Superman on Television

Krypto The Superdog: Episode Reviews

Season 1 - Episode 1: "Krypto's Scrypto"

Reviewed by: Felix Vasquez

Actors & Roles this episode:
Samuel Vincent - Krypto
Alberto Ghisi - Kevin
Tabitha St. Germain - Andrea/Melanie
Nicole Oliver - Kevin's Mom
Brian Drummond - Streaky the Cat
Michael Daingerfield - Superman

I admit I'm a bonafide cartoon addict and buff; I still watch shows like "Recess", and "Billy & Mandy", so when "Krypto" came along, I was a bit taken for a loop mainly because it annoyed me that DC would pay attention to turning Krypto into a cartoon whilst at the time there was a Superman movie begging to be released for the fans. Of course it's more targeting the younger audience, but how young do you have to go until you've succeeded?

Secondly, DC and its parent company Warner doesn't have a lot of respect for its characters, spoofing Green Lantern on "Duck Dodgers", giving shabby treatment to the recent animated "Batman" series, the recent embarrassment of the "Catwoman" movie and so on. But all past gripes behind me, we have "Krypto"! Any Superman fan in his own right knows who Krypto is, and his most recent faux appearance in the series "Smallville" (which I still think was an unofficial jump start pilot/commercial for the cartoon) brought him back into the attention of Superman fans. Now we have Krypto part of the cartoon network pre-school lineup of cartoons, and I have to say, this is a very amusing cartoon. As to say if fans of Superman will respond to this positively is not a sure bet.

Krypto, Superman's dog (who is still baby kal-el at the time) is a puppy when the cartoon first begins and he's testing out a rocket, but when Krypton explodes, his ship is re-routed on a collision course to Earth. The spaceship housing the white dog crash lands on Earth, happens every day right? Krypto, whose given a collar with the S symbol, awakes on Earth with new abilities; he can see in color, he lift very heavy things, he has super-speed, and wouldn't you know it, he can fly! While looking around for a little boy to befriend, he's discovered by a young lonely boy named Kevin Whitney who lives in Metropolis, whom he sees getting rejected by his friends and bullies and befriends him. Unfortunately, as Krypto and Kevin become instant friends, Superman (whose still unaware of Krypto's presence on Earth) has launched off in a space mission and the city is in trouble, and now it's up to Krypto to fill in. For his first adventure he has to save a sinking ship full of zoo animals.

The cartoon has its minor flaws with sometimes rigid animation, and its annoying opening theme song, but I had a lot of fun watching this. Was it because it was Superman related? Possibly, but I intend on catching this whenever it's on. The cartoon is fun, and the characters are well laid out with good emphasis on its core players. I like the relationship between Kevin and Krypto, it's often times very touching, and the plot plays out without anything you have to think too hardly with. It's mostly intended for kids 5-7 from what I gathered, but it doesn't mean you can't have fun as well. To add to the animal oriented cast, we're given two other animals with extensive histories in DC Comics owned by other DC heavyweights in pre-crisis universe including Ace the bathound who was introduced in the fifties as Batman and Robin's pet dog who fought crime alongside them, and helps Krypto in his crime-fighting. Ace has rarely made an appearance in the modern age, but was seen in "Batman Beyond" as elderly Bruce's companion, and then there's "Streaky", Supergirl's pet cat who was granted superpowers after coming in contact with an unusual form of Kryptonite.

Nonetheless I had fun watching this cartoon and it's pure guilt-free entertainment for Superman fans such as myself. The truly interesting aspect about the cartoon that won me over was the surprise guest spot by the Man of Steel himself who has a touching cameo in the end. It was surprising to actually see Superman make an appearance on this program. I was certain they'd basically ignore the fact Krypto is a character from the Superman mythos, but surprisingly, they paid tribute with a great guest spot to kick off the series and connect Krypto to the mythos very well. Watch it for pure entertainment value and you won't be disappointed, I liked this cartoon a lot, and I intend on following this series. And not just because it's my job as Reviewer.



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