Squirrel Boy

I loved Duckman. It was one of my favorite adult cartoons of the 1990s. Everett Peck was an amazing person, but unfortunately, Squirrel Boy is not his best work. In fact, it is, by far, his worst creation yet. Squirrel Boy was such a god awful show. The plot was horrible, the animation sucked, everything about this show was horribly awful. Everett Peck left Duckman for this??!! Duckman was an awesome show, and I was so upset that Everett went on to make this mess. This show was so disappointing, especially to us fans of Duckman. Cartoon Network should not have green-lit this show in the first place. Cartoon Network did have bad shows before this like Big Bag, Cow and Chicken, Mile, Lu & Og, and Sunday Pants, but this is just plain awful. Squirrel Boy was among one of the most forgettable cartoons Cartoon Network has ever made. By far the network's worst that came out in 2006. Rodney the Squirrel was such a pain in the butt. Everett Peck, go back to Duckman. Please?

Cartoon Network had a lot of Great Shows back in the 2000's when I was a kid like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy & Codename: Kids Next & Even Camp Lazlo. However They had a couple of meh Show like My Gym Partner's a Monkey & this show Squirrel Boy. I know I wrote a review on this show Back in 2016 but that Review was not that Good & I talk about the voice actors instead of the plot of the show. Anyway Squirrel Boy is about a Squirrel Named Rodney & his Owner Andy & their misadventures & them usually getting into trouble with Andy's father. I remember this one episode was About a Treehouse war & their Enemies Kyle & Salty Mike try to build the better Treehouse & Andy & Rodney & Leon the Blue Squirrel win & Leon baked a cake called Wasp Nest & the wasp Attack Andy & Rodney & then Kyle & Salty Mike. Anyway that episode freaked me out as a kid. Anyway Squirrel Boy was a Very Forgettable show from Cartoon Network in the 2000's. 6/10.

I wondered where I had seen this stomach-churning style of art-house character design before, so I looked up the show's creator, Everett Peck. Sure enough, he was also the creator of Duckman, a really raunchy and only slightly uglier comedy cartoon for adults. While the grotesque style certainly worked well with a show as bizarre and often disturbing as Duckman, it isn't as effective on a show aimed at kids. At least the animation is smoother and up-to-date, but that scarcely saves it from its own inherently ugly art-house style. Duckman was able to pull it off due to the deranged nature of the show, but it just doesn't hold up in "Squirrel Boy."

The voice acting is good, but therein lies another downfall; these are voices most cartoon-watchers have heard a LOT and can connect to famous characters from better cartoons. The two lead voice actors pull out their tried-and-true voices for this show. Pamela Adlon, the voice of "Andy" on this show, provides a voice that's quickly identified as the same voice used for Bobby Hill (King of the Hill), Otto (Time Squad), Milo (The Oblongs), and Spinelli (Recess), just to name a few. Richard Horvitz, the voice of "Rodney J. Squirrel," also provides a familiar voice. The voice of Rodney isn't that much different from other famous characters played by Horvitz, such as Billy (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy), ZIM (Invader ZIM), Dagget (The Angry Beavers), and Kanchome (Zatch Bell, an anime currently shown a LOT on Cartoon Network). True, they're great voice actors, but we've heard these voices before, and have come to identify them with other characters (or likely the actor themselves when the voice is overused enough). It was a bad casting decision to imbue the two main characters on a brand new show with voices that are far from new or unique. A good character has a unique look and voice; that's the kind of character that kids will remember.

So, the character design style of the show share's Duckman's art-house ugliness (but lacks the twisted humor to go with it), and the two characters around whom the entire show revolves have overused voices. What's the show itself like? How's the writing, the plot? Well, unfortunately, there's no saving grace in the show's writing. The story and gags aren't anything to get excited about, though not terrible, they pale in comparison to some of the other shows on Cartoon Network that are overflowing with charismatic writing. Basically the show's about a boy, Andy, and his squirrel friend/pet, Rodney. Rodney is the driving force of the show, always imposing his will upon Andy and getting the two of them into trouble. The humor is pretty basic and enough to get a laugh or two from kids, but there aren't any cleverly inserted jokes that'll have adults cracking up (unlike "Billy and Mandy" for example). Rodney stands out as one of the only truly influential characters on the show, and possibly the only interesting one, with everything essentially revolving around and hinging upon the actions of this character. Aside from the strength of Rodney's character, the other characters on the show are considerably weak. One character does not a series make.

It might not be fair to judge this show so harshly based on the merits of Cartoon Network's other shows; it might actually be "decent" if it didn't have other shows of higher quality to measure up to. But, this IS a Cartoon Network-distributed show, and thus, it SHOULD measure up to the quality viewers have come to expect from the network. "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy," and "Ed, Edd, & Eddy" are all shows that radiate with originality, first-rate writing, and great voice acting (with voices that are, for the most part, unique to those characters). Those are shows that appeal to all ages, are visually appealing, with extremely effective characters: all of those qualities are lacking in "Squirrel Boy." Though it's not the first of Cartoon Network's new shows to disappoint those who've come to expect high quality original shows from the network, it still comes as a disappointment to be handed another lemon. Just because a show is aimed at children is no excuse for mediocrity... not for the same network that continues to produce exceptional cartoons like those mentioned above.

The stories are creative, the gags are often funny and the characters are fun to watch. The animation's bright and colorful. The characters are funny though Lulu, Andy's friend's sister is not only annoying in how she wants to play with Rodney all the time much like Elmyra Duff but also has a weird design. Thankfully she's only a minor character. One episode I thought was funny was when Andy suffers an allergic reaction which causes him to inflate like a balloon. Rodney has to go to the store in order to get him an oil that'll reverse the effects. That proves to be easier said than done as he proceeds to wreck havoc across the store.

People seem split on this show. I thought it was interesting and if you're interested I suggest you check it out.

This show is about two characters named Rodney J Squirrel and Andy Johnson who become best friends, Rodney J Squirrel is such an annoying character and the worst comic relief ever and Andy Johnson is such a bland character who has no personality whatsoever, Rodney in most of the episodes can be very unlikable even though his voice while okay he can be annoying at times, both Andy Johnson and Rodney J Squirrel are both rip-off's of Mac and Bloo (Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends) even though Foster's Home came out in 2004 and ended in 2009 while this show came out in 2006 and ended in 2007 the other characters are just filler and do nothing except goofing off.