Bob's Burgers is Renewed by Fox!

Bob's Burgers is the first original mass distributed prime time animation to come out of animationdom since Family Guy in 1998. I'd say Clone High in 2002, but it's mass distribution run got cut short when it was released in the US, possibly due to Indian outrage at it's portrayal of Gandi… Archer would hold this title, but a 10pm time slot from Fox FX holds it back a bit.

Bob's Burgers is also the first animation since Family Guy to hit prime time airwaves that doesn't make ad nauseam pop culture references. It's unique, because it's funny in and of itself. Isn't it sad that being a stand alone show is now a seeming rarity for animation series?

All in all, Bob's Burgers has everything I want in an animated show: twistedly clever irreverent humour. Do I think it's going to be an epic blockbuster like South Park? Nope. But is it a refreshing spring breeze in a barren wasteland of pop culture reference overload? Yes.

I don't think Bob's Burgers is offensive enough to hit the sphere of South Park, but it's cute and homey in a reassuring way. It has a functional family that to the untrained eye looks dysfunctional and there is a lot of humour to be mined there. All the Family members care deeply about each other, but not so much that they don't cherish getting an elbow in here and there. My favourite character by far is the rabbit hat wearing Louise. She's feisty and viscous with no holds barred. That I can appreciate. I also appreciate that Bob is not a bumbling buffoon.

Loren Bouchard, the creator of Bob's Burgers also created Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, which is on my top favourite list of animation series. I didn't realize that the shows had the same creator until I did a little research about Bob's Burgers to see who made it. After finding that out it was no surprise that Bouchard was the creative genius behind this new show.

On a Canadian animation note, Bardel Entertainment Inc. is the company contracted to do the actual animation work for the show. (I found that out on the AWN article about Bob's Burgers, which is awesome.) Bardel is an animation house in Vancouver and they use Toon Boom animation software. Toon Boom is a software company based in Montreal, Quebec that make some of the best animation software on the market. I've just started experimenting with Animate 2.0 and I have to say it's changed my own indie animation production pipeline for the better.

My prediction, after seeing the first three episodes, is that if Bob's Burgers stays as it is it will become a hit and have a dedicated audience. My fingers are crossed on that one. If it makes it past season three then it will have a shot at it.

P.S. I'm ecstatic that it's already been renewed for a second season.

DISCLAIMER

Robot Chicken was, and is, one of my favourite animated shows, but it doesn't have a story arc, there's no continuity from one episode to another aside from revisiting popular skits from previous episodes.

I enjoy Moral Oral, but it has maybe three episodes that I found to be laugh out loud funny. Gary and Mike had a good story arc and has fantastic stop-mo animation, but not enough humour in the writing. I had really high hopes for Titan Maximum, but although a story arc was attempted it really didn't have the same humour level of the creator's previous shows (Family Guy & Robot Chicken).

American Dad and the Cleveland Show are just Family Guy reorganizations that throw race and aliens into the mix. I'm not a fan of either, but I also didn't give them much of a chance.

King of the Hill has it's moments, but it never really did too much for me. I think that might be because I grew up in a conservative Southern Ontario town and the humour just hits a little too close to home for me.