Seth MacFarlane’s animated series — Family Guy, American Dad and the upcoming Cleveland Show — have a clear house style, and Calvacade of Cartoon Comedy, the wunderkind producer’s first venture into pure web comedy, slips neatly into that mold. Simple, colorful line work? Check. Multiple pop culture references? Check. Talking animals? Check. A fierce determination to work a joke until it goes from funny to overplayed and back to funny again? Check.
The only difference is that Cavalcade consists solely of the cutaway jokes that are scattered throughout a traditional MacFarlane show. But without Peter Griffith reminiscing that, “It’s just like when Rocky Balboa went to space” (to make up one example), each 1-2-minute short is devoid of context, save for the title cards. “[The title cards] felt like a natural progression,” MacFarlane said during our Q&A with him, “giving you just enough information about what you’re going to see.” And those cards turn out to be both the series’ most brilliant aspect, giving pieces like Two Ducks Talk About “Meet the Parents” a dry, almost Woody Allen-esque feel, and occasionally its greatest weakness, as too often the concept for a sketch is funnier than the sketch itself, such as A Scotsman Who Can’t Watch A Movie Without Shouting At the Screen.
MacFarlane compares the format to New Yorker comics, but most of the bits lack that publication’s brand of sophisticated-by-virtue-of-obscurity humor. Instead, they range from deadpan clever (Stuck On A Life Raft With Matthew McConaughey) to mildly grotesque (Mountain Climber). Each piece at least garners a smile; some, an outright belly laugh — old-school Nintendo fans will be complete suckers for Super Mario Rescues the Princess. Generally speaking, it’s not at all different from what MacFarlane fans have already been getting from Fox’s Sunday night line-up — but the translation to YouTube-sized shorts turns out to be a perfect fit.
Cavalcade is the ultimate in disposable online fare, with plenty of viral potential but not much staying power. With at least 48 more bits to roll out over the next 10 weeks, though, MacFarlane and his team should be good for a few more good laughs.
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