In their never-ending quest to completely take over all things on-screen, the good people over at Netflix recently released another original show. It's called BoJack Horseman, and it throws a lot at you. First of all, the show is set in a world where animals are all functioning members of society, equal and completely similar to humans. As important as this sounds, it's not often a source of conflict or plot development, so I won't dwell on it. The titular character is the washed-up former star of a cheesy but successful 90s' sitcom. He's a rich, self-involved, and ultimately lonely person (well...horse, but whatever).
The plot structure of BoJack Horseman covers some fairly familiar ground. The ideas of the washed up former celebrity, his lazy roommate who's there to relieve emotional tension, disappointed ex-wife/girlfriend who our protagonist pretends to hate but is secretly infatuated with... they're all there.
However, what it lacks in overall originality, the show makes up for in style. There are a plethora of excellent actors that have lent their voices to the program. Will Arnett plays BoJack superbly, invoking a great range of emotions smoothly. Aaron Paul, fresh from his Breaking Bad success, has dived into a whole different genre where he also excels playing the roommate, Todd. Patton Oswalt makes frequent appearances as several characters on the show. Patton's an excellent stand-up, but more and more it seems like he was made for voice acting. The frantic desperation he lends his characters is hilarious on an H. Jon Benjamin level.
Speaking of Mr. Benjamin, it is clear from the start that the BoJack Horseman writers love Archer. The show has already shown a tendency towards effectively employing running jokes. At one point, a character is dating Andrew Garfield and he, to the amazement of only Todd, consistently displays the same characteristics of the infamous lasagna-loving, monday-hating cat. As the parallels pile up and Todd gets more and more incredulous that only he seems to notice, the joke gets better.
In that same episode, characters often refer to "Adam Levine's Halloween party" in relation to various extreme occurrences. We're never told exactly what happened at the infamous party, but that's the point. Every time it's used in reference to an event, it become less of a descriptor and more of a joke. A joke that keeps getting funnier.
BoJack's animation is presented in a lovely, intentionally-crude fashion. It is a refreshing departure from other animated comedies on the air today which are nice to look at, but insist on being a little too crisp. The semi-inconsistent outlines are reminiscent of Home Movies, if that means anything to anyone (if not, read this).
In short, BoJack Horseman is an overall predictable show that is filled with talent and creativity. You might not love it, but BoJack is worth the watch. It certainly might improve with season 2, and we could be looking at a hit. Or not. I'm hoping for the former and giving it an tentative B+.
One other thing in BoJack's favor: it has a kick ass theme song produced by The Black Keys.
