My recent thread, if anyone’s still interested.
I like what I’ve been seeing. The one major beef I had with the Warners was how scattershot their moral outlook was… one moment they’re saviors who defend a kingdom against a foul invader (great), one moment they’re misguided protectors goofing through what eventually turns out to be a shaggy dog story (very funny), one moment they’re butting heads with an incredibly obnoxious Howard Stern expy (pretty funny…this was before America’s Got Talent, remember), one moment they’re actually on the defensive against a rampaging children’s mascot (heavy-handed, not too funny), one moment they’re tormenting a famous scientist or artists and help him purely by chance (pretty bad), one moment they’re driving a famous guru to insanity in their overzealousness (bad), one moment they’re tormenting Dr. Scratchansniff or going way overboard teaching a candy salesman a lesson (very, very bad), and one moment they’re completely trashing a toy store in the dead of night or creating chaos in a carpool for no reason whatsoever (BLEEEARRRGHHH). This time it looks like they actually have a social consciousness and realize they need to know and respect concepts such as punching down, cultural sensitivity, and inclusion. Just the fact that Dot is not taking any more crap from her brothers is a very welcome sign.
My concern is…well, can they carry the show on their backs? I’ve said my piece on the supporting cast: Some good moments but way too many trips to the well, and a few of them (the hippos, Katie, Chicken) were so formulaic they may as well have used a Mad Libs generator. But they were hardly unfixable, and in fact it would’ve been pretty easy if the writers gave a damn. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if they can’t interact with a Slappy or a Hello Nurse or even a Mime, and they can’t be obnoxious pests using their inexplicable teleportation and kick-out-swapping powers to drive completely innocent homeowners crazy, what is this show about? They can only get so much mileage out of song segments and commercial parodies.
It’s a strange new world, for both the Warners and this cartoon, to be sure. But that’s no reason to be pessimistic, just curious. I’ll definitely be there. Probably won’t watch more than the free subscription, as I’m still holding out for a DVD release. Hey, I’m old school.
Side note: I recently saw the first half of Goodfellas (disk was defective; need to order a replacement from Amazon), and it gave me an idea. There’s been no word of reviving the Goodfeathers, but since Frank Welker’s on the cast, why not just have Squit post-gangster? He can still be the bumbling schmuck forever chasing a piece of the good life and dispensing wisdom and getting mangled by animals stronger than him and whatnot.