Lil' Bush
Lil' Bush | |
---|---|
File:Lilbushlogo.JPG | |
Created by | Donick Cary |
Voices of | Chris Parson Dave Mitchell Mara Cary Donick Cary Ann Villella Iggy Pop |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Donick Cary Jay Karras |
Running time | 30/11 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | Comedy Central |
Release | June 13, 2007 – Present |
Lil' Bush is a satirical, politically-themed animated comedy show created by Donick Cary and aired on Comedy Central since June 13, 2007. The series began as content for Amp'd Mobile. Each 30-minute episode consists of two story segments, with each segment featuring a musical performance by the Lil' Bush Band.
Premise
Lil' Bush takes place in an alternate reality version of the present day, where George H.W. Bush is president and George W. Bush ("Lil' Bush" on the show) as well as other major modern politicians (many of them members of George W. Bush's real-life staff) are all children attending Beltway Elementary School. Issues in which the current Bush Administration is involved—for example, the Iraq War—are transferred to the elder Bush, but feature the younger Bush interacting with them in various ways. Also, just as George Bush's father is president, the parents of the other kids are members of the elder Bush's cabinet (all depicted as their present-day real-life adult counterparts, with the exception of the elder Cheney, who is shown always wearing a Darth Vader mask).
Episodes
Season 1
- June 13, 2007 - Lil' Bush and his friends go to Iraq to find the perfect Father's Day gift; the gang bets to see who can kiss a girl first.
- June 20, 2007 - Lil' Bush learns to stand up for himself against Lil' Kim Jong-il; Lil' Bush and his gang go to summer camp and discover a sleeper cell.
- June 27, 2007 - Lil' Bush meets Lil' Tony Blair, and the two become close friends and cheerleaders for the school's football team, much to the dismay of both sets of parents, who misinterpret their relationship as being gay. Bush's friends are alienated because he doesn't lead them anymore, so they blindly follow Lil' Barack Obama; Lil' Bush doesn't want to do his chores. Under his father's threat of canceling Martin Luther King day, Lil' Bush and the Gang find an alternate way to complete their chores, with the help of underpaid illegal alien workers.
- The Lil' Kim Jong episode is slightly different version from episode "Nuked" found on Amp'd Mobile.
Main characters
- Lil' Bush (George W. Bush), voiced by Chris Parson; the leader of the gang, he often makes choices without thinking about the consequences, though is sometimes corrected by his friends. He also enjoys giving people various nicknames.
- George Sr. (George H. W. Bush), voiced by Dave Mitchell; the irascible Commander in Chief who acts as somewhat of a straight man to Lil' Bush. Shown to be physically extremely weak and possessing a deep love for saltine crackers.
- Barbara Bush, voiced by Mara Cary; the sexually frustrated wife of the President, she resorts to having a tryst with Lil' Cheney. Barbara is actually a composite being, possessing George Washington's head, William H. Taft's body, and Betsy Ross' "Lady Parts."
- Lil' Jeb (Jeb Bush), voiced by Dave Mitchell; the extremely incompetent brother of Lil' Bush, he is even incapable of coherent speech, possibly being mentally retarded. His body is extremely resistant to pain however, surviving a car crashing into his body in episode 3, surviving falling down a mountain in episode 2, and also remaining unscathed after Lil' Bush tries to kill him with a crowbar in episode 1.
- Lil' Cheney (Dick Cheney), voiced by Donick Cary; a friend of Lil' Bush, he growls incoherently ("reh-reh-REH-reh!") rather than speaking, with the occasional interjection of a contextually relevant word or phrase ("reh-reh-Rusty Trombone-reh-reh-reh"); the rest of the characters appear to understand him. He is also an expert in foreign languages, acts as a translator for the group, and exclusively consumes raw-sometimes living-meat and blood.
- Lil' Condi (Condoleezza Rice), voiced by Ann Villella; constantly within a situation of unrequited love with Lil' Bush, she acts as the voice of reason for her friends.
- Lil' Rummy (Donald Rumsfeld), voiced by Iggy Pop; seems to be the only remotely intelligent character on the show aside from Lil' Condi, he sometimes displays a sadistic side, possibly resulting from the fact that he is abused by his father.
Supporting characters
- Lil' Bill (Bill Clinton), voiced by Chris Parson; constantly cheats on Lil' Hillary.
- Lil' Hillary (Hillary Clinton); girlfriend of Lil' Bill, she works at an abortion clinic after school "just for fun" and is also suggested to be a lesbian or bisexual after kissing Lil' Condi.
- Lil' Laura (Laura Bush): the pudgy object of Lil' Bush's desire, she never speaks, with all her remarks made by a jingling sound, and at one point goes to a fat camp.
- Lil' Foley (Mark Foley), voiced by Dave Mitchell
- Lil' Barack (Barack Obama), voiced by Tim Meadows; shown laughing at Lil' Bush, he is "nuked" by Lil' Bush where he is seen sneaking a cigarette (or possibly marijuana) outside of the White House. He also leads Lil' Bush's friends after Lil' Bush abandons them for Lil' Tony Blair. He attempts to enlist their help in building a house for a single mother, but the gang burns it down for insurance fraud money, which they use to buy themselves scooters.
- Lil' Al Gore, voiced by Chris Parson
- Lil' John Kerry, voiced by Chris Parson
- Lil' Mikey Moore, voiced by Chris Parson
- Lil' Nancy Pelosi; shown sewing a flag with rainbow-colored stripes, she is also "nuked" by Lil' Bush.
- Lil' Kim Jong-il, voiced by Diane Hsu; The new student at Beltway Elementary, he antagonizes Lil' Bush, who refers to him as "Kitty", as Lil' Bush's mind processes his image as a cat. He also seems to have inferioty complex with americans.
- Lil' Tony Blair, voiced by Dave Mitchell; an effeminate British boy who is on the same cheerleading squad as Lil' George. The two become friends, much to the consternation of both boys' families. Barbara Bush uses "being British" as a euphemism for homosexuality, and she is alarmed at the possibility of Lil' George "applying for dual citizenship".
- Lil' John Ashcroft; shown singing and playing a guitar, he is booed before the Lil' Bush Band plays.
Cultural references
- In the first episode the gang is shown playing in a rock band parodying Guns 'n Roses.
- In the second episode the gang again is shown playing in a band parodying the Sex Pistols and later in the show KISS.
- In the third episode the gang parody WHAM! and Tony Basil.
- Lil' Cheney lives with his father (depicted as Darth Vader) in the Death Star, guarded by Imperial Stormtroopers.
Critical response
The show has received mostly negative reviews from critics, with Metacritic giving it a metascore of 31/100 [1]. A common complaint is that the show comes too late in Bush's Presidency to remain topical[2]. Other complaints include its immaturity and lack of subtlety.[3]
References
- ^ Lil' Bush: Resident Of The United States. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ TELEVISION REVIEW; The President and His Friends, Younger and More Animated. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ Lil' Bush episode 2 quoting The New York Times