In another attempt to find a hidden gem in Disney Television Animation's filmography, I decided to give Fish Hooks a watch on Disney+. 10 episodes later, and I'm left with less braincells than I had before watching it. From the awful writing to the stupid characters, this show makes one long for the hijinks of SpongeBob and Patrick.
Created by Noah Z. Jones, Fish Hooks follows the escapades of 3 fish in high school set in a pet shop where the tanks are linked together and have their own settings. Does that sound jumbled together? That's because IT IS! The first problem with the show is it doesn't do a good job at world building. There's no organic connectivity and it feels like they different settings were chosen at random depending on the episode. One episode takes place in a Hollywood-esque setting but full of hamsters. Another has the characters going through a high tech security system to get tobthe year book club at school. There's no rhyme or reason for these settings and it's just random for the sake of comedy. Which wouldn't be so bad, if the humor wasn't obvious subversions, weak slapstick, and lousy puns. You know what's worse, though? The writing of these episodes is abysmal! This show has abhorrent pacing with characters mostly standing around talking about nothing that matters, obvious uses of tired tropes and some cringy musical numbers. This really shows just what happens when you just throw random settings into the script for the sake of unfunny comedy and unengaging stories.
The characters are so stupid, they make Patrick Star look like Albert Einstein! They've never heard of common sense, they never even bother thinking before they act, and they never learn anything of value. I'm actually convinced that these characters don't have brains, or if they do, they're doing a great job NOT using them! Starting with the main trio, Milo, Bea, and Oscar are each one third of a whole idiot! Milo is the loudest, most obnoxious and stupidest of the 3, Bea is an annoying aspiring actress, and Oscar is the anxious dweeb who has a crush on Bea but the writers forbid him from exiting the friendzone because Heaven forbid he acts like a normal person (albeit fish person) and accept that they're better off as friends. Don't expect anyone else to leave a lasting impression as they're all one dimensional archetypes of tired tropes. Shellsea is the text book definitely of a Valley Girl, voice and all. Clamantha is the ugly girl who has a crush on Oscar (much to his disgust), Jocktopus is a bully, Mr. Baldwin is a teacher who hates his job (and is a pregnant seahorse, but this show isn't smart enough to do anything other than make a lame joke about it), and Coach Salmons is just Richard Simmons as a fish and the show just beats this lame joke into the ground over and over again.
I was pleasantly surprised that the voice acting was pretty good (for the most part). That's So Raven star, Kyle Massey, sounded like he was having a blast voicing Milo, making him sound very boisterous and lively. Chelsea Kane did a really good job making Bea sound energetic and lively. Dana Snyder nails the curmudgeon attitude of Mr. Baldwin. Gravity Falls creator, Alex Hirsh, did a solid job making Clamantha sound cheerful and perky even with her ugly appearance. Kari Walhgren did the best she could making Shellsea sound exactly like they typically Valley Girl, though she does better voice work as Sanke during the credits. John DiMaggio was a real treat hearing him ham it up as Jocktopus. Richard Simmons did a decent job voicing himself as a fish. The only truly bad performance in the show is Justin Roiland as Oscar. As controversial as this take may sound, I never once thought Justin Roiland was a good voice actor as he lacks the range, authenticity and charisma to make his roles stand out from one another. Oscar sounds exactly like Morty from Rick and Morty, who intern sounds exactly like Lemongrab from Adventure Time; all of which are just Roiland putting on a whiney, dweebish version of his normal voice. Despite how stupid these characters are, at least the actors are doing decent work on them; except Justin Roiland, of course.
Visually, this is a very unique and lively cartoon from the Mouse House's television division. The characters have very distinct and appealing designs with round heads, wide mouths and a vibrant color palette. The animation also utilizes great squash and stretched to make the characters feel more alive. I also like how the show mixs 2D with photo collages, giving the pet shop and characters like Clamantha a very distinct but pleasing look. The backgrounds are also verg well detailed with the pet shop looking very expansive and the schools looking like a real high school. Out of all of Disney's TV shows, this one stands out among the rest in the visual department.
These are some stupid and annoying fish; you sure this pet shop isn't actually a toxic waste dump? Fish Hooks is among Disney's stupidest cartoons with terrible writing, unfunny humor, stupid characters, and an very terrible performance by Justin Roiland. Sure the animation and the rest of the actors are pretty good, but they're talents feel wasted on such a badly made show. If you're looking for nautical nonsense that's actually funny and had smart characters, just watch SpongeBob. You'll actually have a much better time watching that than this stupid show -.-
Created by Noah Z. Jones, Fish Hooks follows the escapades of 3 fish in high school set in a pet shop where the tanks are linked together and have their own settings. Does that sound jumbled together? That's because IT IS! The first problem with the show is it doesn't do a good job at world building. There's no organic connectivity and it feels like they different settings were chosen at random depending on the episode. One episode takes place in a Hollywood-esque setting but full of hamsters. Another has the characters going through a high tech security system to get tobthe year book club at school. There's no rhyme or reason for these settings and it's just random for the sake of comedy. Which wouldn't be so bad, if the humor wasn't obvious subversions, weak slapstick, and lousy puns. You know what's worse, though? The writing of these episodes is abysmal! This show has abhorrent pacing with characters mostly standing around talking about nothing that matters, obvious uses of tired tropes and some cringy musical numbers. This really shows just what happens when you just throw random settings into the script for the sake of unfunny comedy and unengaging stories.
The characters are so stupid, they make Patrick Star look like Albert Einstein! They've never heard of common sense, they never even bother thinking before they act, and they never learn anything of value. I'm actually convinced that these characters don't have brains, or if they do, they're doing a great job NOT using them! Starting with the main trio, Milo, Bea, and Oscar are each one third of a whole idiot! Milo is the loudest, most obnoxious and stupidest of the 3, Bea is an annoying aspiring actress, and Oscar is the anxious dweeb who has a crush on Bea but the writers forbid him from exiting the friendzone because Heaven forbid he acts like a normal person (albeit fish person) and accept that they're better off as friends. Don't expect anyone else to leave a lasting impression as they're all one dimensional archetypes of tired tropes. Shellsea is the text book definitely of a Valley Girl, voice and all. Clamantha is the ugly girl who has a crush on Oscar (much to his disgust), Jocktopus is a bully, Mr. Baldwin is a teacher who hates his job (and is a pregnant seahorse, but this show isn't smart enough to do anything other than make a lame joke about it), and Coach Salmons is just Richard Simmons as a fish and the show just beats this lame joke into the ground over and over again.
I was pleasantly surprised that the voice acting was pretty good (for the most part). That's So Raven star, Kyle Massey, sounded like he was having a blast voicing Milo, making him sound very boisterous and lively. Chelsea Kane did a really good job making Bea sound energetic and lively. Dana Snyder nails the curmudgeon attitude of Mr. Baldwin. Gravity Falls creator, Alex Hirsh, did a solid job making Clamantha sound cheerful and perky even with her ugly appearance. Kari Walhgren did the best she could making Shellsea sound exactly like they typically Valley Girl, though she does better voice work as Sanke during the credits. John DiMaggio was a real treat hearing him ham it up as Jocktopus. Richard Simmons did a decent job voicing himself as a fish. The only truly bad performance in the show is Justin Roiland as Oscar. As controversial as this take may sound, I never once thought Justin Roiland was a good voice actor as he lacks the range, authenticity and charisma to make his roles stand out from one another. Oscar sounds exactly like Morty from Rick and Morty, who intern sounds exactly like Lemongrab from Adventure Time; all of which are just Roiland putting on a whiney, dweebish version of his normal voice. Despite how stupid these characters are, at least the actors are doing decent work on them; except Justin Roiland, of course.
Visually, this is a very unique and lively cartoon from the Mouse House's television division. The characters have very distinct and appealing designs with round heads, wide mouths and a vibrant color palette. The animation also utilizes great squash and stretched to make the characters feel more alive. I also like how the show mixs 2D with photo collages, giving the pet shop and characters like Clamantha a very distinct but pleasing look. The backgrounds are also verg well detailed with the pet shop looking very expansive and the schools looking like a real high school. Out of all of Disney's TV shows, this one stands out among the rest in the visual department.
These are some stupid and annoying fish; you sure this pet shop isn't actually a toxic waste dump? Fish Hooks is among Disney's stupidest cartoons with terrible writing, unfunny humor, stupid characters, and an very terrible performance by Justin Roiland. Sure the animation and the rest of the actors are pretty good, but they're talents feel wasted on such a badly made show. If you're looking for nautical nonsense that's actually funny and had smart characters, just watch SpongeBob. You'll actually have a much better time watching that than this stupid show -.-