Home Movies was a Soup to Nuts production, released through Shout Factory and was originally intended to be shown on UPN after Dilbert & ended with on 5 or 6. Eventually, like most other IFC like cartoons, after a few years they found their way back to TV. Although only 4 seasons were made, this was a fun cartoon and when put with other Adult Swim cartoons which had a similar look, most notabley Futurama and Family Guy, made for a good 30 minute weeknight after Cartoon network show that the whole family could enjoy.Overall, these were good, clever cartoons that remain pretty fresh and watchable today. It's a shame there weren't more made.

Originally airing on UPN, and failing, Home Movies was moved to the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network with new episodes. The Adult Swim block, when originally aired, contained, and still contains, nothing but brain dead shows. This was the diamond in the rough. Home Movies is the animated equivalent of Seinfeld. The humor came from a few places on this show. It came mostly from the long scenes of dialogue usually between two people that was just hilarious. Or it came from the childishness in Brendan Small, the main character's, films. You can relate to the dialogue, and you can relate the films to the way kids think. It's a brilliant show!! Now for anybody that doesn't know what this show is about, it's about 3 children, Brendan, Melissa and Jason that make films. The kids are in soccer, with the alcoholic, uncaring coach John McGuirk. The first season of the show was done in Squigglevision (like Dr. Katz), and after it was done in Flash animation. Many of the actors from Dr. Katz contributed to this, including H. Jon Benjamin (Jason and McGuirk), and the show features recurring roles from Laura Silverman, Ron Lynch and Jonathan Katz. I highly recommend this wonderful and hilarious show about childhood.My rating: *****/*****. 30 mins. TVPG

I came late to "Home Movies" - I never saw the UPN season because I don't pay any attention to network television. And I knew (somehow) that it was in "Squigglevision", which was one aspect of "Dr Katz" which I really didn't care for. However, I happened to catch a couple of episodes on the "Adult Swim" segment of the Cartoon Network a year ago and was instantly charmed by the quirky humor, whimsical plotting, and brilliant voice work by an (obviously) skeleton cast and crew and have spent the last few months catching up on the backlog via reruns on Cartoon Network and the collected DVD reissues of Seasons 1 and 2. Folks, this is brilliant stuff which will sink right into your cortex if you give it half a chance. Saying that it's about an eight year old who make movies with his friends in his basement just doesn't do it justice. "Home Movies" is an elusive blend of Oscar Wilde style "comedy of manners", deadpan pop culture lampoon, childhood memoir, character study and multi-part acapella choir. It almost always manages to sustain a certain wistful, tender attitude towards its characters even in the middle of some truly hilarious dialog exchanges and slapstick physical comedy. That's not an easy thing to do. About the actual animation: Season 1 is indeed cursed with "Squigglevision", a truly annoying design choice, but the eye eventually accepts it and gets on with enjoying the proceedings. And fortunately, by Season 2 the creators decided just to go with straightforward "Flash" style animation, and the remaining episodes are much easier to watch. The animation never rises above the level of "barebones minimalism", but it is effectively harnessed in service to the story and voice work. In fact, if you pay attention you soon realize that the artwork is quite sophisticated in terms of storyboards and layouts - the "camera" zooms and pans and sets establishing shots and even manages some moments of delicate mood and beauty. For comparison think of the old cheaply made "Hanna Barbera" cartoons from the 70's, 80's and 90's ("Yogi Bear", "Flintstones" after the first season, cookie cutter crap like "Wacky Races" and "Josie and the Pussycats"). In terms of storytelling sophistication and care, this animation style compared to that is like London Broil compared to a Big Mac. My favorite episodes (that I've seen) are probably "Bye Bye Greasy" and "The Art Of The Sucker Punch", and "Marbles and Mortgages", which contain a mix of parody, slapstick, and character study which many full blown feature comedy movie releases can't match. Watch these episodes carefully (especially the parts where H. Jon Benjamin's "Coach McGuirk" is involved), and you will see an awesome mastery of comedic timing and superb delivery that Woody Allen might envy. It's not so much that the writing is tight (though it is inspired) - rather, the whole thing has a loose, improvised, inspired feel, where even the dead ends and misfires are used as a springboard for further hijinks and blandishments. I don't know how well Small and his group of creators would have done with furthur episodes if "Home Movies" had gone past the fourth season. This kind of inspired inanity can have a very short "shelf life" as the pressure of constantly coming up with fresh scripts and performances weigh upon the creators. But man, while these guys were in the groove, they were GOOD. I plan to get the Season 3 collection as soon as it comes out, and will relish completing the viewing of every episode there-in. My thanks to Small and his co-creators for a wonderful series that has given me many hours of pure delight.

I absolutely love Home Movies. I wasn't really old enough to get everything when it first came out, but I have discovered it via Comcast's On Demand and fell in love with it. Since then, I've bought the first three seasons on DVD, and continue to watch them non stop. It's a horrible shame that it's been canceled. It really was the smartest cartoon of its time. It never really got the attention that it deserved. Though I'm not sure it would have gone mainstream (frankly, I think the humor's almost too smart for what people want), it was an utterly remarkable show. The character's are all perfectly developed. Each plays off of the others beautifully. The voices applied to the characters are wonderfully suited as well. In all honesty and sad as it may seem, Home Movies has changed my life. Even the crude animation of the first season can be completely ignored simply by listening to the dialog. Brendon Small and H. Jon Benjamin are extremely funny and help to make the show what it is. Small and Benjamin play off each other at least as well, if not better, than any pair of actors on any show or movie. Benjamin, playing the irresponsible soccer coach John McGuirk, often shares his drunken wisdom with the ten year old movie making Brendon Small, played by Brendon Small. Of course, McGuirk's advice is never really helpful, nor is it always pertinent. Brendon isn't the only one McGuirk dispenses advice to or comforts. One memorable example is McGuirk explaining to Brendon's baby sister Josie that she shouldn't be afraid of thunder, because thunder doesn't kill people. It's the lightening that you have to worry about as that kills millions of people a year. And food, food will kill you. Raw pork... This is the show. Brendon Small (the writer, not the character) was right, I think in saying that if you love the show, you would give anything for it, you would die for the show, but if you hate the show, you really abhor it. I would take a bullet for Home Movies anytime. I hope that everyone watches it!