothic member with dark, sinister powers. You'd think she would be the sensible straight man who acts as the voice of reason, but even she can act goofy and expressive at times. One of her traits is that she likes a girl's cartoon about ponies, which is obviously a reference to the fact that her voice actress Tara Strong voices the main character of 'My Little Pony Friendship is Magic'. The girls on the team are also the love interests for Robin and Beast Boy, yet they don't show the same feelings. I hate these characters; they're not even good at their jobs as heroes. They're utterly incompetent as they barely save the day or achieve what they set to do. They even cause more problems than solving them, and they don't develop through their lessons. It makes it hard to root for them when they act so immature. It's stated the titans are supposed to be teenagers, but they act too juvenile to be considered as such. They often yell out their lines in an over the top fashion, which makes them even more obnoxious. Now can you understand why people call this 'Toddler Titans".

The straight man in this show would have to be the supporting characters and villains. Each antagonist would have to put up with the titans' immature antics; even the other teenage heroes find them a nuisance. But if I could take a moment to compare any character from the 2003 series, it would have to be Terra. She is a villain with elemental abilities and is Beast boy's other love interest. Let me just say that it breaks my heart what they did to her in this series, it really does. As a kid's show, the titans don't even set any good examples. No child would want to look up to these so-called heroes at all.

Bottom line, I Hate Teen Titans Go! Folks I find that very a strong word, and I'm not one to hop on the bandwagon, but that's how I legitimately feel about it. What more can I say that hasn't already been said? The writing is awful and poorly executed, the humour is obnoxious, the characters are either puerile or ones you feel bad for and the animation is cheap by current animation standards. It's a show that fails on all accounts, it's super bad! I should have heed people's opinions on the show because I can completely understand why it's considered one of the worst animated shows of the 2010s. If there's anything positive to come out of this show, is that it made comic book fans appreciate the 2003 series more. Even if you don't know a lot about superhero comics, you'll be least likely to enjoy this regardless. My distaste for this show isn't based on any bias of mine either, I hate it for my own reasons. But your criticism of this show is also my criticism; it is the epitome of everything wrong with modern cartoons. At this point; hating on TTG has pretty become the equivalent of beating a dead horse, with gratuitously superhuman strength and special powers I may add.

To add insult to injury is the show's constant airing in the US. I really feel bad for the folks over there or anyone who has to be subjected to this tripe. It doesn't look good on Cartoon Network's part as well. The fact that such a show has become a ratings hit makes me worry for the children of this generation. I want to believe that the people working on Teen Titans Go had good intentions, but the end result tells me that the two creators Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath are some of the most incompetent people in the animation industry at the moment. Don't believe me, there have been episodes that are dedicated to argue with haters and critics. These two have used episodes like 'The Return of Slade' (the worst offender of this) as excuses for the show's quality, it's like they don't want to listen to people's criticism. We all make jokes on how the heads of bad superhero productions are the "real villains", but I couldn't have picked a better analogy for this circumstance.

Those who are looking for a cartoon that mixes comedy with action won't find anything to like here, and it's not the right show to expose little children to superheroes. But if you're courageous enough to check this show out for yourself, you better believe what people are saying about it. You better believe it. And if you happen to like TTG for whatever reason, I'm not one to judge, just explain to me why you like it just so I could see your point of view. As for me, this show gets a 1/5.
But you know what, I know children are smarter than this. I also know they deserve better quality programming than this. I hope that the younger viewers watching it will realise that they don't like this show, they'll probably learn to hate it as much as we do. I hope that producers will also smell the coffee and see that people have had enough of it and that we'd be better off without it. The only way we could defeat this menace of a series is if we could just ignore it, don't even bother bringing attention to it because it's not worth your time. If we just ignore it, then shows like Teen Titans Go! won't be the norm. And maybe, maybe this show will just go away. The sooner it does, the bett........

GOD DAMN IT!!!

All right; I also don't think this is worth seeing either, because I pretty much worry for the human race at this point. If there's any silver lining to this, then it'll probably get people interested in releasing hand-drawn animation in theatres again. I mean there's no way anyone in their right mind would give this any positive notoriety.........

...........SON OF A B****!

The End of Regular Show

NOTE: If you're reading this and are from a different country, this news may or may not apply to you. If you have already watched the ending, this might be old news to you. And if you haven't, don't worry there won't be spoilers.

Aside from 'Adventure Time' there was another modern animated show from Cartoon Network that I would follow, a regular one to be exact, that being J.G Quintel's Regular Show. Make no mistake, despite the title this show was far from regular.

This cartoon would centre on a blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon Rigby who work at a park with a cast of other strange and colourful characters. Each episode would have these two slackers get into a predicament, only for it to get blown out of proportion, leading to many bizarre adventures and mishaps. Now, this isn't going to be an analytical review of the show, but a brief ramble in which I offer my thoughts on it. So here I go. When Regular Show first aired; I wasn't really into it, as I thought it wouldn't be as funny as the cartoons from my youth. But the more episodes I watched, the more it started to grow on me. There was just something about it that got me intrigued to see what it had to offer. It's a strange show, and I don't mean it in a bad way. It may seem like a slice of life show; but as each episode goes on, you can see that the world of Regular Show is a lot more exaggerated. As you become accustomed to the talking animals and objects, you'll find that everything works in a surreal fashion. It understands that there's an art to writing weird comedy, it's a dead art but it's an art form nonetheless. What made Regular Show special is that it was littered with references to 80s culture; it also had plenty of crude jokes that would go over younger viewer's heads (much like the cartoons I watched in my childhood). It's like this cross between 'The Amazing World of Gumball' and 'BoJack Horseman', in that it knows it's a cartoon where anything can happen, but the situations feel realistic. And the characters go through similar scenarios that we go through; and because of that, we understand their trials and tribulations. The characters may look like talking animals and objects, but they're like people we know in our lives.

It's a good show and I do enjoy it, but I did have problems with it. As good as the stories and characters were, they had room for improvement. Part of that comes from the fact that it would lack a sense of "lamp-shading" that would've made the show a lot more self-aware. That and the world wasn't always internally consistent, there were times where it would break my suspension of disbelief. But when it hit bull's eye, it could be a comedic, inspired series that can also be emotionally heartfelt. As the show would later take place in space; I don't know whether the people behind it wanted to expand on its world-building and give it a deeper lore. Or it was an attempt to boost the ratings. Either way, it caught your attention...right? Regular Show was one of the contributing factors that got me to like current animation again, after a period where I lost interest in it. It would have been this average TV show with nonsensical plots, but it turned out there was a lot more to it.

But now that Regular Show comes to an end, I can say that it was fun while it lasted. Maybe it's for the best that we bid farewell to the bros of the park, and remember it for what it was. Otherwise, it'll suffer the same fate as Spongebob or Family Guy (or Ren and Stimpy to an extent), in which it would keep making episodes till it becomes a shadow of what it used to be. But the fact that it lasted 8 seasons is impressive as far as this type of cartoon goes, whereas some TV shows don't even get half. If you didn't like the show because it went too far, or not far enough, I can understand. As it's not for everyone. It might've tickled your funny bone, or maybe you found its nostalgic novelties amusing. Regular Show is the equivalent to this laid back student who would rather slack off and would normally get Bs and Cs. But when he applied himself and put his all into it, he would get an A- or a B+. Like I said, I still thought it was a good show, a jolly good show indeed!

A Bash on The Littlest Pet Shop Cartoon (1995)

Hello there, now normally on my blog I never tend to rant on anything because I want to have a positive outlook on life, but whenever I see crap like "Jungle Junction" or "Bobinogs" I just have to address why they should be avoided at all costs. Now I have memories of watching badly written, badly animated tv shows as a kid, however, I'm forever grateful I never saw the utter embarrassment that is "The Littlest Pet Shop". Now how could I hate such an innocent kid's cartoon, I have a million reasons so there, but before we could get into detail to why it's a such a mess lets go over a bit of history.

During the 80s and early 90s, toy companies thought it was a good idea to adapt their toys to animated tv shows, most of these shows were more like 30 minute adverts than stories and while shows like "My Little Pony" and "Transformers" were a success there were some that were forgotten (for good reasons) like Rubix the Amazing Cube and Pacman. I never really cared for these shows nor did I ever buy most of the toys, so how is the show I'm about to talk about gonna change my mind? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Like many of those show The Littlest Pet Shop started as off as a toy line in the 1990s, these were basically plastic miniature versions of pets you could adopt from a shop (but without the poop). Then 5 years later Sunbow Entertainment (the company that would later produce the much superior cartoon The Cramp Twins) thought it was a "good idea" to give these toys their own animated tv show; the result was this festering sell out I show before you. But just how bad this show is, let's find out.


The series is about a pet shop owned by Elwood P Harvey, and it's really small animals, thus the name "littlest pet shop". However, the pets have their own "personality" and each episode would revolve around them and their "quote on quote" adventures. Now, most shows that have "meh" premises aren't as bad as you think but here it's far worse than you can ever imagine. Not that we expect high quality writing from a show that has a mediocre story arc but this has to be the worst writing I've seen in a show to date. Most of it consists of bad jokes and poorly done slapstick, nothing seems consistent or creative in any way shape or form. It's like the writers didn't care so they pasted together basic ideas and add random slapstick for filler, because they knew only kids would watch it and as long as they're ignorant they had the excuse to put as little effort into each episode. I mean the humour is just a poor attempt at something that gets really annoying. For example in the episode "Encino Mammoth" there's a scene with 2 naked people in the jungle.......and it's not even developed from a comedic standpoint, it's because they had their home and possessions destroyed by a tiny mammoth. Did the writers really think they were writing good comedy.....I mean......WTF.

I don't know anyone who finds this funny, it's simply being silly for the sake of being silly. Aside from bad jokes, I can't find anything that makes these stories the least bit interesting. Every episode has the character in a situation whether in the pet shop or if they are adopted by a one-off character, the rest of the plot tries so hard to like a looney tune cartoon it comes off as stupid and over the top. The plots aren't even that interesting because all there is just lame slapstick combined with pretentious storylines.

If you think the poor jokes and slapstick was the worst part of the show than you haven't seen the animation, which is both choppy and cheap looking. Well, the original "My Little Pony" and "The Garbage Pail Kids cartoon" had bad animation so I'm probably just nitpicking. But my god just look at it! this makes Scooby Doo look like Sylvain Chomet by comparison. The character designs are so odd and uninspired it makes me feel awkward inside, it doesn't help that the movements either looks rushed or stiff most of the time. Oh come on! is this the best 90s animation they could do, yes people this was made in the 90s. I could forgive them for the fact that it didn't have a high budget, but seriously before this show came out there was Ren and Stimpy, Tom and Jerry Kids and Animaniacs. The animation on those 3 shows looked new and zany at their time but this, the animation style was stale before it was even conceived. I mean just look at this image.

HOLY SMOKES! WHAT IS WITH THAT CLOSEUP! could you honestly say with a straight face that this is well animated! Sweet Christ All Mighty!!! I mean I don't have a problem with wide angle shots but with the way it's animated, Who Would Find that Particular image Funny? If you don't believe how un-appealing the animation is, just.....just look at that image and tell me if that doesn't look awkward!!!
Naughty Naughty Pets isn't an excellent show but it's animation looked more original and colourful, even if you don't like it at least that had a better art style, unlike this garbage.

As much as I don't really want to talk about this show any longer, I'm afraid I have to talk about the characters. The "so-called glue that keeps this show together" but really they're what make this show even less bearable......... First, there's the first character I mentioned Elwood P Harvey, the owner of the shop who makes Johnny Test's dad a more fully dimensional character, Mumsy Elwood's British mum an explorer who helps bring in the tiny animals. Because I don't give a crap about the human characters, let's move to the tiny animal characters, first there's Stu, the dog main character who encourages his friends to go on adventures he also has a big appetite, there's nothing much to talk about him so next! Chloe the intelligent cat who seems like she's a fan of the arts and literature so that pretty much makes her the only descent character with any common sense (but that's not saying much) Viv, a bunny who has a passion for music and is not funny. Chet a muscle-bound horse who's like Buck from "Disney's Home on the Range" (minus any once of charm) Squeaks, a hyperactive monkey who doesn't speak, I also don't care about so moving...There's also the side characters like Delilah, Sarge, Harriet and the rest who I don't give a crap about because they're so bland.

So now ladies and gentlemen it's time I shared with you the episodes I was brave enough to sit through, so you don't have to watch them yourself.

The first episode I watched was "Chet the Dream Horse" Chet is trying to get away from his crazy obsessed pony stalker Sabrina, just like I do with this show. I know it was intentional but Sabrina is just plain unlikeable and not well designed, she makes the G1 My Little Pony character look like G4 by comparison (where's Minerva Mink when you need her) But all comparison aside a little girl named Merline and adopts Chet for her "stable" which Chet in turn thinks is a real one, but little
does he know the horrors that await him!

No no, not that! But he does suffer something much more terrifying, as he is tortured by the show's targeted audience! So after being tortured by the Barbie obsessed demons Chet goes ape and nearly wrecks the house which results in what Chet should have done in the first place by exchanging himself for Sabrina. This episode was not funny and unbearable, to say the least.


Another bad episode I watched was "Bunny Beat" ok this is the last episode because I'm gonna talk about because I don't know how much I could take! Viv is singing horribly to her favourite rock song when an old rock singer Willy Van Aldan comes in. The singer turns out to be Viv's idol so she plays a song for him on the piano, Willy is impressed so he plays it on an ad (with a bad actress btw) even so that he calls Viv over to write more songs. It's not long till Willy's manager comes to the picture and is also impressed by Viv's music and WOULD YOU STOP SHOWING THAT IMAGE PLEASE!

Oh and this the episode where you see that face so don't bother trying to find it, IT'S STILL NOT FUNNY!

Anyway, he's so impressed by Viv's music that he hires her to be play on tour with Willy. So yeah it's one of those "character becomes famous" plots but don't worry folks, this one has blatant pop culture references and gags that show that the writers are trying too hard to be funny!  references that the younger audiences won't get like ripping off Robert Palmer or 2 boys that sound like Beavis and Butthead. With all that said there was a scene that showed a map with carrots growing, now you would think that would represent Viv's popularity, but actually, there were giant carrots literally growing out of nowhere. Okay, I'll give them credit for trying to attempt an unexpected joke, but it's not enough to save this episode.
 Also they actually had the nerve to add a fake censor bleep....okay writers listen, if you think you can appeal to an older audience than you're mistaken because your show isn't good enough to appeal to an older audience, and it's obvious you're desperate to put in those types of jokes without any thought or effort. In other words you're taking what is adult humour and not using properly at all.

All those gags aside it appears Viv has over-shadowed Willy as she becomes a world-wide musical sensation, well the 90s had stranger pop stars just look at Vanilla Ice. This frustrates Willy as tries to destroy Viv in an act of jealousy resulting in his contest literally becoming a smash hit while also leaving his reputation as a star in the dust.

 Huahahahaha ruining people's careers is funny 

There is it so hard to make a Beavis and Butthead reference 

So Viv gets back to the shop and is greeted to the spirit of doing chores, oh thank the lord we're done because I felt dumber watching these episodes.

Bottom line The Littlest Pet Shop is an awful cartoon that has "sellout" written all over it!

The animation is subpar, the jokes are just terrible, the writing is corny and obnoxious and the characters are just copy-pasted and lacklustre. I never saw this as a kid and I'm glad I didn't because I hate this show in every way. If you seriously like this then I guess I have nothing against you but please, please tell me in great detail why you like it. If you haven't seen it then don't, even if you like crap like "Pound Puppies The Movie" I wouldn't recommend this to you.

I can kind of see where it could have been a hilarious series, but as it stands it's a 30 min toy advert made by hacks. The fact that the people behind this had high hopes for this really blows my mind, granted this looks like it had the budget of a turkey sandwich but still. As far as shows based on toy lines go this is really the worst, I couldn't find anything redeemable about this show and was just felt underwhelmed by how corny it was. One thing is I promised myself is that I would never watch this ever again, the only reason I saw these episodes again was for research purposes and I found it even less entertaining than before. But despite this being a failure, Hasbro decided to create a new animated tv show based on this toy line, why? I would much prefer My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic over this. Final score: 1/5 I'm gonna wrap this up before I get a headache pass off this off and buy your kid a goldfish, I bet they would find more enjoyment from that than this litter box of wasted paper.

 SWEET JESUS! Let it haunt your nightmares!

A Review of Pet Squad

 "The last time we saw the reviewer he gave a positive review on an animated show that surprised him in quite a pleasant way. But wait! it seems our hero has come in contact with another animated show he overlooked! Will he find this particular show to be just as entertaining? or will he regret his decision from encountering something he knew was bad in the first place?"

We get it! now can you let me narrate please!

"Sorry"

 Superheroes seem to very popular, over the years these bold heroic titans have become staples of not

only justice but to the comic industry. But as long as superheroes have existed there have always been superhero parodies; since Mighty Mouse many cartoonist and comedians have taken this serious concept and make fun of it. The idea of more cartoony superheroes is very interesting, many cartoons and sketch shows use this formula, representing the action genre while also satirizing it just to make us laugh. As someone who is personally not a fan of superheroes, I turn a blind eye for this concept because to be honest they are some good superhero parodies that take advantage of the fact they're comedies. But then they are some that are not funny and the show I'm talking about falls into that category unfortunately, and that is Pet Squad.


As a fan of the animation genre I believe that cartoons were much funnier in the old days, however since the course of the new decade I've noticed quite a few good cartoons that have lots of effort put into them and are well received among audiences alike. Sadly Pet Squad is not one of those newer animated shows I've been invested in, and after looking at it I could see why. Now when this show came out in 2011, I avoided it for the same reasons other people my age did. But then I thought was not seeing the signal in the sky, or did I make the right choice for the sake of the world, well To the Blog!

The premise can pretty much be explained in the theme song, a scientist's pets a dog named Dodge, a cat named Sheeba and a guinea pig named Bingo are being chased by a crazy goose when suddenly they end up in the professor's machine that gives the animals (as well as every animal in P Town) super powers. So the 3 pets become Pet Squad and its to them to save P Town and the world from the clutches of the goose who has become a super villain called Mother Goose. Now a premise this crazy would normally have a good execution but in this case, the stories of Pet Squad really fall flat and loses all its powers.

Now think of a cartoon like TUFF Puppy, Bolt and Underdog, remove all originality and charm and this is what you get. For a show where anthropomorphic and humans exist with each other through a lab accident, the plots are very generic and not very interesting. To me it follows the superhero formula in a basic way without any creativity or spontaneity whats so ever. They go like this, the pets live mild mannered day with their scientist owner, they turn into their superhero egos, they go on their mission, fight the villain and go back to their regular pet lives. But the unfortunate part with Pet Squad as a whole is that it doesn't seem to make the plot interesting by adding anything new or unique. Well even if there is an attempt at that I feel there's a lot of missed opportunity, I feel like there were some interesting ideas but they were not executed well.

However the kryptonite of Pet Squad's writing is the lack of humor. You think for a show like this, at least they would have made an effort in the humor, but sadly they didn't. It seems this show is missing the all important element that makes a superhero parody work and that's it's humor, sure there's an attempt but it's not funny to the older audience. The reason why Sheep in the big City works is because the humor was well executed and it appealed to both children and adults, Pet Squad on the other hand feels often forced and extremely mediocre, I'm serious I watched a few episodes and not once did I laugh, chuckle or smirked. While I wouldn't say the writing and humor is awful I just think it could have been funnier.

Another thing in Pet Squad that doesn't appeal to me the least is the animation. Now I know that not

all animation has to be Warner Bros quality, and that every animator has their own style. In fact many animated shows like Beavis and Butthead, Regular Show, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Salad Fingers and South Park relay more on humor more than visuals and it works because it translates it to the crude design. However because Pet Squad doesn't have that distinction than the animation becomes a big issue. As it stands the animation hits like a middle ground to me, it feels like it want's to be cartoony but the designs goes for a crude style that would again only work if the comedy was more mature. The best way to describe it is imagine you made a kid a coffee cake for his birthday, but the cake didn't have enough flavour so it wouldn't please everyone. I'm not saying that the designs are bad but on it's own I can't seem to get into it. The animation may not be super but at least it's not 12 Oz mouse.

But a cartoon isn't a cartoon without the characters, so shall we. As you know Pet Squad consist of 3 members and their robot, Dodge is the stereotypical beagle leader of the group with the same heroic mannerisms that we've all seen, Sheeba the feline-female (or fefe) member who obsesses for cat stuff and "shiny stuff" and she sounds like Rainbow Dash's generic cousin, Bingo the Guinea Pig who's the fat one. Their character traits remind me of another forgotten cartoon series what was it, oh yeah "Patrol 03" anyone remember that? Only difference is Pet Squad has a robot assistant name Pepe who is just being lighthearted and whimsical for the sake of lighthearted whimsey. There's Professor Eureka who's a living cloning experiment of every cartoon scientist ever.

The main villain Mother Goose is a psycho gone even more psycho who...........

 OF COURSE!

 wants to take over P Town, it's enough that I'm not invested in her schemes but her voice is off-putting to me. It's like they wanted to give her an American accent but with how lackluster the script is it sounds pretty pretentious to me, even I could do a better voice. While I wish her henchducks were funny enough, but like everything else they weren't. There are other characters like the Mayor, the Chief and the supporting villains but they're just stereotypes that you see in any other cartoon.

"So reviewer what is your opinion on this work of animation"

Well sir, all I can say is that while Pet Squad may not be the worst cartoon I've ever seen I still don't think it's that good. Even if there are still talented people working in the animation industry; Pet Squad proves otherwise. For a show with surreal and scientific elements Pet Squad lacks any creative stories, humor, characters and animation. I could understand the direction they were going for but there's nothing that catches me off guard or makes me turn a blind eye, well maybe it was trying to do so but the final project wasn't executed well that's all. If you're looking for an animated kid's show that's also appealing to adults, this is not the one, but still watch Sheep in the Big City it has better comedy and more original animation. Or if you're looking for a recent cartoon series with animal heroes, check out TUFF Puppy. That aside I give Pet Squad a 2/5.

"Well thank you young reviewer, once again you've cooked us a delicious sandwich of thought provoking speech and opinions"

I'm honored, I guess

"Of course you are, "toon" in next time when our reviewer takes on the task of looking at the most cheesiest, cheapest, stupidest, most horrifying thing he has ever seen in his entire life!"

Wait! What!