Mighty Mike and friends
Mighty Mike is a French CGI-animated series which is co-produced by Team TO and Digital Dimension, and first launched in 2019.It follows the adventures of Mike, a pug as he tries to woo a dog called Iris and he has help from three turtles as they try to stop two raccoon brothers.
The series is notable for using hyper-realistic design
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Tropes found in Mighty Mike:
- Actual Pacifist: Mike is a high-minded character who won't do anything to hurt anyone physically, although he is not above humiliating the raccoons.
- All-CGI Cartoon: This cartoon has been animated entirely in CGI.
- Anti-Villain: Mercury the raccoon wouldn't be as villainous were it not for the schemes of his brother Freddie; if anything, he's largely too easily influenced by him.
- Big Bad: Freddie and Mercury the raccoons are the villains that the protagonists come into conflict with every episode, although this is Played for Laughs.
- Bottle Episode: A curious variation as every episode only takes place in the house, around the pool or the raccoons' cave, and it doesn't go outside of it.
- Butt-Monkey: Freddie and Mercury the raccoons, who the universe has it in for in negative ways as consequences.
- Children Are Innocent: Fluffy the kitten, who generally acts on instinct and therefore genuinely doesn't realize that his actions tend to cause inconvenience for the other characters. He's also sometimes targeted by the raccoons so that they can achieve their own ends without punishment.
- Code of Honour: Mike has been described in some online listings of this series as a high-minded pug, which would suit his moral code.
- Comic-Book Time: The flow of time in the show isn't explained, and none of the central characters have aged a bit since the first episode.
- Curious Qualms of Conscience: Sometimes Mike's expressions on the show when he's foiled the raccoons' schemes are as if to say "Was this really the right course of action"?
- Determinator: Mike, as no matter what he experiences, he will always find some way to overcome the situation.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Mike, naturally. He tries his hardest to woo Iris, who may or may notice when he has romantic intentions.
- Fat and Skinny: Among the two raccoons, Mercury is the fat one whereas Freddie is the skinny one.
- Fat Idiot: Mercury. Not only is he none too bright (hence getting roped into Freddie's schemes, for one), he also tends to be distracted by the things that he wants to do until Freddie points him in the right direction.
- The Gadfly: Freddie and Mercury are a duo whose only main role is to annoy Mike and his friends until they give in. Although because it's a silent cartoon, it's what they do not say that makes them fit this role.
- Genre Throwback: Despite the CGI, it's a throwback to the old 1960s The Pink Panther cartoons due to its lack of dialogue and slapstick the protagonist experiences.
- Harmless Villain: Freddie and Mercury are the central villains, but easily defeated due to Mike's ingenuity whatever they scheme to get every episode.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: The Mikkelsens, the family that owns the house, are only seen from the feet down.
- Light Is Good: Mike the pug is beige and the good guy, Freddie and Mercury the raccoons are gray and the bad guys.
- Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: There's no real dialogue apart from unintelligible dialogue now and then in the series.
- Minimalist Cast: There's no guest stars, only Mike the pug, Iris the dog, Fluffy the kitten, Porthos, Athos and Aramis the turtles and Freddie and Mercury the raccoons.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Freddie and Mercury were named after Freddie Mercury from English rock band Queen.
- Negative Continuity: Given the slapstick humor of the show, even if things are damaged, they will return to normal next episode with no explanation.
- Power Trio: Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, the turtles. They're highly agile and usually can be relied on to help Mike best the raccoons.
- Rascally Raccoon: Freddie and Mercury, the two raccoons who constantly break into and attempt to rob Mike's home.
- Sadist Show: Downplayed, given the target demographic, but bad things happen to all the characters, although because Mike's a Determinator and the villains are harmless, the level of sadistic behavior is rather low for a show like this and more a comic variant of sadism.
- Status Quo Is God: The series will always return to Mike dealing with the raccoons' schemes and trying to win over Iris, no matter how often it's shown Mike and Iris being a couple, or one of the raccoons learning their lesson.
- White-and-Grey Morality: The protagonists are portrayed as pure good, but Freddie and Mercury the raccoons aren't the most evil of characters, at best the annoyance.
