Cartoons are a tricky thing. There is no winning formula to success, and sometimes an obvious recipe for failure becomes a record-breaking success that is beloved the world over. Matt Groening drew The Simpsons on the spot when asked to present his characters, out of sudden fear that they'd take away his creative control. He dare not risk his immensely popular "Life in Hell" bunnies, so he drew a family. Over 20 years later, it seems to be doing alright.
Conversely, there have been shows with all the ingredients, that bombed. A favorite of mine, The Critic, only lasted a few seasons and then faded into obscurity, despite an award winning team of writers and producers, as well as an all-star cast of voice actors. The Oblongs, a show starring some of my favorite voice actors and comedians (the Sklar brothers!) and featuring an opening theme song by my favorite band, They Might Be Giants, is one of my most hated cartoons ever, sitting just above the Veggie Tales. With Bob's Burgers, I'm facing a complicated situation. It's an incorporation of several elements I happen to love, but I would love them individually, pretty much anywhere.
Created by Loren Bouchard, a man who's career I've followed going all the way back to the old Squigglevision cartoons like Science Court and Dr. Katz, Bob's Burgers shares his unique view of animation, which has been varying degrees of realistic, this new show being one of the most realistic, despite its unusual proportions and movement. However, limitations such as realism have never hurt his ability to make the audience laugh. Home Movies, which I'd consider his best work, had some of the simplest and laziest looking character design I've ever seen in a cartoon, but the characters felt real, and the situations were human. Does Bob's Burgers measure up? Not yet, but it has potential to.
The all-star cast, immediately recognizable to any fan of modern adult cartoons, is what pulls this show together. I was already aware of H. Jon Benjamin, who shows some real range in this role, and Eugene Mirman's involvement, and they do well, but as the show went on I recognized almost the entire cast from previous roles in Home Movies, as well as Kristen Schaal from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Larry Murphy from Assy McGee. The writing is there, but it isn't perfect yet. The jokes need polish, as do the supporting cast, but I have confidence in the writing staff to improve as the show goes on. It is hard to say at this moment whether this will go anywhere, but I did laugh. I laughed more than I do at a current Simpsons or Family Guy episode, though that isn't saying much. As I said to Eugene Mirman in a recent email correspondence, at this juncture I am cautiously optimistic. Truly, I hope for the best.
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