Even though there are some other Dopers here who watch children’s animation, I normally don’t comment on new ones since there’s really no need to. But I decided to make an exception for Nickelodeon’s The Mighty B!, since it’s been getting good reviews from many major news sources and features Hillary Clinton herself, SNLer Amy Poehler as main star and creator. And, mainly, because it’s fun and entertaining.
Poehler is the voice of Bessie Higgenbotham, a nine-year-old Honeybee Scout who is attempting to collect 4,584 merit badges in a delusional belief that this will allow her to become a superhero called “The Mighty B.” Although Bessie has many friends (including an almost unrecognizable Andy Richter as her brother), she’s the main spotlight, but her dog Happy (a silent partner to her bizarre adventures) and the snooty Portia (a rival Honeybee who is embarrased by Bessie and often calls her “Messy”) also play major parts.
If you like SpongeBob Squarepants, you’ll probably like B- the humor is similar, and so is the characterization of Bessie- she is extremely upbeat and naive, and will go out of her way to find a solution to an extremely silly problem (such as growing a sixteenth of an inch to ride a roller coaster). In the opening episode, which aired today, she has an argument with her own finger and gives her mother over 900 reasons to buy a dog. When that dog gets lost, she’s torn between “go ahead, you should be free” and “you come back here right now,” giving both POVs in the same speech. I’m sure Bessie will be a Nick mainstay just like the yellow sponge, and that kids- and adults- will love her.