The Cuphead Show honors the stunning animation style of the video game and is a family show, but more childish than expected.
The Cuphead Show is something that fans of the video game are going to love right from the start. It is not at all what I expected it to be, but it was a pleasant surprise. As a fan of the video game I thought that the first season would follow the events of that closely. Instead there are glimpses of it, but more of a ton of random adventures that Cuphead and Mugman go on like taking care of a baby and breaking their handles.
There is not one cohesive story here, not really, and that isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it keeps things interesting and makes it a lot of fun to watch for people of all ages. Many of the episodes are completely stand alone to the point where viewers might even forget Cuphead’s soul is promised to the Devil (which is what took place in the first episode).
The adventures that the brothers go on are ridiculously silly, but extremely entertaining. You just can’t help but giggle when you see what they go through, and how they handle it.
Each episode is just 15 minutes long, and there are ten episodes in the first season, making this a very quick and easy binge watch. The episodes don’t tell a cohesive story all together, but each one tells a fun, spooky, or silly adventure, that will have audiences falling even more in love with Cuphead and Mugman as they get to know more about them.
The animation style is simply gorgeous. Those viewers who have played the game will instantly recognize it, along with many of the characters and locations. I am so happy they stuck with this style, because they could have done anything. It really brings me back to Saturday morning cartoons with my sister when I was a little girl.
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This show is brilliant in that it took something that has a massive fan base of all ages, and created something new and unique with it. Yes, I expected the show to follow more of the plot of the video game, and was taken aback by all the standalone episodes, but they are silly, fun, and they work.
Because of this, the show is able to include many new things, as well as include infinite nods for gamers, and grow the audience for the game. I am willing to bet that many people who have not yet played, will be picking up (and subsequently throwing — because this game is HARD) their controllers.
Fans of all ages will have a blast with this show. Some of the episodes certainly have a more childish feel, but it is rated for ages 7 and up for a reason. My daughters are 9 and 10, both play the video game, and both really enjoy The Cuphead Show. We watched the entire first season as a family and thought it was a lot of fun.
Some of the jokes go over the girls’ heads, and have my husband and I cracking up, while some felt a bit too immature for us (that is hard to do, in all honesty) but had our daughters in hysterics.
The humor feels similar to that of the new Mickey Mouse cartoons, mixed with a bit of Ren and Stimpy. While the latter is more risky than the first, The Cuphead Show is a combination of the two. Being focused around two brothers, with a handful of colorful side characters, is what pushes it more towards Ren and Stimpy.
Still, this show is unique in many ways, with multiple nods to the video game like saving souls, the look of it all, and the characters and some plot lines, of course.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that The Cuphead Show is very much geared towards a younger audience. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a lot of fun, because it is, just don’t expect too many adult themes. This is a family show at the heart of it all, a really goofy, ridiculous, off the wall, family show.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
About The Cuphead Show
Based on the award-winning video game that smashed onto the scene with a gorgeous retro animation style, THE CUPHEAD SHOW! is a character-driven comedy series following the unique misadventures of loveable, impulsive scamp Cuphead and his cautious but easily swayed brother Mugman. As the two scour their surreal homeworld of the Inkwell Isles in search of fun and adventure, they always have each other’s back.
Unless there’s only one cookie left, in which case it’s every cup for himself. THE CUPHEAD SHOW! combines nostalgic delights, side-splitting gags, and a healthy dose of the heebie jeebies—especially when a ridiculously weird nemesis, The Devil himself, arrives on the scene to toy with our heroes.
The Cuphead Show comes to Netflix on February 18th.
