Favorite TV

I was wrong. When I first saw "Wonder Over Yonder", I was comfortable giving up on the show after its first two 11-minute episodes. I gave it another chance this summer, and I am quite glad I did. The show comes from Craig McCracken, the genius behind "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends". Like "Foster's", Craig gave senior jobs to his wife, Lauren Faust. Lauren is responsible for making the latest "My Little Pony" cartoon such an unorthodox joy. With these two people in charge of "Wonder Over Yonder", the show was almost certain to succeed.

Yet the first two episodes didn't grab me. Or, they didn't back in 2013, when I was just starting college. My life now is different than my life then. After taking a conflict management class, I'm more receptive to the hilarious never-say-never attitude that "Wander" has from start to finish. Still, the first two are not the best in the series. I saw "The Void", after seeing positive reviews, and liked it a lot. Then a year later, I gave the series the honest shot I never gave it for all these years. Starting from the third episode, the whole series sets out to be a show unlike any other. It has the confidence and grace that can only come from veteran animators. Almost every episode has brand-new characters. Whether wholly original or taking inspiration from the 1968 Beatles movie "Yellow Submarine", the visual design of each character is innovative and bold. "Wander" does not steal Norse mythology or classic anime: it borrows a few elements and invents the rest. The Norse and anime episodes are just three episodes of 80; the majority of the show just has stunning and original character designs. There's an army of eyeballs and an army of fists, both of which have legs, and both look splendid.

Likewise, the planets that the main characters visit are unique. Episode one has Binglebopolopolis, a planet of warm, bright colors and fairground rides. In other episodes, there's an interstellar race track and a planet which keeps getting terraformed to look like a tennis ball. Deserts, boardwalks, mountains, caves, "Wander" has it all. In "The Lonely Planet", the planet itself was alive, looking for companionship. The whole episode reminded me of the French book "The Little Prince".

The interactions between the main characters grew on me. Wander is a few-feet-tall orange-furred creature who wants to spread joy throughout the universe. He's enlisted the reluctant help of his friend and steed Sylvia. She prefers punch-based diplomacy. The two annoy and flummox Lord Hater, a skeleton dictator trying to conquer the galaxy. "SpongeBob" star Tom Kenny demonstrates surprising range and skill as Commander Peepers. Hater doesn't appreciate Peepers, but Peepers is the one planning Hater's exploits. So Wander wants to help, and Sylvia advises against it. He presses onward, and both of them usually learn something along the way. Hater constantly finds new ways to reveal himself as a childish idiot, which never gets old. He acts like an evil villain, but Wander swears there's good inside him somewhere. When it's Hater's birthday, Wander shows up to try and make it a good one. Hater tries to kill him in response.

Wander knows the birthdays of every henchman on Hater's ship. Wander and Sylvia intentionally get captured by Hater just because they need somewhere to crash for the night. Hater exists as this "too big to fail" being of awesome power, and Wander just keeps showing up and poking holes in his abilities. It's funny.

Many of the characters have short theme songs. Hater requires his minions to chant "Hate's great, best villain!" while conquering planets and otherwise doing evil. Commander Peepers has a two-word ditty: "Commander Pee-pers!", said in an epic, imposing voice by an unseen, unknown voice. That theme plays whenever he's taking charge and feeling strong. Wander's themes typically involve the banjo. Sometimes he plays it himself, and makes lyrics. Other times it's just part of the background. Some side characters, even one who only appears in a few episodes, also have songs. Music flows freely and without much aggrandizing. It just happens. If that doesn't sound good, you'll enjoy how brief the vast majority of the songs are. (Maybe stay away from the musical episode "My Fair Hatey"?)

It's an excellent show. A great number of episodes are essentially flawless. I recommend:

* The Black Cube (a fairly standalone episode, and my favorite of the series)
* The Hat
* The Little Guy (22 minutes; guest starring Aziz Ansari, of "Parks and Recreation")
* The Wanders
* The Bot

The show's message is important and not dumbed-down, oversimplified, or unbelievable. "It never hurts to help," Wander says, and with the end of this series, I believe him.