The Harper House (2021) User Reviews

Somewhat better than I expected

[BoxwoodExpress · 6/10 · 19 September 2021]

When I first saw the announcement of the show, I thought it was going to bet yet another cheap family animated sitcom, and the art style especially turned me off.

I went in expecting the worst, but it was actually.....okay!

Music - 2/2. Probably my favorite aspect of the show. I like that the show has an actual theme song instead of just a title card like all the other shows these days. It sounds elegant, perfect for a show about a family living in a Victorian house.

Characters - 1/2. I love that the head of the family is the mom. It also doesn't use the typical sitcom stereotypes like bratty teenage daughter, dumb dad etc. They need a bit more energy infused in them though.

Voice Acting - 2/2, another enjoyable aspect of the series. Can't go wrong with Jason Lee.

Writing - 1/2. Better than I expected - somewhat. It's not edgy for the sake of being edgy and can be quite compelling. However, it gets a point deduction for the awkward racial humor seen in Episode 1. It seems like adult animation writers can't include characters of color without making the white characters awkward around them. Ugh.

Animation - 0/2. There's no denying that this is the worst aspect of the show. It's just so...bland. There's no shading and it doesn't use the medium to its advantage. The Simpsons and Family Guy are great for animation because of their zany situations. This show could be in live action and nothing would change.

Overall, 6/10.

Hard to watch

[dickiedominguez · 6/10 · 3 October 2021]

The writing is pretty good the voice acting is pretty good but the animation seems off and doesn't seem to match the dialog. I hope they work out these bugs because I think they really take away from the good parts of this series.

what happened Dan

[MajBlade2 · 5/10 · 26 September 2021]

Seriously there is nothing funny anywhere in this show. I watched about 3 and a half then decdied to turn to old episodes of China, IL. On adult swim.

Really poor outing Dan.

Be progressive by being the same, but different?

[stane-95842 · 2/10 · 1 October 2021]

So as a way to move past the boring gender roles of old, I see a lot of just reversing the formula, testosterone mother/sister, estrogen father/brother.

How is that change? Different head of the same coin.

Jason Lee phones it in

[thomblackburn89 · 2/10 · 1 October 2021]

And the script sounds like an unedited first draft. I'm really disappointed because I loved professor brothers and China, Il. I couldn't make it through the first episode.

Garbage

[CartoonMan2020 · 1/10 · 19 September 2021]

This show was so bad that my wife and I could not get through the second episode. It tries to be unique but is, in fact, very derivative. The writing sucks so the jokes are not funny at all. I laughed maybe once in two episodes. The animation was bad as well, especially the character designs. The background work was ok, but the character models look like they were drawn in 10 seconds and they use zero shading so it looks like cheap crap on top of a decent background. But the main problem is that the show is simply unfunny and all of the characters are annoying stereotypes who are impossible to like.

Very solid first episode, and expecting even better things

[thomasgrealy · 10/10 · 16 September 2021]

Many first episodes of a new cartoon can be a struggle; sometimes even whole first seasons. Animated shows often take a bit of time to find their voice, and their laughs.

When it comes to animation, there's a real art and immense skill to delivering something good on first attempt, before tightening up what works, and shaving what doesn't.

The Harper House delivers from the get-go. My 10/10 rating is intentionally too high to counter the other initial inexplicably low ratings, but if you're a fan of animated comedies then giving this a try is a safe bet.

boriing

[qnpj-99374 · 2/10 · 28 October 2021]

Eum not what I would want to watch if I wanted to be delighted . The characters are not interesting I stopped after 5 minute of torture.

(The limit of characters for the review needs to be reduced to few words there pals)

Love it so far!

[moonofhislife · 10/10 · 18 September 2021]

Can't go wrong with Jason Lee in ANYTHING! I love animated shows! I've watched them all! From King of the Hill, Bob's Burgers, and Corner Gas to Duncanville, Bless The Harts and Central Park. I can't wait to see where this family goes! It has HUGE potential.

Not a good show at all

[hotboogiepants · 2/10 · 10 October 2021]

The foul language isn't cool. I couldn't get into the show. It wasn't funny. I didn't like it.

Why do they bother?

[Narce · 2/10 · 1 February 2022]

Basically, this is intended to be an adult-oriented animated series. You can tell it's adult-oriented because of the language they sprinkle liberally throughout the dialog. I don't know why they do this - it adds nothing to the humour, and it means that parents won't want their kids to watch and some adults will be offended by the language, resulting in a diminished audience.

If the viewer wants adult-oriented humour, there are plenty of non-animated shows around (example: the late, lamented Santa Clarita Diet) that can fill the bill. There are also lots of "regular" animated shows with a lot more humour in them.

Love this show!

[reneehall-56744 · 10/10 · 10 December 2021]

I was searching when the second season will be just to find out it was canceled! 😩😩😩 Please netflix or hulu pick this show up!! I truly enjoyed every minute of it!

Great show with interesting characters, and concepts

[buzz86us · 10/10 · 17 September 2021]

I really liked the Marg truck episode it was hilarious. I knew this was a Brad Neely show the moment I saw it. Sometimes his writing can veer in weird directions. I really hope it gets renewed.

Love it

[pineaultnicole · 10/10 · 23 September 2021]

It's a different kick to adult cartoons I recommend it.

A new era for neely

[Senzubeeeeens · 10/10 · 26 September 2021]

If you're a fan of Brad Neely's old comics and web series (even his iconic China, IL) you'll enjoy watching this. The Harper House is right now the top show on my list of favourites. It is well written, it is worth the time watching, it's enjoyable and not irritating to the audience, and would recommend this to your friends or family. I couldn't imagine anyone rating this show a 1 on the first day of the release, and didn't even bother giving it a chance, it's so stupid. Like sorry it doesn't look like your other favourite animated show.

You'll laugh or your money back.

[TeeJay1992 · 10/10 · 4 November 2021]

I love each member of the Harper family because they each have an individual personality to them. If you haven't seen the show before, watch my favorite episode first: Everyone in Town Must Eat A Piece of Barack Obama Before or The World Ends. Now, this title may seem far-fetched but I was laughing at least every minute of this episode. I could watch it again and again. Give this show a watch on Paramount+ today.

A New Direction for Brad Neely...

[kyleconnolly1 · 10/10 · 26 September 2021]

I will start out by stating that I am a huge Brad Neely fan since his early days of Youtube. The Harper House offers a new direction for Brad, with completely new characters. His quirkiness, however, remains.

It helps that Brad's quirkiness is almost always comedic gold, and he is a great situational writer that can create very imaginative surreal, awkward, and just straight odd experiences for his characters who typically go through a surprising amount of character development throughout the course of a series.

Not for everyone, but definitely for me!

Highly recommend!