Okay, given who the show is based on, it's only fair I give some context, along with an el cheapo history lesson. The Naked Brothers Band was spearheaded by Nickelodeon, centering on the sons of the creator Polly Draper, drafted as a fictional band. It originally began life as a movie released in January of 2007, and apparently it did so well ratings wise that a series came out less than a month after, and lasted until 2009 where it was doomed to become as obscure as Cooper Pillot.
While I could forgive the movie if it was its own thing, the show was ultimately nothing to write home about. Each episode centers on a dilemma faced by those within the 6-11 demographic, but what I ultimately remember was how the lead character, Nat Wolff, probably would've shot up his school if his love interest left him. On the other hand, the episodes also occasionally feature musical numbers, and I'll admit, they're the highlight of the show, the songs are catchy and easy on the ears (it's hard to believe, but I'd take them over Cardi B any day of the week). Frankly though, this would've worked better off national television, this was around the time YouTube was getting traction, and the same year Soulja Boy proved you could get famous via social media.
Now, I have seen plenty of this show when it was out, I remember most episodes, albeit not in great detail, I did catch their cameo in a George Lopez movie, and I realized that Nat Wolff wound up in that garbage Slender Man movie. Basically, I was around for the more significant moments of the show, and that includes the episode I'm talking about today.
All I could get behind the scenes wise was that the animation was produced in-house at Worldwide Biggies, a company headed by Albie Hecht, a former president at Nickelodeon from 1997 to 2003, clearly missing his job and seeking any way to get back into their crosshairs.
Plot
To preface this, it's easier to analyze something complicated, when it comes to something like the Naked Brothers Band, it's hard to go into good detail on this. So instead, I'm going to give a summary on the more important aspects of the plot and then judge it from there.
The special begins with the band performing, this is cut short by our villain, Matt Pinfield, and no I don't mean some fictional guy with a coincidental name, I mean the actual personality himself Matt Pinfield. I shouldn't be surprised because Matt has appeared in a couple of other Naked Bros. Band episodes. Sorta like how Kanye West gave his few non musical appearances to shit like The Cleveland Show.
So, what's Matt's evil plan here? Well aside from being degraded to an uber cartoony villain, he has decided to steal the hair off of everyone's heads. Apparently, the band is able to apprehend Matt because, somehow, they're superheroes (and it's not something that's discovered, it's immediately revealed within the first two minutes.) All else that happens is some forgettable filler involving the dad of the Wolffs, the impression that jazz is apparently worse than nu metal and some gender politics, back before it got raped to the extent it did today.
The plot is a mixed bag for me. On one hand, it's straight-forward, and I do like how they tried to do something original (it's rare to see a plot line involving stealing hair), but on the other hand, I'd appreciate the special more if I was younger, like when I was when I first saw this, so it got me there.)
One thing that kinda bugs me is how quick they are to condemn jazz. I don't mean it like it's a fleeting reference they do for some reason, but like it's common enough to the point it feels like they're trying to make some kind of statement out of it. The ironic thing is that Matt Pinfield had little to no involvement with jazz, him being a radio host who had closer involvement to alternative rock (and Limp Bizkit while I'm on the topic)
Maybe this was just how Matt was portrayed in the show, I haven't seen every episode so maybe I'm horribly wrong. Though personally I think this would've been a bit more interesting if Fred Durst served as the antagonist, because we could all agree that their music is enough to bring hands to ears.
Animation
Given that this is an animated adaptation of a predominately live action show, you'd expect the animation to be incredibly cheap, and that would be furthered by the fact that the animation was produced in-house. But surprisingly, that's not the case, by much, the animation is interesting, to say the least.
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| A general idea on what the special looks like. |
The special employs a mix between 2D and 3D animation. The characters are in 2D and are fluid enough to avoid the el-cheapo dishonor, while most active set-pieces are in 3D. Surprisingly, they mend well together, I'm impressed. Though personally, I like the backgrounds more. Everything is warm-colored and it's pretty easy on the eyes. If the environments suck, you won't find any reason to keep watching whatever you're watching.
I think the reason I was reluctant to go back to this was because this special reminded me of a really shit music video I watched with similar animation. Here it is...
Overall
I guess I have a greater tolerance for stuff like this. I could accept the general stupidity of the plot, namely because of the lack of a major cringe factor, the animation itself is not too bad, and this made for a nice little discussion on something that's just a fleeting memory for many people.
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