As much as a lot of people mention the narrative that KND attempts to tell, I wonder if the show really had much intention of telling it. I can't stop thinking about this one podcast hosted by Maxwell Atoms that Mr. Warburton made an appearance on. It's really insightful on not only how the animation industry worked in the 2000s, but also how KND was handled during its production. Ironically, it seems he and his crew intended on making KND something more episodic despite its bits of narrative. He, Atoms, and Greg Miller remark on how they enjoy the rather fast-paced environment of working with television. Instead of being stuck with one idea for years with film, you can explore multiple ideas and move onto the next thing if it doesn't seem to work out.
I get that appeal. Even in narrative-based shows, you can only dilly-dally and explore the show's world so much until you lose the plot. Many KND episodes are incredibly fun because they get to explore numerous concepts that elaborate on the show's worldbuilding. Say what you want about its larger narrative being unfocused, but you still certainly get a good idea on how this world functions, what its people are like, etc. As fickle as the format is, being episodic gives a lot of opportunity for worldbuilding, like one giant mural you can keep adding onto. Not only that, but shows like KND, as a result of this format, are very good at spurring the imagination in their viewers. Since KND is a children's show, I can imagine this made watching the show as a child very very exciting.
At the same time, things only get elaborated on so much. You get the compelling idea, then it flies past. Then you're sitting there hoping you'll see it again; more often than not it doesn't come back. Although I am very satisfied and have tons of fun watching this show, I find myself asking so many questions. What did the KND do to make Mr. Wink and Mr. Fibb look like that? Did they do the same thing to Crazy Old Cat Lady and Miss Goodwall? Why did Wink and Fibb leave their club? Where's Hoagie's father? When will Abby get more opportunities to be vulnerable/show flaws? What is this organization all the villains seem to work under? Does this organization have any association with that fucking supermarket they all go to? Why do they even keep XXXL if xey don't seem to have much interest in fighting the KND unless they directly inconvenience xem? Why did Cree join the Teen Ninjas? Does the KND know about Lasso Lass? What the fuck was Laura Limpin's deal?
I'll stop there with my questions; you get the deal. As much as it's fun to fill in the blanks myself, it would be nice to see some of these ideas in action. It doesn't help that some questions relate to KND's seemingly larger narrative, something you'd think they would want to make an episode on but they just didn't. It leaves me restless. The world morphs faster than the characters that live in it. You have such good, imaginative ideas and then you go to the next thing. I love it and I hate it. What was the deal with Mr. Fibb and Mr. Wink. What was it. You guys would've wondered the same. Curse my autismo life.
