The Perishers (1978-9)
A small group of children have adventures with their dog Boot.
The animation translates well enough from the original comic strip with smooth movements and vivid colour. It’s dynamic thanks to the dog characters but kept at a slow enough pace that it’s easy to follow and takes very little thought to watch.
Boot seems rather cynical for a comic strip characters, in something like the same vein as Garfield. The episodes are short so they’re easily digestible like a brief comic and aside from trivial events they’re fairly uneventful. The Indian stereotype used for one of the dogs is a little unfortunate.
Most of the narratives seem light hearted and relate to one misunderstanding or piece of mischief each. In addition, the voices are soft enough that the stories can be consumed in a relaxed way.
The messages seem vague and weak at best, unlike most other children’s series which have little bits of advice. There’s an attempt to suggest that the dogs have lore or narrative rules but there’s an absence of healthy information like the effects of dog whistles or an explanation for their lack of object permanence.
2/10 -It’s not THE worst, that’s something else. But…-
