Review/Rant: Fanboy and Chum Chum

The Lowdown:

Show: Fanboy and Chum Chum

Network/Years aired: Nickelodeon, 2009-2014

AniB’s thoughts: Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Let me preface my thoughts by saying that Fanboy and Chum Chum brings some levity to the reviews here, which have been loaded initially with some of the best shows both East and West have to offer (including fellow Nicktoons Avatar: The Last Airbender and successor piece The Legend of Korra), and it was about time to show off an example of what not to do in a show. Enter the highly forgettable entry that is the subject of this review column, and prepare yourself, because it ain’t pretty.

I really do make an effort to be as unbiased and objective as possible with every show that’s reviewed. Unfortunately, even with that fair ideal in place and a grading system that can also be described as such, Fanboy and Chum Chum is a mess of a show in almost every possible aspect. Where do I even start? Bad CGI, bad script-writing, bad music, and horrible characterization makes for an explosion of awfulness that in some ways, can only be explained as a byproduct of the era in which this show was hatched. 2009 was admittedly smack dab in the middle of the worst mini-era of animation in at least the past 30 years, and while Nickelodeon was struggling as a network like everyone else, it did itself no favors with its pick of shows, and of that inglorious bunch (which included “gems” like The Mighty B! and T.U.F.F. Puppy), Fanboy and Chum Chum might unequivocally be the worst. What makes this assertion even more accurate is that Nick execs had a choice of  shows to greenlight from pilots; they picked this heaping pile of garbage up instead of another little show you might have heard of- Adventure Time– that went on to became a massive success on rival Cartoon Network en route to becoming the very representation of a new wave of Western animation in the 2010’s. But enough about a show I’d rather talk about- we’re here for the choice Nick made instead.

This show really does one thing well: showcasing to aspiring show-runners mistakes they should avoid making, and this unfortunate reality has a two-fold crisis in Fanboy and Chum Chum: The animation style, and the inability to write anything resembling cohesiveness. Shows have distinct animated styles, but different character designs also have natural proclivities to what they’d look best in. Gravity Falls, for instance works perfectly in 2-D; while Star Wars: The Clone Wars was very good in 3-D (and is an example of versatility in styles.) Fanboy and Chum Chum has the unfortunate distinction of having 2-D designs cast in a 3-D world. The end result is incredibly unnatural, jarring character models (which you can see clearly in the picture for this piece) which would have been at home in the 2-D style exaggerated character designs like these have been in forever, but for some reason, from the word go (which included the pilot), the creators decided 3-D was a good idea. (It wasn’t.) Add in janky colors that are almost too bright, and the low-budget CGI production that is also evident, and it’s a disaster of equal proportions. While this aspect alone sapped a great deal of any promise from the show, it still might have had a chance if the writing was there…except it wasn’t.

Character writing 101 was left on the doorstep of Fanboy and Chum Chum. As anyone worth their salt as a critic, an animation fan, or a purveyor of entertainment in general will tell you, characters are the hook into your narrative. They flow with the story you’re trying to tell, and as a baseline, the main cast should have some dynamism and your main protagonists need to be easily likeable.  This show failed miserably at this most basic of tasks- the titular characters are two of the most annoying tone-deaf, brain dead individuals ever conceived in an animated show, regardless of target audience, and it is so bad that anyone who actually continues to wade into the sludge of this show’s depths will only find themselves rooting for Kyle- the middle guy in the article picture- a wizard (don’t ask) who is incessantly pestered by our supposed “heroes” in such a way that I at least found myself rooting for his schemes to destroy the little bastards. The main goal of Fanboy and Chum Chum as individuals is- get this- to get a special kind of Slurpee they particularly love, to goof off and (un?)intentionally annoy people, begging the question what the actual gripping concept of having these two wack jobs dressed up as knock-off superheroes in the first place was, or even more generally, what was goal of the show? To be honest, I’d write a better script for this abomination in two seconds: A Codename: Kids Next Door hybrid meets Teen Titans, cast in tasteful 2-D, give our main men actual brains (which they remove in the show we actually got, to “comedic effect” at times), and overhaul the entire cast, colors, music and everything else- wait, scratch that. I just said to scrap this show essentially- which should have happened in the first place! Anyways, here’s the gory details in all their graded glory:

 

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Animation Quality: 3-D CGI, and not very high budget at that. A quote I read somewhere online a while back summed it up best: “This is what Ren and Stimpy would look like if it was in 3-D.” It’s fairly stark for a show released in 2009 that ran into 2014, and the character designs don’t really do it any favors. On the plus side, the color palette is bright. That’s about it though. 1/5 points.
Characterization: The major problem with this show is its titular characters. For the viewer, they are incredibly annoying “protagonists” and they seem to revel in their awkward stupidity. As I highlighted in my thoughts, when your show has unlikable main characters by any stretch, you’ve got serious problems.

Fanboy and Chum Chum are the two leads. While separate characters, they essentially are two sides of the same coin, meaning “not very bright, impulsive as hell, and likely to get diabetes at some point.” Fanboy’s the skinny one in mostly green, and Chum Chum’s the fat, short guy in orange. (Apparently, wearing underwear on the outside of your clothes emulates heroes’ spandex, but it’s not very becoming here.) They engage in random acts of..randomness (think involving a giant wad of chewed gum FB and CC are hiding in their school desks (which is disgusting, not funny, especially when they talk to it like a young child), which then, upon bringing it back to their hideout/home in the town’s water tower, it turns into a sentient monster who’s equally as thick as his new friends.) What?

 

The supporting cast is very weak and stereotypical; Kyle’s probably the best of the bunch (largely because he’s aware of just how stupid FB and CC are.), but unfortunately, he’s the punching bag- a inferior Squidward clone. As mentioned, the character designs simply look ugly in 3-D. They would have worked much better in 2-D, as most atypical designs do. 0.25/5 points.
Story quality: Episodic. Terribly contrived plots- I don’t think I was very amused at any point watching, and frankly, the show didn’t do anything spectacular to really warrant praise. The lack of character development, the consistently annoying premises, and the unfortunate truth that I wound up rooting for the “antagonist” in just about every episode sums it up. There’s a lot more nasty things that could be said, but simply, the episodes are dull exercises in futility. 0/5 points.
Themes: The power of friendship? Seriously, the show doesn’t even try to wedge something of nutritive value in. Thematically, the show’s a waste of time when your main characters are more interested in obsessions over sentient pieces of gum (for one strange example), a conspicuous lack of attention or basic listening to other people, and the fact that they don’t even try to work the superhero angle in. (They would be the lamest superheroes ever, but it’d be a start…) 0/5 points.
Don’t insult the viewer: This show is catering to kids, and not in a good way. It’s a brain dead show with generally unfunny attempts at humor, an unlikable set of main characters, basic CGI, and a slew of other problems. It also has an awful music track, simply adding to the misery of what was an unpleasant experience. 1/5 points.

 

 

Total Score: 2.25/25 (9%). Fanboy and Chum Chum is a truly awful cartoon with little sense of pacing, character, story, or really anything of worth. Its most significant achievement was somehow surviving for 5 years on Nickelodeon (how it did is still a mystery to yours truly). It’s not vulgar, but it lacks any intelligent writing and nothing particularly stands out. It is, in a word, awful. Avoid this at all costs- there are far better pieces of animation to consume.

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