As of 2017, the run-and-gun game Cuphead has made quite the impact in animation, partially thanks to its tribute to the rubber hose era of American animation in the 1930s. Of course with its success comes a TV series spinoff, made for Netflix no less, along with the assistance of game creators Chad and Jared Moldenhaeur from Studio MDHR. With an announced 36 episode lineup and only 1/3 of those episodes haven released, the show has garnered fairly positive reviews, albeit with some criticism from snobbish animation enthusiasts. But as for how it works on its own, how is the show handling itself so far?
The Cuphead Show, at least as of this first season, follows the impulsive Cuphead and his cautious brother Mugman on random misadventures, including several that spawned from Cuphead owing the Devil his soul. As a fairly episodic series, the show spends a fair amount of time focusing on whatever shenanigans Cuphead and Mugman get themselves into. While sometimes feeling like filler in light of the first episode where the devil is introduced, the series does keep its main narrative intact in regards to how much trouble the devil truly is to the souls on the Inkwell Isle, if not the whole world. As for the other plots, they tend to feel standard to older cartoon tropes and TV episode formats such as a troublesome baby to a ferry boat club filled with ice cream to the cup's Elder Kettle caretaker mistaking them for believing him to be too old for his own good. Admittedly, the show is usually at its best when Cuphead and Mugman have to face the villainous Devil creeping up on them. By contrast, the brothers are fairly one note and don't offer much from your average cartoon protagonists in modern kids shows.
As for other notable aspects, the animation is well done for what the show is aiming to mimic: in this case, 1930s rubber hose cartoons. While there's a lot of rigging going on in the character movements, the work still pays off with fun motion and lavish poses, especially with the blend of stereoscopic stop-motion sets from Screen Novelties and overly colorful effects work. At times the recreation of older animation feels fairly unneeded, like the grain and old timey music, although that could be expected from paying homage by default. Perhaps most obvious with the creative animation comes from the cast, including Tru Valentino as Cuphead, Frank Todaro as Mugman, Joe Hanna as Elder Kettle, Luke Millington-Drake as the Devil and many more veteran comedians and VAs. Given the material on screen, a lot of enthusiasm is needed from the ensemble cast, and they delivered with hysterical spontaneity, even if there may be a bit too many Bronx accents here and there. Admittedly, newcomers could find more appeal in the artwork than the stories.
So while The Cuphead Show sort of has its trouble of finding its own identity in terms of narrative and character, the artwork on display, voice acting and help from its inspirations gives it just enough entertainment value for further viewings. With at least one more season expected sometime later on, there's definitely room for improvement and more down the road than meets the eye initially. I would say this is worth viewing for the time being, especially if you're a die hard fan of the original game (as overwhelming as it is). There can only be so much to expect in the future, so hold on tight for more to come.
