As a little kid I never had all that much, but my parents knew how much I loved the Mighty Max toys and usually always managed to get me every one that came out, and I played with them like crazy and they captured my young imagination more than any other toy or game ever did, and when this show eventually came along it was just awesome getting to see them come to life in such a cool and fun way. And part of what I like about the show now is that it never at all feels like something that was needlessly made just to attract children who already knew about the toys, but was actually sort of its own story with its own unique feel and world to it. They took what was originally basically Polly Pockets for boys and propelled it to greatness by making it into a series about destiny, heroism, sacrifice, evil, horror and mythology in a way that I've never seen done the same way in any other animated series ever. The characterisation was incredibly well done, and the dialogue was deftly written and frequently laugh out loud funny, especially from Rob Paulson who did a fantastic job of portraying his endlessly witty character in such a way that he was never annoying or cutesy, but genuinely funny and likable, and who mostly solved his own problems rather than standing around and waiting to be saved, and who had a real little conflict to him in that he was sometimes torn between his desire to be a normal kid and knowing how important it was to live up to his destiny. The sadly departed Tony Jay was such a pleasure to hear as the oh-so wise and pompous but by no means infallible stuffy old fowl Virgil. And Richard Moll just oozed dry charm and pure underplayed badassary as the barbarian warrior bodyguard Norman. I believe the best animated series have main villains that are on-par with and just as compelling as the heroic characters, and Skullmaster was just *the* devil among devils! Much more than a mere Skeletor clone, the difference between the two was that Skullmaster was never incompetent and would unquestionably make good on his gruesome threats, no doubt about that! The magnificent rich voice-work of Tim Curry was simply inspired, you can really tell he put a lot of passion and soul into the role, and he never hammed it up or made it theatrical, and I thank him for that. Every single last episode to feature the dark ruler was greatly heightened by his commanding and wicked presence. There was also a really great gallery of colourful bad guys that appeared, several of whom were completely out of their minds! And not just by the standards of the era this show is quite dark, I mean people died in it all the time, and despite the lack of blood and gore you always got the dead-seriousness of that. It wasn't a totally perfect show, there were numerous minor errors and continuity blips and inconsistencies of logic, but overall most of it was fun and highly satisfying. And with only forty episodes to its name the show wasn't large, and they go by fast, but I think that works in its favour because it feels very compact, there's a definite arc to it, and you grow to care for the characters a lot. And while the animation is far from ideal and rough around the edges, it still retains a great deal of visual flair and style to it. Mighty Max was a treasure of an animation that still holds up and always will. The entire run of the show is a thrill ride and a half, and for me most of the magic and fun came from the interesting and strongly-realised heroes and villains alike, the humour, and the dangerous-edged yet fun and adventurous tone. For child or adult, this was one adventure to get lost in, and if you're a fan of retro animation and haven't ever seen this one before give it a chance, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. "Curse you Cap-Bearer!"
Review of Mighty Max
