Robotboy had the potential to be a well made cartoon that had action, comedy, and alot of heart. Frustratingly, the show ops to be a basic cartoon at best and a terrible cartoon at worst. Despite impressive visuals, the show has so many broken parts, it's surprising how it manages to stand on two feet.
The first major problem with the show is the terrible writing. At best the plots are predictable and at worst they are forced. Episodes like Dog-Ra and Halloween make Robotboy the bad guy just to ignite a plot that could've been told naturally. The show also uses tropes that are both tiring and groan worthy even at the time of it's release. Robotboy is kept a secret from Tommy's parents, Lola has a crush on Tommy, Tommy has a crush on some nobody named Bambi, Tommy's Dad is a bumbling idiot, and much much more. It's also worth noting that the jokes just aren't funny no matter how hard they try. These jokes mostly comprise of toilet humor, humiliation, idiocy and slapstick and none of them land so much as a smirk from me.
The characters offer nothing to really grab on too and just come across as wasted potential. Tommy, the main character, is a dull protagonist who's irresponsible, selfish and ignorant. He has been shown in episodes like The Boy Who Cried Kamikaze and Cleaning Day that he can't properly care for Robotboy because he either leaves him deactivated and vulnerable or takes advantage of him. Speaking of the title character, Tommy's incompetence makes the little robot so naive that he never grows to be a better character. In Robot Love, he acts like a spoiled brat. In Halloween, he can't tell the difference between a costume and a real monster. In War and Pieces, he isn't even a character: he's a Macguffin. I can't root for this robot to be a real boy if this show's definition of "real boy" is an incompetent and ignorant child. Lola might be the biggest waste of a potentially good character next to Chloe from We Bare Bears. She's the daughter of an African ambassador, she's a much better friend for Tommy (more on that later) and she's shown to be really smart. The problem? Out of the several episodes I watched and despite being in the intro, Lola is barely in the show and whenever she is in the show, she has this forced crush on Tommy. Why?! That doesn't make her character better, that makes her worst. The villains, Kamikaze and Constantine aren't nearly as threatening or entertaining. In fact, they act more like bumbling sidekicks to a REAL villain because they're so incompetent. Kamikaze is one of "those" geniuses, who takes all the credit and can't come up with an actual good plan to get Robotboy; or, you know, just make his own. Constantine meanwhile is one of "those" henchmen who's loyal to his boss but is clearly smarter than him and takes his boss' verbal abuse like a wimp. Other supporting characters such as Tommy's family, the teachers and students don't leave a lasting impression beyond one note tropes.
Then there's Augustus Bachmann Turner, or Gus, or as he obnoxiously calls himself The G-Man. You know how Eric Cartman relishes in the fact that he's a pain to everyone in South Park and is the most entertaining part of the show? Well imagine is he didn't. That's Gus! His only purpose is to make things worse and he never apologizes for it nor is he even care. He nearly got everyone killed in War and Pieces, he openly made fun of Tommy in Teasebots even after the later asked him to stop. He lied to get Tommy to the beach in Cleaning Day and as such Tommy's Mom donated Robotboy to an orphanage. Gus is one of the worst "friends" ever created. He makes Bloo look like Samwise Gamgee. Why are these 2 friends? Was there an early draft where these 2 were mortal enemies but decided at the last minute that Tommy needed a guy friend becuase a male character having a girl friend would be "weird?" Whatever the reason, they failed at making me care for this fat piece of lard!
The voice acting in this show is actually kinda bad. I get the actors are trying their best but the direction they're given just isn't good. Lorraine Pilkington as Tommy just sounds tired every time he talks and it really isn't doing him any favors. Rupert Degas sounds like he played Cartman on Madtv or Robot Chicken, further proving that this character is nothing more than a pathetic Cartman wannabe. Laurence Bouvard's performance as Robotboy gets grating after a bit because he supposed to speak in an accent but it's really distracting when it's combined with his robot voice. The late Eiji Kusushara sounds way too over-the-top as Kamikazi and should've dialed it back to make him a more reasonable threat.
Visual, the show has some impressive animation. The character animation moves fluidly, its got a nice color palette and the actions scenes really pop. The character designs are all pretty unique with round shapes and big expressive eyes. I do find the design of Tommy a bit derivative. Know any other cartoon kids with square shaped heads (*cough*Mac from Foster's*cough*). And yes I know, Tommy's Mom is attractive but she's still as dull as a wooden spoon so her physical attractiveness is rendered null and void.
Overall, Robotboy is yet another show that flew under the rader for good reason. Despite impressive visuals, the show has terrible writing, dull characters, mediocre voice acting, stale humor and the worst "friend" ever. Had this show gotten rid of Gus, better voice direction and stronger writers, then maybe the show could've been a real hidden gem. As it is, it's just a faulty lemon.
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