Can you really go wrong? This animated series is featured on Cartoon Network, now at a new time: Thursdays at 8 p.m. It’s about a chef’s apprentice, Chowder, who is some kind of dog-raccoon-cat-animal with an appetite for everything. The show is pretty funny. Every character and location is named after various dishes or food. Instead of dollars, they pay with dollops and live in Marzipan City, which is loosely adapted from New York. While the show is targeted toward kids, it’s quirky humour and references to pop-culture are reeling in the older crowd. In the most recent episode, Mung Daal, Chowder’s teacher, references Flava Flav by throwing a large clock into a pot and saying, “Now, let’s add some flava.” My favorite character, aside from Chowder himself, has got to be Shnitzel. He’s basically a rock who works at Mung Daal’s Catering Company. His vocabulary? One word: “Radda.” Even though I don’t ever know what he’s saying, it’s easy to pick up on and he adds a sarcastic humor to the mix. Paired with some colorful and beautifully-textured backgrounds, these characters don’t get boring and neither does the show. Don’t miss out.
— Victoria Phetmisy
Sugarbushsquirrel.com
Sugarbush the squirrel proudly acts out for you the telling dramas of our time with the help of the gifted Barbara McNair’s stagecraft. McNair is the potentially deranged mind behind the viral-worthy masterpiece that is Sugarbushsquirrel.com. The Web site is a simple scrolling canvas displaying meticulously crafted dioramas portraying current events and the people who shape them, all starring an apparently sedated rodent in a panoply of intense costumes. Sugarbush is a squirrel of many faces, playing pope, princess and patriot. He (she?) dons feathery wigs, tiny shoes, wings, berets and other costumes to fit the part. McNair spares no detail, from tiny bottles of fake booze to adorable automatic weapons for the charming under-cover Mujahedeen outfit. This site is an exercise in obsession that is either a blemish or a beauty mark on the American character. Either way, the poor critter doesn’t seem to have any say in the matter.
— Michael Jewell
