Friday, September 2, 2011

On the Air: Kick Buttowski, Suburban Daredevil (2010)

Kids have ambitions. Some want to be star athletes, emulating their heroes. Others want to enter politics or big business. Few actually want to enter the dangerous world of stuntmen, if not the extreme goofiness of Jackass and its ilk.

DisneyXD entered the extreme sports fray with Kick Buttowski, Suburban Daredevil, about a pre-teen whose goal in life seems to be to become this generation's Evel Knievel, albeit with......an ironing board on wheels?

Kick (Charlie Schlatter, ex-Diagnosis Murder) doesn't get much love from older brother Brad (Danny Cooksey) and his friends. His best friend and sidekick, Gunther, seems to be his only friend. Director Chris Savino came over from Cartoon Network, where he shepherded the last episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, whose protagonist has one singular thing in common with Kick. Neither one has much variety in wardrobe. Like, Kick actually wears his stuntman suit to school!

Here's the intro:



Schlatter is no novice as a voice actor. He was the voice of Flash on Superman: The Animated Series in the 90's while also working on Diagnosis Murder. However, he makes Kick sound too adult for his age level. Well, adult as in, 18.....!

Rating: C.

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