Nickelodeon has not been doing well lately. In fact they've been doing downright awful. Their recent shows like Sanjay and Craig, Breadwinners, and Rabbids Invasion have been duds. Shows filled with unlikable characters and stupid nonsense they call "humor". Then there's Legend of Korra and TMNT, that just never really appealed to me personally. Others like SpongeBob and Fairly Odd Parents have been running for more than a decade, and it seems like the former king of kid's programming have fallen flat on their faces. But every once in a while they do produce something epic, something that shows the world that Nick can produce quality. Their last cartoon to do this was 2011's Tuff Puppy and now they've done that again with Harvey Beaks.
The show is created by C.H. Greenblatt, the creator of Cartoon Network's Chowder (My 2nd favorite cartoon ever) and while it does have some of the weirdness that Chowder perfected, the two shows are completely different otherwise. Harvey Beaks' focus is much more on childhood innocence and adventure, resulting in a sweet and heart felt show with surprisingly beautiful animation.
The show is about a bird named Harvey Beaks, and his friends Fee and Foo. Harvey is a tame boy, while brother and sister Fee and Foo are mischievous. This leads to a lot of situations where Harvey is often trying to fit in with Fee and Foo, but it sometimes doesn't work out all the way. Despite the strange designs of the characters, the trio behave a lot like normal kids. They can be gross, they can be weird, they can be emotional, and they're very likable characters. They're also good role models, when one character is sad, the others try to help out that character. They always try to do the right thing. The humor is actually funny in the show. The disgusting humor and cartoons like Breadwinners Will likely be dated after the show gets canceled, but Harvey Beaks' humor is mostly based off of the character's situations like the humor in Foster's Home and Ruby Gloom. It's not trying to be hip to fit in with the kids of this generation. The stories in the show are usually just about Harvey and his friends having fun, with some sort of conflict. For example; in one episode, Fee and Foo are separated by magnetic electricity, and at first they like playing around with it. But soon they miss being able to spend time being together. It's delightful to see them bond like that. That episode in particular really use the power of animation to it's benefit. By the way, the animation and the show is absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds look completely hand-painted, and the woodland characters in the show match the forest setting perfectly. It's something you must see in order to truly understand what I'm saying.
Harvey Beaks is an excellent show, and a true breath of fresh air for an otherwise dull and unoriginal television network. The show will be completely relevant 10 years from now as it will be in 2015. Think there's nothing good on Nickelodeon? Think again!
