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Screw spiders, crazy experiments and crash landings. It’s the power of the internet, man.
Relatively early in the mass-appear years of the world wide web, a group of animators had the foresight to create a super hero endowed the with intelligence, mysterious powers and grand sarcasm of the internet.
Due to poor scheduling and being mistakenly marketed towards kids, Freakazoid!‘s quick wit and outrageous (and often incongruous) humor only lasted two seasons. Fortunately for us fans, the first season of the series has finally been released on DVD (two discs, one box) so you can enjoy it over and over and over and again and over again until, of course, you completely freak out. In a good way.
Freak-a Me, Freak-a You
Due to a freak coding error with the Premium computer chip and a fat cat chasing a butterfly, mild-mannered teenage computer nerd Dexter Douglas is absorbed into the internet where he develops a super powered alter-ego called Freakazoid.
As for powers, they sorta manifest as needed. He periodically transforms into bolts of lightning and zips across the globe yet he cannot fly, instead running around with his arms in the air making a “swoosh” sound. The most frequent gag involves him unzipping his own head to reveal another Freakazoid within.
Each half-hour episode is usually broken into several shorter segments that include a main cartoon starring Freakazoid, and a toon or two with one- or two time appearing groups. One of the best is a “Johnny Danger” segment, obviously a take on the Johnny Quest cartoons with the same speech patterns and action; poking fun at all of the shows that were on at that time.
Between segments are quick bits using either the disembodied announcer as humor (“We interrupt this program to increase dramatic effect,“ and, “We interrupt this program for a very important message. I love you”) or short pseudo-educational moments (“Frenching with Freakazoid. Repeat after me: Qui a coupe le fromage? Who Cut the cheese?“).
Tu Coupe le Fromage
The show makes wacky good-time fun of pretty much everything. Old shows, current news, the President itself and even its producers. You’ll see many Animaniacs and other Warner properties wander throughout the show along with references to Batman, Superman and random bits of live-action movie stock footage from the WB’s vaults. Even the show’s namesake, Steven Spielberg, cannot escape unparodied, with an E.T. spoof, a few cartoonish appearances and plenty of semi-hidden references to his other works.
This is part of the reason the series failed in terms of ratings. Even though it had so many adult-targeted jokes and references to decades-old material (young Jerry Lewis is channeled at least once in every episode), it was still promoted as a kid’s show and run during Saturday morning cartoon slots.
Much the way Pee Wee’s Playhouse (and even Animaniacs) appeal to an older audience, so does Freakazoid, landing enough jokes to still remain funny even a decade after it originally aired (1995-1997).
You’ll enjoy famous actor guest appearances including Mark Hamill as himself and Ricardo Montalbán as an evil business man who throws down references and lines from lifted directly Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. Again, this is not really something kids will get, but it will at least offer adults several appreciative and gleeful groans.
The few episode-long commentaries will be appreciated mostly by fans who get the older references in the show since the show’s creators often quip about characters, references, each other and Spielberg. The one featurette (or shoudl that be Freakaturette?) gives a lot of insight into the show, reveling that the crew was working under an unusually tight schedule, resulting in much of the comedy coming from at-the-moment events and suggestions. It might not all have been preplanned but it sure the heck is funny.
DO I?!
When you watch the show’s few episodes back-to-back, you begin to see the layers of comedy being peeled back with each gag. Besides the outright parodies and slapstick, it pokes fun at the super hero genre with outrageous versions of familiar foes and the friendly stoic cop who seems to be at every incident at the opportune time to pull Freakazoid away (with the promise of bears on a motorcycle or flavored ice treats) only to give him key advice and send him back into action. There’s plenty of mention of Freakazoid’s many unsuccessful sidekicks (including his own hands which then get married, a nod to Pee Wee’s Playhouse) and a fanboy who eventually dons a cape and annoys the annoyer.
Even the Freakalair and Freakmobile are simultaneously parodying Batman (and other heroes) and cartoon-based commercialism. It seems the show might have had great influence on a certain Pixar project know as The Incredibles (check the costumes and the Freakazoid’s logo, though some credit must go to Madman comics as well).
Don’t let Freakazoid remain an oft overlooked and unappreciated cartoon. This is a great series to get even if you have never even watched a single episode. The straight-up gags and unexpected layers of comedy will have you laughing your butt cheeks off and then getting them surgically put back on simply so you can laugh them off again.
Product Page [Freakazoid: Season One] Read [BoingBoing] Read [Comics Worth Reading]
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