Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States

Lil Bush uses old, overused and cliché Bush jokes and rehashes them into a thirty minute cartoon. There's probably about 2 1/2 minutes of humor in this show.

Also, I have NO idea when this is supposed to be happening. Disregard the suspension of disbelief that viewers should have on, I have no clue what the time frame is. The characters make references to Britney Spears and other modern pop culture, but Bush Sr., is in office and Desert Storm is in full force. Furthermore, the characters are supposed to be children, which of course they wouldn't be during Desert Storm. Pick a timeframe! Just change the channel, this isn't worth it.

When anti-bush jokes get really easy to do, a show like this had better make sure it has something extra. When that something extra is kid versions of political figures making jokes about the future they don't have yet, it's just plain nonsense. Dick Cheney and George Bush are done well but Dick Cheney mutters mostly. There's also Condoleeza Rice who has a crush on Bush for some reason and Donald Rumsfeld who isn't really that similar to Donald Rumsfeld at all. The democratic characters rarely give their names so it's a mystery as to who could be who aside from Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.

The episodes have coherent stories but that's not nearly enough to keep this from sinking.

I hesitate to write a review after only one episode, but I think after watching it there is little chance of improvement- or change in course (a little political humor there). Clearly, this show seeks to capitalize on current distaste for the White House administration by using its people and events as material for comedy. Making fun of government and government officials has long been used in various forms of comedy- with a great deal of success when executed well. The problem I had with this show was that it just was not funny, instead of going after laughs it simply went after the characters. As a libertarian I do not "have a horse" so to speak, in this fight between left and right, but in many ways I think that allows me to laugh at comedy focused on both ends of the political spectrum. However, this show was not comedy. I remember chuckling a couple times throughout the 30 minutes, but honestly I cannot even remember the jokes- which is a bad sign for a comedy where people typically remember every punch line and recite them endlessly for far too long. Comedy Central has clearly chosen to put forth programming with a negative focus on the current administration, as well as conservative thought in general, over the past 5 years or so. That in itself is no big deal because comedy is funny to everyone when it is done right- lefties laughing at themselves and conservatives laughing at jokes about the right. The problem with the current crop of political comedy, Lil' Bush included, is that the goal is not comedy, but a forum to display a rather disturbing amount of anger- in this case cheaply veiled by young animated characters. Not knowing much about the people involved with this project I had high hopes for a new animated comedy on Comedy Central because I find tasteful political comedy quite enjoyable, but it seems like personal attitudes and the desire to "get them" has over-ridden any comedic elements that may have been present. I gave this 4 stars, even though I feel like it deserves maybe 2 or 3, because for the right- and in this case that means the angry part of the left, audience the show could be enjoyable. I just wonder from a demographic standpoint whether there are enough viewers who fit that profile to carry this show beyond a few more episodes- because the show is not funny enough to carry itself. I doubt there are, but with the direction Comedy Central has been moving with their programming I imagine they knew that going in, but felt like they could get a filler for the summer season that would slot in well with the themes on other shows. I really hope Comedy Central gets out of the political comedy spiral they are in and get back to a more balanced lineup where comedy is the main goal and does not take a back seat to the individual beliefs of those in charge of the projects. Maybe after this administration is out of office things will cool down and the station built on comedy will start focusing more on it.

I've never been a fan of the shrub, but this might be a bit much.

Bush haters will love this though. It shreds Dubya's administration like cole slaw. Rumsfeld's a psychotic, Cheney's a growling demon, and Condi is made out to be a love struck 'Darla' clone.

While a lot of the propaganda is based on some truth, don't buy into this hype. This is nothing more than a bunch of Bush Blasters having a field day.

The Haliburton-land episode was my personal fave. That said, most of the humor was hit or miss. A flash in the pan is all this will ever be. But I hope there is a DVD release in the future. This will make a great pop culture artifact at some point.

And the Cheney affair with Barbara (with Dick vanishing into her womb) stretched the taste meter.

Honestly, my expectations for Little Bush were low. I was expecting a little cartoon series with lots of fun (but rehashed and overdone) Bush jokes. Apparently I should have lowered my expectations even more.

The writing was absolutely pathetic. Aside from the Cheney-Chicken-Eating joke, and some giggly-little swipes, it was really boring and unfunny.

The animation was about as sophisticated as a thirteen-year old's Flash Project. It's disgraceful that they used Macromedia's product for this, because it's capable of so much more.

I don't like Bush that much, and I enjoy a Bush-joke as much as the next guy, but this was just a half-hour swipe at the President with several painfully un-funny moments. Trey Parker and Matt Stone did so much more with That's My Bush.

Do yourself a favor, skip "Lil' Bush" and go buy a copy of the short-lived comedy "That's My Bush". You'll thank me.