Shortly after subscribing to Peacock, I searched their library to find some obscure cartoons I otherwise never would've heard of. Was hoping to find an overlooked gem, but what I got instead was a disappointment in Superbuns. Despite starting off decently, the cracks reared their ugly heads almost immediately from the formulaic writing to the very one note cast.
Created by Diane Kredesor, based on her own children's book of the same name, Superbuns follows the escapades of a young rabbit who dons a superhero outfit to help her friends and neighbors in need. This premise sounds like it could make for a cute slice of life show that teaches kids about responsibility, kindness, and courage. The first couple episodes made it seem like it was going to be a worthwhile show. As I continued watching, though, that's when it's problems became more apparent. The big issue with Superbuns is that the writing is terrible. Each episode has a very generic plotline that revolves around Buns solving the first world problems of her friends through kindness. There's no surprises to be had as each episode plays out beat for beat with plots such as obtaining a world record, meeting the new kid who other preemptively judge, sharing a new toy, and more. As such, each episode, which is broken up into 3 segments, feel like a slog to get through. The neighborhood also feels WAY too small with roughly 15 characters populating the show. The significant lack of other faces limits the possibilities of who Buns is gonna help in each episode. Not helping is that the humor is more misses than hits with most of the jokes being weak slapstick, tired running gags, and groan worthy puns. I'm all for teaching kids to be kind, but not at the expense of having good writing.
The characters are all defined by their one archetype, which is a bad idea if the audience is supposed to relate and be entertained by them. Starting with out leading bunny, Buns is a young bunny who dresses up like a superhero to spread kindness. If you're expecting her to be anything more, you're sorely mistaken. Buns doesn't exert much personality of her own and acts like a superhero 24/7 with no time acting like a real kid with different interests, other responsibilities, or relatable character flaws. Her sister, Blossom, is a smart, sometimes bossy, well mannered girl who likes math and science. If you're thinking, "Wait, isn't that Blossom from The Powerpuff Girls?", congratulations! You just realized Buns' older sister is just an inferior copy, right down to having the same name. This show only just avoids a lawsuit with a unique character design, though that still doesn't excuse the lack of identity in the character. Buns and Blossom's grandmothers, MeeMaw and GeeMaw, are well mannered women who take care of the girls but don't show any form of discipline or assertiveness in their parenting. Nobody else in the neighborhood is much better, with Neville being the persnickity hippo, Kevin being the anxious hedgehog, and Rhonda being Blossom's exact copy, but as a bear cub. There's also Neil who's an optimistic snail, Luca and Pooka being the typical in sync twins, and Neil's grandfather being an old snail who's only personality is that he's old.
Even though the characters aren't anything to right home about, the voice acting is actually really good. Katie Griffin (of Totally Spies and Sailor Moon fame) did a great job voicing the energetic and rambunctious Buns. Stacey DePass makes Blossom sound really smart and well mannered. Heather Bambrick made Geemaw sound really easy going and tomboyish. Julie Lemieux made Meemaw sound really sweet while as giving Rhonda a distinct nasally voice. Cory Doran made Neville sound very flamboyant and tidy. Devon Mack made Kevin sound perfectly anxious. As one note as the characters are, the actors did a really good job voicing them.
Visually, this show has some really good animation. Yowza Animation did a wonderful job providing the animation for the show. The characters all have simple yet very appealing and expressive designs. The characters have circular body types, wide, expressive smiles, and colorful attire. They also inherent attributes from their real life animal counterparts onto their designs, such as Kevin's spikes being his hair or Buns' ears acting like antennas whenever she hears someone in distress. The character animation is very bouncy and lively with the characters having a good eb and flow to their movements and you can feel the speed of the characters as they run. The backgrounds are also really well detailed and colorful, especially around the park and Buns' house. The best thing I can say about this show is that at least it's not dull from a visual standpoint.
The only thing "super" about Superbuns is how super disappointing it is. Despite starting off well with some funny jokes, bouncy animation, and really good voice acting, it's ultimately held back by terrible writing, one note character, and a very small cast. If you're looking for a cartoon about a happy-go-lucky character spreading kindness and positivity everywhere they go, just watch Wander Over Yonder. It's everything this show is but better in every way possible.
