Mighty Mike

Harmless wacky fun. Definitely not sophisticated humor, but good old fashioned slapstick with animated critters.

My 3 year old found this show on Hulu. We loved it so much that we have made it part of our bedtime routine. It's entertaining for children and adults. It holds her attention and helps her calm down her body and mind before bedtime. There almost no talking in it, so it doesn't get her all spun-up mentally. It's action packed, but somehow relaxing at the same time. It's kind of like Tom and Jerry, but much less violent and much more friendly. I love the way the laws of physics work in Mike's universe. It's a very cute and entertaining show that my 3-year-old, my husband and I all watch together. It's a great show! My daughter can't wait for Mighty Mike stuffed animals to come out so she can play Mighty Mike too!

I found this on Universal Kids and thought, "A Pug cartoon? Is this their answer to Puppy Dog Pals?" (Yes, I'm an adult who can't quit skipping between that channel and Disney Junior.) I quickly came to realize that no, it's much more than that, and also to question whether I was just dreaming because the show seemed so tailored to me.

Each half-hour episode consists of three segments depicting the wacky hijinks of Mike the Pug, his family's kitten and turtle trio, the neighbors' beautiful dog Iris, and two ceaselessly antagonistic raccoons named Freddy and Mercury. It's charming, clever, creative, classic, cartoonish physical comedy that's highly enjoyable by all ages--in the vein of things like Wallace and Gromit, Looney Tunes, etc. There's minimal dialog, and as with the baby Muppets' and Looney Tunes' nannies, we don't see the humans' faces.

The show is also visually gorgeous. It's set in Mike's home and backyard, which must be in the southwestern US. The art style and animation are almost photorealistic, nearly on par with Pixar, better than most Dreamworks/Blue Sky/Sony-caliber animated films...what I'm getting at is, it's astonishing to see on TV. I've always greatly preferred greater realism, and boy does this have it. The setting and characters are fully believable. The house and patio/pool are so enviably well-designed and detailed they look like a home-plan simulation. I hate the extremely cartoony, blobby, doodle-ish style that I think started around Adventure Time and now seems to be used by nearly every television animator. To find this kind of non-Flash CGI in a series was a pretty mind-blowing breath of fresh air.

And Mighty Mike is only my favorite of the toons I've begun watching regularly. Norman Picklestripes, also on UK? Adorable woodland-critter stop-motion in a cozy setting with cute stories and songs, lovable characters, and good messages. Another must-watch for all ages. Wholesome without getting saccharine. I'm especially fond of Blanche the pink bunny I'd also recommend the Australian "Bluey" on Disney, about a family of red and blue heelers (Australian Cattle Dogs.) It's extremely stylized but cute, reminding me somewhat of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Disney's T.O.T.S. has great everything too--characters, designs, visuals, music, story, etc. Gotta love Freddy the flamingo in particular. I've also been most enjoying the aforementioned Puppy Dog Pals (I'm fond of Hissy & Cupcake, the purple cat & dog), Mickey & the Roadster Racers (certainly no masterpiece but more mature and interesting than Clubhouse), and The Lion Guard (significantly flawed but overall has done an excellent job of working with Simba's Pride and has many wonderful characters and episodes.) UK's "Masha and the Bear" is another sporting stunning animation and realistic designs (the bear's home basically defines "cozy.") Pup Academy on Disney is Air Bud-style live-action that, so far, isn't among the best talking-dog productions I've seen. But at least it's talking dogs.

Mighty Mike absolutely deserves to catch on and become a known favorite. I could even see it expanding without losing its unique, delightful charms. My favorite character is definitely Iris; she's awesome. Of course the wannabe-dashing Mike is constantly attempting to impress and woo her. She's obviously a Chinese Crested (although her coating of short fur suggests her having been born somewhere between the hairless & powderpuff varieties, or possibly having trace amounts of something else such as Italian Greyhound.) In any event the message is clear: Watch. This. Show.

Somehow my daughter ran into this show on Hulu Plus. I was a bit skeptical at first because I get nervous on the new shows that she watches since she's only 4. I started watching it with her and it is so cute the little things that Mike the Pug gets into. Definitely reminds me of Tom and Jerry. Never a dull moment.

I grew up watching the looney tunes and this show reminds me very much of them. Now that I have a kid, this is by far one of the funniest and least annoying shows on tv these days that is child appropriate and makes me laugh in addition to my child enjoying it. 100 Stars. Keep this one on the air, no politics and just good humor where there is no bad guy, just some good fun rivalry between different animals.