Back in 2019, this show aired on Cartoon Network and while it looked decent enough, I've never heard anyone talk about the show in a positive or negative light. Having watched a large majority of season 1 on HBOMax, I can confirm that this show is yet another misfire from the network that brought us Steven Universe, Samurai Jack, Ed, Edd, n Eddy, and Chowder. From awful writing to an insufferable co-main protagonist, the only aspect of the show that I found enjoyment out of was the animation and that's not a good sign.
Created by Diego Molano, this show focuses on 2 half brothers living in Monte Macabre, Mexico, where they go on adventures and discover fantastical creatures. The premise could've made for a very interesting and unique show that explores Mexican folklore and creatures not previously depicted in mainstream media. Unfortunately that premise is botched by the terrible execution. The first thing to note is that this show has very bad writing. Each episode follows a formula: Victor and Valentino are told not to do something, they do it anyway, shenanigans ensue and they learn a lesson at the end that's forgotten about by the next episode. This makes every single episode formulaic and predictable, leading to no surprises or unique twists. I also don't like how the creatures are depicted as basically every day people with odd quirks and not legitimate threats. I expected the Chuparcabra to be more animal like, not a pacifist vegetarian. I'm not familiar with the Lechuza, but an overly caring mother isn't funny to me: it's lame. Surete wasn't given enough time for me to fully invest in what it's about, the Zepolte might as well have been a dog, the Cadejos are just magical wolves and I much prefer the Land of the Dead that was depicted in The Book Of Life and Coco. The humor also fails as it stems from weak slapstick, cringy puns and gross out.
I'm willing to invest into the show if the characters were interesting. Unfortunately, at best they're just dull and at worst they're Victor Guadalupe Morena Laguna Calaca Calavera. When it comes to cartoon protagonists, Victor is one of the worst. He's rude, selfish, arrogant, stupid and a lazy little brat. He disobeys his Grandma, he makes Valentino do most (if not all the work), he lies constantly, he told everyone Valentino sleeps with a teddy bear, he cheats in Surete and doesn't admit it until the end, and he stole a bottle of magic hair growth formula to grow a mustache. I have no interest in watching the rest of the show, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he committed worse crimes as the show progresses. And no, being a kid is NOT an excuse as when I was a kid and I did something bad, I rightfully got punished for it and never did that bad thing again. Yet because the status quo is God in this show, those rules don't apply. Valentino isn't much better as he doesn't have much of a personality other than not being terrible like his brother. Sure, he collects stuff, he's more obedient and more responsible than Victor, but he doesn't have much else going for him other than what he does. Writing tip: characters are not just defined by what they do, but who they are. Valentino is just Victor's brother who has no choice but to put up with him. Chata, the boys' grandmother, is unfortunately wasted potential as she's also lacking in personality. She's a blind witch (?) who disciplines the boys when they misbehave...and that's it, that's all she's good for. Charlene has a crush on Victor (lame), Pineapple is her bodyguard (whatever), Don is the short tempered shop owner who gets butterflies in his stomach when he talks to Chata (not funny), and Xochi is the typical apathetic teen (zzzz). The other characters that reside in Monte Macabre begin and end with their respective archtypes.
The voice acting also isn't great, save for the veteran actors who are trying their best with the lousy material they're given. I've grown really tired of hearing full grown men playing kids in cartoons (with some exceptions of course) and Diego Molano has fallen into that trap of making Victor sound nothing like a kid even in puberty. He sounds more like a short obnoxious man pretending to be a kid. Sean-Ryan Petersen isn't much better as he sounds more like a middle aged man than a kid, nevermind a teenager. Laura Patalano sounds like a kind abuela and she can be firm when necessary. Cristina Milizia makes a convincing little girl with a lisp and I think Diego Molano does a better job voicing Pineapple than he does Victor, even if he doesn't say much. Frankie Quinones as Charlene and Pineapples' grandmother, Maria, just sounds awful. I really hate the voice chosen for this character as she sounds more like an obnoxious gay stereotype than an actual person. Jason Hightower is fine as Don, though his character being always being in a bad mood get's old very fast. Cristina Vee is alright as Xochi, though with so little to work with it's hard for me to give her any more praise. Tom Kenny, while it's nice to hear his voice, the character he plays Guillermo is a very lame one-note character who speaks very deeply and slowly (a farcry from when he voiced Eduardo in Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends). Spencer Rothbell sounds like he's doing an impression of Sumo from Clarence when playing Miguelito and it's very distracting. Yuri Lowenthal gives a rather grating performance as Baker, an obnoxious brat who really ought to be bopped in the nose. The Book of Life director, Jorge Gutierrez also appears as Sal and El Toro and I thought that was a nice treat.
The only real positive I can say about this show is that the animation is very well done. The characters all have spherical heads and bodies and flow in believable and natural ways. Occassionally the characters would use exaggerated facial features and squash and stretch for comedic affect (though they never landed for me). The fantastical folklore creatures are well designed as well, making them look like real forces to be reckoned with. The backgrounds are very well detailed and Monte Macabre looks like a very lived in town in Mexico.
Victor and Valentino is yet another dud from Cartoon Network and another example of a good premise botched in the execution. The writing is terrible, the main character is a complete ignoramous with the other characters not fairing much better, it's not funny and the voice action is passable at best and very grating at worse. Good animation does not a good cartoon make and this is not at all a good cartoon. My take: watch Kid Cosmic for a good premise that's given a really good execution and just don't bother with Victor and Valentino.
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