Animation
Blood of Zeus
Creativity abounds here, but those artistic measures can’t blur the obvious issues that families are sure to discover.
There’s only so much time in the day, and Cuphead’s sick of spending it doing chores.
To avoid wasting the whole day painting the fence, Cuphead tries to get it done in one go by shooting the paint on with a cannon … which doesn’t go as intended.
“You know, that should’ve woiked,” Cuphead laments in his New York accent. “If only I used a little less gunpowder…”
But while on the way to get more paint, Cuphead and his brother Mugman stumble across a carnival, and they have a blast enjoying its fun sights, sounds and smells. And that’s when Cuphead is enthralled by a Skee-Ball game called “Soul Ball.” He’s doing really well. But that’s when Mugman notices that something is off about everything.
The walking husks of people. The name “Soul Ball.” The fact that he just saw a man lose the game and had his soul sucked out of his body. Even the carnival’s name isn’t spelled right…Wait a minute. Carn-evil!?
In his fear, Mugman bumps Cuphead, causing him to miss the shot. Cuphead’s soul begins to leave his body, but Mugman pushes it back in. Now the Devil knows who they are, and he is fuming at being cheated out of a soul. He’s coming for Cuphead.
Perhaps they should’ve just painted that fence.
The Cuphead Show! builds on the world of the 2017 video game Cuphead developed by Studio MDHR’s brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. In that game, Cuphead and Mugman lose a bet to the Devil and can either lose their souls or collect the “soul contracts” of a number of runaway debtors.
The plot of the Moldenhauer brothers’ The Cuphead Show! puts Cuphead in a similar situation: Through a tricky carnival game, he owes the Devil his soul. But instead of collecting the souls of runaway debtors, he is the runaway debtor, barely managing to stay one step away from the Devil’s greedy hands.
But as Cuphead says, he “ain’t too worried about it.” His impulsive and nonchalant attitude consistently contrasts the trepidation of Mugman, who is often flabbergasted at his brother’s lack of concern. Because as he understands it, it’s only a matter of time before the Devil gets the better of Cuphead in a swell battle.
The Cuphead Show! follows a very loose plot amid various side quests. Though the threat of the Devil coming to take Cuphead’s soul looms throughout the first season, some episodes don’t address it at all, instead showing us minor adventures, such as the brotherly duo dealing with a violent baby or learning how to charm people into getting what they want.
Content-wise, other than the fact that the main antagonist is, well, the Devil, there’s not much objectionable content here. In terms of violence, it’s comparable to Tom & Jerry, where characters are hurt and go through potentially life-threatening scenarios, but they are never damaged in any serious or lasting ways. And the one-liners thrown out by the main cast are typically clean as well.
To be clear, the show is made for adults. After all, it is based on a game about retrieving soul contracts for the inept and cranky Devil. However, the Moldenhauer brothers explain that they wanted to make the show safe for kids, too.
“It’s safe for kids but written so there are also things that adults find funny and appeals to a wider audience,” Chad Moldenhauer told IGN. “It’s not a toddler show or a little kids cartoon. It’s safe to say that [the showrunners are] aiming for the same kind of vibe that the game hints at. They’ll be taking that idea and expanding it.”
What children may be scared by is the occasional forms the Devil takes. Though the Devil typically takes on the appearance of a sort of bipedal black goat, he has the ability to shapeshift, and some of the depictions he takes may be frightening to little children.
Desperate to find some fun in a sea of work, Cuphead and Mugman travel to a new carnival—but the attractions may cost them more than they’re willing to pay.
On two occasions, Cuphead shoots paint out of a cannon in an attempt to speed up the painting of a fence, only to coat their caretaker, Elder Kettle, in white paint. After gorging themselves on carnival food, Cuphead and his brother Mugman throw up into a barrel. A syrup bottle makes gassy noises.
Cuphead plays a Skee-Ball game called “Soul Ball.” Mugman deduces that if you lose Soul Ball, your soul is taken from you by the Devil. When the Devil discovers that his soul counter has stopped moving, he travels to find Cuphead enthralling the crowd with his successful throws, one of which hits an elephant character in the rear. The Devil scares Mugman, accidentally making Cuphead to miss his throw, and Cuphead’s soul is sucked out of his body for a moment before Mugman shoves it back inside.
The Devil shoots fireballs at Cuphead and Mugman, and the duo must avoid sawblades, traps and explosions. The Devil cocks his trident like a shotgun, and an explosion releases the souls of many others back into their bodies, transforming mindless husks back into happy characters. Mugman laments that Cuphead owes the Devil his soul.
When a baby is left on the doorstep of Cuphead and Mugman’s house, they decide to care for it—but the baby proves more difficult than they thought.
Cuphead and Mugman fight one another simply because they were specifically told not to by their own caretaker, Elder Kettle.
A baby in the form of a baby bottle is left on their doorstep. The baby torments Cuphead. He bites Cuphead’s finger, sprays him with milk and breaks furniture and a fishbowl. Mugman refers to himself as “mama.” Mugman reprimands the baby for its destructive tendencies, and the baby destroys Mugman’s Teddy bear. This causes Mugman to say that he’s “gonna kill that thing,” and he calls the baby evil. The baby destroys most of the furniture in the house.
When Elder Kettle arrives home to a destroyed house, he finds the baby and picks it up. The baby rips off Elder Kettle’s mustache and beats him up, dragging him away as he calls for help. Elder Kettle, Cuphead and Mugman are seen armed with lethal weapons, but they instead decide to drop the baby at another person’s doorstep.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Creativity abounds here, but those artistic measures can’t blur the obvious issues that families are sure to discover.
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