Saturday, December 7, 2019

Animated World of DC Comics: Harley Quinn (2019)

When DC Universe launched last year, the streaming service's three live action series, Titans, Doom Patrol, & the unfairly cancelled Swamp Thing, pushed the boundaries with the use of coarse language, as if any or all would otherwise have landed at HBO instead.

Add Harley Quinn to the list.

With "Birds of Prey" due in theatres this winter, the fan favorite anti-hero introduced on Batman: The Animated Series 27 years ago gets her own series, and does her fair share of swearing like a sailor.

The idea, of course, is to make these shows as close to realistic as possible. Like there's really any realism in comics.

The plot: Harley (Kaley Cuoco, fresh from The Big Bang Theory) finds out the hard way that Joker (Alan Tudyk, Doom Patrol) doesn't really love her like she thinks he does. She moves in with BFF Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), who has a talking plant (J. B. Smoove, "Spider-Man: Far From Home") for a roommate. However, in his own bizarre way, Joker isn't about to let Harley establish her independence if he can help it.

Cuoco is no stranger to cartoons (Brandy & Mr. Whiskers), and captures Harley's manic spirit. Bell, on the other hand, plays Ivy as if she was a super powered Daria, but Harley is hardly Jane Lane. Not even close.

The supporting cast is eclectic, with Wayne Knight (ex-3rd Rock From The Sun, Seinfeld) as Penguin, Raoul Kohli (fresh from iZombie) as Scarecrow, Diedrich Bader (American Housewife) making another run as the Batman after his winning turn on Batman: The Brave & The Bold, and Christopher Meloni (Happy!) as Commissioner Gordon, who doesn't look normal.

Here's a trailer. The show is rated MA, and, understandably, the trailer is NSFK (Not Safe For Kids) due to language:



There's more splatter on this show than Doom Patrol & Swamp Thing combined. And ya wonder why Fox whiffed on an animated adaptation of Marvel's Deadpool........

Rating: A.

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