I recently wrote about how many western cartoons were rather obnoxious, the cartoons that brand themselves as adult being nothing more than vulgarity of every sort crammed into 24 minutes in what felt like an attempt to justify itself. Often failing to offer any sort of story or depth beyond humour. Not to forget the strange approach of having almost all of these animations having the exact same art style that just makes them fall into a forgettable sea of trend hopping series inevitably destined for the streaming service axe. I feel tired of these adult cartoons, totally void of maturity and refusing to attempt to just be cartoons with regular stories and themes. But that isn't stopping me from still searching for some little gems every so often. One of which was Pantheon, which has an anime sort of style but slightly westernised. A mature narrative and highly engaging. Sadly, I haven't managed to discover anything else quite like it
Still open to finding something new, I remembered a show I came across months back but never checked out. Actually coming across it having searched up some Danny DeVito productions having been curious as to what he had been up to goigninto old age and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia being between seasons. I came across Little Demon, a cartoon that seemingly had Danny DeVito voice acting in it. Given the nature of this actor, I sort of expected something a bit energetic, whacky, but funny. Though I'm still not entirely sure how I would define Little Demon just yet. It falling into the familiarity of the supposed adult cartoon category but having a general theme that seems a bit fun and unique. But while it has some interesting ideas, Little Demon has a fair amount of weaknesses too; ones that the voice of Earth's beloved Danny DeVito cannot save.
Little Demon
A few episodes in already, Little Demon's most glaring of issues is its strange animation style. It looking muc like the typical Rick and Morty style fo animation, but cheaper and less visually pleasing. Much of the movements look a bit janky, almost like puppets animated with string yanking at the limbs. Sometimes with very clear hand drawn backgrounds, though this part sort of seems intentional, or so I'd hope. The rough animation was the first thing I noticed and found a bit of an issue with, but I really didn't want to not give the show a chance, and pushed through in case the show has more to offer. And truthfully, its idea is quite fun! A teenage girl discovers her father is actually the devil, and her human mother has kept this from her for her entire life. This sudden discovery making her come to the realisation that she is actually the anti-christ.
For a cartoon this can be a pretty fun idea. Pulling from the fantasy elements of something perhaps a bit more Eastern in the anime world. Mythical creatures and strong powerful beings. A protagonist suddenly pulled into a chaotic world far greater than they previously thought as power enters the mind and potential struggles arise going forward. At a glance this is an idea that could the taken both seriously and with well placed humour, but Little Demon relies a bit too much on generating cheap laughs through its more adult themes. Nudity, insane action and violence, and as many poor rude jokes as possible. This unfortunately removes the pacing and of course any seriousness the show has to offer. Discovering she is the antichrist, our young protagonist is thrown between her human mother and satan father, all while various brings cause disruption within her life. It is unfortunate, because these ideas hold some good opportunity for something a bit more serious, but it just isn't there.
With a weird animation style that isn't all that appealing comes a pretty decent cast of voice actors that perform pretty well. Of course Danny DeVito as satan, and his daughter even playing a role within the show -- honestly, I didn't even know he had a daughter. Aubrey Plaza holds followed by a plethora of very large guest star appearances also add to the cast. And despite these various large names, it just isn't enough to make the show all that engaging. It feels much like the many Rick and Morty clones that fail to do anything with the time they use, just focusing on the same types of jokes: otherworldly forces getting shot in the dick. This should sum up the sort of humour one should expect from Little Demon. And while it does make sense that a show about the antichrist is riddled with vulgarity and immaturity, it doesn't offer much pacing to make you interested in the characters. Each of them acts and almost sounds the same, void of substance and thus having you just not really care for what comes next in each episode.
I am going to stick with this for a bit longer and see if it does start to grow out into sommething a bit more mature. Perhaps as the episodes grow closer to a season end and things may need a story as to not make the show grow stake. I sort of expect this direction, but I also know that it isn't really a thing these cartoons do. And as of now I can't see myself recommending the show, it just doesn't seem all that great. Definitely not terrible, but not enough substance to allocated a few hours of your time to over it's ten episodes. With the DeVito name appearing multiple times in the cartoon's production, it does seem a bit like something that was made for the family at the expense of a studio, and with an animation style that became either an afterthought or result of a studio just not wanting to burn too much cash on such a project. Ultimately being the outcome of studio yes-men to friends.
I can imagine that, if this show doesn't have a conclusion at the end of the first season, that this may soon be victim to the streaming service cancellations. I can't say I have really seen this show generating any discussion anywhere. Whether I stick with it or eventually drop it before reaching that tenth episode, I'm sure it won't be all that memorable. But as of now it could still be much worse. It definitely isn't the show to finally take adult cartoons seriously and make them creative enough to stand out in the sea of former attempts, and I'll just have to keep looking to find the next Pantheon. Sooner or later the west will realise it can make serious cartoons, maybe I'll still have good enough vision and hearing to appreciate it at that age.
