Created by Klasky Csupo, this show is about three young monsters. Ickis, a red rabbit-looking monster, Oblina, a black-and-white stick, and Krumm, a smelly monster that holds his eyes. Together, they go to the Monster Academy where they try to survive and learn how to become great scarers from their strict teacher, The Gromble. He sends the three monsters to scare various humans and from there, the three go on plenty of adventures or misadventures.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is a terrifyingly terrific and underrated Nicktoon. One thing that I love about this show right off the bat is the world building. The monster world is extremely different from the human world. Monsters do not simply prefer the stench and dirtiness, they need it. They also prefer ugly over cute since they need to scare every human out there. They have really fun takes on human sports and olympics. The punishments in particular crack me up. They can go from going inside a very cutesy house to dancing to some really corny human music. It's little details like this that actually make me get really into a show's world. The writers did a great job establishing the world of monsters in this show. I have always enjoyed this world and I still do.
The characters are also great and memorable. Ickis is one of my all-time favorite cartoon characters. He is actually very talented and scary when he wants to be, but he often slacks off or gets nervous before his scares. He deep down just wants to prove that he really is a scary monster who can live up to his dad's name and not just some cute bunny rabbit. What I love about him is that he is a deeply flawed and relatable. He is not the nicest character, but he has a heart of gold. Charlie Adler's performance for Ickis is nothing short of perfect and Adler gives some of the most unique and enjoyable voice work of all time for Ickis. Oblina is also a great character who is a bit more dedicated and competent, but she struggles to put schoolwork aside to have fun. She is nice, but a little stuck up at times. She has a really good backstory that shows how she became so dedicated to scaring. The late, great Christina Cavanaugh gives a fantastic performance for Oblina and makes her sound perfect for the personality. Krumm is a very funny character, but I think he could have been a bit more developed. He is easily the nicest of the three characters and is a lot smarter than he lets off. He also comes as the most innocent of the group with his laidback attitude. He is mainly a very funny comic-relief character, but he does have some great moments with Ickis and Oblina. David Eccles does a great job capturing Krumm's personality.
This trio of characters is fantastic and they have great chemistry with each other. Their teacher, The Gromble, can be best described as the Gordon Ramsey of monsters. He belittles his students and calls them names and he even goes to extreme measures to make sure they learn, but he is a good teacher who does what he can to teach his students and he will go at great lengths to protect them. The best part about him is that he almost never lets students off easily when they did something wrong. There are so many cartoons that just let things work out for the main character, but the Gromble often has some good punishments for his students when they lie or they act up. This is a great thing because it teaches that you will not get away with stealing or lying and that it is not okay to do it. It also makes it to where the monsters avoid becoming characters who can get away with anything they want and hardly get any comeuppance. The Gromble might be my second favorite character because of his humor and his depth. The show goes deep into his character and background sometimes and it was refreshing to see some of his softer sides. Gregg Berger does a terrific job with his voice, also giving The Gromble a unique voice and making him really scary.
Simon D. Hunter could have been a bit better. He is the crazy character that is supposed to be the main antagonist, but he is only in 7 episodes. In a way, he feels like the predecessor to Mr. Crocker from Fairly OddParents. He is the crazy guy who will do anything to prove that monsters are real. He has plenty of funny moments and the episodes he is in are really good, but he just felt very one-dimensional because they didn't give him enough to work with. Nonetheless, Jim Belushi gives a fantastic performance that captures his insanity and wackiness. Zimbo felt more like the antagonist. He is a bee like creature who is a dirty coward that hides behind the snorch to look down upon everyone else. He was the most unlikable character, but he is supposed to be. He made for a good antagonist and it was always satisfying seeing him get what is coming to him. Tim Curry's performance is excellent. The Snorch is an interesting character because he is the monster that punishes bad monsters, but he has some very good moments throughout the series.
Regarding the visuals, they are not the most revolutionary, but it fits the show well. It takes place in a dirty dump and there is plenty of gross imagery, but it was never too much. The animation is pretty smooth and it gets much better as the series progresses. The best looking scenes are during the scares. Those are really cool scenes and they look great. It's a very fast-paced show and the animation represents that well, but it slows down when it needs to. The designs for the monsters are great. They are very creative and diverse. They are weird, but they are very endearing. Each monster has there unique trait or abilities.
Each episode is really fun and there is a really good balance between dark and intense and lighthearted with the episodes. There are several episodes where the three monsters must get out of their comfort zones and not only are their flaws challenged, but also their strengths. Their friendship is also challenged, particularly with Ickis and Oblina. The conflict makes the show. There also some neat lessons in the episodes that I didn't catch when I first watched the show dealing with friendship, appearance and discipline.
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is an awesome show. It deserves so much more respect than it gets. When I rewatched it, I was worried that I would think of it as another show that I cringe at the thought of liking as a kid, but I love it more than ever now. I'm still a fan of this show and despite some flaws, it is still one of my favorite animated shows of all time. It is absolutely worth checking out today.
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