The Cuphead Show

''The Cuphead Show!'' is an animated slapstick comedy streaming television series developed by Dave Wasson for Netflix, loosely based on the 2017 Canadian video game ''Cuphead'' by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the creators of ''Cuphead'', serve as executive producers, along with Wasson and CJ Kettler from King Features Syndicate, 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-style world of the Inkwell Isles, ''The Cuphead Show!'' follows the misadventures of Cuphead and Mugman, a pair of anthropomorphic 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 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 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 as Ollie Bulb, Jasper and Duke
* Candi Milo as Cherry and Brandywine Heirloom
* Keith Ferguson as Bowlboy
* Chris Wylde as Ribby
* Rick Zieff as Croaks
* Andrew Morgado as Sherman, Stickler and Mr. Mayor
* Cristina Milizia as Baby Bottle
* Dave Wasson as Mr. Telephone, Ice Cream Man, Bee Cop and Henchman
* Zoë Moss as Baroness Von Bon Bon and Whippet Creampup
* Gary Anthony Williams as Quadratus
* Jason Vande Brake as Captain Brineybeard
* Chris Kattan as Werner Werman
* Adam Paloian as Ms. Cyclops and Hippo Usher
* Natasia Demetriou as Cala Maria
* Mick Wingert as Ludwig
* Marcia Gay Harden as Sally Stageplay
* Melique Berger as Belinda and Bonnie
* Dawnn Lewis as Bedelia and Boo-Boo
* Deeki Deke as Sword
* Wayne Brady as King Dice
* Luke Millington-Drake as the Devil
* Kimberly Brooks 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, Dave Wasson, and co-executive produced by Cosmo Segurson. Clay Morrow and Adam Paloian are supervising directors. The series is animated by Lighthouse Studios, a Kilkenny-based division between Mercury Filmworks and Cartoon Saloon, 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 in June 2020, with the announcement that the show's music will be composed by Ego Plum.

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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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, Adam Paloian, Cosmo Segurson, and Dave Wasson.

Season 1 (2022)

Season 2 (2022)

Season 3 (2022)

Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, 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, it has a weighted average 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 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 Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Series.

References

External links

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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