Exploding Kittens (TV series)

Last updated

Exploding Kittens
Exploding Kittens poster.png
Initial promotional poster with the release window
Genre
Created by Matthew Inman
&
Shane Kosakowski
Based on Exploding Kittens
by Matthew Inman and Elan Lee
Starring
Music by Shirley Song
&
Jina Hyojin An
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Executive producers
ProducerJanet Dimon
Editors
  • Lauren Hecht
  • Matt Steinauer
Running time24—27 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Netflix
ReleaseJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)

Exploding Kittens is an American adult animated fantasy comedy television series loosely based on the tabletop card game of the same name designed by Matthew Inman, of The Oatmeal webcomic, and Elan Lee. It features the voices of Tom Ellis, Sasheer Zamata, Suzy Nakamura, Mark Proksch, Ally Maki, Betsy Sodaro, Tom Kenny, David Gborie and Kenny Yates.

Contents

Produced by Chomp City, Bandera Entertainment, Jam Filled Entertainment and Chernin Entertainment, it premiered on Netflix on July 12, 2024, to mixed reception from critics.

Premise

In this animated comedy series, God and the Devil are sent to Earth in the form of talking cats. God, voiced by Tom Ellis, must reconnect with humanity while navigating life as a house cat. Living with a dysfunctional family, he attempts to solve their problems and faces humorous challenges, all while engaging in slapstick antics. The show is based on the popular card game of the same name.

—  Netflix [ citation needed ]

Voice cast

Additional Voices

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Pilot"Eddie Rosas Matthew Inman & Shane KosakowskiJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
After a series of incidents leave his apartment and a section of Heaven in ruin, God is sent to Earth to answer a family's prayer in an effort to repair his image. However, he is sent in the body of a cat so he can grow closer to the humans, the Higgins family, which also limits his magical powers. After a series of failed attempts to get the family to bond, God, now going by Godcat, shrinks the family so they can play a board game created by Marv, the nerdy patriarch of the Higgins family. The plan works and the Higgins grow closer, but Godcat is informed that he must stay on Earth longer to further repair his reputation. After being notified of this, Godcat spots a black cat in the family's yard that creates a pentagram made of fire.
2"Tartar Recall"Scott BernMatthew Inman & Shane KosakowskiJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
Feeling she is not evil enough, Hell's board of directors send Beelzebub to Earth in a cat's body, stealing the idea from Heaven, to create "hell on earth". During a fight with Godcat, Devilcat accidentally sends Aidan, a friend of Marv's son Travis, to Heck, a version of Hell for teenagers. Travis and his mother, Abbie, infiltrate Heck in order to save Aidan. Meanwhile, Marv is approached at work to create a presentation for the world's largest tarter sauce company and enlists the help of his daughter Greta in order to bond with her. Marv's plan backfires when Greta convinces the other workers to go on strike.
3"Shane & Chugger's"Eddie RosasCaitie DelaneyJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
Due to his birthday falling on Christmas, Travis tries to convince his parents to throw him a half-birthday party. Godcat takes Travis out while Marv and Abbie prep for the party and brings along his two Cherub assistants, Aslandeus and Craig, in order to show them the wonders of Earth and they eventually end up at the entertainment restaurant Shane & Chugger's. Karen, the Higgins' neighbor and Devilcat's owner, notices the party and tries to shut it down.
4"Emotions Are Hard"Traci HondaNoah PrestwichJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
Greta enters into a rocket-building contest at school sponsored by a billionaire but has trouble finding people at school to help her. Travis runs away from home after discovering that Abbie has been posing as his therapist in a video game, thinking she is using it to eavesdrop on him and control his life. Abbie then seeks help from Karen in order to become a better mom. Godcat and Devilcat enter into a wager over good vs. evil with Marv's soul at stake.
5"No Regrets"Scott Bern Sierra Katow July 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
6"The Town with No Internet"Traci HondaShawn Kenji PearlmanJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
7"SeaWorld Is Hell"Eddie RosasMaggie GottliebJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
8"Let the Games Begin"Traci HondaShane KosakowskiJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)
9"The Westminster Human Show"Eddie RosasMatthew Inman & Shane KosakowskiJuly 12, 2024 (2024-07-12)

Production

Development

In April 2022, it was announced that an animated streaming television series was first officially ordered by Netflix, with King of the Hill creators Mike Judge and Greg Daniels as executive producers, alongside Peter Chernin. [1] Additional game mechanics and cards tied to the show will be added to the mobile game at a later date. [1]

Casting

Alongside the series' announcement, Tom Ellis, Sasheer Zamata, Abraham Lim, Lucy Liu, Ally Maki, Betsy Sodaro, Tom Kenny, David Gborie and Mark Proksch, were cast as the ensemble cast. In May 2024, Suzy Nakamura and Kenny Yates joined the cast; [2] but within the two year span of the show's development, Liu and Lim dropped out from the project. [3]

Release

Exploding Kittens had its first look preview at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 14, 2023. [4] Originally planned for a release in late 2023, [1] the series was delayed for a 2024 premiere. [5] The series was released on July 12, 2024. [6]

Reception

Exploding Kittens
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 54/100 [7]
Rotten Tomatoes 71% [8]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. Club C− [9]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
IGN 4/10 [11]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 71% approval rating with an average rating of 5.0/10, based on 16 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A battle between heaven and hell translated into daffy slapstick, Exploding Kittens won't blow viewers' minds but serves up some fun animated mayhem." [8] On Metacritic, the series has a score of 54 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews" based on 9 critic reviews. [7]

Lucy Mangan, reviewing for The Guardian , gave the series one star, saying it was "carelessly made, infuriating and unfunny" and criticising the poor storyline. [10] The A.V. Club's Isobel Lewis gives the series a C−, saying that the jokes are "the kind that lead to a small smile but rarely makes anyone laugh out loud" though there are "nuggets of comedy gold"; she criticises the writing as "tame" and "lack[ing] the bravery of other animated series". [9] Chase Hutchinson, writing for IGN rated the series 4/10, saying that throughout the show "premises are stretched well beyond their breaking point, jokes land with tiresome thuds, and every cliffhanger feels like a forced attempt to get Netflix subscribers to keep the app open." [11]

In the Los Angeles Times , Robert Lloyd notes that while the series is a "lesson ... that anything can amount to exploitable intellectual property", it is also "corny as... hell, but it's genuine corn". [12] Angie Han in The Hollywood Reporter said the show's plot was "admirably zany" but that the comedy "[tended] to be obvious"; she concludes that "if you're looking for light humor, you could do worse". [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Aristocats</i> 1970 American romantic comedy animated film

The Aristocats is a 1970 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. It is directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and written by Ken Anderson, Larry Clemmons, Eric Cleworth, Vance Gerry, Julius Svendsen, Frank Thomas and Ralph Wright. It is the final Disney animated film made with the involvement of Walt Disney Productions' co-founder Roy O. Disney before his death on December 20, 1971. The film is based on a story by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe, and revolves around a family of aristocratic cats, and how an alley cat acquaintance helps them after a butler has kidnapped them to gain his mistress's fortune which was intended to go to them. The film features the voices of Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Hermione Baddeley, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway, Scatman Crothers, and Roddy Maude-Roxby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult animation</span> Animation aimed at adults

Adult animation, also known as mature animation, and infrequently as adult-oriented animation, is any type of animated motion media that is catered specifically to adult interests and is mainly targeted and marketed towards adults and adolescents, as opposed to children or all-ages audiences.

The Oatmeal is a webcomic and humor website created in 2009 by cartoonist Matthew Inman. It offers original comics, quizzes, and occasional articles. Inman has produced a series of Oatmeal books with content from the webcomic and previously unpublished material, related board games, and other merchandise. The website won the Eisner Award for Best Digital/Webcomic in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blur Studio</span> American visual effects studio

Blur Studio Inc. is an American production company which specialises in CGI visual effects, CGI animation, and CGI design. Located in Culver City, California, the studio has produced CGI-animated films, teasers and ad spots for television, as well as video-game CGI cinematics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasheer Zamata</span> American actress and comedian (born 1986)

Sasheer Zamata Moore is an American actress and stand-up comedian. She is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2017. Since her departure from SNL, she has garnered wider attention for her leading roles in the TV series Woke (2020–2022) and Home Economics (2021–2023). In 2024, Zamata starred as Jennifer Kale in the Disney+ Marvel show Agatha All Along. She has also served as a celebrity ambassador for the American Civil Liberties Union.

<i>The Tom and Jerry Show</i> (2014 TV series) American animated television series

The Tom and Jerry Show is an American animated comedy television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Turner Entertainment Co., and animated by Renegade Animation. Based on the characters and theatrical cartoons created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the series premiered on Teletoon in Canada on March 1, 2014, and on Cartoon Network in the United States on April 9, 2014. It also aired on Boomerang in the U.S., which became its primary network starting in 2017.

<i>All Hail King Julien</i> Animated television series (2014–2017)

All Hail King Julien is an American animated television series that stars King Julien, Maurice, and Mort from DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar franchise and takes place in Madagascar before the events of the first film, making it a prequel. It is the second DreamWorks Animation show to be based on the Madagascar franchise.

<i>Exploding Kittens</i> 2015 American card game

Exploding Kittens is a casual dedicated deck card game designed by Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal webcomic, Elan Lee and Shane Small, and first published by The Oatmeal in 2015. Beginning as a Kickstarter project seeking US$10,000 in crowdfunding, it exceeded its goal in eight minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernin Entertainment</span> American film and television production company

Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company owned by The North Road Company that is based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on February 24, 2009 by producer and former media executive Peter Chernin, who is chairman and chief executive officer of the company. Jenno Topping is the president of film and television, with David Ready as executive vice president of film and TV. Kristen Campo is executive vice president of television. Twenty-seven films have been produced by the company, most of them with 20th Century Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicole Byer</span> American comedian and actress

Nicole Byer is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series Nailed It! (2018–present), for which she has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

<i>Disjointed</i> American sitcom (2017-18)

Disjointed is an American television sitcom created by David Javerbaum and Chuck Lorre and starring Kathy Bates. Twenty episodes of the series were ordered from Warner Bros. by Netflix, with the first 10 episodes premiering on August 25, 2017. The last 10 episodes were released on January 12, 2018. On February 14, 2018, Netflix canceled the series.

Apollo Gauntlet is an American adult animated television series created and written by Canadian animator Myles Langlois, which is an adaptation of his independent web series of the same name, released in 2012 on Rug Burn, a YouTube network born from a partnership between Titmouse, Inc. and 6 Point Harness. It follows the eponymous superhero as he fights evil in a futuristic medieval society.

<i>Paradise PD</i> 2018 American adult animated comedy streaming television series

Paradise PD is an American adult animated sitcom created by Waco O'Guin and Roger Black that premiered on August 31, 2018, and ran for four seasons on Netflix. The series stars Dana Snyder, Cedric Yarbrough, David Herman, Tom Kenny, Sarah Chalke, and Kyle Kinane. The second season was released on March 6, 2020, and the third season was released on March 12, 2021. Netflix renewed the series for the fourth and final season, titled Paradise PD: Party Dudes, which premiered on December 16, 2022.

<i>Human Kind Of</i> 2018 American TV series or program

Human Kind Of is an American adult animated comedy series created by Diana McCorry that premiered on September 16, 2018, on Facebook Watch. It was Facebook Watch's first original animated series.

Close Enough is an American adult animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel. Originally intended to air on TBS in 2017, the project faced various delays and setbacks before eventually premiering on HBO Max on July 9, 2020. The series has received positive reviews, with critics comparing it favorably to Quintel's previous series, Regular Show, which aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2017.

Battle Kitty is an American interactive animated streaming television series created by Matt Layzell. It was produced in 2022 by Netflix Animation for Netflix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netflix Animation</span> American animation studio

Netflix Animation is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films.

<i>Centaurworld</i> American animated television series

Centaurworld is an American animated musical comedy-drama television series created by Megan Nicole Dong, with songs by Dong and Dominic Bisignano. Produced by Sketchshark Productions and Netflix Animation, it premiered on Netflix on July 30, 2021. A second and final season was released on December 7, 2021.

<i>He-Man and the Masters of the Universe</i> (2021 TV series) American animated television series

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an animated superhero television series developed by Rob David and is a reimagining of the 1983 series of the same name. The series premiered on Netflix on September 16, 2021. A second season was released on March 3, 2022. The third season was released on August 18, 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Goldberg, Lesley (April 18, 2022). "'Exploding Kittens' Animated Series, Mobile Game Coming to Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  2. ↑ Milligran, Mercedes (May 9, 2024). "Trailer: Feline Foes Collide in Netflix's 'Exploding Kittens'". Animation Magazine . Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  3. ↑ Carr, Mary (May 9, 2024). "Netflix's Exploding Kittens trailer is about as random as you'd expect". The A.V. Club . Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Drew (April 24, 2023). "Netflix to Debut Official First Looks at 'Nimona,' 'Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget' at This Year's Annecy". TheWrap . Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  5. ↑ Reul, Kate (November 11, 2023). "Exploding Kittens Teaser Unveils Tom Ellis as God in Cat Form". IGN . Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Next on Netflix Animation Presentation Sneak-Peeks 'K-Pop: Demon Hunters,' 'Plankton' Movie, 'Motel Transylvania' and Much, Much More!". Animation Magazine . June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Exploding Kittens: Season 1". Metacritic . Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Exploding Kittens: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Isobel Lewis (July 11, 2024). "Netflix's Exploding Kittens series is lost in translation". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Mangan, Lucy (July 12, 2024). "Exploding Kittens review – unfunny, infuriating and life-sapping". The Guardian . Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Chase Hutchinson (July 12, 2024). "Exploding Kittens Season 1 Review". IGN . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  12. ↑ Lloyd, Robert (July 11, 2024). "Review: Adult cartoons 'Sausage Party' and 'Exploding Kittens,' one charming, one (purposely) not". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ Han, Angie (July 12, 2024). "'Exploding Kittens' Review: Netflix's Admirably Zany Animated Cat Comedy Could Use Sharper Jokes". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 12, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.