Maggie und das Biest

After rewatching the surprisingly really good 7 Little Monsters, I figured Maggie and The Ferocious Beast would be another underrated gem from the early 2000s. What I got instead was a good solid kids show that focuses more on the characters exploring their unique world and the inhabitants within. While not out right bad, it does help remind me that most kid's shows are just good and that's perfectly okay.

Created by Michael Paraskevas and his mother, Betty, the show follows the adventures of a young girl named Maggie, her anthropomorphic pig friend, Hamilton and the Ferocious Beast himself as they play games and explore all of Nowhere Land. Each episode is divided into 3 7 minute segments and this creates the biggest problem with the show: the stories are too short. Ordinarily a kid's show would have 11 minute segments or be a full 22 minutes, but this show opts to make it's segments really short in runtime. This means that the conflict of each episode is kept really small in scale and it kinda makes me wish that they did something more. Then again, they make up for the short run time with some genuinely funny moments such as clever puns and Hamilton making a pig like sqeal every time he's surprised. Occasionally they well sing songs, which while not the best, are very well written and catchy such as Hamilton's Song and Mr. Moon Don't Be Blue. Most importantly, it teaches good lessons for kids such as learning to ask for help, teamwork and the value of friendship.

The characters also make up for the limited runtime of each segment as they all leave a lasting impression. Starting with Maggie, she's a smart and adventurous little girl who comes up with great ideas to have fun in Nowhere Land. Hamilton Hocks is the anxious but well mannered pig that makes exquisite dishes and likes to keep things neat and tidy. Then there's the Ferocious Beast, who's basically the little brother of the trio. While he can be impatient an unintentionally rude, he does have a good heart and loves having fun with Maggie and Hamilton. The other inhabitants of Nowhere Land also have unique personalities that make them instantly memorable. Nedley feels like he walked off the pages of Dr. Seuss as he typically speaks in rhymes and is very friendly. Rudy maybe small and his hat and boots are glued to his head and feet but he's very helpful and resourceful given the opportunity. The Moo Sister sing in beautiful harmony, B.B. Katz has a smooth jazz singer personality and Sidestep is a reasonable crab who gets along with Maggie and her friends very well despite being (pardon the pun) inherently crabby. The only character I don't like is Reggie, the Beast's snobbish and rude cousin. He feels like an unnecessary evil clone of the Beast and he never apologizes for his behavior. Thankfully, unlike Mitch Williams from Glitch Techs, he's only in 2 episodes which can be easily skipped over.

Visually, the show looks very colorful and vibrant. Nowhere Land feels like a beautiful mix between Alice in Wonderland and the world of Dr. Seuss with lucious landscapes, bendy trees and fantastical creatures. The character designs are very well crafted, with Maggie's frizzy orange hair making her stand out from the rest of the cast. Hamilton has a very unique design for an anthropomorphic pig as he has 3 fingers, 3 hairs on his head and is typically seen with a sweat with his initial on. The Beast looks to be the size of an elephant hand has an appealing face with 3 horns on his head. The character animation flows naturally and fluidly, and the Beast feels as big as he looks given that he's able to lift heavy objects and pull them up steep hills.

Lastly the voice acting is not too shabby as each of the actors give very distinct voices to the characters and memorable performances. Kristen Bone makes Maggie sound like the fun older sister who still a little girl at the end of the day. Michael Caruanna perfectly captures the anxiousness of Hamilton and has a wonderful singing voice. Stephen Ouimette makes the Beast sound like a man with the child like innocence of a little brother, kinda like Dan Russell does when voicing Richard in The Amazing World of Gumball. Dwayne Hill give a very memorable performance as Nedley, giving him a natural nasally tone that compliments his character. And John McGrath makes Rudy sound cute yet very determined.

Overall Maggie and The Ferocious Beast is a fun little cartoon with memorable characters, colorful animation and some genuinely funny moments. The short runtime of each segment holds it back from being really great, but it's still perfectly acceptable for children.

Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is a good show for ages 3-8 and is very educational. I think that it teaches children how to face their own fears, and how to share. Maggie is the one who is always teaching the beast when he or Hamilton has done a bad thing. I just like turning on the TV and leaving my cousin there while he laughs and enjoys it. Maggie and the ferocious beast is more like an adventure and lesson at the same time.

I never liked this show very much. There are some children's shows that I don't mind, and there's some I even enjoy myself (although these are mostly older kids' shows.) But "Maggie and the Ferocious Beast" is one show I would not recommend. It's OK for children under two or three years old, but older children often get ideas off TV, which could easily happen if they watch Maggie. The show can indeed teach good manners, but otherwise the ideas can be unwise and even upsetting to children who don't know better. For example, in one show, Hamilton the pig caught a fish from a pond to keep as a pet. If a young child watches that, they might think it's a good idea and request to do the same thing sometime, perhaps on a family outing to a park with a pond. They could easily become upset and frustrated if they're not able to do everything on the show that the characters seem to be able to accomplish so easily. Additionally, I think some of the shows can be a bit frightening to a small child. Even the thought of a giant beast can scare some children, as well as "the big duck" on the show, which could easily give children nightmares. I would not recommend this show unless the person watching is too young to try the ideas on the show or be frightened by any of the show's characters.

My daughter, age 4, and i, age 40, have a date every weekday at 11:30 for lunch with Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. I cannot say how many times my heart is warmed by the interaction of the 3 characters listed, not to mention the new, fabulous characters that have been added since the original shows. Everything is make-believe of the most wonderful kind. It takes one to a place where one would love to roam. I find my daughter and i belly laughing often. It is well written, the animation is vibrant and perfectly simple, and this is a MUST SEE. My hope is that it remains on the air for years to come; it is as worthy as Pooh. Check it out.

This show has been commented on already but the comment wasn't accurate as far as I'm concerned. The previous comment talked about the episode where Hamilton catches a fish and keeps it as a pet. It is hard for me to believe this person actually watched the episode. The entire episode was about how sad the fish was and how it wanted to be back in the river. Hamilton realizes this and lets it go back to its home. This episode has a great moral and is not detrimental to children. All the episodes of Maggie and the Ferocious Beast I have ever seen (and I'm pretty sure I've seen them all) have had wonderful stories and morals. My children love the characters and the show. I highly recommend it.