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Review: “The Cuphead Show!” (2022)

by Emily Nagle

[usr 4]

Last week, Netflix released “The Cuphead Show!“, based on the award-winning shoot ’em up game “Cuphead“.

I remember a couple of years ago, the news broke that Netflix had greenlit a series based on the game. Initially, I was psyched; I had played quite a bit of “Cuphead” while holed away in my tiny freshman year dorm room, so it held a special place in my heart. I couldn’t wait to see what creative direction the show would go in, and what kinds of stories would be told. Although the game has a story (you have to defeat a bunch of villains in order to repay your debt to the Devil), it’s not like the characters were super fleshed out, due to the emphasis being on gameplay as opposed to its story. So I figured the show would have some fun developing the characters’ personalities by putting them into crazy situations.

“The Cuphead Show” is pretty goofy!

As it turns out, this one isn’t particularly story-driven. Instead, it relies more on slapstick and visual gags, drawing from early animation like classic Disney and the original Looney Tunes. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it still took me a little while to get used to. Sometimes it’s nice to have a show you can watch that’s simple and episodic, where you don’t have to follow a big, overarching story. Due to this format, I’d go so far as to say you don’t even need to know what “Cuphead” is to enjoy this show, because it’s a little bit different from its source material. The only thing it really does regarding the game is use the characters, but you won’t feel lost if this show is the first time you’re seeing them.

With that being said, the visuals in “The Cuphead Show!” are super fun. Compared to other animated shows in recent years, this one looks a bit more traditional, despite being computer-animated; it’s still got the rubber-hose animation style used in the game, although of course the frame rate is much lower due to it being an animated show. The color palette for the entire show is a little bit darker, adding to the old-timey feel.

My favorite part of the animation, though, is the incorporation of claymation elements. An example that comes to mind is the episode “Ghosts Ain’t Real”, which follows Cuphead and Mugman as they spend the night in a graveyard that’s occupied by mischievous ghosts. The brothers are shown walking through a 3D graveyard backdrop, and later on when the ghosts are making them open doors, the doors are 3D but the things behind them aren’t. Although it took away from the 1930s vibe a little, the combination of two-dimensional and clay elements looked super cool together. It’s not often you see something like that in modern animation. The only other show I can think of that did something similar is Cartoon Network’s “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” back in 2008.

This one was definitely created with kids in mind, as opposed to the teens and young adults who make up most of the game’s players (“Cuphead” is NOT an easy game, folks!). But even if you’re not a kid, you’ll get a kick out of “The Cuphead Show!”. It’s fast (each episode is about 15 minutes long) and fun, making it easy to watch. I’d recommend “The Cuphead Show!” to animation enthusiasts, and anyone who’s a kid at heart.

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