Bojack Horseman: Yay or Neigh?

COUTESY PHOTO / MEDIALIFEMAGAZINE.COM

Netflix has been impressing everyone and their mother with their original programming game with hits like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, so it makes sense that they would branch out into the animation and go toe to toe with the likes of Adult Swim and Fox’s ADHD. Their first soldier on the streaming animation front lines is an oddity by the name of BoJack Horseman. Horseman follows the misadventures of the titular BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett), a washed up former sitcom star from the nineties as he languishes on the peripheries of the Hollywood landscape. He is joined by his roommate, voiced by Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, ex-girlfriend/agent Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), and Diane, the woman hired to ghost write his memoir (Alison Brie).

Horseman is at it’s best when it’s lampooning the rich and famous, with Arnett playing BoJack with enough oblivious self-absorption to be funny but not be too broad (it may be a cartoon, but the main character still needs to be at least a little grounded). Arnett does a solid job as the title character, but it’s hard not to think that the show may be better suited with a drier comedic lead like H. Jon Benjamin. The true standouts from the cast however are Paul as BoJack’s slacker roommate Todd and comedian Paul F. Tompkins, who plays BoJack’s former rival Mr.Peanutbutter who is clueless to BoJack’s hatred towards him. Paul is especially surprising however, considering he is most well-known for his dramatic roles (the episode where he tries to sell his space-themed rock opera is a standout in the first season).

BoJack Horseman may not be as great as its basic cable competition Bob’s Burgers and Rick and Morty, but it is at it’s best when it’s more in line with their style of comedy and not taking a page from the Family Guy book of cutaway gags, which almost always fall flat on Horseman. It may not be an instant classic, but shows like the aforementioned Bob’s Burger have had a rocky start as well. If this is what can be expected of Netflix’s animated comedy output, then there is some solid entertainment to come for the Adult Swim crowd from the streaming service.