What do you get when you cross Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, Milo Murphy and Kid Cosmic? You get Hamster and Gretel! The series is amazing with an all star cast and outstanding songs.
19 Reviews
Awesome!!
shadihussein-2989013 August 2022
It's Dan again
apfelmussweg2 January 2023
The show, whilst not living up to Phineas and Ferb, is rather enjoyable. Still, the basic plot is not really drawing my attention, but it's the details and incredibly smart puns. I don't care about Gretel or Hamster all that much, because they aren't charismatic and don't have an interesting character development. Hamster overall seems like an attempt to recreate Ferb vibes, while Gretel is pretty average I guess. Though I have to admit, Kevin is my favourite. I can really root for him, because his character is so relatable and genuinly empathic.
I find it odd that Povenmire didn't continue his typical two-plot system, where there's two major events occuring simultaniously. For example Doof and Perry or Cavendish and Dakota. I think it adds a lot to the show and I love it when both plots come to influence each others events, as when Doof fails his plans and his Inator vanishes the boys' inventions. I miss that, I really do. Also there is lack of side characters, which for me is a plus point. Why? Well, I think they tried to make the show more focused towards Kevin and this should highlight his lack of friends. I like it, I'm kind of a loner myself and this was exactly me at some point.
Basic Plot - Jokes ++ Kevin ++
I find it odd that Povenmire didn't continue his typical two-plot system, where there's two major events occuring simultaniously. For example Doof and Perry or Cavendish and Dakota. I think it adds a lot to the show and I love it when both plots come to influence each others events, as when Doof fails his plans and his Inator vanishes the boys' inventions. I miss that, I really do. Also there is lack of side characters, which for me is a plus point. Why? Well, I think they tried to make the show more focused towards Kevin and this should highlight his lack of friends. I like it, I'm kind of a loner myself and this was exactly me at some point.
Basic Plot - Jokes ++ Kevin ++
Dan Strikes Again!
SpongeStudios15 August 2022
A great Team for a great show
zeze-9829529 August 2022
Hamster and Gretel is a show created by Dan Povenmire that by this time already has an easy-to-detect identity seal, in the same way as other animators like Matt Groening or Craig McCracken.
On this occasion Dan, he gives us a series of superheroes now more than ever that is fashionable, but manages to have his own identity. This time we have two of the most peculiar heroes being a 9 year old girl and her pet hamster.
What makes the show interesting is that it knows how to use all its elements to its advantage: the intelligent humor that has characterized Dan Povenmire's series (Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy Law) but now satirizing the topics and elements of the series, movies and comics.
The secondary characters are memorable and endearing, they have elements that make them stand out and not be a mere walking cliche, with a brilliant musical section and references that the most adults will understand and the little ones will enjoy even if they never saw Adam West's batman or the references to silver age comics.
I hope more episodes in the future.
On this occasion Dan, he gives us a series of superheroes now more than ever that is fashionable, but manages to have his own identity. This time we have two of the most peculiar heroes being a 9 year old girl and her pet hamster.
What makes the show interesting is that it knows how to use all its elements to its advantage: the intelligent humor that has characterized Dan Povenmire's series (Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy Law) but now satirizing the topics and elements of the series, movies and comics.
The secondary characters are memorable and endearing, they have elements that make them stand out and not be a mere walking cliche, with a brilliant musical section and references that the most adults will understand and the little ones will enjoy even if they never saw Adam West's batman or the references to silver age comics.
I hope more episodes in the future.
Creative & Fun
chucksterpow-7865513 August 2022
Awesome new Show
damnson-4615913 August 2022
Pretty average...
mdhfrmdq14 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This show can be a fun to watch, but it's got a couple of prominent problems. It doesn't take the time to properly establish it's characters in the beginning and their relationship with each other before the status quo which can lead to a problem when I don't feel anything when Kevin has a heart to heart with Gretel. As something that's supposed to be the heart of the show it's a little concerning. Also as a side note the pacing can feel a little of as times. In one scene Gretel and Hamster save the day and in the other they're suddenly in a press release with no prior explanation at all.
Second the animation can be kind of stiff sometimes that can be distracting. Some scenes are more noticeable than others. Like in the action for example.
Third, the humour is a bit lacking and random. I did chuckle a couple of times but none of them made me laugh out loud, which leads to a quite dull experience.
The show certainly isn't bad, but I wouldn't call it great either. Just okay so far. As first impressions go, it's going to take a lot for me to get invested in this.
Second the animation can be kind of stiff sometimes that can be distracting. Some scenes are more noticeable than others. Like in the action for example.
Third, the humour is a bit lacking and random. I did chuckle a couple of times but none of them made me laugh out loud, which leads to a quite dull experience.
The show certainly isn't bad, but I wouldn't call it great either. Just okay so far. As first impressions go, it's going to take a lot for me to get invested in this.
Worth A Watch
natehenderson-7839124 September 2022
From the co-creator of Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, Hamster and Gretel is a rather enjoyable new show from Dan Povenmire. While starting a little rough with a hard to follow pilot episode, the show has since found its footing with subsequent episodes. The premise of aliens giving superpowers to a little girl and her pet hamster to fight villians that sometimes have powers that are just so random makes it quite amusing to watch. These random powers almost gives a sense of parody of the superhero genre in this show. It is also quite clear that there is a storyline to be explored with the aliens as they are playing a bigger role than just giving the title characters superpowers. The art style is fine in my opinion as it uses the same style of animation that the two shows previously mentioned above did.
I tried to like this show...
OmegaJ179 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
When I first saw the trailer for this, I was really excited. The two main characters were cute and the premise was funny. But as soon as I watched the 3rd episode, I knew it was gonna be mediocre.
First off, The Designs are VERY inconsistent. Take Kevin for example, he looks like a Milo Murphy reject. Now look at Hamster the hamster, he looks out of place whenever another animal is onscreen. However, the absolute worst design goes to Fred. Seriously! Why did they give her such cartoonishly huge lips!? Is she supposed to be a human or a frog!? The only design I don't have a problem with is Gretel, she's quite cute.
The songs in this are HORRENDOUS! I have to mute them whenever they start. Couldn't they just hire actors that can sing instead of just using their talking voices? Speaking of the talking voices, they're OK. The weakest voice has to be Gretel, though, she sounds like her voice actor is doing a Patrick star impression.
Finally, every single character is a MORON! For example, in one episode, The heroes have to freeze an eel to defeat him, so Gretel wastes 2 minutes waiting for a fridge to be fixed to do that. YOU IDIOT!!! YOU HAVE FREEZE BREATH! USE THAT TO FREEZE HIM!!!
Yeah, I tried to like this show, But it's still mediocre and made me face palm often. I only watched the first 10 episodes and never watching it again. It proves that Mr. Povenmire just made this for some quick bucks. Marvel it ain't.
First off, The Designs are VERY inconsistent. Take Kevin for example, he looks like a Milo Murphy reject. Now look at Hamster the hamster, he looks out of place whenever another animal is onscreen. However, the absolute worst design goes to Fred. Seriously! Why did they give her such cartoonishly huge lips!? Is she supposed to be a human or a frog!? The only design I don't have a problem with is Gretel, she's quite cute.
The songs in this are HORRENDOUS! I have to mute them whenever they start. Couldn't they just hire actors that can sing instead of just using their talking voices? Speaking of the talking voices, they're OK. The weakest voice has to be Gretel, though, she sounds like her voice actor is doing a Patrick star impression.
Finally, every single character is a MORON! For example, in one episode, The heroes have to freeze an eel to defeat him, so Gretel wastes 2 minutes waiting for a fridge to be fixed to do that. YOU IDIOT!!! YOU HAVE FREEZE BREATH! USE THAT TO FREEZE HIM!!!
Yeah, I tried to like this show, But it's still mediocre and made me face palm often. I only watched the first 10 episodes and never watching it again. It proves that Mr. Povenmire just made this for some quick bucks. Marvel it ain't.
Wow..This is Gretel
evilmonkeysnamedjoareatt15 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Gretel is now what i call garbage. It's that bad.
Character: Gretel: Horrible design for a character. Cheap looking and why doesn't she have eyebrows? It's very jarring to look at this character with her dead soulless stare. The voice of character is flat and emotionless. Most lines are read in the same tone and delivery. Her character is awful. I hate when you have a protagonist who learns nothing and refuses to take advice from others. Kevin has good intentions but she just ignores him since it's "too complicated" or "boring". She not entertaining for this character type. Disney has done better with Luz, Star, Molly, and Webby.
Fred: Fred is one of the best characters in the show but the lips look so weird. They look like Tamagochi duck. They move so unnaturally. Then there's her glasses which looks like a mask but not really sure since it feels like an in between from shot to shot. If it's glasses they need to color in the eyes better to make it look like a lens. Other than that, her character is pretty good with her voice actress providing a good performance.
Kevin: His design is okay but it's a plain looking compared to other characters we've seen from Disney Channel shows and shows that this team has worked on, Phineas and Ferb & Milo Murphy's Law. He looks like a background character or an OC someone made. However, while his design doesn't stand out as much his character does. He's probably the most relatable character I've seen in these Disney shows. His voice actor does a good job. Makes Gretel sound worse by comparison. He has Gretel's best interest in mind and doesn't want her to get hurt and gives her good advice but then gets punished for it?
Hamster: Forgettable Villains: Why are his arms so short? Is that on purpose or is that an animation error? Voiced by Phil Lamar, who deserved better, does a pretty good job as always but he can't save a terrible script and bad writing.
Based on the other villains we've seen this show has a terrible batch.
Story: So let's get this straight, Aliens give a girl and a hamster superpowers for no reason and then at the end give two other people powers to be super villains for no reason as well. I guess they're bored or something. Lazy. Kevin's romance subplot is weak and plays off like many others bringing nothing new to the table.
Animation: Anytime you pause the show you'll notice many errors and mistakes in the art and animation. It would take me hours to break down all of them but trust me there's a lot of animation errors.
Sound: The songs are forgettable since they sound like the generic PnF style of music and those songs are terrible. I wouldn't be so negative towards it but they put songs in the majority of episodes so it awful. The voice acting for Gretel and her friend Bailey are so bad.
Character: Gretel: Horrible design for a character. Cheap looking and why doesn't she have eyebrows? It's very jarring to look at this character with her dead soulless stare. The voice of character is flat and emotionless. Most lines are read in the same tone and delivery. Her character is awful. I hate when you have a protagonist who learns nothing and refuses to take advice from others. Kevin has good intentions but she just ignores him since it's "too complicated" or "boring". She not entertaining for this character type. Disney has done better with Luz, Star, Molly, and Webby.
Fred: Fred is one of the best characters in the show but the lips look so weird. They look like Tamagochi duck. They move so unnaturally. Then there's her glasses which looks like a mask but not really sure since it feels like an in between from shot to shot. If it's glasses they need to color in the eyes better to make it look like a lens. Other than that, her character is pretty good with her voice actress providing a good performance.
Kevin: His design is okay but it's a plain looking compared to other characters we've seen from Disney Channel shows and shows that this team has worked on, Phineas and Ferb & Milo Murphy's Law. He looks like a background character or an OC someone made. However, while his design doesn't stand out as much his character does. He's probably the most relatable character I've seen in these Disney shows. His voice actor does a good job. Makes Gretel sound worse by comparison. He has Gretel's best interest in mind and doesn't want her to get hurt and gives her good advice but then gets punished for it?
Hamster: Forgettable Villains: Why are his arms so short? Is that on purpose or is that an animation error? Voiced by Phil Lamar, who deserved better, does a pretty good job as always but he can't save a terrible script and bad writing.
Based on the other villains we've seen this show has a terrible batch.
Story: So let's get this straight, Aliens give a girl and a hamster superpowers for no reason and then at the end give two other people powers to be super villains for no reason as well. I guess they're bored or something. Lazy. Kevin's romance subplot is weak and plays off like many others bringing nothing new to the table.
Animation: Anytime you pause the show you'll notice many errors and mistakes in the art and animation. It would take me hours to break down all of them but trust me there's a lot of animation errors.
Sound: The songs are forgettable since they sound like the generic PnF style of music and those songs are terrible. I wouldn't be so negative towards it but they put songs in the majority of episodes so it awful. The voice acting for Gretel and her friend Bailey are so bad.
Silly and dry fun!
byersanna9 November 2022
I didn't expect much (watching with my 5 year old). But I found myself laughing at some of the subtle/dry humor and my 5 year old would giggle at other parts.
I've read critiques of the animation but I found it to be easy to watch. I enjoy a "cartoon" format vs the 3d animation (Doc McStuffins, Puppy Dog Pals etc) which somehow gets dull.
My only critique is that its sometimes hard to hear or understand, which seems to be the case with a lot of new shows, but I always use subtitles anyway! Overall, it's a fun and dry show with some silly plots and fun one liners. Give it a few eps at least!!
I've read critiques of the animation but I found it to be easy to watch. I enjoy a "cartoon" format vs the 3d animation (Doc McStuffins, Puppy Dog Pals etc) which somehow gets dull.
My only critique is that its sometimes hard to hear or understand, which seems to be the case with a lot of new shows, but I always use subtitles anyway! Overall, it's a fun and dry show with some silly plots and fun one liners. Give it a few eps at least!!
Loving this show!
lesuali-851991 March 2023
Honestly, I find shows for my kids only so I can surf my Reddit/Twitter accounts in peace. This show....sorry, Reddit/Twitter totally got dumped with each and every episode! Love the humor and shady references, even my very cynical husband is laughing along.
The villains are fantastic! (Onions and a moustache?) And we love the diversity of the cast. I wish I was Fred when I was a teenager. Hubs adores Hiromi and it's rooting Kevin on. He's also really taken with the parents: Dad has an average job, Mom is a heavy-accented Latina that is very competitive at family games.
And Hamster. The coolest superhero in town.
Go, Veronica Hill!
The villains are fantastic! (Onions and a moustache?) And we love the diversity of the cast. I wish I was Fred when I was a teenager. Hubs adores Hiromi and it's rooting Kevin on. He's also really taken with the parents: Dad has an average job, Mom is a heavy-accented Latina that is very competitive at family games.
And Hamster. The coolest superhero in town.
Go, Veronica Hill!
Good Clean Fun - With No Contrivances!
rebeltaz-1870520 January 2024
It's rare these days to see a show - especially a kids show - that doesn't have some ulterior contrivance to push. This Is the rare exception to the today's programming . As a 50+ year old kid at heart who still watches cartoons, I love this show. The show is hilarious. The story line is fun. There's no lessons to be learned. No preaching. Nothing but good, clean fun that everyone can enjoy! My favorite character is Fred, Kevin and Gretel's cousin. She's cool (as in as a cucumber), laid back and nothing shocks or amazes her. All of the characters are interesting, though. Just go watch it. You'll love it. Guaranteed or your money back :)
It is amazing the mental pretzels you have to go through to be able to tell people that a show is WORTH watching around here!
It is amazing the mental pretzels you have to go through to be able to tell people that a show is WORTH watching around here!
Another flop from Disney.
disneyfan220212 August 2022
Just a forgettable PNF clone from the network. The animation is very stiff and the style is repetitive and ugly. The colors are a mess and just overall a downgrade in quality compared to the other running shows such as Molly McGee and The Owl House.
Really fun show for kids 6 years and older
cartoon-lover-111031 July 2023
This is a really fun show from one of the creators of "Phineas and Ferb." It is a really great combination of humor and superhero action. It's fun to have one of the main character be a girl with superpowers. My daughter really likes that about the show. It has lots of humor and often has some heart-warming elements in addition to the fun action sequences.
One very nice element is Gretel's relationship with her older brother. There is no mean-spirited humor between them. They have a good relationship and are always trying to help each other out. Also, the character of the hamster is hilarious.
My daughter and I really enjoy this show. If you like comedy plus action, I think that you and your family will like it too!
One very nice element is Gretel's relationship with her older brother. There is no mean-spirited humor between them. They have a good relationship and are always trying to help each other out. Also, the character of the hamster is hilarious.
My daughter and I really enjoy this show. If you like comedy plus action, I think that you and your family will like it too!
Cool plot, Lame show
littlemiss_naomi10 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Like first off the animation looks so cheap at least with Milo Murphy's law the animation looked good here I can barely see the P&F style they're trying way too hard to break it
Another thing is that the writing was really subpar and most of the villains have pretty boring designs and it's clear they're trying to be like Dr D for comedy and failing,I absolutely hate this show. From the intro to the look of the characters, the sarcasm/snark that's supposed to pass for comedy, Gretel's voice sounding like a 45 year old chain smoker, Hamster's total lack of personality, it looks ugly and feels dull and empty.
Another thing is that the writing was really subpar and most of the villains have pretty boring designs and it's clear they're trying to be like Dr D for comedy and failing,I absolutely hate this show. From the intro to the look of the characters, the sarcasm/snark that's supposed to pass for comedy, Gretel's voice sounding like a 45 year old chain smoker, Hamster's total lack of personality, it looks ugly and feels dull and empty.
Kevin more a badass
sd-5986830 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
For some reason, Kevin of all people who treated as joke, he still does things that even a superhero could do, protect their loved ones head on, he thinks and made the plan, similar to Candace, he becomes a breakout character, shows that normality can be exciting. Besides Dan should give focus to Kevin the same way as Candace and Doofenshmirtz, he always surprised me ever since he took action, fighting bad guys on his own, while becoming his own style of being a hero, despite no super powers, he is always the super-brother, and Gretel should thankful as she is been saved many times, every heroes needs a guide.
I get why Jeff "Swampy" Marsh wasn't involved with this
connormaddoxgrant3 January 2024
To put it bluntly, it sucks. Don't get me wrong, I loved Phineas and Ferb, and I liked Milo Murphy's Law (I'm a self-professed Weird Al apologist), but this show just is pure uneducated garbage. First of all, the humor. I would talk about the plot, but each episode's plot is bland and formulaic, and they instead rely on the "jokes". The jokes are either calling out something that just happened, done at the expense of a single character, or happen only to spend the next 30 seconds explaining it. Next, the characters. They are either bland, have wierd designs *cough* Gretel, are annoying, or are a combination of any of those three options. And don't even get me started about the villains. They are either pale imitations of Doofenshmirtz or have their entire personality revolve around their name, which is more often than not a corny pun. And finally, we have the music. While Phineas and Ferb had some absolute bangers, and Milo Murphy's Law had some hidden gems, Hamster and Gretel have the complete opposite. The songs are annoying, and the only catchy ones are catchy in that "annoying commercial jingle" kind of way. Overall, this show stinks, and if you're looking for something by Dan Povenmire, just put on Phineas and Ferb instead of this garbage.
The Catastrophic Crusader! 😡
a34trgv13 November 2023
Following the success of Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, Dan Povenmire concocts a brand new show for the Mouse House's television division. My hopes were understandably high given his track record, but I still vowed to judge this show fairly on its own merits without unjustly comparing it to its predecessors. So, on its own merits as a new Disney show I can confidently say this cartoon...IS A BLOOMING ATROCIOUS ABOMINATION! That might sound like hyperbole, but as you'll find in this review, that statement couldn't be more accurate!
The latest show from Dan Povenmire, Hamster & Gretel follows the adventures of a girl and her pet hamster teaming up and fighting bad guys. This premise sounds simple and could've made for a very funny show that took a meta spin on the superhero genre. What we get instead is a superhero show that fails to be super and heroic. The writing is frustratingly abysmal with the origin being complete dumped upon you in the first episode and any sense of character development and growth just zipped on by. I kid you not, the very next scene after Hamster and Gretel get their powers, she already has a costume with not explaination as to how or why. There's also no strughle for her when it comes to figuring out her powers, no set up for any of her villains and no consequences to her messing things up. In addition to very speedy pacing, this show has very clunky dialogue with long drawn out exposition scenes and characters saying stuff that's very obvious. Then there's the humor, or should I say lack there of? This show's humor consists of lame puns, weak slapstick, and painfully unfunny visual gags. They also have a habit of explaining the joke, which I despise with a passion. This isn't even first or second draft kind of bad writing: this is just unacceptable!
The characters are some of the most unlikable and annoying characters I've seen from a Disney production outside of Hailey's On It. Starting with our titular duo, Hamster (side note: can we stop giving pets the names of their species? It's not cute, it makes their owners incompetent and lazy) is the silent character who rarely talks but doesn't have anything interesting to say. The thing about Hamster, though, is he's the least bad out of the entire cast because everyone else is just an annoying and incompetent moron! Gretel is yet another annoying chatterbox that's irresponsible, stupid, careless, and unfunny. Her brother, Kevin, isn't much better as he's a winey, stupid, overbearing and chatty teen who mostly just fills in space. Fred is the typical goth girl, Carolina is the naive and aloof mother, Dave is the idiot father and Bailey is the dimwitted best friend. Then there are the "villains" who are just left over fodder from Teamo Supremo. They're all petty, stupid, annoying, and pathetic losers that shouldn't be taken seriously and are more nuisances than actual threats.
The voice acting is honestly terrible, which is a shame because some of these actors have done good work in other shows. Dan Povenmire's daughter, Meli, was just awful as Gretel as she not only sounded nothing like a 9 year old girl, but she also sounded so disinterested and unsure in her line deliveries. Michael Cimino didn't sound enthusiastic as Kevin, either, and he honestly didn't have much chemistry with Gretel. Beck Bennett only had a few lines as Hamster, but not one of them was memorable or funny. Joey King didn't sound very convincing as a goth girl, as she kinda had a bit of a valley girl accent which didn't fit the character. Matt Jones is using same voice he's used in all his roles for Dave and doesn't make him sound memorable or interesting. Carolina Ravassa sounded very unconvincing as the typical Mother with a Spanish accent as all I kept thinking was that is Sombra from Overwatch pretending to be a housewife. Try as the veteran actors might, not even they can salvage the clunky material they're given.
Visually, it's a nice looking Disney show from a design standpoint, but falls apart in the animation department. The characters have really unique designs that stay true to Povenmire's geometric style while also being very distinct from his previous shows. The characters have different shapes for their heads, their clothes are colorful and they have differing body types. The backgrounds are also very well crafted and this city definitely feels lived in. In motion, though, that's when you notice some glaring issues. The characters move in a very speedy pace much like the writing as if standing still or movig subtly was strictly forbidden. This is especially evident in the action scenes, which are over almost as soon as they begin. This show also does everything in its power to cut away from the action scenes to show an unfunny visual gag. Design-wise, it looks really good, but once it's in motion, that's when the problem starts.
The worst aspect about this show, though, is the awful sound mixing. I'm not savy in sound mixing, but I know for a fact that you're not supposed to make rookie mistakes in a professional production such as this show. When characters are talking off screen, they sound like they're speaking into a tin can, thus killing the illusion. I'm well aware this was made during the pandemic, but even during the time of social distancing animated productions still managed to work around these restrictions and put out a well put together product. There should be no reason why something like this should be in a cartoon made by the biggest entertainment company on Earth. If this was intentional, thanks, I hate it!
That was totally HORRENDOUS! Hamster & Gretel is an abominable cartoon with atrocious writing, annoying characters, terrible voice acting, nonexistent humor, and badly directed animation. The biggest sin this show commits, though, is being bad on a technical level with it's choppy editing and amateurish sound mixing. This isn't just bad, this is INEXCUSABLY BAD! As such it deserves the worst fate to bestow on a piece of entertainment: to be ignored and forgotten! Do NOT watch Hamster & Gretel! Don't even mention it to Dan Povenmire on social media! You're better off watching Phineas and Ferb 104 times than watching this show even once! -.-
The latest show from Dan Povenmire, Hamster & Gretel follows the adventures of a girl and her pet hamster teaming up and fighting bad guys. This premise sounds simple and could've made for a very funny show that took a meta spin on the superhero genre. What we get instead is a superhero show that fails to be super and heroic. The writing is frustratingly abysmal with the origin being complete dumped upon you in the first episode and any sense of character development and growth just zipped on by. I kid you not, the very next scene after Hamster and Gretel get their powers, she already has a costume with not explaination as to how or why. There's also no strughle for her when it comes to figuring out her powers, no set up for any of her villains and no consequences to her messing things up. In addition to very speedy pacing, this show has very clunky dialogue with long drawn out exposition scenes and characters saying stuff that's very obvious. Then there's the humor, or should I say lack there of? This show's humor consists of lame puns, weak slapstick, and painfully unfunny visual gags. They also have a habit of explaining the joke, which I despise with a passion. This isn't even first or second draft kind of bad writing: this is just unacceptable!
The characters are some of the most unlikable and annoying characters I've seen from a Disney production outside of Hailey's On It. Starting with our titular duo, Hamster (side note: can we stop giving pets the names of their species? It's not cute, it makes their owners incompetent and lazy) is the silent character who rarely talks but doesn't have anything interesting to say. The thing about Hamster, though, is he's the least bad out of the entire cast because everyone else is just an annoying and incompetent moron! Gretel is yet another annoying chatterbox that's irresponsible, stupid, careless, and unfunny. Her brother, Kevin, isn't much better as he's a winey, stupid, overbearing and chatty teen who mostly just fills in space. Fred is the typical goth girl, Carolina is the naive and aloof mother, Dave is the idiot father and Bailey is the dimwitted best friend. Then there are the "villains" who are just left over fodder from Teamo Supremo. They're all petty, stupid, annoying, and pathetic losers that shouldn't be taken seriously and are more nuisances than actual threats.
The voice acting is honestly terrible, which is a shame because some of these actors have done good work in other shows. Dan Povenmire's daughter, Meli, was just awful as Gretel as she not only sounded nothing like a 9 year old girl, but she also sounded so disinterested and unsure in her line deliveries. Michael Cimino didn't sound enthusiastic as Kevin, either, and he honestly didn't have much chemistry with Gretel. Beck Bennett only had a few lines as Hamster, but not one of them was memorable or funny. Joey King didn't sound very convincing as a goth girl, as she kinda had a bit of a valley girl accent which didn't fit the character. Matt Jones is using same voice he's used in all his roles for Dave and doesn't make him sound memorable or interesting. Carolina Ravassa sounded very unconvincing as the typical Mother with a Spanish accent as all I kept thinking was that is Sombra from Overwatch pretending to be a housewife. Try as the veteran actors might, not even they can salvage the clunky material they're given.
Visually, it's a nice looking Disney show from a design standpoint, but falls apart in the animation department. The characters have really unique designs that stay true to Povenmire's geometric style while also being very distinct from his previous shows. The characters have different shapes for their heads, their clothes are colorful and they have differing body types. The backgrounds are also very well crafted and this city definitely feels lived in. In motion, though, that's when you notice some glaring issues. The characters move in a very speedy pace much like the writing as if standing still or movig subtly was strictly forbidden. This is especially evident in the action scenes, which are over almost as soon as they begin. This show also does everything in its power to cut away from the action scenes to show an unfunny visual gag. Design-wise, it looks really good, but once it's in motion, that's when the problem starts.
The worst aspect about this show, though, is the awful sound mixing. I'm not savy in sound mixing, but I know for a fact that you're not supposed to make rookie mistakes in a professional production such as this show. When characters are talking off screen, they sound like they're speaking into a tin can, thus killing the illusion. I'm well aware this was made during the pandemic, but even during the time of social distancing animated productions still managed to work around these restrictions and put out a well put together product. There should be no reason why something like this should be in a cartoon made by the biggest entertainment company on Earth. If this was intentional, thanks, I hate it!
That was totally HORRENDOUS! Hamster & Gretel is an abominable cartoon with atrocious writing, annoying characters, terrible voice acting, nonexistent humor, and badly directed animation. The biggest sin this show commits, though, is being bad on a technical level with it's choppy editing and amateurish sound mixing. This isn't just bad, this is INEXCUSABLY BAD! As such it deserves the worst fate to bestow on a piece of entertainment: to be ignored and forgotten! Do NOT watch Hamster & Gretel! Don't even mention it to Dan Povenmire on social media! You're better off watching Phineas and Ferb 104 times than watching this show even once! -.-
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