I wondered where I had seen this stomach-churning style of art-house character design before, so I looked up the show's creator, Everett Peck. Sure enough, he was also the creator of Duckman, a really raunchy and only slightly uglier comedy cartoon for adults. While the grotesque style certainly worked well with a show as bizarre and often disturbing as Duckman, it isn't as effective on a show aimed at kids. At least the animation is smoother and up-to-date, but that scarcely saves it from its own inherently ugly art-house style. Duckman was able to pull it off due to the deranged nature of the show, but it just doesn't hold up in "Squirrel Boy."
The voice acting is good, but therein lies another downfall; these are voices most cartoon-watchers have heard a LOT and can connect to famous characters from better cartoons. The two lead voice actors pull out their tried-and-true voices for this show. Pamela Adlon, the voice of "Andy" on this show, provides a voice that's quickly identified as the same voice used for Bobby Hill (King of the Hill), Otto (Time Squad), Milo (The Oblongs), and Spinelli (Recess), just to name a few. Richard Horvitz, the voice of "Rodney J. Squirrel," also provides a familiar voice. The voice of Rodney isn't that much different from other famous characters played by Horvitz, such as Billy (The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy), ZIM (Invader ZIM), Dagget (The Angry Beavers), and Kanchome (Zatch Bell, an anime currently shown a LOT on Cartoon Network). True, they're great voice actors, but we've heard these voices before, and have come to identify them with other characters (or likely the actor themselves when the voice is overused enough). It was a bad casting decision to imbue the two main characters on a brand new show with voices that are far from new or unique. A good character has a unique look and voice; that's the kind of character that kids will remember.
So, the character design style of the show share's Duckman's art-house ugliness (but lacks the twisted humor to go with it), and the two characters around whom the entire show revolves have overused voices. What's the show itself like? How's the writing, the plot? Well, unfortunately, there's no saving grace in the show's writing. The story and gags aren't anything to get excited about, though not terrible, they pale in comparison to some of the other shows on Cartoon Network that are overflowing with charismatic writing. Basically the show's about a boy, Andy, and his squirrel friend/pet, Rodney. Rodney is the driving force of the show, always imposing his will upon Andy and getting the two of them into trouble. The humor is pretty basic and enough to get a laugh or two from kids, but there aren't any cleverly inserted jokes that'll have adults cracking up (unlike "Billy and Mandy" for example). Rodney stands out as one of the only truly influential characters on the show, and possibly the only interesting one, with everything essentially revolving around and hinging upon the actions of this character. Aside from the strength of Rodney's character, the other characters on the show are considerably weak. One character does not a series make.
It might not be fair to judge this show so harshly based on the merits of Cartoon Network's other shows; it might actually be "decent" if it didn't have other shows of higher quality to measure up to. But, this IS a Cartoon Network-distributed show, and thus, it SHOULD measure up to the quality viewers have come to expect from the network. "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy," and "Ed, Edd, & Eddy" are all shows that radiate with originality, first-rate writing, and great voice acting (with voices that are, for the most part, unique to those characters). Those are shows that appeal to all ages, are visually appealing, with extremely effective characters: all of those qualities are lacking in "Squirrel Boy." Though it's not the first of Cartoon Network's new shows to disappoint those who've come to expect high quality original shows from the network, it still comes as a disappointment to be handed another lemon. Just because a show is aimed at children is no excuse for mediocrity... not for the same network that continues to produce exceptional cartoons like those mentioned above.
