Brendon Small Movies
The fourth season of the flash-animated series Home Movies yields 13 half hour episodes, the first of which finds 8-year-old wannabe filmmaker Brendon becoming a movie reviewer of such epics as "XXXMen 2" and "Searching for Zemo." In the subsequent episode "Camp," the rock group They Might Be Giants both sing and "act." "Psyche-Delicate" is a takeoff on a certain Hitchcock film (no, not The Trouble With Harry); "Temporary Blindness" features a spoof of the rock opera Tommy; and "Honkey Magoo" is the story of the least lovable stray puppy in TV cartoon history. " The last episode of the season, "Grill," certainly has an air of finality about it -- especially when Brendon deliberately drops his video camera under the wheels of a car. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Season two of Home Movies abandons the "Squigglevision" process which provided the animated show with most of its movement (such as it was) during its first season. Producer Tom Snyder had forsaken Squigglevision in favor of a new, streamlined computer flash process, which to many viewers proved more attractive and accessible. However, Snyder did not forsake his habit of having the voice actors improvise most of their dialogue, in happy disregard for precise mouth-movement synchronization. The season opener, "Politics" finds 8-year-old aspiring filmmaker Brendon Small (voiced by grown-up producer Brendon Small) again facing persecution by school bully Shannon (voiced by comedian Emo Phillips). Subsequent episodes of note include "Hiatus," a not-so-veiled comment on the two-year gap between Home Movies' cancellation by UPN and renewal by the Cartoon Network; "Space Boy," featuring a faux theme song performed by The Scabs which spoofs a popular David Bowie composition; "Dad," in which Brendon meets his biological father, who lives down to his reputation; and the season finale "The Wedding," in which Coach McGuirk once more proves to be "Mr. Wrong" for Brendon's neurotic mother, Paula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Thirteen new, flash-animated episodes are seen during the third season of Home Movies. The opener "Shore Leave" finds 8-year-old aspiring filmmaker Brendon being branded a "bad influence" by the father of Brendon's best friend and filmic collaborator Melissa. In the subsequent episode "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do", Brendon's grandmother Doris horns in on the boy's latest video project, "Innocent But Proven Guilty." "Four's Company" is an elaborate, all-stops-out takeoff of the old TV sitcom Three's Company, while "Guitarmageddon" sends up the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. The season's final episode, "Coffins and Cradles", ended up being shown as the first installment of the fourth season, but is still designated as a season three effort in the rerun package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
- NR
The weekly, half-hour animated sitcom Home Movies was originally produced in the "Squigglevision" process created by Tom Snyder (Dr. Katz), in which eight frames of squiggly, zigzagged lines were "looped" over and over to simulate the character's mouth movements. This enabled Snyder and co-producer Brendon Small to produce the series at a rock-bottom price, and to allow the voice actors to adlib and improvise to their hearts' content, without worrying about matching the lip action on screen. Debuting April 26, 1999, on UPN, Home Movies was the story of an eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker who happened to be named Brendon Small (the series' aforementioned co-creator, who also supplied the character's voice). Inspired by the behavior of his high-strung mother Paula (voiced by comedienne Paula Poundstone) and his myopic kid sister Josie, and disgusted by the adult world in general, the nerdish, asthmatic Brendon vented his spleen by producing short autobiographical movies with the minicam that he carried with him at all times. Brendon's filmic collaborators included his best friend Melissa and his erstwhile enemy Jason. Although 13 episodes of Home Movies were filmed, only five were seen on UPN before the network yanked the series on June 7, 1999. The remaining eight installments would not be seen until the series was picked up by cable's Cartoon Network on September 2, 2001. Response to the series was positive enough to warrant a renewal in the fall of 2002, but several changes were made. For one, Paula Poundstone was replaced by Jennifer DiTullio in the role of Paula Small; for another, Tom Snyder had abandoned the Squigglevision in favor of a more attractive computerized flash-animation process (the dialogue was still largely improvised, however; precise lip-movement synchronization was never the series' strong suit). The Cartoon Network version of Home Movies remained in active production for three years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paula Poundstone, Brendon Small, (more)
The first season of Home Movies is animated in the "Squigglevision" process popularized by cartoon producer Tom Snyder on such earlier programs as Dr. Katz and Science Court. Series co-creator Brendon Small is heard as the voice of the series' 8-year-old protagonist, who happens to be named Brendon Small. Viewing the adult world with a combination of desperation and contempt, there is nothing for Brendon to do but artistically express his outrage with a series of autobiographical video movies, produced in collaboration with his friend Melissa and his not-friend Jason. Home Movies' first five episodes were telecast by UPN in the spring of 1999; highlights include a guest-voice appearance by Emo Phillips as a knuckle-dragging school bully, and a pair of treacherous encounters with a rabid cat and a group of Russian exchange students. Upon its cancellation by UPN, the rest of Home Movies' inaugural season was shelved until the property was picked up by Cartoon Network in the fall of 2001. Thus, Home Movies is one of the few programs in TV history, animated or otherwise, which began its opening season on one network and ended it on another -- with a two-year hiatus in between! While the remaining eight Home Movies installments are still rendered in "Squigglevision," there's been at least one cosmetic change during the prolonged switchover from UPN to Cartoon Network; Paula Poundstone has been replaced by Jennifer DiTullio in the voice-role of Brendon's mother Paula. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
