It's really sad to see Cartoon Network and the Superman legacy stoop so low. For years, I read Superman and Superboy comics, delighting in the exploits of Krypto, the dynamo dog from Krypton. He was always one of the coolest comic book characters ever, and it's astounding that it took this long for him to get his own TV show. What a shame that the folks who produced this COMPLETELY butchered the idea, and sold out the character's integrity, preferring to create a lame, watered-down kiddie toon.
Please understand that I'm not against children's' cartoons in general. In fact, I absolutely adore Cartoon Network shows like "Billy & Mandy", "Ed, Edd, & Eddie", and "Codename: Kids Next Door". These shows stand out because, even though they're targeted at a much younger audience than myself (I'm twenty years old), they don't talk down to children, patronize them, or offer them bland, inoffensive, and unchallenging humor. Unfortunately, "Krypto the Superdog" does all of these things, and does them with outrageously shameless excesses. What little *intentional* humor that the show attempts is, well...not humorous! (Unless your idea of humor is stale, contrived one-liners and painfully...no, make that embarrassingly bad puns.)
Believe it or not, the story lines here have a lot of potential in and of themselves, but often times, they just never seem to GO anywhere. For instance, in one episode, Krypto and a bunch of shallow, poorly drawn canine ethnic stereotypes unintentionally unearth a hunk of red Kryptonite (which of course, does unpredictable things to Krypto, as opposed to killing him like it would in the comics.) Krypto's tail becomes separated from his backside, takes on an annoying, one-liner-spewing personality of its own, and bounces off. The entire episode consists of the gang trying to help Krypto capture and re-attach his tail. On it's own, this is a pretty good premise for a cartoon. The trouble is, that's the entire episode. That's it! They get his tail, re-attach it, and live happily ever after. WHAT?! No super-villains, no ray-guns, no anything?!
Some stories are more powerful than this one, but still have flaws. For example, in another episode, a flamboyantly gay iguana (yes, you heard me) sneaks into Lexcorp and alters the position of several satellites, causing them to reflect sunlight and heat up Metropolis so that he can work on his tan. Pretty good story, even if it has been done to death in similar forms. But with this story, the much-needed villain that I spoke of earlier is completely inept, poorly conceived, and utterly lame. Basically, he captures himself by getting his tongue tied to a pole. I was hoping that Krypto would open a Royal Can of Whupp-A on him, but in the end, he didn't even get to open a small beaker or vile of some sort.
Oh goodness, I almost forgot. That theme song. That horrible, horrible theme song. Okay, here's what you should do to get an idea of how awful this theme song is. Put the themes from "Full House", "Family Matters", and "Who's the Boss?" together, add a dash of hard rock, and take away ALL catchy hooks, coherent lyrics, and camp value. Then you get the theme from "Krypto the Superdog".
In the end, this cartoon does have some redeeming qualities. There's a distinctly interesting visual style to it, strangely reminiscent of Hanna-Barbera's heyday in the 60's, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences. Some of the characters are pretty unique and may leave you wondering who thought them up. Needless to say, this is a show that's *safe* for your kids to watch, but if they're over seven or eight years of age, it'll probably be too juvenile for them, and it'll be time to bump them up to something more mentally stimulating, and of course far more entertaining. I'm always quick to recommend some of the classics, like Looney Tunes or Popeye. These cartoons prove that you don't have to be bland and unfunny to be kid-friendly.
Please understand that I'm not against children's' cartoons in general. In fact, I absolutely adore Cartoon Network shows like "Billy & Mandy", "Ed, Edd, & Eddie", and "Codename: Kids Next Door". These shows stand out because, even though they're targeted at a much younger audience than myself (I'm twenty years old), they don't talk down to children, patronize them, or offer them bland, inoffensive, and unchallenging humor. Unfortunately, "Krypto the Superdog" does all of these things, and does them with outrageously shameless excesses. What little *intentional* humor that the show attempts is, well...not humorous! (Unless your idea of humor is stale, contrived one-liners and painfully...no, make that embarrassingly bad puns.)
Believe it or not, the story lines here have a lot of potential in and of themselves, but often times, they just never seem to GO anywhere. For instance, in one episode, Krypto and a bunch of shallow, poorly drawn canine ethnic stereotypes unintentionally unearth a hunk of red Kryptonite (which of course, does unpredictable things to Krypto, as opposed to killing him like it would in the comics.) Krypto's tail becomes separated from his backside, takes on an annoying, one-liner-spewing personality of its own, and bounces off. The entire episode consists of the gang trying to help Krypto capture and re-attach his tail. On it's own, this is a pretty good premise for a cartoon. The trouble is, that's the entire episode. That's it! They get his tail, re-attach it, and live happily ever after. WHAT?! No super-villains, no ray-guns, no anything?!
Some stories are more powerful than this one, but still have flaws. For example, in another episode, a flamboyantly gay iguana (yes, you heard me) sneaks into Lexcorp and alters the position of several satellites, causing them to reflect sunlight and heat up Metropolis so that he can work on his tan. Pretty good story, even if it has been done to death in similar forms. But with this story, the much-needed villain that I spoke of earlier is completely inept, poorly conceived, and utterly lame. Basically, he captures himself by getting his tongue tied to a pole. I was hoping that Krypto would open a Royal Can of Whupp-A on him, but in the end, he didn't even get to open a small beaker or vile of some sort.
Oh goodness, I almost forgot. That theme song. That horrible, horrible theme song. Okay, here's what you should do to get an idea of how awful this theme song is. Put the themes from "Full House", "Family Matters", and "Who's the Boss?" together, add a dash of hard rock, and take away ALL catchy hooks, coherent lyrics, and camp value. Then you get the theme from "Krypto the Superdog".
In the end, this cartoon does have some redeeming qualities. There's a distinctly interesting visual style to it, strangely reminiscent of Hanna-Barbera's heyday in the 60's, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences. Some of the characters are pretty unique and may leave you wondering who thought them up. Needless to say, this is a show that's *safe* for your kids to watch, but if they're over seven or eight years of age, it'll probably be too juvenile for them, and it'll be time to bump them up to something more mentally stimulating, and of course far more entertaining. I'm always quick to recommend some of the classics, like Looney Tunes or Popeye. These cartoons prove that you don't have to be bland and unfunny to be kid-friendly.