Creator/Senior Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Executive Producer: Larry Huber
Associate Producer: Debby Hindman
Voice Cast: Dexter: Christine Cavanaugh, Dee-Dee: Alison Moore, Monkey: Frank Welker, Agent Honeydew: Kath Soucie, The Commander: Bob Ridgely
Animation services: Fil-Cartoons, (Dexter's Lab cartoons) Rough Draft Korea (Dial "M" For Monkey cartoons)
This is the first of the "World Premiere Cartoons" commissioned by Turner Entertainment and Hanna-Barbera to make it into series form, and by all indications this was the best choice they could have made for such a venture. The short "Dexter's Laboratory" is definitely the most distinctive and funny of the shorts to hit the airwaves thus far, and has been hailed by no less than John Kricfalusi as "astounding." (Anvil Anthology #1, Summer 1995)
But can the break-neck pace of the short be maintained in a series? Well, from the episodes I have seen thus far, the answer is yes at best, and maybe not at worst. The quality is indeed variable.
At its best, the "Dexter's Laboratory" cartoons are based on a very simple formula with seemingly infinite variations: Dexter, the little boy with the Doctor Strangelove accent, creates bizarre inventions that usually work all too well. His bigger (I'm not sure whether she's older or younger) sister Dee-Dee usually throws a monkey wrench into the works, and the invention runs amok. At worst, however, Dee-Dee's mindlessness really grates on the nerves, especially when you consider that there are not many strong female roles in cartoons even now.
Sandwiched between two "Dexter's Lab" cartoons is "Dial 'M' For Monkey," the adventures of a superhero monkey who fights evil alongside a "Man From U.N.C.L.E." team of secret agents. Aside from the misfire of "Organ Grindor" most of the "Monkey" shorts are real gems, mercilessly parodying the kind of superhero action shows that H-B used to make in the '60s like "Space Ghost," for example. One memorable "Monkey" short was an even more effective parody of the Galactus/Silver Surfer comics than the very good "The Tick" episode "Alone Together," for example.
But the focus of the series is Dexter and his inventions, and even Monkey's super-powers are a result of Dexter's experiments. Whether Dexter is trying to age himself to just old enough to stay up and watch TV, or doing battle with another brainiac kid in a quest to get the Science Fair title yet again, or just coping with the Elementary School rite of cruelty that is dodgeball, the show is at its best when it just lets Dexter's (and the cartoonists') imagination run wild. It can sometimes bog down, however, and there are even times when you want to see the cartoonists really get crazy. A recent cartoon where Dexter's mind gets so overtaxed it shuts down and Dexter winds up a drooling idiot boy betrays the strength of the idea by not pushing it far enough. You want to see absolute, torturous idiocy. You want to see the Braniac just collapse into spastic absurdity. But something--Standards and Practices, perhaps?--was holding the cartoonists back.
The style and a lot of the content is very Kricfalusian...bold lines, that pastel color scheme with the occasional bold swash of color, the gross jokes and absurdity...it's not surprising that Spumco influences would creep in, especially considering that Spumco alumni like Carey Yost, Mike Fontanelli, Joe Orrantia and others are a part of the crew making this cartoon. And the overseas studios that are animating the show, Fil-Cartoons and Rough Draft Korea, are studios which animated "Ren & Stimpy" during its first and second seasons, respectively.
Is this in the league of the first two seasons of "R&S"? I don't think so...the highs of the Spumco-produced episodes are comparable only to classic WB shorts, and the lows are still better than the worst episodes of "Dexter" I have yet to see. But that doesn't mean that "Dexter's Laboratory" is a bad show by any stretch...it just isn't truly great.
Oh yeah...they really should LOSE that stupid end-credits theme.
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