Tak and the Power of Juju

"Woodies love chickens." --Keeko

For example; in the episode "Woodiefest," Tak and his friends have to figure out a way to deter a herd of giant tree-like demon beasts from stomping his village, as they so routinely do every season. Tak's final plan is to have Lok, a sizeable bruiser of a guy, run around in a chicken suit to distract the Woodies (the beasts)… which results in some near trampling, cliff diving and more. The highlight of which is an early moment when the two-toothed Keeko suggests that "Woodies love chickens," after which sends Tak into a reverie of what the relationship would presumably be between a giant jungle demon and a piece of poultry. The result of which is a hilarious dream sequence where a Woodie slow-motion-runs to supposedly hug a chicken… only the demon doesn't hug the chicken, it abruptly crushes it within its giant hands.

For the most part well littered with physical humor that is not only relevant but strongly emphasizes the struggle a character (usually Tak) is entangled in… … Tak gets caught in his own palm tree snare-trap; Lok, resident-tough-guy and part-idiot, in an effort to save cute animals from danger, kicks them off screen; Keeko, Tak's best bud to get in trouble with, invents an almost perfectly functioning "pressure powered sheep slinger" cannon. And the Juju, the magical beings that make their way in and out of the series depending on how and why Tak summons them, are also some hilarious[ly inept] characters (psychic Juju has the most delectably psychotic laugh I've heard in a long time). The style of humor is worth noting given how hard it is to render (accurately and believably) squash-and-stretch in computer animation for television in addition to the fact that the offbeat interactions of these characters with their jungle environment is as genuine as it gets.

For example; while Tak is ticked off at himself for sitting there and taking the rhetorical punches from the muscle-headed Lok, he wonders to himself if he is in fact, just as sad and pathetic as the big guy says he is.

Undoubtedly frustrated, Tak repeatedly bangs his head against a nearby tree--"why does he always get the credit?"

This to which is followed by Jeera, a common sense driven but daringly mischievous girl, watching Tak and saying, "Let me help you," subsequently grabbing the back of his head and smashing it up against the tree one more time. A perfect window into how these two characters in particular interact with one another, viewers of this scene will find an under-confident kid whose happiness hinges on his ability to recognize (often with the help of a close friend) that opportunity and inconvenience, are at times, rather closely related.

The easily accessible and fun to engage humor of this series is possible mostly through the medium through which it was fashioned. The computer animation for this show is beautiful; it's far more visually complex and rendered, and far more flexible than any stiff preschool television program or even the moderately appealing nature of demographically similar productions (i.e. Jimmy Neutron via DNA Productions). Nickelodeon has always found one way or another to maintain a strong sense of innovation in creativity through animation, and it was only a matter of time until they broke into the realm of computer animated television cartoons, with the same high-quality standards that many of their 2D programs are known for.


Advice from Psychic Juju.	Chief