You ever start watching a show and at first you were like, "Dude, this is actually pretty good" but the longer you watch the more bored you become? That's essentially my experience with Cartoon Network's Clarence. Despite getting off to a strong start, midway through the first season onward the show became more of a bad example of how to make a cartoon painfully boring.
Pitched by Skyler Page as a fictionalized account of his childhood, Clarence follows the misadventures of a young boy and his friends as they reside in the small Arizona town of Aberdale. Each episode sees Clarence trying to find the fun in everyday living while also helping others with their problems. The first 30ish episode set the show up wonderfully as this funny, very well paced slice of life show that finds beauty in the mundane. Episodes like Fun House Face-Off, Dream Boat, Rise and Shine, and Lizard Day Afternoon best showcase the show's sense of fun and adventure from the perspective of these boys living in a small town. The best episode of the show, though, is easily Pretty Great Day With A Girl as it encompasses all the show's strengths; strong humor, a great adventure for these kids and lovable characters to boot. Unfortunately, the show did not keep this momentum going after a change in showrunners and midway through the first season, the show became about as boring and as forgettable as Craig of the Creek. Episodes like Waterpark, Hurricane Dillis, Clarence Wendell And the Eye of Coogan, and Tree of Life just meander with very basic plots and lack any clever jokes or even engaging climaxes to make them the least bit entertaining. One episode that particularly got under my skin was Pizza Hero, in which the characters all reminisce about a very minor character as if he's some superhero. I fail to see why I should care about a pizza guy who's only been in one other episode, let alone empathizes with the characters who think he's so great. It was around this time I longed for episodes like Money Broom Wizard where the characters go on an adventure in an arcade.
Speaking of characters, they went from being really fun to be around to just being boring at best and really grating at worst. Starting with our titular hero, Clarence is a naive but fun child who's willing to lend a hand to whomever needs it. That is, until he's mid-season 1 onward where he becomes more of an annoying twerp who butts in on everyone's business and his methods of helping only make things worse. Basically, Clarence became Mimi from What About Mimi and I hate it. Jeff is a smart, helpful and funny kid who likes to keep things organized. Occasionally he'll step out of his comfort zone, but generally he likes things done a certain way. As the show would go on, he'd become less likable (especially in episodes like The Big Petey Pizza Problem and Birthday) and would more often be a stick in the mud. Sumo is a wild child who's always getting into trouble but usually means well and has his moments of genuine character growth. That said, he becomes less wild as the show would go on and as such he would become less interesting.
The supporting players are hit and miss at first, but they all become mindless sheep in most episodes so that's already a knock against them. Starting with Clarence's Mom, Mary's pretty alright as far as cartoon mothers go. She's fun, firm, caring and funny and she and Clarence get along as well as a mother and son should. My only problem with her is she let's Clarence off too easily whenever he does something wrong. Look, I'm no parent, but if my child kept bugs in the closet, you'd better believe they'd be grounded. Chad is a decent enough step-dad who can be funny and caring for Clarence. Like Mary though, he has no assertive bone in his body and at times he even encourages Clarence's behavior. Jeff's parents weren't given enough time to fully develop as characters beyond their assigned archetypes. Sumo's Dad, Mel, is surprisingly a pretty good Dad. Despite his limited appearances, he's caring, smart and can be very demanding to his son when he needs to be. The rest of Sumo's family though, which include his Mom, Tiona, and his 12 brothers and sister are all one dimensional characters that only exist to fill in space. The children and staff at Aberdale Elementary are...not good at all to be honest. At first they were okay but given their lack of development as the show goes on, it's very hard for me to care. Melanie Baker (like Ms. Keane before her) is a basic at best teacher that cares more about finding a date than actually doing her job. Jim Reese is an idiot vice-principal who has the hots for Melanie, Brenda Shoop is Mrs. Finster from Recess (no seriously, they're the same character save for the names and overall character design), and the actual principal is just a pair of realistic lips shrouded in darkness (lame). The students aren't much better and some only just exist to be background characters. Percy's a whiny kid who's voice get's grating after a while, Chelsea is all bark but not much bite, Nathan's the big dumb kid, Breehn is always under his parent's thumb, Kimby brushes her hair when she's nervous (which is ALL the time), Malessica has a crush on Jeff, Mavis just makes noises, Brady is Charlie Brown (at first it was a nod, then it became his character), and Gilben might as well be a statue. Josh is another bland supporting character who's running gag of him getting seriously hurt gets old very fast.
Then there's Belson, my least favorite character in the entire show. You'd think he'd be this twerp who gets bested by Clarence and his friends in each episode he's in, but no he's Aberdale's designated spoiled brat. He's rude, selfish, lazy, obnoxious, narcissistic and disrespectful to everyone, especially his mother. I was hoping they'd make an episode about Belson's downfall where his lavish lifestyle is taken away when his father is arrested and he and his Mom have to live in an apartment. But alas, no such episode came.
The one supporting character that trumps all the others though is Amy Gillis from Pretty Great Day With A Girl. Amy is every bit as fun and adventurous as a girl like her ought to be. Her and Clarence had great chemistry and they could've been such good friends. The problem? She only had 1 major appearance and was relegated to silent cameos thereafter. I have always hated this decision to never utilize her again. It's not only unfair to us the audience, but it makes the supporting cast weaker than it already is.
The voice acting is pretty good, though some actors do a better job than others. While I normally don't agree with full grown men playing boys, I thought Skyler Page did a good job voicing Clarence and made him sound like a naive but fun little character. When Spencer Rothbell took over as the voice of Clarence, it was seamless and I never would've guessed. That said though, he does lack the same amount of energy as Page in later episodes. Sean Giambrone was great as Jeff, bringing out that smart and quirky boyish tone that Jeff needed. Once Giambrone hit puberty though, it just felt awkward listening to Jeff not sound like himself. Tom Kenny once again shines as Sumo as he makes him sound so frantic and wild. Katie Crown brilliantly makes her voices of Mary, Melanie and Brenda very distinct from one another with Mary having a strong Brooklyn accent, Melanie sounding like a reasonable teacher and Brenda sounding old and gruff. Roger Craig Smith gives Belson a very amusing depend voice and whenever he whines it is enjoyable (though I would've asked him to dial back on Percy's high pitched voice). Eric Edlestein makes Chad sound like a caring and fun guy who's at the very least trying. All the other actors from Grace Kaufman, Joshua Rush, Daniel DiMaggio and more all give fine performances, though none of them stand out too much. Except of course Ava Acres as Amy Gillis, who I still think should've been a mainstay in the show.
Visually the show looks really good and is the best part of the show's most boring episodes. The character designs are more inline with abstract, with the characters having different shapes for not just their heads but their entire bodies. The character animation flows gracefully and they walk and run in a very believable manner. The backgrounds are very well detailed with Aberdale looking like a small yet very lived in town. The show also has a very sweet color palette, relying on cool colors to emmet a sense of calm and beauty.
Clarence started off with a bang but eventually it became a bore. What could've been a fun show with likable characters, clever humor and a great sense of adventure in everyday living is now just a boring show with flat characters, nonexistent humor and ironically mundane writing. Sure the animation is really good and some of the voice acting is not too shabby, but this is still an overall disappointingly average show with not much else to offer. I say give the first 30 or so episodes a watch if you're interested, but don't expect the show to reach the highs of those episodes.
Pitched by Skyler Page as a fictionalized account of his childhood, Clarence follows the misadventures of a young boy and his friends as they reside in the small Arizona town of Aberdale. Each episode sees Clarence trying to find the fun in everyday living while also helping others with their problems. The first 30ish episode set the show up wonderfully as this funny, very well paced slice of life show that finds beauty in the mundane. Episodes like Fun House Face-Off, Dream Boat, Rise and Shine, and Lizard Day Afternoon best showcase the show's sense of fun and adventure from the perspective of these boys living in a small town. The best episode of the show, though, is easily Pretty Great Day With A Girl as it encompasses all the show's strengths; strong humor, a great adventure for these kids and lovable characters to boot. Unfortunately, the show did not keep this momentum going after a change in showrunners and midway through the first season, the show became about as boring and as forgettable as Craig of the Creek. Episodes like Waterpark, Hurricane Dillis, Clarence Wendell And the Eye of Coogan, and Tree of Life just meander with very basic plots and lack any clever jokes or even engaging climaxes to make them the least bit entertaining. One episode that particularly got under my skin was Pizza Hero, in which the characters all reminisce about a very minor character as if he's some superhero. I fail to see why I should care about a pizza guy who's only been in one other episode, let alone empathizes with the characters who think he's so great. It was around this time I longed for episodes like Money Broom Wizard where the characters go on an adventure in an arcade.
Speaking of characters, they went from being really fun to be around to just being boring at best and really grating at worst. Starting with our titular hero, Clarence is a naive but fun child who's willing to lend a hand to whomever needs it. That is, until he's mid-season 1 onward where he becomes more of an annoying twerp who butts in on everyone's business and his methods of helping only make things worse. Basically, Clarence became Mimi from What About Mimi and I hate it. Jeff is a smart, helpful and funny kid who likes to keep things organized. Occasionally he'll step out of his comfort zone, but generally he likes things done a certain way. As the show would go on, he'd become less likable (especially in episodes like The Big Petey Pizza Problem and Birthday) and would more often be a stick in the mud. Sumo is a wild child who's always getting into trouble but usually means well and has his moments of genuine character growth. That said, he becomes less wild as the show would go on and as such he would become less interesting.
The supporting players are hit and miss at first, but they all become mindless sheep in most episodes so that's already a knock against them. Starting with Clarence's Mom, Mary's pretty alright as far as cartoon mothers go. She's fun, firm, caring and funny and she and Clarence get along as well as a mother and son should. My only problem with her is she let's Clarence off too easily whenever he does something wrong. Look, I'm no parent, but if my child kept bugs in the closet, you'd better believe they'd be grounded. Chad is a decent enough step-dad who can be funny and caring for Clarence. Like Mary though, he has no assertive bone in his body and at times he even encourages Clarence's behavior. Jeff's parents weren't given enough time to fully develop as characters beyond their assigned archetypes. Sumo's Dad, Mel, is surprisingly a pretty good Dad. Despite his limited appearances, he's caring, smart and can be very demanding to his son when he needs to be. The rest of Sumo's family though, which include his Mom, Tiona, and his 12 brothers and sister are all one dimensional characters that only exist to fill in space. The children and staff at Aberdale Elementary are...not good at all to be honest. At first they were okay but given their lack of development as the show goes on, it's very hard for me to care. Melanie Baker (like Ms. Keane before her) is a basic at best teacher that cares more about finding a date than actually doing her job. Jim Reese is an idiot vice-principal who has the hots for Melanie, Brenda Shoop is Mrs. Finster from Recess (no seriously, they're the same character save for the names and overall character design), and the actual principal is just a pair of realistic lips shrouded in darkness (lame). The students aren't much better and some only just exist to be background characters. Percy's a whiny kid who's voice get's grating after a while, Chelsea is all bark but not much bite, Nathan's the big dumb kid, Breehn is always under his parent's thumb, Kimby brushes her hair when she's nervous (which is ALL the time), Malessica has a crush on Jeff, Mavis just makes noises, Brady is Charlie Brown (at first it was a nod, then it became his character), and Gilben might as well be a statue. Josh is another bland supporting character who's running gag of him getting seriously hurt gets old very fast.
Then there's Belson, my least favorite character in the entire show. You'd think he'd be this twerp who gets bested by Clarence and his friends in each episode he's in, but no he's Aberdale's designated spoiled brat. He's rude, selfish, lazy, obnoxious, narcissistic and disrespectful to everyone, especially his mother. I was hoping they'd make an episode about Belson's downfall where his lavish lifestyle is taken away when his father is arrested and he and his Mom have to live in an apartment. But alas, no such episode came.
The one supporting character that trumps all the others though is Amy Gillis from Pretty Great Day With A Girl. Amy is every bit as fun and adventurous as a girl like her ought to be. Her and Clarence had great chemistry and they could've been such good friends. The problem? She only had 1 major appearance and was relegated to silent cameos thereafter. I have always hated this decision to never utilize her again. It's not only unfair to us the audience, but it makes the supporting cast weaker than it already is.
The voice acting is pretty good, though some actors do a better job than others. While I normally don't agree with full grown men playing boys, I thought Skyler Page did a good job voicing Clarence and made him sound like a naive but fun little character. When Spencer Rothbell took over as the voice of Clarence, it was seamless and I never would've guessed. That said though, he does lack the same amount of energy as Page in later episodes. Sean Giambrone was great as Jeff, bringing out that smart and quirky boyish tone that Jeff needed. Once Giambrone hit puberty though, it just felt awkward listening to Jeff not sound like himself. Tom Kenny once again shines as Sumo as he makes him sound so frantic and wild. Katie Crown brilliantly makes her voices of Mary, Melanie and Brenda very distinct from one another with Mary having a strong Brooklyn accent, Melanie sounding like a reasonable teacher and Brenda sounding old and gruff. Roger Craig Smith gives Belson a very amusing depend voice and whenever he whines it is enjoyable (though I would've asked him to dial back on Percy's high pitched voice). Eric Edlestein makes Chad sound like a caring and fun guy who's at the very least trying. All the other actors from Grace Kaufman, Joshua Rush, Daniel DiMaggio and more all give fine performances, though none of them stand out too much. Except of course Ava Acres as Amy Gillis, who I still think should've been a mainstay in the show.
Visually the show looks really good and is the best part of the show's most boring episodes. The character designs are more inline with abstract, with the characters having different shapes for not just their heads but their entire bodies. The character animation flows gracefully and they walk and run in a very believable manner. The backgrounds are very well detailed with Aberdale looking like a small yet very lived in town. The show also has a very sweet color palette, relying on cool colors to emmet a sense of calm and beauty.
Clarence started off with a bang but eventually it became a bore. What could've been a fun show with likable characters, clever humor and a great sense of adventure in everyday living is now just a boring show with flat characters, nonexistent humor and ironically mundane writing. Sure the animation is really good and some of the voice acting is not too shabby, but this is still an overall disappointingly average show with not much else to offer. I say give the first 30 or so episodes a watch if you're interested, but don't expect the show to reach the highs of those episodes.