Samurai Jack

It seems that Genndy Tartakovsky was only getting warmed up with "Dexter's Laboratory" and "Powerpuff Girls". With those shows he proved he was a comic genius; with "Samurai Jack" he demonstrates that he is a genius, period. Every single aspect of the movie premiere is top-notch. Phil LaMarr is wonderful as Jack. James Venable's score beautifully captures the tone and has just the right mix of traditional Oriental and electronic sounds. I liked the fact that there did not seem to be any unnecessary dialogue (in fact several scenes--most notably the beginning--have almost no dialogue at all). The animation and backgrounds are very stylish and striking, and the filmmakers even allow the art to escape the confines of the square 1.33:1 TV ratio with some split-screen and widescreen shots used to great effect. It is my hope that the series continues to be as good as the premiere is. This will be on you "must-watch" list.