I'm an unabashed admirer of "The New Three Stooges" animated kids show even though I'll be the first to admit that not only does it not make a whole lot of sense, but it's profoundly disturbing on a subconscious level that's very hard to describe. The show format is somewhat inspired, with the boys hosting live action "wraparound" segments where they engage in their usual antics albeit slowed somewhat by advancing age ... and perhaps the knowledge that the routine was growing a bit tired.
Still it's miraculous television, the animation bizarre and with an twinge of middle 60s pre-psychedelia influenced pop art. Which isn't to suggest that the Stooges themselves were perhaps sharing hookahs between takes so much as the younger artists and animators working on the show probably were. The production also has a kind of post-Freudian neurosis to it that one might actually refer to as polymorphously perverse. Where the classic era Stooges represented a kind of anarchic form of surrealism (think Curly furiously building the framework of plumbing pipes around himself only to find that he's trapped when it's finished), the animated shorts have a more minimalist approach where the surreal juxtapositionings are suggested rather than spelled out by squeezing someone's head in a tailor's press.
The cartoons also don't tell "stories" so much as they explore archetypal settings: A western town, a trip to the dentist, babysitting duty or a camping expedition. The animators show only as much as might be needed to suggest such a setting and then allow all hell to break loose with a sort of free-form visual exploration where beginning & end meet, or effect proceeds cause. First we see the eggs oozing down Moe's cartoon face, then we realize that Curly Joe was trying to make pancake batter.
Back to the disturbing nature though ... there is something "wrong" about the mixture of the live action segments with these (by then) puffy looking aged performers closing folding camping furniture on each other's heads, pretending to be zoo attendees cleaning up after the elephants, and especially actually interacting with young kids as in one really freakazoid trip to the beach that sees Curly Joe dressed up like John Wayne Gayce & doling out bottles of unidentified lotions to little girls. Like, ew. Granted I'm viewing the material with the jaded sensibility of someone living in a time forty years after the material was filmed, but by golly this show was really, really weird, and even with the live-action segments unlike anything you may be expecting when you hear the name Three Stooges.
But, it's amazing television, and if you look around at your favorite discount retailer's bargain bin DVD selections you can usually find collections of them for a dollar or so. Usually they are packaged to make them look like "family" fare, which usually implies kids being able to watch them on their own, which might not be a wise idea. They are harmless, mind you, but the kids might start to think about what it all might mean, especially after the shows start giving them nightmares. And the conclusion they will inevitably come to is that you are one weird, sick person for thinking they might actually like it.
5/10: Neutral rating since it's so weird as to defy traditional critical review. And that's why I love it.
