Critic Reviews
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After three episodes’ worth of hyperliteral takes on situations that neatly, but with no further purpose, point up the absurdity of human existence, you kinda feel you’ve heard them all. If the moments with emotional resonance start to join up – and this anthology-style series does have characters who recur in later episodes, which helps – and the creators start to lean in to the possibilities of an animated series rather than a series of static four-panel strips, it could be wonderful.
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“Strange Planet” is undeniably clever and an easy, amusing watch. But its current iteration lacks much deeper resonance beyond its acute yet surface-level observations about the quirks and paradoxes of modern life. The idea that our society is inherently absurd could pack more punch if explored through a larger narrative or tied to a more specific lead character.
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Strange Planet is mild enough for kids, but what it really feels like is a children’s show for grownups, in the way that Millennial slang like “adulting” and “feels” are baby talk for grownups. This can be a very nice thing, depending on your taste, your mood and your tolerance for twee terminology.
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“Strange Planet” far too often paints with a broad brush (and that includes the animation style — an endearing, tranquil color palette filling in broad, homogeneous designs that lack visual wit and never quite spring to life).
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Aug 10, 2023The incessant asking that viewers unwrap the show’s technical language for everyday occurrences is not too unreasonable of a demand, but it keeps a thin layer between the art and its audience, one that not even Strange Planet’s beautifully rendered animation and some pleasant voice acting can perforate.