For the longest time I thought Teamo Supremo might be an underrated gem that had an unapologetic campiness to it and was unironically funny. That is NOT the show at all upon rewatch and it appears I misremembered this show for the far superior Sharkboy and Lavagirl movie. From the terrible writing to the dull characters, this feels even more embarrassing considering this is from the same company that made the far superior Darkwing Duck the previous decade prior.
The first major problem with Teamo Supremo is it's terrible writing. Each episode follows a standard formula of the titular characters failing to stop easily beatable bad guys until the climax of the episode. Each episode has 11 minute segments and they're all very rushed and undercooked as they tell instead of show, go overboard with exposition and a select few characters just never shut up. Not helping is the severe lack of humor as most of the jokes are just obvious one liners, lackluster slapstick and eye roll worthy references to better made shows and movies. The worst aspect of the writing though is the dialogue as it comprises of really cringy puns, annoying catchphrases and alot of exposition.
The characters themselves offer very little substance and at best are just boring and at worst they can be rather annoying. Captain Crandall, the leader, is just a basic kid who's all about following rules and saving lives. That itself wouldn't be so bad if he had more of a personality. Instead of a kid who likes dressing up like a superhero and hanging out with friends, Crandall is a superhero 24/7 even when he's not in costume. He also has this belief that he's from another planet which gets old very fast. Hector, aka Skate Lad, is devoid of pretty much any personality as he usually parrots what Crandall and Brenda say. Even when an episode where to have him as the main focus, he never becomes a fully fleshed out character outside of being a good kid that does good. Brenda, aka Rope Girl, is also like this and she fills in the typical girl role in the episode Sounds of the Songstress. Governor Kevin is pretty much your uncle who still thinks it's the 1970s and talks in such lingo that comes across as cringy and eye roll worthy. The Chief (never given a proper name) is just a grumpy law officer who's not a fan of Teamo Supremo, Mr. Paulson is the guy who makes the gadgets, Samantha being his assistant, and Mrs. Woolingantz is just the team's teacher who excuses them whenever the governor needs them. Then there's Crandall's Mom and sister, Jean. Mrs. Crandall knows her son and his friends are Teamo Supremo yet pretends not to know throughout the entire show until the last episode. I found this running gag to be quite annoying, but not nearly as infuriating as Jean. She gives helpful advice to her brother and his friends yet ruins it because she always follows it up by saying she has to know this stuff if she wants to be something when she grows up. This is not funny, this is obnoxious. You don't need a reason to know something helpful, even if it will help you in the long run. I really hate how unaware the characters are with how obnoxious Jean is being every time she says "I have to know this stuff if I want to be XYZ some day."
The worst characters on the show though are the villains. They all have the same problem of having weak motivations, 2-3 inept lackies and going on and on with their monologues. I particularly hated Mr. Vague from Mr. Vague Does Something in which he just aimlessly tells his goons what to steal without a concrete plan. I also hated the Put Down Artist, who shouldn't even be a villain because all his does is make fun of people. That's something your average bully does, not the villain of the week on a superhero show. There's also The Tourorist, who's basically a shrew, Dr. Pogo who just bounces on a pogo stick and Dehydro who never shuts ups. It astounds me how the citizens in this show take any of these guys as serious threats because they come across more like annoying customers at a supermarket than actual villains.
Visually, the show is passable at best, though I feel as though it's still underwhelming. The character designs have a unique look to them while still paying homage to the works of Jay Ward. The show has a nice color palette and the character animation flows believably, or at the very least much more smoothly then the likes of Rock and Bullwinkle. That said though, the animation is still pretty weightless when it comes to the fight scenes. The fight scenes mostly just comprise of the heroes tying up the bad guys and it being over in less than a minute. I also don't like how the team stacks on top of one another when every they're riding Skate Lad as the lack of gravity takes me out of the show.
The one true complement I can give this show is the voice acting is alright. Spencer Breslin (older brother of Academy Award nominee Abigail and best known for roles such as The Santa Clause 2 and 3, The Kid and The Cat and The Hat) does a pretty good job voicing Crandall making him sound like a real kid playing a superhero. Alanna Ubach (best known as Mama Imelda from Coco) did a good job voicing Hector and Brenda and made them sound totally distinct from one another. Martin Mull does a fine job giving Governor Kevin a 1970s radio host voice and Brian Doyle-Murray is always a treat to hear. Even the actors playing the villains bring their A game. Maurice LaMarche was really good as Baron Blitz, Mark Hamill managed to make the Birthday Bandit sound absolutely nothing like the Joker, Joel Murray (Brian's brother) did a good job voicing Helius Inflato and April Winchell really nails to hypnotic nature of Hypnotheria. Even though the characters are all varying degrees of bad, the actors made the most with what they had to work with.
It's unfortunate that this show does not uphold as an entertaining and unapologetically campy cartoon I thought it was. Instead what we have is a terribly written cartoon with dull characters, lame villains, unfunny jokes and cringe worthy dialogue. The animation may be passable and the voice acting may be good, but that's nowhere near enough to give this a recommendation. You're better off watching Darkwing Duck instead.
1 out of 5 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
