Cas van de pools gnome show
After many years of making animated skits online with his “Ultimate Recap” series, the Dutch animator Cas Van De Pol has made an animated Pilot. Gnome Show follows the gnome Willem who lives in a mushroom with his pet toad. He lived in peace until one day when an official from Gnome City showed up and told him that his house wasn’t up to code and he is gonna have to fix it within the day if he want to keep his mushroom home. The show features the vocal talent of Jon o’ Connor as the main character Wilhelm, this is seemingly his first major role. Others of note are Zach Hadel (co-creator of smiling friends) and Meatcanyon who voice 2 minor characters.
The first thing you notice about this show is how very pretty it is. The show is animated similarly to how Cas’ other YouTube videos are made but with an apparent upgrade in quality. I especially like the backgrounds in this pilot. Much hasn’t changed with how he animates his characters and frankly that’s nothing that needs to change. The character designs are very charming and simple and are animated in such a way that you easily can follow their motion. They are easy enough to differentiate although all gnomes look like they are made from one template. The pilot uses a mix of 2d and 3d animation where most scenes are seemingly strictly 2d but sometime use 3d for specific gags or moving backgrounds.
Walking in to this pilot I was sort of unsure about how well Cas’ style would work within a larger context. I was half expecting that this would just be an “Ultimate recap” but with original characters instead of the parody format. I have no issue with his parodies but they all work because the audience already has an understanding of the story they are telling and can fill in the blanks and just enjoy the jokes. To me the idea of this being the same with an all new cast sounded a little tiresome and the jokes would really have to land to be worth it to me. I were instead pleasantly surprised with a pilot which was rather solidly written, and although it is a comedy it doesn’t live and die by its humor. The pilot start of defining the setting and the characters with wonderful scenes of Wilhelm walking through nature, both showing the wonders of the woods as well as the childlike wonder within Wilhelm. Later when this is juxtaposed with the rowdy and stressful “New Gnome City” we naturally grow a preference for the safe and cozy woods which the city want to take from Wilhelm. There is a lot to love about this show from the setting, writing, and the animation to make it great.
I do however have some minor nitpicks. The first real joke falls completely flat for me. After Wilhelm sees a tower he says “holy fucking shit, that’s a magnificent tower!” as the music cuts off. This is in a show that has up to that point only been wholesome and sweet. My issue with this is not that I’m prude and want to act like curses are the end of the world. Its more because I think it is a played out and tired joke that sort of undermines the previous things we’ve seen. This just feels like “haha cartoons are swearing” which are getting older and older by the minute. The way where this could be funnier then a lot of other shows using the same tactics is the fact that the cast is so much more cute and whimsical. Regardless I think it lands sort of flat both here and on other similar jokes. I can sort of accept it by thinking that its just a signifier that this show/pilot is made for adults, or that they think teens will like it.
Although that brings up another question: Why did this have to be an adult only affair? Most jokes are pretty tame and the few “Adult” things could be easily remedied with smaller modifications if it needs to be at all. It might become clearer in future episodes why it insist on being a “adult cartoon” but as of now these sort of jokes are pretty stale to me. The same goes for a couple of gross out jokes, they are rather tame so its not like I’m physically revolted when they show up. It’s, yet again, mostly an issue with them not being especially funny to me.
You can watch the show on Cas YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9DofskLbN8
If you love animation you take a look at this review: Slumlordz
Leave a Reply