A solid continuation of the bouyant and colourful TV Movie. I <3 Arlo is a bit of a rarity in the modern kid's show morass in that it's refreshingly quirky and quite alternative. The animation is pleasant and has a nice physicality to it - but certainly by the end of the long run of episodes you feel like the premise has been pulled a bit thin and that the writing team have struggled on occasion with the shorter storytelling. The contemporary pop songs are just as grating to me as they were in the film but like the show generally and the central alligator boy himself there is an earnest charm and heart on display here that is just impossible to fully dislike.
3 Reviews
Great spinoff
BoxwoodExpress31 August 2021
I finally got around to watching the Arlo movie just in time for this show. Both are way better than I expected.
Writing: the show isn't 100% original or groundbreaking, but not everything has to be some big masterpiece. Each of the episodes have unique self contained stories but they all tie into one bigger story. The characters get into wacky hi-jinx and have opportunities to be fleshed out. 1/2
Characters: This TV series provides more opportunities to flesh out Arlo's friends when the movie mainly focused on Arlo. For example, Alia is energetic, nerdy, but sometimes has trouble focusing. She's very obviously neurodivergent in a way that's shown to us and not told. Show, don't tell. 2/2
Music: Much like the movie the show was based on, it has some very catchy, well made songs. My favorite is the Focus song featuring Alia because it's a great representation of being neurodivergent and has interesting production values 2/2
Animation: Very expressive and colorful animation courtesy of Titmouse. It's not quite as good as the movie, but that's because TV budgets are lower than movie budgets and it still looks great anyways 2/2
Voice Acting: Retaining the voice cast from the movie, it has some very talented voice actors. Haley Tju as Alia has to be my favorite and so is Michael J. Woodward as Arlo 2/2
In conclusion 9/10.
Writing: the show isn't 100% original or groundbreaking, but not everything has to be some big masterpiece. Each of the episodes have unique self contained stories but they all tie into one bigger story. The characters get into wacky hi-jinx and have opportunities to be fleshed out. 1/2
Characters: This TV series provides more opportunities to flesh out Arlo's friends when the movie mainly focused on Arlo. For example, Alia is energetic, nerdy, but sometimes has trouble focusing. She's very obviously neurodivergent in a way that's shown to us and not told. Show, don't tell. 2/2
Music: Much like the movie the show was based on, it has some very catchy, well made songs. My favorite is the Focus song featuring Alia because it's a great representation of being neurodivergent and has interesting production values 2/2
Animation: Very expressive and colorful animation courtesy of Titmouse. It's not quite as good as the movie, but that's because TV budgets are lower than movie budgets and it still looks great anyways 2/2
Voice Acting: Retaining the voice cast from the movie, it has some very talented voice actors. Haley Tju as Alia has to be my favorite and so is Michael J. Woodward as Arlo 2/2
In conclusion 9/10.
What is this?
lamerameramera31 August 2021
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