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Reviews
The Amazing World of Gumball (2011)
Not Without Some Charm but Severely Overrated
Coming from Cartoon Networks European development team The Amazing World of Gumball definitely fits a particular trend amongst current animated series. The show like many others currently premiering wears its cuteness on its sleeve and couples it with energy and silliness, something that will make it no doubt appeal to fans of Adventure Time and the ADD addled youth of today. Unfortunately this series couldn't be more far removed from the greatness of Adventure Time or the greatness of other Cartoon Network shows.
Visually this series is a train-wreck. I feel that the art departments brains and hearts were in the right place but I feel that they tried way too hard to make this show look unique. This fusion of several different animation styles may be appealing to some but for me they are styles that don't quite gel together as a cohesive visual aesthetic. Our main character designs and the dominant style of animation is nothing more than middle of the road flash animation, flash animation that isn't near the standard set by the great Titmouse studios, flash animation that looks more fitting of an online game than a television ready series. The character designs rendered in flash (Gumball, Anais, Darwin, Gumball's Parents) are all incredibly simple and overly processed. These are some of the most unappealing character designs I have seen, they look like something a 7 year old would draw in their spare time not designs crafted by art school graduates. The average animation quality makes the character designs even more unappealing. The other visual elements like I stated before don't work. The Computer animation is solid with some decent designs and animation, but it contrasts too starkly with everything else on display making it a distraction not visual gold. The stop- motion on display much like the flash animation and character designs is childish and lacking. The use of photographic live-action backgrounds only makes the numerous animation styles continue to look out of place and from an animation stand-point was most likely done out of sheer laziness. I mean come on! you can't draw your backgrounds, hand drawn backgrounds might actually have saved this visually scatterbrained show but instead the art department would rather make things even more visually confusing. Bottom line this is one of the worst looking shows Cartoon Networks produced.
From a character standpoint this is where a majority of the charm in this show stems from. I find our cast of characters though slightly derivative to be quite accurate portrayals of kids and adults. Gumball is a charming character he is very self-assured, wide-eyed and is definitely a great character to centre a series around. His brother Darwin a fish shares many similar traits with Gumball but is also slightly naive leading to some great humour and a nice dynamic between the two. Anais is a little sister but does not suffer from the pitfalls of other little girl characters, she instead reminds us of our own little sister and is a fun character for it. The parents are also decent though a little unrealistic, their dynamic reminds me of the classic Simpsons dynamic between Homer and Marge. The backing cast once again slightly derivative but still filled with some interesting characters, conceptually speaking that is.
The episodes themselves vary greatly and at times can come across as scattered and unorganized as the shows visuals. Episodes that revolve around our characters and a character related dilemma are engaging. The episodes that revolve around Gumball, Darwin and Anais and their exploits at Gumballs school are also engaging enough. However many of the story lines revolve around bizarre plot-points and backgrounds characters that are lacking in some way. As a result the stories this show depicts and its general writing style has charm and quality at times but can also spiral downhill fast. Inconsistent is the word I would use to describe how the show is written.
In the end I hope Cartoon Network continues to mine Europe for more animated series, maybe over time CN will stumble upon something worth while. However as great and well- received as Gumball is, I can't help but feel that the series though not devoid of some charm, just doesn't feel deserving of the hype it has generated. The animation quality is average and visually the show is a big mess. The characters are fun and engaging but the backing cast is forgettable. The story writing inconsistent and generally hit or miss. This is a show that has some good things going for it but overall I find this show just on the cusp of a passing grade. Its a 4 out of 10 for me, stick to Adventure Time if you want wacky done right.
Adventure Time (2010)
The World of OOOO
Cartoon Network has had a fluctuating stable of creator driven projects over the years. Some of their original series are inspired, thought provoking and fun although others can be mediocre, childish and poorly conceived. For years the cream of the crop for the CN name has been the works of Genndy Tartakovsky, Danny Antonucci and John R. Dilworth. In this new era however CN has been taking some risks and gambles; licensing series from their European development team, picking up series crafted from young up and comers of the animation industry, but no gamble has worked out so wonderfully then when they picked up a little series Nickelodeon passed on, that series is Adventure Time.
From an Animation and Cartooning standpoint Adventure Time certainly has a style all its own. Pendleton Wards (Series Creator) cartooning style is deceptively simple with a permeating cuteness that has made it trendy, niche and refreshing. His simple character designs lend themselves well to the fluid animation the show puts forth. I would go as far to say that from an animation standpoint alone Adventure Time along with Christy Karacas' Superjail, are the most animated shows currently on television. The transitions are smooth, the character animation loose and full of fun, the backgrounds are full of imagination and the colour palette sensational, some of the best colour co-ordination I have seen in a North American animated series. So visually simplistic character designs aside the overall look of the show couldn't be more sharp and the animation utterly superb.
For me the characters are also fun. Despite their overall lack of relatability and development, every character has a strongly defined persona and enduring quirks that make them collectively as a cast incredibly enjoyable. Finn and Jake are both incredibly fun characters and the bro dynamic between them is a prime source for great character moments and humour. The backing cast is also superb. The Ice King is a deliciously self-deluded villain that has many funny moments, Marceline is a cool vampire chick who may juts be one of the best female characters ever to be in a cartoon, Princess Bubblegum and Lady Rainacorn though lacking the dynamic punch of the other characters are engaging as well.
When this series first premiered I felt it could do no wrong. The characters were superb and the animation phenomenal, even the writing had its moments. In the beginning the shows writing style often centred around adventures with our heroic tandem Finn and Jake, these adventures had the tendency to spiral off into the surreal, a trait that often led to some funny moments, WTF humour and a great deal of innuendo. The early seasons of the show are superb so why am I giving this show an 8 and not higher, well......... Currently the writing which was never a huge strong suit, but had its moments in the first two seasons, is starting to wear thin on me as a viewer. Gone now are the constant adventures and wacky scenarios, they still exist but not on an episode to episode basis, now many of the episodes that the series produces are weird for the sake of being weird. Episodes will now introduce wild and absurd one-off characters that feel lazily conceived, as though the writers were thinking of wild and funny things without putting thought into whether they would work or not. The narrative structure of the show is also declining in quality. Normally the show could go from point A to point B in a focused way with all the humour and eccentricity intact, now episodes start rushed and end abruptly or have to take many nonsensical and poorly written detours in order to get from point A to point B. Bottom line the writing is now starting to have an adverse effect on what was a well oiled machine in its infancy.
Still regardless of how far the writing has declined and whether or not it continues to the animation has remained top notch and the characters interesting enough to hold my attention. Hopefully the flaws that are starting to show will heal with time. Currently Adventure Time is still one of the best animated series on television today.
Gravity Falls (2012)
So far a Near Perfect Show
Disney has been making some radical changes in recent years. Back in the day Disney was always known for its films and amusement parks, its original creator driven content always seemed to take a backseat. For years the only decent original Disney channel series were Fillmore! and The Weekenders. However like I said recently Disney has been taking a bold new direction. The addition of Disney XD has led to the creation of some great shows Phineas and Ferb and particularly Chris Prynoski's new show Motor City. Their current original content mirroring the 90's shows that put creator driven series on the map. Their latest play in this new direction the creation of what so far promises to be perhaps their best creator driven series yet Gravity Falls.
Emerging from the ashes of the Marvellous Misadventures of Flapjack (another quality show, however not Disneys) where series creator Alex Hirsch served as writer and storyboard artist, Gravity Falls is perhaps the best instalment in a series of programs crafted by current Cal Arts Alumni since Adventure Time.
From a cartooning and animation standpoint the series feels refreshing. The character designs feel like some superb mixture of The Simpsons, Classic Disney animation with a bit of The Marvellous Misadventures of Flapjack thrown in. The Characters are drawn in a very fun way and they lend themselves to the quality character animation the series has produced. From a character animation standpoint the work is spirited. It is fluid and comedic exemplifying how much the character animation can be integral to the characters themselves.
Cartooning and Animation aside though I feel the true greatness of the show stems from its writing style, approach of comedy and characters. Alex Hirsch and his writing team have made a show that conjures to mind the character driven humour of the classic Simpsons with the weird and often creepy nature of a 90's kid show called Eerie Indiana. The end result is a show with unique and weird story lines and a level of humour that does what many of the 90's shows did best, transcend its target audience. This show produces jokes that will work for both kids and adults. The characters are also very likable. We have seen characters like Dipper, Mabel and Grunkle Stan before but on Gravity Falls they are crafted so believably that we can forgive that. These are not just funny characters, they are characters with defined personas, they are oddly relatable and they have even in these 9 episodes shown some semblance of character development something that is usually left out of many North American animated series.
So far this is a near perfect show its only misstep so far the episode entitled Dipper Vs. Manliness, which I won't spoil it for you, has a great concept but is too much build up and not enough pay off.
For me this is a show that makes the kid in me smile. Watching this now is like tuning into my childhood favourites (Hey Arnold, Ren and Stimpy, Courage the Cowardly Dog) only now I am old enough to appreciate it.
Heart String Marionette (2012)
How to Describe Heart String Marionette
Indie animator and one man production team M Dot Strange's latest feature Heart String Marionette follows in its predecessors footsteps, its weird, its wild, its vulgar and yet its refreshing and sublimely strange. Heart String Marionette begs the question how to describe it, a David Lynch film channelled through warped CG Animation, A Childs Nightmare turned stream of conscious poetry, edgy anime tropes coalescing into a fractured narrative, a riddle wrapped inside a mystery locked in an enigma. No matter how you may try to perceive it and describe it, you are doomed to fail, M Dot Strange has crafted something bizarre, engaging and new, devoid of any attempt at description.
When one begins to dissect HSM one can easily spot M Dot's stylistic touchtones and influences. The CG animations schizophrenic shifting from crystal clear smoothness to unnerving and erratic jerking motions is reminiscent of underground Motion Capture and CG animation as well as the early works of the Brothers Quay. His obsession with samurai culture, Japanese names, anime references and archetypes conjures to mind the most gritty, action packed and self-aware of all anime series, series such as Vampire Hunter D and Blade of the Immortal. His skewed narrative structure, filled with nightmarish visions whilst still somehow maintaining a level of character and in this case emotional depth brings to mind the way a David Lynch or Cronenberg film is approached, narratively speaking that is. M Dot's formula then seems to be 1 part Brothers Quay, 1 Part Anime Culture and 1 Part David Lynch and 1 Part Stream Of Conscious Spontaneity. To pool such influences together and yet come up with something provocative, watchable, intense and jarring is a tough balancing act, one most would be unable to pull off but M Dot does it with aplomb.
From a story and thematic standing, the film demonstrates M Dots greatest improvements. The story line on the surface of the film is a very simple one, one that anybody can sink their teeth into, it is a tale of redemption for Samhaine Tsuke, Siouxie and the monster ridden country side the two seem poised to save. A simple premise and story but one that works incredibly well and one that is easy to pickup on (unlike the storyline of his first film the equally as strange and entertaining weirdo opus We Are the Strange). However deceptively simple the basic premise and story-line may be M Dot spruces it up with a fragmented and fractal approach and thematically touches upon much more than just a redemption fable. Never before has M Dot really had a social conscious about his films but thematically in HSM we are treated to comments on religion, female rights, man-kinds pitfalls, satanism and even the structure and sanctity of the family unit, its these numerous sub-themes and touchtones that bring a level of depth to what on the surface is a very easy to follow story and setup. Granted this multi-thematic approach to storytelling and symbolism has some drawbacks, it makes the point of the movie hard to grasp and feels fractured overall but that is also part of the mystery and fun of HSM, it merits repeat viewings.
The Score is worth noting as well, M Dot teamed up with composer Endika for the entirety of the score you hear and it works wonders. The musical score is contemplative, beautiful and intense. It demonstrates perfectly the power behind the tandem of sound and image, as a result the film receives a bit of extra emotional grounding, most evident in the closing stages of the film. It is this extra little emotional push that really makes HSM by the movies end feel like another weirdo opus in its own right, one that is high on the strange but also high on commentary, sentiment, forthrightness and even accessibility .
It is truly a step up and a step towards a more positive direction. Good job M Dot Strange, it is one of the best animated films I've seen all year.