Making Fiends...
A few weeks ago, I happened to catch an episode of a new show on Nicktoons called Making Fiends...
The Nicktoons version of the series varies somewhat from its web-based counterpart. The Nicktoons version, although crudely drawn, is somewhat more highly polished than its web-based counterpart. In addition, the stories in the Nicktoons version have been modified to some degree compared to the web-based counterparts. Some of the overt violence in the web-based version has been toned down or left out entirely for the Nicktoons version. For instance, the web-based version showed a character being thrown at the camera and there was no indication that the character survived; meanwhile, the same scene in the Nicktoons version showed the character being tossed out of the shot and landing somewhere off-camera with some indication that the character survived.
The animation is crudely drawn -- the quality is on-par with South Park, but, with less color than South Park. The story-telling, which is what attracted me to the series, is surprisingly good. Although, Nicktoons markets the show as a "kids show", the themes and humor in the series are rather dark -- even though there's no blood or gore, the series does exhibit a vicious streak.The fiends are unleashed in the complete Season 1, 2-disc set of Making Fiends! Gather 'round for fearsome encounters with Clamburg's resident evil, Vendetta, and her fiendish creations including Grudge, a giant hamster, and Giant Cat, a big, red kitty full of rage. Charlotte's along, too, to bring sunshine to this dismal town, giving Vendetta a new purpose - to rid Clamburg of this jovial interloper. With 18 episodes for over 2 hours of wicked comedy, you'll delight in finding humor in the most obscure situations!
During the course of my research on the series, I discovered that Making Fiends was based on a web-based animation of the same name created by Amy Winfrey. DVDs of the original web-based version of the series are available from the Making Fiends Site.The show revolves around the life of Charlotte, a sweet, innocent little girl who is the new girl in the town of Clamburg (she used to live in Vermont, according to the first webisode). Charlotte is also incredibly naïve, and is unable to think badly of anyone around her. Charlotte quickly makes "friends" with Vendetta (or so she thinks), a horrid little girl who makes monsters, or fiends, through baking. Vendetta cannot stand Charlotte's happy-go-lucky nature, and will often go to great lengths to destroy Charlotte (or at least get her out of the way for a little bit). These attempts inevitably backfire, usually resulting in Vendetta doing great damage to herself. When they do succeed, Charlotte can only see the bright side of her situation and will become more annoying than usual. Everything is back to normal by the end of the episode.
Vendetta, due to her fiend-making abilities, appears to have the entire town at her control. As such, Clamburg is a bleak, dark and forbidding place. Mr. Milk, who has gotten the misfortune of teaching Charlotte and Vendetta's class, is incredibly timid and never gets around to teaching due to his fear of Vendetta's reactions to his lessons. Charlotte's classmates include Marion, who speaks quietly and is fearful of Vendetta; Marvin, who starts each sentence with the word "my" and has his property vandalized by Vendetta in various ways (which leads to such exclamations as "My banana!" and "My ice cream!"); Malachi, who speaks in Shakespearian phrases and consistently warns Charlotte against messing with Vendetta (to no avail); Maggie, who has resigned herself to depression and dreams of someday escaping; and Mort, an earnest little boy who often spouts nonsensical advice.
The Nicktoons version of the series varies somewhat from its web-based counterpart. The Nicktoons version, although crudely drawn, is somewhat more highly polished than its web-based counterpart. In addition, the stories in the Nicktoons version have been modified to some degree compared to the web-based counterparts. Some of the overt violence in the web-based version has been toned down or left out entirely for the Nicktoons version. For instance, the web-based version showed a character being thrown at the camera and there was no indication that the character survived; meanwhile, the same scene in the Nicktoons version showed the character being tossed out of the shot and landing somewhere off-camera with some indication that the character survived.
