So, at some point I said I didn't like Ed, Edd n' Eddy, which lasted for about less than a week. What got me to change my mind is me accepting the Kanker sisters, knowledge that people shared whatever complaints I had about the show and what's considered the worst episode, and in a way, the fanon did as well.
Not referring to slash, but working off various theories. What got me into it was the dedication and attention to detail (going by clues in every episode for instance), for a good example, check out the page on the kids' parents: https://edfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Parents
A browse through the EdFanon wiki had got me thinking about earlier encounters with Ed, Edd n' Eddy fan material, and with that... Kevin Lordi.
Kevin Lordi (AnimatEd on deviantArt), is/was a prominent figure in the Ed, Edd n' Eddy fan community, the only other one with such prominence is VampireMeerkat in his prime. Lordi is no longer as active as he was in his heyday, his YouTube, his deviantArt, his Tumblr is mostly active for reblogs, even his latest Patreon update was around 2015.
The Bro Show is one of his better known projects, aside from some stints with Steven Universe. The original video was released on deviantArt (which if Flash doesn't work for you you're SOL), but on YouTube too. Details on the premise will come shortly.
Lordi hosted a fundraising campaign on Patreon to beef up the show's production, make more episodes and other necessary improvements, but nothing came of it. It seems to be a general curse when it comes to funding stuff online, Growing Around suffered for it and I honestly wanted to see it come to fruition, was Hazbin Hotel funded online? People hate it like it is.
(spoilers, I'm gonna go all fanboy in regards to VampireMeerkat)
I'm gonna preface the following with one statement. I wish Lordi got the funding.
Time to be an Asshole
The Bro Show, if you hadn't figured it out already, is centered on Eddy's older brother. Given Antoniucci's penchant for keeping secrets he never got a name. Though unlike what's under Edd's hat, the lack of the name helps provide a sense of relatability, we all have that one asshole in our family.
This show is essentially a prequel to the events of Ed, Edd n' Eddy. I don't know how long ago VampireMeerkat's depictions have existed, though whatever the case Lordi goes his own way. For example, apparently the Kankers have a relative named Tammy.
Going by VampireMeerkat, the Kankers were born through differing stints their mother had with three separate guys. The Kankers' dynamic with the Eds stems from their mothers flip-flopping attitude on guys (even flirting with the Eds' dads at some point.)
What I'm getting with Tammy here is that Bro's relationship with her carried on to the other Kankers, hence why they pursue them. I can't think of a whole lot else. Also she's Southern, but I won't harp on this, he could've had little actors to work with.
Fair warning, this short contains more adult stuff, which is bound to piss off the "everything is made for kids" crowd. The schtick behind this is that Bro got Tammy pregnant, and that accounts for a bulk of the plot. The remainder is how the Cul De Sac is incorporated, which is wrought through bits and pieces.
The short is mainly meant to introduce us to the crop of characters, though since most of them reside in the trailer park I question if we'd even see them again.
Now for Bro, I never really liked him, I imagine few did as well. Here, at the very least he sells the douchebag schtick but that's where the downfall comes. If the series went on I imagine the personality would come with it. If we have to follow a detestable person episode by episode, it'd get old. I get why the Eds hardly made it on top most of the time, their malicious intents were made clear every episode.
By the end, as Bro comes to terms with being a dad he goes with his parents to the Cul De Sac a free man. It did no favors for the character in my opinion.
Along with some relatives and Tammy, we have Bro's friend Bone (creative), who's probably related to Ed (he sure looks like him.), and he's a few notches close to a blank slate.
So on a character basis, there needs to be some work, I can't give the best advice on proper characterization, aside from... well find a balance with Bro for one.
Easter Eggs
While it's a prequel, it feels like this video operates in its own world. Ed, Edd n' Eddy references are uncommon, but wherever you find them, it's predictable. The intro is a near beat-for beat recreation of EEnE's intro, poses and all. Only difference is that the purple artifacts get painted on.
The title cart also shares a similar motif in terms of inserting "Bro" wherever, but I question why Lordi should acknowledge himself twice to thrice when he did everything.
There're times when random sound effects play like in the actual show, but sometimes they don't have a natural flow to them, coinciding with the iffy acting. Aside from a good Eddy impression for one of the characters, the acting is rather wooden. For those that'd bring up Growing Around, it's meant to be a teaser, i.e. not the final product while this was self-contained and the work would come after.
I bring up the voice acting because the animation goes well against it. We have dynamic poses and expressions going against wooden acting, which is especially noticeable on Tammy. For something meant for older audiences, hear me out, a less over-the-top approach would've worked, save for some aspects like fourth wall breaks and occasional scenes where OTT could work.
Tammy has the most wooden performance, but Bro is the most cringeworthy, near bland delivery, plus at one point he does the "scream but not loud to the point of waking his parents in the other room", as well as the most apathetic "What!?" I've ever heard.
We see Bro's parents and his grandfather, and I believe Lordi took that one joke from Take this Ed and Shove It too literally.
We see Central Command in this, and like in the show it's broken down. This could've worked better if the van was functional and broke down, promptly getting sent to the junkyard.
There's referencing, then there's proper incorporation, there're easy fixes to most of these.
Overall
If Lordi got the funding back when he was still prevalent on the internet, I think he could've had the tools necessary to make something good. As is, The Bro Show doesn't fill me with confidence, based around a character few people like, a teen drama story you could easily catch on Lifetime, and an otherwise wooden performance spanning nearly everyone on board.
Don't get me wrong, hobbyist work is fine, but if you intended to take it further some scrutiny is expected.
No comments:
Post a Comment