Saturday Morning All Star Hits!
| Saturday Morning All Star Hits! | |
|---|---|
Single-camera | |
| Running time | 19–28 minutes |
| Production companies | Animated portions: Bento Box Entertainment Ben Jones Studio, inc. Live-action portions: Broadway Video Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | December 10, 2021 |
Saturday Morning All Star Hits! (S.M.A.S.H.!) is an American adult animated television series that first aired on December 10, 2021. Directed by Dave McCary and Ben Jones,[1] the show stars Kyle Mooney. Produced by Universal Television, the show was made as a mix of live-action with animation in conjunction with Ben Jones Studio, Inc., and Bento Box Entertainment for the animated segments, and Broadway Video for the live-action segments, and is a parody of Saturday-morning cartoon programming blocks from the 1980s and early 1990s, with a mix of animated and live-action content. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Plot
The show is a parody of
Chip and Pepper's Cartoon Madness, Fox Kids, and The Disney Afternoon, framed by an eponymous show called S.M.A.S.H.! for short.[2] It is hosted by twin brothers Skip and Treybor (parodies of Chip and Pepper), both played by Kyle Mooney.[3]
They introduce various cartoon shows and have brief conversations between shows. The cartoons include:
- Randy, a show about a dinosaur that befriends a group of teenagers. Randy falls into depression and alcoholism following a breakup with his firefighter girlfriend, before heading to music college. Randy is a spoof of Denver, the Last Dinosaur.[4]
- The Create-A-Crittles, a show about four magical creatures secretly living in the backyard shed of a yuppie graphic designer and his wife. Crittle Glitter, a euphemism for cocaine, is prominently featured throughout the show. Create-A-Crittles parodies such shows as Care Bears, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Popples.[5]
- Pro Bros, a show created by Ethan Rash who is known as the less prominent brother of controversial movie star/singer Johnny Rash, parodying ProStars[6] and other series where pro athletes play themselves (albeit the pilot premiering in prime time as opposed to Saturday morning). The show's antagonist "Ronnie $elfish" and his drug habit are an allegory for Ethan's brother Johnny.
- Strongimals, a show loosely parodying Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Creepy Crawlers and other action cartoons of the era. The show is later retitled as Skip and the Strongimals, radically shifting its focus to Skip and his "uh... subs?" catchphrase as a result of Skip's rise to greater fame (which in itself is a reference to show The Real Ghostbusters and its eventual focus on the popular character Slimer).[5]
- Lil' Bruce, an animated comedy about comedian Bruce Chandling's "crazy childhood" similar to Howie Mandel's Bobby's World. The series ends up a failed pilot due to live-action Bruce's excessive narration and a too-heavy plotline about Bruce's father leaving him and his mother when he was young.[5]
- All Cartoon Stars Say Don't Say Shut Up, a public service announcement in the format of Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue warning against the consequences of saying "shut up" to one's elders. Guest stars include "President of the Country" Barbara Barone (loosely based on Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore, particularly their advocacy campaigns for media censorship) and famous pop singer Nuance (based on Paula Abdul).
- Slingers, a toy-based show parodying the animated pilot The Legend of the Hawaiian Slammers.
- Others include brief clips from The Meeps (satirizing submarine sandwiches.
Sometime after S1:E6, Treybor quits S.M.A.S.H.! because he feels overshadowed by his twin brother Skip. In the season finale, Treybor confronts Skip during a live broadcast to vent his frustrations, before their mother shows up and urges them to reconcile while introducing them to their long-lost triplet brother, Corbee (
grunge rock
) music videos geared towards older teenagers and young adults.
Starting in S1:E4, breaking news interruptions chronicle the disappearance of Lottie co-stars Lottie Wolfe and Sean Benjamin and the subsequent police investigation; Wolfe's boyfriend and fellow teen sensation Johnny Rash is initially arrested and tried for their presumed deaths (in a nationally televised trial a la O. J. Simpson), during which Benjamin's body is found, but a jury acquits Rash due to matching left-and-right shoeprints being found at the scene, contradicting Rash's fashion statement of always wearing mismatched shoes (reminiscent of the backwards clothes worn by Kris Kross). Though it proved futile in court, evidence against Rash was found by a 9-year-old S.M.A.S.H.! superfan named Katherine Logan (implied to be the one who is switching tapes of S.M.A.S.H.! off-screen), who spotted a blooper in the Skip and the Strongimals Movie in which an unidentified figure (thought to be Johnny Rash himself) threw an athletic shoe matching the crime scene into the D'ahai Sea.
Running gags include the names of animation studios GIK (a play on
Carolco
), numerous appearances of sub sandwiches and catchphrases like "zuzzy zazz" and "uh... subs?".
Cast
- Kyle Mooney as Skip and Treybor, Bruce Chandling, Randy on Randy, Brusho on Create-A-Crittles, various other characters
- Eric Bauza as Tigor on Strongimals and Pasto on Create-A-Crittles
- Geraldine Viswanathan as Lottie Wolfe
- Emma Stone as Heather on Randy
- Pamela Adlon as Digit on Randy, Argie B. on Create-A-Crittles, various other characters
- Cree Summer as Scizzi and Ruth on Create-A-Crittles, Rhonda on Skip and the Strongimals, various other characters
- Dylan Sprouse as Sean Benjamin
- Beck Bennett as Thomas on Randy and various other characters
- Maurice LaMarche as various characters
- Chris Redd as Denny Jones on Pro Bros
- Paul Rudd as David on Create-A-Crittles
- Ben Jones
- Scott Gairdner
- Grey Griffin
- Fred Armisen as Rye Henders on Pro Bros
- Kate Lyn Sheil
- Carlos Alazraqui as JJ Henders on ProBros, Papa Meep on The Meeps, various other characters
- Kevin Michael Richardson as Vulgaris on Cartoon All Stars Say Don't Say Shut Up and Mo Jones on Pro Bros
- Frank Welker as Ronnie $elfish on Pro Bros
- Rae Dawn Chong
- Nathan Fielder as Corbee
- Amy Grabow
- Lela Brown as Nuance
- Kristin Lindquist as President of the Country Barbara Barone
- Taharka Welcome as DJ Swish
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Tape 1: SCHOOL" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 101 |
| Twin hosts Skip and Treybor develop a sibling rivalry. Teenage dinosaur Randy gets dumped. David hides his friendship with the cute Create-A-Crittles. | |||||
| 2 | "Tape 2: LOST" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 102 |
| Randy applies to Music College. David's pals colorize his logo. "The Strongimals" visit Earth and meet Skip, whose cameo role is mocked by Treybor. | |||||
| 3 | "Tape 3: ZOO" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 103 |
| Skip's fame grows, along with Treybor's jealousy. Randy makes a friend at Music College. The Create-A-Crittles join David's corporate creative team. | |||||
| 4 | "Tape 4: SMASH!" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 104 |
| The show gets a new studio. Skip now stars in "The Strongimals." A comedian presents "Lil' Bruce." The Crittles — and David's marriage — split up. | |||||
| 5 | "Tape 5: NEWS" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 105 |
| An episode of "Primeline" profiles rising star Skip and tracks a startling disappearance. The "Pro Bros" live in the shadows of their famous brothers. | |||||
| 6 | "Tape 6: MOVIE" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 106 |
| Treybor pays a humiliating visit to the set of Skip's new film. The Pro Bros mount a rescue mission. A disappearance becomes a homicide investigation. | |||||
| 7 | "Tape 7: DANGER" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 107 |
| The stars of the Saturday-morning lineup join the president and pop star Nuance to address a serious social issue: the disrespectful phrase, "Shut up!" | |||||
| 8 | "Tape 8: LIVE!" | Ben Jones & Dave McCary | Kyle Mooney, Ben Jones, Dave McCary, Scott Gairdner | December 10, 2021 | 108 |
| The live premiere of "Skip and the Strongimals" is interrupted by dysfunctional family dynamics and the pending results of a TV star's murder trial. | |||||
Production
The show was co-created by Mooney (who plays both Skip and Treybor), director
Emmy Award-winning sitcom Bob's Burgers.[7][8][9] It is produced by Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels.[10]
Reception
Saturday Morning All Star Hits! has received mostly positive reviews from critics for its "hilariously sharp edge" on 90s nostalgia.[3][7][8][11][12]
See also
References
- ^ MUBI
- ^ How Much Watching Time Do You Have This Weekend? – The New York Times
- ^ Decider. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ Saturday Morning All Star Hits! review: Kyle Mooney brings his weird to Netflix – Polygon
- ^ a b c Kyle Mooney's Saturday Morning All Star Hits! grows weirdly compelling the further you get into it – PRIMETIMER
- ^ The Obsessive Brilliance of Saturday Morning All Star Hits! – Nathan Rabin's Happy Place
- ^ a b Bell, Josh (December 10, 2021). "Kyle Mooney Creatively Parodies Kids TV in Saturday Morning All Star Hits!". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ a b Allen, Nick (December 10, 2021). "Netflix's Saturday Morning All-Star Hits is a Gift for Kyle Mooney Fans". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ SNL star Kyle Mooney spoofs Saturday morning cartoons in new Netflix show|EW.com
- ^ ‘Saturday Morning All Star Hits!’: First Look At ‘SNL’s Kyle Mooney In Netflix Series From Lorne Michaels – Update – Deadline
- ^ Fienberg, Daniel (December 10, 2021). "Netflix's 'Saturday Morning All Star Hits!': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ Greene, Steve (December 15, 2021). "'Saturday Morning All Star Hits!' Has '90s Nostalgia with a Hilariously Sharp Edge". IndieWire. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
External links
- Saturday Morning All Star Hits! at IMDb
- Saturday Morning All Star Hits! on Netflix
- All the ‘S.M.A.S.H.’ References You Need to Know – Netflix Tudum
Netflix original ended series (2019–present) | |
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| First released 2019 |
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| First released 2020 |
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| First released 2021 |
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| First released 2022 |
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| First released 2023 |
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| First released 2024 |
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