And........?

dl43

Hardly worth more than a secondary glance, this half-baked cartoon adventure suffers from a bland, inconsequential presentation, for which the only meaningful reaction subscribes to a perpetually bemused, "What was the point?"

Granted, the fact that the creators have gravitated toward such a generically inept slogan as "You can't stop the girl" should be ample warning as to the show's readily-apparent lack of sophistication. Furthermore, despite the best efforts of the production team, the leading protagonist never truly resonates with the impositions of true hero. HArdly inclined toward even a broad definition of "butt-kicking", this supposed martial arts expert, more often than not, resorts to simply bouncing her foes into submission, Super Mario Bros-style. To add insult to injury, Juniper Lee herself is far too often relegated to the role of damsel in distress, thereby awaiting the heroic deeds of her little brother or Scottish terriers in order to prevail. Frankly, the prospect of being rescued time and time again by your own baby brother or even the noble deeds of man's best friend doesn't sound particularly heroic, in my book.

Despite the comical distortions of the characters, Juniper Lee is surprisingly devoid of humor, augmenting its so-so foundation with an insufferable tendency for taking itself far too seriously. Perhaps the creators might have benefited from a more serious presentation, ala Ben 10 or Teen Titans. As it stands, Juniper displays a cognitive confusion of combining elaborately "Bugs Bunny"-like characters with nary a single joke in sight.

score /10

dl43 5 February 2006

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1285500/