Exploding Kittens

“Exploding Kittens” really is sort of charming. .... It’s corny as … hell, but it’s genuine corn. You might let your kids watch, depending, of course, on your kids.

Even though Exploding Kittens struggles to establish a consistent identity in its first season, it shakes off its growing pains, becoming the wickedly funny and frequently shocking comedy it’s meant to be.

The writers pack in plenty of quick-witted jokes with the right amount of pop culture references—needling stars like Timothee Chalamet or Steven Spielberg—alongside some creative and hilarious cat-based jests. Story and character-wise, however, Exploding Kittens doesn’t deliver anything out of the ordinary. It’s watchable and decent enough but never really manages to stand out in a major way.

Exploding Kittens is intermittently funny, occasionally sweet, and rarely annoying. But it never really distinguishes itself from the coolest cartoons of the 2010s.

Chaos can only get you so far, and “Exploding Kittens” coasts along as far as it can, but the series isn’t invested in its own story, its own design, or its own jokes — so why should anyone else be?

This lack of direction prevents the show from being memorable. Instead of the fast-paced, lighthearted adaptation similar to the card game, Exploding Kittens feels like learning the rules itself. You can swear you’re interested, but nothing else is going on to keep you hooked.

Tom Ellis and Sasheer Zamata attempt to give things a boost through their vocal performances, though the material they’re working with isn’t up to the task. The animation may be serviceable, but it’s actually in service of very little. By the time it comes to a generally disappointing close, Exploding Kittens ends less with a bang and more with a whimper.