Amici sorridenti

An amazing piece of animation that highlights the philosophical absurdities of life in the style of the great French philosopher Albert Camus.

The crude amateur animation is actually a veiled commentary on society's crude obsession with transient pleasures which we oftentimes define to be the goals of our life and not simply a passing fad.

Finally, the voice performance of legendary actor Mike Stoklasa blew me over. He has channeled the persona of his iconic creation, the fictional film critic Mr. Plinkett, into the character of Desmond and the result just screams perfection. That deep sagacious voice truly resonates with the absurdist notions of life as projected by this cartoon.

I am interested in more future episodes and I really hope they bring Mr. Stoklasa back for more side cameos.

Smiling Friends is a testament to the creative landscape of what personal content creation can lead to and how it focuses on artist to consumer interactions that allow the creators of animation or anything of the sort to be more grounded and appreciative of the craft and their impact on it. The animation is not too large a departure from other familiar styles. The characters and personalities are by far the most driving factors of the show itself. The dry and absurdist humor as well as the range of which the show can strike your funny-bone is incredibly enjoyable. Coming from the platforms of Newgrounds and Youtube has allowed for some truly interesting and hilarious comedy from the likes of Zach Hadel and his constituents. I have no doubt in my mind that there is more to come from the minds behind Smiling Friends and I am left eagerly awaiting.

All I have to say is that Adult Swim needs to continue this. It was a shame that Hellbenders was never picked up, but now I see this as a great opportunity to make up for it. Both Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack are masterful animators and comedians. They both have a gift to implement moments in their craft that are eternally quotable. Denying this show a series would be a disservice to the world. I know that sounds weird, considering the absurdity of the content, but I honestly see this as a beacon of hope in these dark times.The creators deserve so much recognition and support.

This was actually funny, unlike a large portion of the shows from that block during the last few years.

More bizarre cartoons like this and less Tim and Eric garbage, please.

Super funny show! My husband has made us watch it three times already lol, can't wait for another episode!