alvarodoismile

I used to play the games on the Zuzubaland website during the late 2000s when I was little, so I decided to watch this series to remember the old days for nostalgia.

The animation and art style are good, and so is the voice acting for most of the characters (both in the original Portuguese and English). The plots are sometimes repetitive or dumb, mostly revolving around a plan by the Green Witch, but it's still enjoyable, and her dynamics with the spider Garfídea can be funny as well; they remind me of the SpongeBob episodes about Plankton trying to steal the Krabby Patty formula. In fact, this show is kind of SpongeBob if it was set in a candy land instead of underwater (it's not as witty and memorable as the early seasons, but also not as boring or mean-spirited as the pre-sequel seasons either).

Another bad quality is one of the characters, who is a Chinese boy, being drawn as an extremely racist stereotype (which was present in the old designs as well), but thankfully he was redesigned and all old episodes in which he appears were edited to feature his new appearance.

So an average series. Not the best cartoon in the world, but not that bad either. Additionally, it's the best incarnation of the franchise by far, much better than the 90s puppet show it was based off.

I can't believe this show hasn't been exported to the US or the rest of the world yet, with almost 8 years of airing (as of this writing). It's got high quality writing and animation that's on par or even better than that of most American cartoons.

The show revolves around a little boy who is overshadowed by his big bro and wants to prove his own worth. Many of the episodes have relatable plot lines and funny, absurd moments that make it very entertaining to watch, including continuity and/or inside jokes within the series itself.

One of my favorite running gags is a random object turning out to be the disguise of Gesonel the duck, who then jumps out as his theme music plays, saying: "Gesonel, master of disguises!" In fact, most of the characters are likeable, especially Jorel's brother himself and his Grandma Juju.

The show is also full of funny gags and lines, and has relatable occasions that most people have lived during their childhoods such as: trying to impress your crush, missing out on a popular show, trying to not be late for class, using a multicolor pen, being grounded in your room, and many others. Another of my favorite traits is how well it represents Brazilian culture, with examples including our Festa Junina and Carnaval.

The only thing I think could improve is the lack of focus on some of the supporting characters, as some of them have very few lines and, on occasion, spend entire seasons without any lines. Due to this, I hope the writers give more focus to them in the future.

Overall, an incredible, fantastic creation by Juliano Enrico and Copa Studio. This cartoon sure deserves more recognition around the world, and to last many more years. I remember watching the series premiere way back in 2014 and thought it was an ugly stupid show at first, but after deciding to give it a chance, I found out I was completely mistaken.