Wednesday, July 16, 2014

BLACK DYNAMITE THE SERIES: HILARIOUS ADULT CARTOON

There are many who think that just because a movie or show is a cartoon that it was intended for children. That wasn't the case when FRITZ THE CAT showed up. It also changed when the Cartoon Network delivered a new form of late night entertainment called Adult Swim. Cartoons on the network late at night told adult stories, had adult themes and often used adult language. Some were good, some terrible. BLACK DYNAMITE is fantastic.

If you've never seen the live action movie that this series is based on you need to find it quickly. It was one of the funniest films I'd seen in years. Imagine if Mel Brooks, the king of genre parody films, had taken on the blaxploitation films of the seventies. That's exactly what creator/actor Michael Jai White did with that film and he hit every single note to perfection. Fans of the film wanted more. How he decided to turn it into a cartoon I don't know but I'm glad he did. It meant more adventures involving the title character and that means laughs galore.

If you missed the movie let me get you up to speed. Black Dynamite is the lead character's name, an ex-CIA agent who came back to his old neighborhood to save it from The Man who had killed his brother, pumped heroin to kids and flooded the neighborhood with malt liquor. Dynamite was the ultimate blaxploitation hero, a kung fu master and all around bad dude, the only one who could save the day. The cartoon picks up where the movie left off and takes it to further extremes.

The world of Black Dynamite is filled with stereotypes that filled those movies from the seventies. Some concepts might upset a few uptight folks but the makers of this series aren't concerned about that. They just want to make you laugh. After all, the hero himself lives in a business he created called The Whorephanage. Yes, Black Dynamite wants to take care of orphans but he's also a stone cold pimp when he needs to be, complete with his own prostitutes. But that's not the only thing some will find offensive. Know up front that the series features a hero who beds down multiple women, swears, kills bad guys and makes fun of multiple concepts many would call racist that instead proves a joke is a joke. And yet he's a good guy saving numerous people. Coming from the same people behind THE BOONDOCKS you would expect nothing less.

No, this series is not for the faint of heart. It's not for those who feel the need to be offended by every little thing they see or hear. My guess is that even though the entire main production staff behind the film is made of black artists and performers there are even a few in the black community who would be upset with what appears on this series. Those behind it don't care. They understand that there are things to be concerned about when it comes to racism in this country but that at the same time if you claim everything revolves around that you lessen the impact of real racial issues that deserve notice. It embraces the stereotypes from those seventies films and makes them funny rather than offensive. Political correctness has no place in this show.

So what types of stories does the show do? One offers a look into the REAL Michael Jackson and discovers that he had evil plans for this world and the reason why that was to be. Another has one of Black Dynamite's sidekicks become a porn star in an attempt to find a serial killer taking out the biggest and best black male porn stars. Black Dynamite even finds himself forced to avenge his accountant after the IRS kills him while trying to collect back taxes he owes. Nothing is taboo for this group.

Through it all the look and feel of those classic blaxploitation films can be found, even if the series is animated. From the clothing worn by characters to the drawn sets that it takes place in, the show reeks of those movies in the most caring and respectful fashion. They were classic films and deserve to be recognized for the impact that they had. Here a tribute to them can be found and enjoyed, playing off of them but never really making fun of them.

A few words of caution about the series though. First if you are easily offended then by all means pass this by. If you don't mind an off color joke or ten then you'll find plenty to laugh at here. I would suggest you only watch it a few episodes at a time though. Multiple episodes are likely to leave you with stomach pains caused by excessive laughter. BLACK DYNAMITE the series is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. One can only hope that they have more in mind for this urban African-American hero.

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