X-men Evolution: Using One Letter Of the Alphabet To Death

I've watched the first couple of discs of this with Sibling 1 this week while we were working out. I never saw it while it was on tv, not because I won't watch cartoons, but rather because I prefer to sleep until around 11 a.m. on Saturdays. The animation is definitely better than the original show; framerate is a little sad still, but better than average for the low-budget Saturday morning crowd. Styling is slimmer and less muscular, but that's an aesthetic decision that doesn't impact so much on the quality of animating, though I recall on the "making of" segment on one they commented that having everyone wear black saved them the trouble of trying to animate individual muscles.

There's a visible mix of drawing and CG animation that is better blended than I expected. Other shows have been getting better at this, and X-men: Evolution is no exception. (See, I could have made an X-pun there, but once you've seen this cartoon you get over finding that funny REALLY fast.)

The bad news here is the writing.

Going with an older X-group was a smart decision for the original cartoons, because let's face it, most of those making it were last teenagers when the word "hip" was, well, hip. That's also true in this case, but the cast are supposed to be much younger and consequently there's been an attempt at writing teenagers who talk like teenagers. This was a very bad idea. The new X-group sound so much like a Baby Boomer's idea of how current teens talk that Sibling 1 can now crack me up utterly by saying "Because I'm HIP!" or "Like, TOTALLY!"

Also, I would very much prefer never again to hear Nightcrawler say "The way this homey talks is wack." Thank you. (Further Sib1 comment: "He said lederhosen. Because he's (fake accent) Gerrrrrman.")

The overall effect is pretty hilarious. We're enjoying it vastly. I haven't even mentioned the fact that Rogue appears to be a Southern goth in denial of the fact that she and punk Toad are wearing the same spiked bracelets. Same old "ugly=bad" dynamic we're all used to seeing (the Blob never has a chance, does he?), but interestingly enough the Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle doesn't appear to be pursued so far; Logan is cast definitely with the grownups this time around and as such gets to hang around mostly with Xavier and his kept woman, Storm. At least, I assume that's what she is, based on the fact that she does his bidding and follows his wheelchair around striking sexy poses.

En fin: nothing earthshaking, but worth your time if you're an X-fan.