Les Remplaçants

When I first saw this show, my reaction was 'WTF?' The animation style wasn't attractive to me in the least and the whole idea of replacing adults all the time was the worst ideas for a plot. However, after it's been on for, what, a year now?, it's grown on me.

The animation, despite it's style being different from normal Disney, is smooth. I actually like the backgrounds, but that's more my artistic style talking, because I think it's cool you can see paint strokes. But, anyway, the jokes on this show are, for the most part, not the best. Though there will be something that comes up once in awhile that are truly funny- though I also have a weird sense of humor. The characters, actually, are decent. Yes, they're rather flat characters, but each have distinct personalities, at least. The plots each episode are rather weak, though recently they've gotten a little bit better. One thing I really like about this show are continuities. For example, early episodes call the school George Washington Middle School. Then, after an episode when Todd insists the first presidents last name was Stapler, the school has been called George Stapler Middle School.

I certainly don't watch it religiously, or even when it just happens to be on. But I don't cringe watching it like some others, especially since it's improved just a little.

Original rating- 4/10 New rating- 5/10

For a show with such a good theme song, it really misses the whole "Being a good show" thing, I mean it's okay, I just expected so much after that catchy tune.

I guess the best way to describe The Replacements is: It isn't not funny.

Sure it isn't the best cartoon in the world. I did get used to the animation of Disney feature length cartoons. But it isn't what I'm concerned about when it comes to cartoons. This just happens to be its style. Do you remember how bad your jokes were when you were in elementary school? Some of what is done is corny, but this was made for kids, not like the ones I grew up watching - the ones that were shown at the cinema then on TV. I watch this with my son. This is pretty good if we use what we learn from it. So the kids think they can improve on every situation by getting the best adult/replacement they think they need. Yet in most instances another replacement, the original person, or one or both of the parents is needed to help straighten out the mess. A lesson is learned by the kid(s); sometimes, everyone learns a lesson. Moral: sometimes the best person for the job may not be the best for the job or for you.

I was a kid when I used to watch this show.

This was the only Disney Channel cartoon that I ever fell asleep to. I don't mean it was soothing; I literally mean this show put me to sleep. I was trying to stay awake at a sleepover and I totally passed out. I had been fairly alert before the show started.

There were three problems that I always had with this show.

First of all, the story was ALWAYS the same. Talk about beating us over the head with the same lesson over and over again! I was actually that weird kid who liked shows with a moral, but this - this was just painful. Kids are smarter than you think. We get it.

Secondly, none of the characters were likable. I watched plenty of cartoons around that time that had impossible scenarios. I've seen many shows that relied on stupidity to get laughs. And I laughed. But not with this show. There wasn't a single character I could like.

Finally, the animation artwork was not Disney quality.

This may sound harsh. But I'm being honest. This show was used as my standard for bad television. I remember saying, "At least it's not as bad as The Replacements!" on numerous occasions. This show was cute once or twice, but if one had to watch it on a regular basis, it was so thinly executed that there wasn't anything new or novel to redeem it. It was just the same old boring jokes and the same old boring mistakes - the kids never learning, but always beating the same messages over your head.

Maybe it made for some good midnight cartoon programming, but it sure wasn't worth being on Disney.

Animation was at a bit of a low point in the mid 2000s, but there were still good shows here and there, one of them being The Replacements. The idea of having a phone that can replace people to make your life easier is an interesting one, and they really ran with the concept due to how crazy things got. The second season focused less on replacements and more on the characters and stories, which I view as a plus. Our main characters are well rounded, with Riley being my favorite. I can see why she had a bigger focus in later episodes. Admittedly, it got a bit too crazy at times, but the good was still significantly strong. I didn't mind the formulaic aspect in the first season since it did help to teach good morals. I don't have much of a problem with the show. It's plain fun.

My score: 9/10