Skunk Fu!

Tye show is not good in alot of respects with the writing not being good the animation just simply made in flash. However no matter how much i try to dislike it i cant. The animation while being done in flash has a certain style that i just love and with the writing while being bad its enjoyable and honestly pretty easy to ignore.

Skunk Fu is one of those shows that was imported from British television to America in hopes of gaining an audience. Yet despite an admirable visual style, it's held back by awful writing, unlikable characters, and bad voice acting.

The intro to the show commits the most heinous crime in storytelling: tell don't show. We're told that Dragon once ruled the land but was punished for his arrogance and blames the inhabitants hence his motive to destroy them. The intro is incredibly rushed and makes Dragon less of a fearsome threat and more like a selfish toddler. It also doesn't help that the only hope for saving the land is Skunk for no specified reason besides his name being in the title. I'm envious of the British audience that got a solid rap theme song from Wu Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah as the American version just has the main character repeatedly shout the show's title over generic Chinese action music. This intro unfortunately is more fitting because the rest of the show is just as annoying and repetitive.

This show follows a specific formula for each episode: Skunk does something stupid, his stupidity ignites the conflict and the conflict is resolved with him learning his lesson. If Skunk is meant to be the savoir, the land is better off getting destroyed. Each episode is so reliant on Skunk's stupidity that the episodes are either dull at best or frustrating at worst. In addition to being poorly written, the humor in this show is also severely lacking. Most of the visual gags just don't register because the character animation just feels lifeless. It also doesn't help that it thinks a character being stupid is funny on its own.

Speaking of characters, none off them offer anything to like or relate to. The titular character, Skunk, is an annoying, stupid, irresponsible and impatient kid who never gets better as the series progresses. He's basically Chowder without the self-aware humor, amazing vocal performance, or willingness to learn to make him the least bit likable or entertaining. Panda is nothing more than a grumpy old mentor who's only notable trait is his very forced Chinese accent (more on that later). Rabbit is the tough but dimwitted nincompoop, Pig is the idiot, and the Ninja Monkeys are just a bunch of incompetent goons with the Baboon just barking orders. Then there's Fox, who is the only prominent female character in the show and is the epitome of blatant eye candy. She has no personality, she's not the least bit humorous and her design is curvy and suggestive despite the fact that she's supposed to be a defender of the land and as such it would make much more sense to be bulky and agile. As an animation fan and critic, I'm disappointed she's a one not character; but as a man who supports equal treatment for women, I'm embarrassed (and dare I say insulted) by this character's mere existence.

The voice acting in this show is honestly really really bad. I recognize they put in a valiant effort into their performances but the acting feels so forced and phoney. Jules de Jongh (the voice of Skunk) sounds more like a tomboy than an actual boy and I had to remind myself that Skunk is male in this show. Paul Tylak (the voice of Panda and Rabbit) sounds so off in both his respective roles. Panda doesn't sound the least bit Chinese; he sound like what a naive American thinks a Chinese person souns like. Rabbit sound like what a wimp thinks a machoman sounds like and it's so distracting. Patricia Rodriguez (the voice of Fox) is given so little to work with that she can't even find the right tone for her character. Rob Goodwell (the voice of Dragon) only sounds raspy and never gives the characters any other personality beyond that. And Paul McLoone (the voice of Baboon) doesn't leave much of an impression besides the character having an Australian accent.

This show's only saving grace is the visual anesthetic. The backgrounds are reminiscent of old Chinese paintings and the character designs all look distinct from one another. I also like the lack of lines drawn on each character and visual the intro looked alright. The one problem I have with the visuals though is the actual animation. The character animations feel so lifeless and lack any specific sense of weight to them. I also don't like Rabbit's particular walk cycle where he puffs out his chest and always takes a big step forward. The way it's drawn makes it look like his legs disappear and it's really uncanny.

Unfortunately, Skunk Fu is another one of those forgotten shows that was rightfully forgotten. Despite having a nice color palette and decent backgrounds, the writing is atrociously formulaic, the characters are unlikable, the voice acting isn't good and the actual animation feels so lifeless. It's too bad because this show could've been great, especially when Kung Fu Panda was released around that time and action shows with anthropomorphic animals is always popular. That said though, it's best to avoid this and just stick to Kung Fu Panda.

A long time ago, Dragon protected the valley but was punished by heaven for his arrogance. He blamed us. Now, trapped in his icy prison, he plots to destroy us. Our only hope might be Panda's pupil Skunk-Fu. "Balancing the earths and the heavens with the old wise Panda and a whole pack of brethrens. Fox, Rabbit, Pig, Snake and killer bees. Duck, Crane, Tiger fighting off Ninja Monkeys – and Baboon – that evil tyrant won't prevail over young Skunk's skills and that ill stink tail. Defender of the valley from the Dragon in the lake, using mind, body and soul with a fly-ass meditate".

Having recently massively enjoyed Shaun the Sheep in the same time slot, I was hoping that Skunk Fu would be a similar animation in how it appeals to adults as much as children. Sight unseen I set my video to record it daily for a few weeks before I finally sat to watch it and, on the basis of the credit sequence alone I must confess that I thought it was going to be wonderful. In fact, such a joy are the credits that they are worth a mention. Visually they are a fantastic mix of Oriental and flash animation cut together in a way that is stylish, slick and cool but it is the title music that stuck in my head. It isn't what you expect from an Irish children's animation on at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but the credit sequence plays out under a great, if short, track recorded for the series by Ghostface Killah of the Wu Tang Clan.

Problem is though, the title sequence is so cool that it did mean my expectations of the show itself were maybe unfairly raised because, although enjoyable, the series didn't draw anywhere near as much laughter as I would have liked. However, I do acknowledge that I'm being unfair to it by expecting too much. For what it was, the show itself is quite funny because there are imaginative narrative devices put in there as well as several little touches that adults will appreciate more than their children. However there is not really enough of it to make it good enough for adults to really make a point of taping it in the way that many did with Shaun. This is not to say that it is not worth seeing though, because for target audience it is an enjoyable cartoon, with simple morality tales making up each story.

Visually it is bright and cheerful but understandably not as cool as the titles in that regard. The characters provide some comedy. Skunk is a cheerful sort and makes for a bright lead. Panda is well cast and fits well in a clichéd "old master" way but it is the support cast who provide some colour around the edges. Praying Mantis is a Christopher Walken impression of sorts for no real reason, Rabbit is gung-ho and is a bit like Han Solo (and indeed has some of his dialogue). Pig sounds like Bob Goldthwait (from the Police Academy) movies. Baboon is quite a good "sergeant-major" type but Dragon is better pitched to have genuine menace as the main "baddie".

It is rarely hilarious but I did enjoy it for what it was. The opening credit are by far the best part of it and adults will probably find there isn't enough for them to justify them watching more than a couple of times. For children and young teens though it will offer more because it does have a slightly adult edge (reminded me of Ren & Stimpy in some regards) but still also be clean, suitable and accessible for younger viewers. Wanted it to be cooler and smarter but it is still good entertainment for the intended audience.

Skunk Fu! This show is basically about the adventures of a western Skunk, currently a kid, he learns the art of kung fu from a wise Panda. Skunk lives in a valley along with other animals. However, Panda used to be friends with Dragon, however, Dragon became trapped in a cave to the present day, and blames the animals in the valley for his arrogance. He now threatens to destroy the valley, by using a large group of 'Ninga Monkeys' and his own powers. It is up to the animals in the valley to stop Dragons attempts at destroying their habitat. At the moment Dragon appears to be the most powerful creature, and the only thing keeping him at bay from destroying the valley is the cave he is trapped in. However, Skunk is likely to be the animal that can out do Dragon, as he has a secret weapon no other animal possesses, the ability to create a noxious smell which can knock out all the animals in the valley and a good weapon against Dragon. Skunk however needs to learn how to control this.

When I first saw this advertised there was something about it that looked good. However I didn't take much notice of this until after the first two weeks of it being shown, since it looked cool on the ads I decided to watch one. I was not disappointed, in fact it was better than I thought it would have been. First you get the background story in flat-screen, then it opens to full with this really cool rap music in the opening titles. Then you get to the episodes themselves which are fantastic.

The animation style of this is beyond any other, I love the fact that they use a bright range of colours and you even get gradients being used (like on Skunk and Rabbitt) which works really well. The story lines are easy to follow which makes it more entertaining and the episodes have been kept relatively short which is good as it leaves you wanting more. I love the action sequences where the animals fight (usually against ninja monkeys).

Another great thing about this show is the humour. There is so much of it in this. Whether it is play on words or just humour through the animation there is humour to suit all audiences. Though this show may be designed for a child audience I think there is adult humour it this. I really like the character 'Rabbitt', who provides a lot of humour though his language, such as in one 'The Art of Revenge', he and Skunk have battled against monkeys and won, he then says, "pretty darn good", Skunk replies, "not bad yourself", then Rabbitt replies, "I was talking about myself". I think there is also humour in the way that the animals names are basically the names of the animals they are (e.g. Skunk is a skunk). In my opinion this has humour that not only suits kids but also adults and I think this show suits all audiences.

So this show has good animation and great comedy, but what I think makes it very unique from any other cartoon is the fact that the creators (Cartoon Saloon) have managed to make the star of the show Skunk, before Skunk Fu skunks were not the most liked animal and basically known as animals that 'smell'. Now after this we will think of skunks differently. Cartoon Saloon have managed to take an animal rarely used and create a star character in a fantastic show. That is what makes this show so unique. The voices used in this show are brilliant, I especially like the voice used for Baboon (leader of the ninja monkeys).

In my opinion I would give this a definite 10/10 and encourage everyone to see this. Skunk Fu is a whole new look on animated comedies. Well done to those that created this.

I remember watching this show, on cartoon network, when I was a kid. Definitely one of my favorites of all time. Love the animation and art style. This show really had potential, but unfortunately didn't last long, but honestly this was way better than what cartoon network was airing back then.