Those
of us of roughly a certain generation, fondly remember the Captains we came to
know and love through kid’s programming, you know, like Captain Kangaroo,
Captain America, Captain Crunch, and Captain Morgan. Captain Cornelius Cartoon follows in the
tradition of them all. He and the crew
of the Manta Ray salvage public domain cartoons from the watery graveyard of the
Cartoon Lagoon, in order to riff on them MST3K
style. The resulting blend of puppetry
and retro nostalgia trips makes Captain
Cornelius Cartoon’s Cartoon Lagoon (trailer here), the animated
standout of the 2012 New York Television Festival’s Independent Pilot
Competition.
The
title is a little confusing, but this is indeed animated. Maybe they should have worked in the word
cartoon a few more times. Regardless,
the potential of creator Manny Galán’s concept is hard to miss. The biggest surprise is how cartoons from
established franchises such as Popeye and Caspar the Friendly Ghost could fall
into PD. There is no way you will ever
see Mickey in the Lagoon. Yet, the clear
highlight of the Lagoon pilot was an
episode of the long forgotten mid 1970’s Undersea
Adventures of Captain Nemo (another Captain) that bears absolutely no
resemblance to Jules Verne.
The
Me Generation Nemo is a blow-dried, jutting jawed male model who accidentally
runs over a dolphin, permanently scarring his two juvenile companions for
life. To nurse the dolphin back to
health, Nemo puts it in a steel cage, while giving loud dramatic readings from Fifty Shades of Grey to scare away the
sharks. Or something like that. Obviously, Nemo’s narrative development is a
bit sketchy, making it a perfect foil for the Manta Ray crew.
The
Lagoon creators readily acknowledge
their debt of inspiration to MST3K,
following the same format, right down to the portal door through which the
cartoon goodness enters. It really works
though, because the creative team has the right pop culture sensibility. Lagoon delivers
laughs from start to finish, sprinkling a number of truly memorable quips
throughout the pilot. The old school
miniature puppetry bringing to life the Manta Ray crew also appealingly
resembles a slightly rum-soused Rankin/Bass special.
