DVD Review: Total Drama Island: The Complete Series: Emilie Barlow, Katie Crown, Novie Edwards, Brian Froud, Sarah Gadon, Carter Hayden, Lauren Lipson, Stephanie Mills, Peter Oldring, Dan Petronijevic, Christian Potenza, Clé Bennett, Drew Nelson, Alex Nussbaum, Jennifer Pertsch, Nicole Demerse, Tom McGillis: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Total Drama Island: The Complete Series: Emilie Barlow, Katie Crown, Novie Edwards, Brian Froud, Sarah Gadon, Carter Hayden, Lauren Lipson, Stephanie Mills, Peter Oldring, Dan Petronijevic, Christian Potenza, Clé Bennett, Drew Nelson, Alex Nussbaum, Jennifer Pertsch, Nicole Demerse, Tom McGillis: Movies & TV
Insanely Great! For Children & Kids Of All Ages! Including grown-up ones!,
By D. P. Bostaph “Extreme Bibliophile” (Murfreesboro, TN United States) -
This animated series is the funniest thing on TV!
Interesting characters, intriguing plot, fun art style.
A great gift for anybody from a kid to a college student!
Why Cartoon Network is wasting airtime on shoddy live-action shows wher great animation like this can be had from Canada (oh bless you, Great White North!) baffles me.
Totally baffles me. 
From the same people who brought you 6teen.
A rare example of a kid’s show with crossover appeal,
By William R. Massie III “Toon Expert 01″ (Northern Virginia, USA) -
Ok so I am a cartoon geek, so I may like this stuff too much. But I also grew up in the 90s (I’m 21 now), the age of such classics as Tiny Toons, Batman, Rocko, Ren and stimpy, Dexter’s Lab, etc. Don’t forget Looney Tunes repeats.
These were shows that genuinely worked for kids and older audiences, which in the realm of animation is very rare. So while I may be a little biased towards 90s stuff, I haven’t found a show that was quite up to snuff in this past decade. The rare exception is Total Drama Island.
Initially skeptical (the producers’ forerunning show 6teen was HOPELESSLY generic), I warmed up to it via Cartoon Network repeats and found it surprisingly accessible and entertaining. It basically follows the exploits of various teens competing for cash money while stuck for a god forsaken summer camp in rural Northern Ontario. The basic setup lampoons Survivor with a little bit of Fear Factor mixed in there. The reality show spoofery is used to great effect. With general genre satire, cartoon slapstick, wacky yet charming character anctics and a little bit of rude humor, the writing provides a good variety of gags and jokes.
Then there are the (purposely) sterotypical characters Jock, Hipster, ‘Sista”, Valley Girl (or the Canadian variant) Dork, Goth and Delinquent, just to name a few. There were even some outside of those parameters, (such as off kilter wilderness girl Izzy). Some fare better than others, but their characters are used well and all provoke at least one chuckle from the audience. There is even some development in character relationships, again some better than others. Some genuinely suprising, all of which contributed to the genuine suspense of seeing who gets voted off the Island.
Also the serial structure made for some nice suspense, it is actually engaging seeing who will get voted off if only due to the outrageousness of the stunts, challenges and character antics. (Personal favorite character is the conniving, sadistic yet cheerful and amiacable host Chris who gleefuly hurls the hapless campers into grueling situations just for kicks!).
Visuals are decent yet unremarkable, Character designs are fairly nice overall, animation is standard flash. The voices are well cast all around.
For the discerning parent, this show is a tad more raunchy than most standard CN fare. The word “crap” is thrown around a few times, some fart and pee jokes, a few VEERRRY subtle homosexual jokes and there is some blurred nudity as well (Male and female). Also this being a reality show spoof, some slightly rude/dark humor comes about with the constant conniving and betrayal (It wouldn’t be a reality show otherwise right?). The CN version is toned down a tad from the Canadian version but It’s not Simpson’s level though. Lets say maybe 8 and up.
That don’t bother me none and really is not worse than warrenting a TV-PG rating on TV (G in Canada). To me it helps with the appeal to older viewers, gives the show a little edge that was missing from cartoons for a while.
I wanted to give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. It doesn’t QUITE excel, it not a classic by any means either. BUT Total Drama Island earns honorable mention for one of the best cartoons of the past decade, a rock solid comedy that is great for people (not just kids) of all ages who like seeing a good spoof.
Hearty Recommendation.
Be on the lookout for the followup, Total Drama Action on Cartoon Network from June 12th on for even more fun!
Fun for adults to watch as well,
By Joseph R. Shivak (Wellington, OH United States) -
I’m 27 and found the series pretty funny. I can’t wait for Total Action Island or whatever they named season two. I found it much easier to watch then those other surviver island tv reality shows.
Search Total Drama Island: The Complete Series: Emilie Barlow, Katie Crown, Novie Edwards, Brian Froud, Sarah Gadon, Carter Hayden, Lauren Lipson, Stephanie Mills, Peter Oldring, Dan Petronijevic, Christian Potenza, Clé Bennett, Drew Nelson, Alex Nussbaum, Jennifer Pertsch, Nicole Demerse, Tom McGillis: Movies & TV from AmAzon
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