The Boondocks

With his basketball-sized afro and genius I.Q., you'd never guess that 10-year-old Huey Freeman is WAY beyond his years. His 8-year-old brother Riley isn't of equal intelligence but what he lacks in that area he makes up for in attitude. Both young boys, the revolutionary-in-training Huey and the hip-hop-loving, hustler-in-training Riley, are moved from the big city to the 'burbs to live with their grandfather, and chaos ensues.

This is "The Boondocks" - "remote location; far from civilization" (IMDb trivia). There's also a fine cast that includes Regina King, Gary Anthony Williams, and John Witherspoon voicing the main characters.

Created by Aaron Mcgruder in 1997 while a student majoring in political science at the University of Maryland, his comic strip "The Boondocks" is revolutionary on all fronts and takes no prisoners. It's already stirred up a sh*tstorm for its fiery political rhetoric, pervasive language, sexual content, and frequent and unrepentant use of the N-word... and I love it! I'm absolutely, positively hooked!

This is what I've been waiting for as far as animation with an urban twist. It's way over the top in terms of animation, which is pseudo-Anime'-style, and doesn't forsake entertainment or message for political-correctness. No wonder it only comes on late at night. (Arrggh) I haven't been able to find too many black-themed comic strips or books that take a hard look at life in the black community without resorting to stereotypes without irony. Its two main characters Huey and Riley are presented in a way reminiscent of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," the ghetto youths taken out of their world and placed in land foreign to them and have to adjust. "The Boondocks" is all of that.

I really can't see how anyone can't like "The Boondocks." I'm 20, a young black male, and my mother saw two minutes of it the other night and her jaw hit the floor. It was yanked from circulation due to its attacks against the Iraq war, George W. Bush and his administration, and McGruder has been completely unapologetic. I know, and viewers should know a reaction like that shows you're watching something special. I won't dissect McGruder's views, which he funnels through his characters, but they are inflammatory and make me want to watch more, just to see what he's really trying to say.

I won't comment on the controversy, other than I'll say that many have already missed the point, and "The Boondocks" has only been on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim for a month. People are afraid of stuff like this for reasons completely unknown to me. They take one look at it and decry what they see, making big scenes in magazines, newspapers, and television. What they're missing is a brilliant expose of the problems of the black community. Yeah, it's over the top; that's because it's satire! It is supposed to be ridiculous because black people use the N-word frequently, glorify guns, violence and the gangsta life, condone the degradation of women, smoke weed a lot, listen to blaring rap music, and experience genuine "N***a moments."

It's funny in the same way we've laughed at comedians like Dave Chappelle, Richard Pryor, Eddie Griffin, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock in the past. Wake up! Maybe our community can take a cue from "The Boondocks" and take steps to improve our culture in the eyes of the rest of the world. Welcome to "The Boondocks."

I waited for this comic strip to be made into a cartoon. We all have read the comic strips unless your town is 1 of 350 people to pull the cartoon, and know how Aaron speaks his mind following the Declaration of Independence. Huey is that educated future black panther leader that every republican fears, and Riley is what my Mom probably fears me bringing home seeing that he's a wanna-be hardcore rapper. Granddad is just, to hilarious. He's that man who's lived through the time when blacks had to go through racism and the unfair treatment to get the rights that we have today, although he missed out on one of the marches since he went to get his raincoat so he wouldn't get wet. Now he's welling to please every white person that comes around him just so he'll be in good when he has troubles. He's even figured out that the white man has a weakness for guess what................cheese! If you don't like this show something is wrong with you, but we are able to have our own opinions. So freedom to the American man. And the creator of the show is so cute because he looks like Huey. So heres to a healthy run of the best cartoon.

S1: Funny, wacky, underneath all the silliness lies a bigger pic, a bit far at times, quite consistent for the most part.

S2: Improved animation, I think this might be the best season, comedy not overdone, each episode had a purpose, great writing.

S3: Animation looks great, writing is as good as the second season, a bit weaker in terms of purpose, more comical then second season, but basically as good as the second season. Character development is the best in this season.

S4: Not bad, a bit better than S1, a bit of reused things, feels like it's missin something, best animation out of the 4 seasons.

The voice acting, music, and everything else was superb. Alot of cool and wacky characters that are unique in their own rights.

Overall it was quiet an enjoyable series.

Memorable: Sort of, Rewatchable: Likely..

This show is "black" comedy in multiple senses of the term. Here is a memorable example. Grandad opens a restaurant featuring a menu high in fat, pork, sugar, and serving sizes. Huey comments that the food is "destructive" to those that eat it. Grandad asks him, "What's wrong with you boy, this is your culture." To which Huey responds, "well then the culture's destructive!" Now that's a point worthy of consideration coming out of the mouth of a small child in a cartoon. Personally, I think its worth watching several hours of this show just for the reward of being challenged to think about that one line, but others will not agree. My wife hates the show because, in her opinion "its simply not funny." I must agree, that the writing is bit uneven. Uncle Ruckus's trip to "white heaven" and King's speech at his political rally are absolutely priceless, while the entire episode "Let's Nab Ophrah" was a complete waste of time when Samuel L. Jackson's character wasn't talking. I strongly expect the reviews of this show to be highly polarized - you either love it or hate it. Watch a few episodes and make up your own mind.

Aaron McGruder is an admitted militant liberal, and his comic strip has provided quite an insight into his world view on politics and the lack of political tactfulness. But the television show has effectively upped up the ante, making even starker commentary on society and the racist ills that have fallen on it.

Some may attack McGruder for attacking African American culture by using the profane language and in his depiction of Riley, but what he has effectively provided is a sensible argument toward the ills of all cultural settings. He's effectively illustrating what people EXPECT from black culture.

McGruder has always been very critical of the "hip-hop" culture, calling it feminine and useless. In my opinion, McGruder's commentary is almost as powerful as Spike Lee's "Bamboozled," where he basically states hip-hop culture is just another form of black-face to entertain suburban white people. While the television seems to border more along the lines of cultural inequities and absurdities as opposed to the full-on political commentary of the strip, he still hammers home a lot of good points. Years from now, people will look at this show as a daring look at junk cultural paradigms and laugh at the absurdity of it all.