''The Cuphead Show!'' is an
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
slapstick comedy
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
streaming television series developed by
Dave Wasson
David Jerome Wasson (born September 11, 1968) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a B.F.A. Wasson created the Cartoon Network origi ...
for
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
loosely based on the 2017 Canadian video game ''
Cuphead
''Cuphead'' is a run-and-gun video game developed and published by Studio MDHR. The game follows the titular Cuphead who, in a deal with the Devil after losing a game at the Devil's casino, is sent on a quest to repossess the souls of runaway ...
'' by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the creators of ''Cuphead'', serve as executive producers, along with Wasson and
CJ Kettler
CJ Kettler is an American television producer, media executive, and entrepreneur. She has held senior management positions with Hearst, MTV Networks, Vestron, Oxygen Media, Channel One News, Travelzoo, LIME, and others.
Kettler served as CE ...
from
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
, and Cosmo Segurson serving as co-executive producer.
The series was released worldwide on February 18, 2022, and received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for its animation, voice acting, music, humor and tone, but some felt it lacked in substance, with the episodes' plots being criticized for being "too fragmented" and "often repetitive".
The second season was released on August 19, 2022, followed, soon after, by the third season released on November 18, 2022.
Plot
Set in the
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central United States become dry a ...
-style world of the Inkwell Isles, ''The Cuphead Show!'' follows the misadventures of Cuphead and Mugman, a pair of
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
cup brothers who live with their elderly grandfather and caretaker, Elder Kettle, in a teapot-shaped cottage. The brothers' stories often center around them trying to find their way out of various issues, occasionally meeting and interacting with characters from its video game source material. While the series is mainly episodic, one recurring plot is the
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
hunting Cuphead for his soul, as he believes it is rightfully his after Cuphead lost a soul-harvesting game called "Soul Ball," only to be always foiled by Cuphead and Mugman.
Voice cast
* Tru Valentino as Cuphead, Gameshow Announcer, and Bee Cops
* Frank Todaro as Mugman, Sargent Gumbo Gumbull, Jerry and Earthworm
*
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...
as Ms. Chalice, Hilda Berg, Dorris, Emma, Screwdriver Clerk and Mrs. Mayor
* Joe Hanna as Elder Kettle and Sal Spudder
* Cosmo Segurson as Porkrind, Chauncey Chantenay, Elephant, Hot Dog and Parrot
*
Jim Conroy
Jim Conroy (born September 17, 1970) is an American actor and television writer known for appearing on television shows and movies, such as ''The Cuphead Show!'', ''Jellystone!'', ''Kenny the Shark'' and '' Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman'', as well a ...
as Ollie Bulb, Jasper and Duke
*
Candi Milo
Candyce Anne Rose "Candi" Milo (born January 9, 1961) Timestamps: (00:27:12-00:27:45) Milo states that she is "firmly 51". (00:06:40-00:06:47) Milo states that she was born in Palm Springs. (00:16:23-00:16:25) She says her birthday is in Januar ...
as Cherry and Brandywine Heirloom
*
Keith Ferguson as Bowlboy
*
Chris Wylde
Chris Wylde (born Chris Noll, August 22, 1976) is an American actor from New Jersey.
Wylde is best known for his roles in the films '' The DUFF'', ''Space Cowboys'', the 2009 horror film '' The Revenant'', the 2017 horror comedy '' The Babysitt ...
as Ribby
*
Rick Zieff
Richard Evan Zieff (born November 1, 1961), also known as Danny Katiana, is an American actor and voice-over coach.
Career
His career in voice-overs dates back to the mid-1980s. He has also appeared in such films as '' Mississippi Burning'', '' ...
as Croaks
*
Andrew Morgado
Andrew Morgado is an American voice actor, film writer, ADR mixer and sound editor. He is best known for voicing characters in animated films, animation and video games, such as Cliffjumper in ''Bumblebee'' (2018), Sanjar Nandi in ''The Outer Wor ...
as Sherman, Stickler and Mr. Mayor
* Cristina Milizia as Baby Bottle
*
Dave Wasson
David Jerome Wasson (born September 11, 1968) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a B.F.A. Wasson created the Cartoon Network origi ...
as Mr. Telephone, Ice Cream Man, Bee Cop and Henchman
* Zoë Moss as Baroness Von Bon Bon and Whippet Creampup
*
Gary Anthony Williams
Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He voiced the character of Uncle Ruckus on ''The Boondocks'', and a number of video game characters. He also appeared on the television series '' Weeds'', ...
as Quadratus
* Jason Vande Brake as Captain Brineybeard
*
Chris Kattan
Christopher Lee Kattan () (born October 19, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2003. He played Doug Butabi in '' A Night at the Roxbury'', Bob on the first four seasons of '' The ...
as Werner Werman
* Adam Paloian as Ms. Cyclops and Hippo Usher
*
Natasia Demetriou
Natasia Charlotte Demetriou is an English comedian, actress, and screenwriter. She is best known for her roles as Nadja in the FX horror comedy series ''What We Do in the Shadows'' (2019–present) and Sophie in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Stath Le ...
as Cala Maria
*
Mick Wingert
Micky R. Wingert (born July 4, 1974) is an American voice actor. He is known for his role as the voice of Master Po and Zeng in '' Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness'', taking over the roles from actors Jack Black and Dan Fogler, respective ...
as Ludwig
*
Marcia Gay Harden
Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. She is the recipient of accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Born ...
as Sally Stageplay
* Melique Berger as Belinda and Bonnie
*
Dawnn Lewis
Dawnn Jewel Lewis (born August 13, 1961) is an American actress. Lewis is best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson–Taylor on the NBC television sitcom ''A Different World'' from the series beginning in 1987 until the end of its fifth season in ...
as Bedelia and Boo-Boo
* Deeki Deke as Sword
*
Wayne Brady
Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
as King Dice
* Luke Millington-Drake as the Devil
*
Kimberly Brooks
Kimberly D. Brooks (née Lawson) is an American voice actress who works in the voice-over, film, video games, and theatre industry. She has voiced in video games since the mid-1990s. She has played Ashley Williams in the ''Mass Effect'' serie ...
as Elephant Grandma
Development
In July 2019, it was announced that Netflix had green-lit the series. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer from Studio MDHR are executive producers, along with
C.J. Kettler from
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
,
Dave Wasson
David Jerome Wasson (born September 11, 1968) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a B.F.A. Wasson created the Cartoon Network origi ...
, and co-executive produced by Cosmo Segurson. Clay Morrow and Adam Paloian are supervising directors. The series is animated by Lighthouse Studios, a
Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
-based division between
Mercury Filmworks
Mercury Filmworks is a Canadian independent animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario. The studio was originally founded in Vancouver by Clint Eland, the current CEO, in 1997. Mercury Filmworks has produced animated television series and feature ...
and
Cartoon Saloon
Cartoon Saloon is an Irish animation film, short film and television studio based in Kilkenny which provides film TV and short film services. The studio is best known for its animated feature films ''The Secret of Kells'', ''Song of the Sea'', ' ...
,
and stop motion animation was provided by
Screen Novelties. In an effort to meet streaming series deadlines, the show's production crew were unable to utilize hand-drawn animation like in the game, instead choosing to use puppet-based methods while also putting in various elements to match the 1930s rubber hose style. The series was first revealed at the
Annecy International Animation Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (french: Festival international du film d'animation d'Annecy, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of J ...
in June 2020, with the announcement that the show's music will be composed by
Ego Plum
Ego Plum (born February 27, 1975) is an American film composer, musician, and performer. He is best known for his work on ''The Cuphead Show!,'' ''The Patrick Star Show,'' '' Kamp Koral,'' ''SpongeBob SquarePants,'' ''Jellystone!,'' '' Making Fi ...
.
Characters
Main
* Cuphead (voiced by Tru Valentino) - Mugman's older twin brother. He is reckless, irresponsible (sometimes responsible), impulsive, and unintelligent (sometimes intelligent). He has mischievous adventures alongside Mugman. In the first episode, he lost a soul ball game in a carnival called Carn-Evil (which was Mugman's accidental fault when he tried to tell him about the Devil appearing) and then owed the Devil his soul until "Release the Demons!". In the Season 2 finale/Season 3 premiere two-parter ("The Devil's Pitchfork/The Devil's Revenge!"), it is shown that Cuphead deeply cares about Mugman, and goes to Inkwell Hell for the first time to rescue Mugman after the Devil kidnaps him when Cuphead refused to give him his pitchfork back. Throughout the third season, Cuphead keeps being more and more responsible than his reckless emotions and "sticks to the plan" whenever there are troubles. In the third season's finale "The Devil and Ms. Chalice", Cuphead (along with Mugman and Chalice) is a hero to Inkwell Isle after defeating the Devil in a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" challenge.
* Mugman (voiced by Frank Todaro) - Cuphead's younger twin brother. He always has to deal with Cuphead getting into dangerous situations. He is always having bad luck while keeping an eye on Cuphead. Though he and Cuphead often fight with one another, Mugman still cares for his brother and protects him from the Devil, who wants Cuphead's soul. In the two-parter "The Devil's Pitchfork/The Devil's Revenge!", Cuphead does the same for Mugman by saving ''him'' from the Devil after he kidnapped Mugman; Mugman was aware throughout that Cuphead would indeed rescue him during the time he was kidnapped.
* Elder Kettle (voiced by Joe Hanna) - Cuphead and Mugman's caretaker. He does not like the two cup brothers fighting with one another but loves them dearly. Elder Kettle is unaware of Cuphead and Mugman's encounters with the Devil.
* The Devil (voiced by Luke Millington-Drake) - Cuphead and Mugman's arch-enemy. After Cuphead loses in Soul Ball, he tries time and time again to take Cuphead's soul, eventually becoming obsessed to have his soul as the series progresses. He ultimately fails to make the deadline in "Release the Demons" and kidnaps Mugman instead in "The Devil's Pitchfork"/The Devil's Revenge", only for Cuphead to rescue his brother. Throughout the third season, he had gone through multiple attempts to get the brothers to owe their souls, even forcing the brothers' friend, Ms. Chalice, to betray them, but they all backfire on him.
* Henchman (voiced by
Dave Wasson
David Jerome Wasson (born September 11, 1968) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a B.F.A. Wasson created the Cartoon Network origi ...
) - the Devil's primary assistant. Despite being the assistant, he doesn't appear to be evil and malicious like the Devil but never tries to stop him from doing evil things. The Devil appears to trust Henchman more than anyone else, even though Henchman mildly annoys him sometimes.
* Ms. Chalice or Chalice for short (voiced by
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...
) - The best friend of Cuphead and Mugman. She first appeared in the Season 1 finale, "In Charm's Way", as a con artist, charming people into getting what she wants by tap dancing and singing. She can also change to a ghost form. In the two last episodes of Season 3 ("Dance with Danger"/"The Devil and Ms. Chalice"), it's revealed that she was an orphan, treated coldly in the orphanage. She later escaped and began her charming ways. Later, she was hit and killed by a trolley (explaining her ghost form) and made a deal with the Devil to bring her back to life.
Recurring
* King Dice (voiced by
Wayne Brady
Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
) - The Devil's "Number One" (or the right hand). He works for the Devil and used to collect souls while hosting a radio game show "''Roll the Dice''". In the first season, he gets fired from the show because Cuphead lost in the final task. In the second season's eighth episode "Release the Demons!", Dice attempts to stand out and obliterate all of the third-finest demons the Devil sent out to bring the cup's soul by himself. In the third season's eighth episode "Down & Out", Dice attempts to bring his career back with Cuphead and Mugman's assistance and plans to deliver Cuphead's soul to the Devil until Cuphead declines the deal and the Devil decides to hire him back to entertain Inkwell Hell's demons with his music. In the third season's finale "The Devil and Ms. Chalice", he is seen bringing his show's opening theme back to life, announcing the challenge, and bringing music.
* Stickler (voiced by
Andrew Morgado
Andrew Morgado is an American voice actor, film writer, ADR mixer and sound editor. He is best known for voicing characters in animated films, animation and video games, such as Cliffjumper in ''Bumblebee'' (2018), Sanjar Nandi in ''The Outer Wor ...
) - The Devil's auditor. His appearance frequently annoys the Devil, and Henchman. He encourages the Devil to collect Cuphead's soul in "Sweater Off Dead" until "Release the Demons!" when he says that Cuphead's soul debt has expired due to having missed the deadline for 30 days, hunting the soul. He is seen to appear more regularly in the third season (most notably in "Roadkill", "A Very Devil Christmas", and "The Devil and Ms. Chalice").
* Telephone (voiced by
Dave Wasson
David Jerome Wasson (born September 11, 1968) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a B.F.A. Wasson created the Cartoon Network origi ...
) - An unlucky individual, who loses his soul to the Devil, as a running gag.
* Porkrind (voiced by Cosmo Segurson) - A pig, who owns an emporium. He is frequently irritated by Cuphead and Mugman's antics, which occasionally result in the destruction of his shop. Despite this, he does care about the brothers deep down.
* Bowlboy (voiced by
Keith Ferguson) - An anthropomorphic bowl, whom Cuphead and Mugman interact with sometimes. He later takes an interest in stunts, taking inspiration from Cuphead's actions.
Release
The first season was released on February 18, 2022, and consisted of twelve episodes. Netflix ordered a total of 36 episodes to be produced, that would end up getting released as three seasons. The second season was released on August 19, 2022, and consisted of thirteen episodes, with the third and eighth episodes being close to 25 minutes long. The third season was released on November 18, 2022, and consisted of eleven episodes, with the first, and the finale episodes being 20 minutes long, and the sixth episode being the longest episode in the series, lasting for 30 minutes long.
Episodes
Every episode is written by Deeki Deke,
Clay Morrow
Clarence "Clay" Morrow is a fictional character in the FX television series ''Sons of Anarchy''. He is played by Ron Perlman. Morrow is one of the original "First 9" members of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO), but ...
, Adam Paloian, Cosmo Segurson, and
Dave Wasson
David Jerome Wasson (born September 11, 1968) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, producer, writer, and voice actor. He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with a B.F.A. Wasson created the Cartoon Network origi ...
.
Season 1 (2022)
Season 2 (2022)
Season 3 (2022)
Reception
On review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, 69% of 16 critics gave the first season a positive review, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The site's critical consensus is: "While ''The Cuphead Show!'' fluidly recreates its video game forebear's eye-popping animation, this good-looking vessel is still waiting for some substance to fill it."
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, it has a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 69 based on reviews from 4 critics, indiciating "generally favorable reviews".
''
The Escapist'' noted that "fans and critics have been left disappointed by the series due to its lack of substance and short nature" but the target audience that is children and "kids will discover a bouncy and energetic cartoon and probably find what's here incredibly entertaining."
Rafael Motamayor of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
rated the series 9 out of 10, saying "The Cuphead Show Season 1 delivers memorable characters, surreal humor, and beautiful animation in a fantastic adaptation of the video game."
Accolades
It was nominated for the 2022
.
References
External links
*
*
Official trailer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuphead Show!, The
2022 American television series debuts
2022 Canadian television series debuts
2020s American animated television series
2020s Canadian animated television series
American flash animated television series
Canadian flash animated television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated comedy television series
Animated series based on video games
Animated television series about brothers
Canadian children's animated adventure television series
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
English-language Netflix original programming
Fiction about the Devil
Film and television memes
Netflix children's programming
Television series about demons
Television series by Netflix Animation
Television series created by Dave Wasson
Children's and Family Emmy Award winners