There is an idea going around that Canadians can't make quality animation. Said idea can be disproved by watching an episode of Kaput & Zosky.
When I first saw Nicktoons Network in 2006, I got addicted and watched the show religiously. It didn't last long, but it was great while it lasted. A couple years afterwards, the comics the show was based on were released in English, and I was happy to find that the translation was well done (although I took issue with not naming their weapons "crisperizers").
I won't lie, I think this is one of the best toons to come out of the 2000s.
Much like Pinky and the Brain, which shares a similar premise, the idea behind the show was simple and allowed for infinite variations. The show's comedy shared a balance between the crude and the clever: in one episode, where Kaput and Zösky try to take over a planet by getting elected, you can find such gags as Kaput and Zösky's party name abbreviating to "FART" and some rather satirical observations on the nature of democracy (at the end, the duo wish there was a democracy where you didn't have to keep your promises, and agree that such a thing is impossible).
The voice work was another asset. Rick Jones and Mark Camacho, who played Kaput and Zösky respectively, did a terrific job as the titular duo. While I'm not certain who any of the other voices are, they're probably from the same acting pool, who you may have heard in programs like Samurai Pizza Cats and Arthur. While pitifully obscure compared to their Western Canadian counterparts, I find them so much better.
Lewis Trondheim's art style is a particular favorite of mine, and the character designs for the various aliens Kaput and Zösky meet are often inventive and weird, as should befit a show like this. The show comes before a time when Canadian cartoons were done in Flash, so the animation is pleasingly hand drawn and fluid.
While for years the show was hard to find, every episode was posted on YouTube a while back, even including episodes that weren't shown in the US. Go and check it out. You won't be disappointed.
The epitome of obscure yet underrated animation
There is an idea going around that Canadians can't make quality animation. Said idea can be disproved by watching an episode of Kaput & Zosky.
When I first saw Nicktoons Network in 2006, I got addicted and watched the show religiously. It didn't last long, but it was great while it lasted. A couple years afterwards, the comics the show was based on were released in English, and I was happy to find that the translation was well done (although I took issue with not naming their weapons "crisperizers").
I won't lie, I think this is one of the best toons to come out of the 2000s.
Much like Pinky and the Brain, which shares a similar premise, the idea behind the show was simple and allowed for infinite variations. The show's comedy shared a balance between the crude and the clever: in one episode, where Kaput and Zösky try to take over a planet by getting elected, you can find such gags as Kaput and Zösky's party name abbreviating to "FART" and some rather satirical observations on the nature of democracy (at the end, the duo wish there was a democracy where you didn't have to keep your promises, and agree that such a thing is impossible).
The voice work was another asset. Rick Jones and Mark Camacho, who played Kaput and Zösky respectively, did a terrific job as the titular duo. While I'm not certain who any of the other voices are, they're probably from the same acting pool, who you may have heard in programs like Samurai Pizza Cats and Arthur. While pitifully obscure compared to their Western Canadian counterparts, I find them so much better.
Lewis Trondheim's art style is a particular favorite of mine, and the character designs for the various aliens Kaput and Zösky meet are often inventive and weird, as should befit a show like this. The show comes before a time when Canadian cartoons were done in Flash, so the animation is pleasingly hand drawn and fluid.
While for years the show was hard to find, every episode was posted on YouTube a while back, even including episodes that weren't shown in the US. Go and check it out. You won't be disappointed.