Foster's Home
Unique Flash Animation Makes This Cartoon Network Show Shine
Season One of the lively, flash-animated Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, created by Craig McCracken of PowerPuff Girls fame, was released on DVD on March 6th, 2007.
Very few kids' shows have something to offer the adults that are forced to watch them over and over again. There is a bright exception on the Cartoon Network: Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. The refreshing show, which runs Monday through Thursday at 7 PM and just released its first season on DVD, is about a ragtag group of castoff imaginary friends that their kid creators have grown out of. In the world of Foster's, everyone can see the imaginary friends once they are thought up in a child's mind. Craig McCracken, the brain behind the Powerpuff Girls, created the show. His wife Lauren Faust helps animate.
The Emmy-award winning Foster's is brilliant in its unlimited possibilities, not to mention the unique Adobe Flash Animation. There are new imaginary friends popping up constantly of all shapes, sizes and colors. Any child can see something of themselves in at least one of the characters. The core cast of characters gives kids a great mixture of personalities, quirks and looks.
Madame Foster, an ornery but warmhearted old lady, runs the house . Her uptight childhood imaginary friend Mr. Herriman, a bunny with impeccable manners, is in charge of housekeeping. Mrs. Foster's high-strung adult granddaughter Frankie helps try to keep the group in line. The residents in the house number in the hundreds, but there are five friends that the show revolves around:
1. Coco: The slightly deranged bird-airplane-palm tree created by a little girl marooned on a desert island. She specializes in laying plastic eggs that contain just the right thing to get the friends out of a sticky situation.
2. Eduardo: The Spanish-speaking giant purple monster who is the biggest softie of the bunch despite his fearsome looks. Rarely does an episode go by without Ed bursting into tears.
3. Wilt: The very tall, skinny overly polite and endlessly apologetic friend.
4. Blooregard Q. Kazoo, aka Bloo: Called "Azul" by Eduardo, Bloo is the trouble-making, adventurous creation of the fifth main character Mac, an 8 year-old boy whose single mom made him get rid of his imaginary friend. Mac hangs out at Foster's constantly to make sure Bloo doesn't get adopted. Bloo is a celebrity on his own, with numerous fan sites devoted to the amorphous mass of mischief.
The humor of Foster's is the same offbeat, pop-culture-reference-laden humor that makes the Pixar CGI films so great. The jokes fly right over children's heads while the adults chuckle. The humor might be a big draw, but the sheer beauty and originality of the animation is really what sets this show apart. The show has won numerous Annie Awards for animation. The house itself is a work of art. The towering gothic spires and haunted-gingerbread-house look of the place offers a remarkable backdrop for the circus of action. Even if the jokes weren't funny, the gorgeous animation would hold an adult's attention easily. The DVD features a hilarious commentary (by the animated cast) on the "Store Wars" episode, character bios, games and alternate endings.
