‘The Cuphead Show!’ Review: A Marvelous and Thrilling Homage to the Original Game

Between its distinctive animation style and imaginative deals with the devil, Cuphead has always been a video game that encouraged fans to imagine more. Aside from its great gameplay, there was a lived-in quality that defined Chad and Jason Moldenhauer’s game. Now thanks to Netflix, more has arrived, and it’s just as charming as you may imagine. Not only is The Cuphead Show! a loving expansion its source material, but it’s also a family-friendly homage to an era of animation that has too often been forgotten. Anyone of any age can watch The Cuphead Show! and have a great time. During a TV era that thrives on specialty shows for every person, that sense of universal enjoyment is high praise.

Much like the 2017 game it’s based on, The Cuphead Show! follows the misadventures of the impulsive Cuphead (Tru Valentino) and his cautious brother Mugman (Frank T. Todaro). Cuphead the game followed a fairly simple narrative. After losing their souls at the Devil’s casino, the run-and-gun shooter followed these brothers as they battled their way through various boss fights in an attempt to repay their debt. There are touches of this original story. The Devil (Luke Millington Drake) appears in the first episode and does, in fact, steal Cuphead’s soul. The brothers then have to spend several episodes outwitting him. But instead of sticking to this straightforward story, The Cuphead Show! takes its narrative inspiration from the golden age of American animation, threading its central tale through day-in-the-life vignettes. There are big confrontations and an interconnecting plot. But The Cuphead Show! is just as happy to document the hare-brained schemes of these trouble-loving brothers.

This change may be frustrating to fans of the original game. There aren’t any boss battles, and though characters from Cuphead appear, their adventures are defined by character-expanding short stories rather than weapons. However, it’s a deviation that speaks to this series’ true love. The Cuphead Show! isn’t fascinated with its source material, characters, or what it means to be a video game. No, this is a show in love with animation itself.

Nearly every detail of the Netflix original screams out this adoration. It’s not uncommon to see the series switch between its typically rubber hose animation to play around with stop motion or another more modern technique. Flecks of white constantly dart across the screen, a design flourish that brings to mind a time when movies only existed on film. Similarly, the colors always feel a tad too dull as if muddled by that same film. Even the dialogue echoes a bygone era. The writing is so clean, reference-free, and comedically sharp it feels taken straight from a classic Disney animated short.

These tributes extend to smaller moments as well. In one episode, Cuphead and Mugman are haunted by a trio of prank-loving ghosts. Every time their yellow-gloved hands pass through the trio’s blueish forms, they turn bright green. Nearly every time Cuphead or Mugman make a sudden movement, you can see the liquid around the straws on their head ripple. In these tiny flourishes, The Cuphead Show! transcends the era it so loves to be something greater. If the cartooning legends of the past had the time, resources, and technology of this show, surely this is how their work would look. The series is packed full of sight-gags like that, endlessly charming moments that reward viewers for looking up from their phones and fully paying attention.

Even the way Valentino and Todaro speak calls to mind animation of the ’30s and ’40s. As intentionally grating as it always is, there’s something homey about the pair’s exaggerated New York accents. Many jokes land thanks to Valentino and Todaro’s vocal work alone. During a time when realistic performances in animation are in vogue, it’s nice to see the complete opposite: a cartoon that’s thrilled to be a cartoon.

Fans looking for endless fight scenes and animated violence will likely be disappointed. But by abandoning the shooter format of its video game, The Cuphead Show! has created something more than the sum of its parts. It continues Netflix’s trend of superb video game adaptations by creating an animated world so intricate and alive that it will make any animation fan swoon while remaining fun and relatable for any age. Just put on an episode and try not to smile.

Season 1 of The Cuphead Show! premieres on Netflix Friday, February 18.

Watch The Cuphead Show! on Netflix