Review: The Stanley Dynamic “Pilot”

SPOILERS BELOW

Animation and live-action are clearly different mediums, but throughout the decades we’ve seen talented animators work with directors to bring audiences intricate hybrids between the two. The concept isn’t new at all, from “Mary Poppins” to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” the art is always evolving. Even CG creations like Hulk in “The Avengers” or the foul mouthed Ted are examples of this being done. It also leaves a lasting impression, I remember my first exposure to live action and animation crossing over was from the old movie “Song of the South”. That film gets a lot of heat these days, and maybe for good reason, but that is a discussion for another day. What fascinated me about the film was seeing Uncle Remus walk through an animated world interacting with animated wildlife. It made me really believe that even I could go into a cartoon world!

So continuing the tradition of animation and live action interaction is a new show on YTV called “The Stanley Dynamic”. The show premiered it’s first episode last night for Canadian audiences, and I had the chance to give it a watch. In Canada, YTV is one of the flagship networks directed at children’s programming. It’s been awhile since I’ve turned the dial to YTV, and I was really excited to review this show. By the end of the episode, I wasn’t disappointed.

The Stanley Dynamic is about an animated boy living in the real world. His family are real people, the house he lives in is real. The only thing animated about his life is his father’s occupation (cartoonist). His mother is unemployed but seeking work to help pay for his little sister’s new private school, and there is also his live action twin brother, Larry. The two brothers are like best friends on the show, but have pretty different personalities. Luke seems to look at the world obliviously, sometimes not picking on normal social cues, or taking them out of context. He isn’t stupid, rather he seems innocent to how the world really is. His brother, Larry, has a better footing in reality, literally and figuratively. He wants to be cool on his first day of high school, and he understands social cues much better.

The two brothers play off each other very well, which is good because when you’re trying to mix live action with animation, it can sometimes be tricky to have actors interact with animation, as opposed to just having actors react to animation. I think there was a fair balance in last night’s premiere. The animation is pretty spot on. Luke appears to make eye contact with the actors. I read this somewhere else, and made sure to take notice, but Luke even casts a shadow. The attention to detail is impressive. The problem is with the live action cast. The show is a family sitcom, directed primarily at children. The performances will reflect that, and for the most part they’re great. I just wanted their interactions with Luke to feel a little more natural. While, Larry and Luke seem to interact very well, I felt that everybody else who spoke to Luke just seemed to be talking at him, and not with him. That’s the feeling I took away from the episode, I’m sure it will improve as the show goes on.

The story has a simple premise, Luke and Larry, two fourteen year old brothers are starting their first day of high school, and are almost instantly swept up in the battle for acceptance, speaking to girls, and bullies. They have trouble confronting these things at first, but with support from each other and their family, they face their issues. They don’t get the girl, and Luke doesn’t make it into the chess club (social acceptance), but it turns out Larry’s situation with the bully was a misunderstanding and he ends up joining the football team.

The supporting cast is pretty entertaining. They have magnetic and unique personalities, and I really liked watching them, with the exception of how they interacted with Luke. The family seems like they will be a strong part of the show, which is a good thing because they’ll most likely be in every episode.

Overall, I think this will be a good show for families to come together and watch. I’m a twenty-two year old guy, this obviously isn’t targeted at my demographic, but just remembering myself at ten or eleven, I know this is something I would have probably watched and enjoyed. It was fun, and funny, I think there will be a fair amount of warm family moments also. I don’t think this show is available for audiences in the U.S, but for you Canadian readers, you can catch “The Stanley Dynamic” every Thursday at 7:30 on YTV!

Did anybody else catch the premiere episode of The Stanley Dynamic? Think this show has a bright future? For those of you unable to watch it, is this something that would interest you? Let us know!