Mighty Max

The title of my summary pretty much covers my review.

This is to me what Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was to someone 5 years older. While I missed out on that little pop-culture wave, I embraced the toy line and t.v. series that was Mighty Max with both arms.

You wanna know how into this I was? I went as Mighty Max for Halloween.

Thank God for the internet. Thanks to Demonoid, last week I was able to watch this great show from my childhood for the first time in over a decade.

I'm watching this right now, having just been blown away by recognizing Rob Paulson of Animaniacs, and am also loving the celebrity humor in "Tar Wars". 4 minutes in, and they have already mentioned, By NAME: Clint Eastwood, Governor Arnold, Dustin Hoffman, John Wayne, AND Ace Ventura. Hells yeah.

Damn, it is only upon writing this that I realize there is NO WAY IN HELL I can give this series anything less than a perfect score. Any imperfections have been lost in the fog of time.

This Is My Childhood. This Is Awesomeness. This Is The Mighty One.

'Mighty Max' was a surprisingly well-made and, though based on a quaintly narrow concept, very well written and animated journey. Max, the young 'Cap Bearer' is accidently and unwantedly bestowed with the age-old responsibilities of protecting Earth from the diabolical Skullmaster and his army of minions who try desperately to emerge from the planet's depths [The Skullmaster yearns for the cap so he can gain ultimate control and mobility] while the boy just wants to maintain a normal life. Supporting characters like the ancient, wise [yet retrospectively out-of-date], owl, Virgil and sworn bodyguard, Norman, give Max's naive quest against the Skullmaster both a chance and comedic action as each episode begins with a multitude of interesting ways for summoning Max to his current mission [i.e. Virigil slipping the message into nearby objects and such - unexpectedly interrupting his fun times. I recommend, though I have yet to find it in local syndication, that if this well-done program becomes available again, to give it an unobjective chance and stick around for the finale which makes the whole program complete in a spectacular finish. It's not just another 'kid's show,' but rather another classic example of good sci-fi production subjected to stereotypical myths.

Mighty Max, based primarily upon a micro-sized toy line, was a terrific animated series which died prematurely but will always be remembered. Max, a young pre-teen, is the "Cap Bearer", a mystical warrior who is transported all over the world in order to combat evil in many forms. Along for the ride is Virgil, a Lemurian and a sentient owl, and Norman, a Nordic warrior, voiced excellently by Richard Moll. This series was well-animated and acted, and presented good storylines and memorable villains including Skullmaster, maliciously voiced by Tim Curry. The series ender was very peculiarly made, in that it ends with Max and his comrades beginning their adventures all over again, making the show seem seamless, but nonetheless sad. I was privileged to view Mighty Max on a Canadian satellite wild-feed, and taped much of the series, but true fans should petition channels such as Cartoon Network to present Mighty Max to its fans and potential viewers.

This show was not one of those not funny and lame shows, Mighty Max did not have the best animation, but the writing was excellent. Far above that of most children shows. It was great from start to finish. I really like the series finale, taking the show back to the beginning.

All the characters in this cartoon were hilarious. Norman the Viking guardian had some memorable phrases and the skull master, the bad guy, would always be vowing to kill Max with some insane cackling. The writing is the best.

I was glued to the set when this would come on when I was younger. If they came out with a DVD of all the episodes they made I would be forced to buy it. This and a Conan the Barbarian cartoon are the ones I miss the most from childhood. I think these cartoons are the most unappreciated out of all the great cartoons. I used to watch these cartoons on channel 13 in the Los Angeles Area.

I remember the owl was always afraid, warning Max that he was in trouble and that he was the chosen one. Max didn't believe that he was the chosen one and always gave the owl trouble. Norman was less talkative but his simplicity was funny. He would say things like "I eat monsters for breakfast" when he was battling them. And then when he was battling zombies he would say "I eat zombies for...nevermind." Classic cartoon comedy and action.

I vote that they re-air Mighty Max.