Comedy
Bodkin
Ireland is frequently listed as one of the safest countries in the world. But the same cannot be said for the Irish Bodkin.
If you ever find yourself surrounded by man-eating crabs, giant alligators and the magnificent King Kong, you’ve likely landed on Skull Island. Or you’re just watching a Netflix show by the same name.
This American animated adventure show begins when teen Charlie and his father, Cap, search for an undiscovered sea monster. Accompanied by Charlie’s friend Mike and his father, the crew is confident of their odds, and Cap is excited to achieve his life-long goal of discovery.
Plans quickly change when Charlie discovers a girl floating in the ocean. In addition to the girl being pursued by mercenaries, she also has narrowly escaped Cap’s sea monster—and she has no intention of rediscovering it.
But to the girl’s dismay, the sea monster finds them. And this time, it’s not pulling any aquatic punches. After the sea monster kills most of the ship’s crew, Charlie and Mike find themselves on the monster-infested Skull Island. Not only must they defend themselves from the island’s creatures, but they must avoid that pesky sea monster lurking just off its shores.
It seems they’ve changed from hunters to hunted.
You probably have an idea in your head of what to expect when someone says, “adult animation.” If that perception involves a donut-eating dad or a toddler cracking crude jokes, Skull Island might surprise you. Although it employs occasional profanity like “h—,” “d–n,” “d–k” and misuses of God’s name, it avoids most other crudities common in these adult-aimed cartoons.
Instead, the biggest content concern in Skull Island is violence. A majority of the runtime in these 20-minute episodes involves chase scenes and monster fights. Characters duke it out using guns, spears and sometimes their bare hands. Often creatures meet their demise while our heroes walk away with bloody gashes. However, the animation aspect makes their perils feel less gruesome than they would in a live action show.
Skull Island mainly focuses on adventure. However, it also offers some sweet messages about family. Although Cap and Charlie argue from time to time, they demonstrate healthy conflict-resolution and display a positive father-son relationship.
While families with younger children will want to take note of the violence and language, Skull Island takes its viewers on a fantastical adventure that generally avoids most other content concerns.
Charlie and his father, Cap, spend their days searching for undiscovered sea monsters. But when they find a girl lost at sea, their mission changes.
Several characters meet their doom by falling into the ocean. There is also a chase scene in which men shoot darts at a girl running away. We also see a character kick in self-defense, while others threaten her with guns. A character warns Charlie and Cap about a giant monster at sea. Later, this monster kills several people with its large tentacles. [Spoiler Warning]: In a particularly tense moment in the episode, a tentacle squashes a member of the crew, splattering blood on his son’s face.
At the beginning of the episode, Cap and Charlie argue (though overall the two seem to have a good, respectful relationship). A character misuses God’s name once, and another uses the term “screwy.”
Mike and Charlie learn they must fight for their survival on Skull Island. Meanwhile, Cap meets another castaway – and her reasons for being there might not be as straightforward as she claims.
Violence is the main concern in this episode. Characters fight for survival against the dangerous animals on the island, and one person meets his demise running from a creature. A character is seen with a large gash on his chest, and we see a creature scratch his leg, drawing blood. Several characters fire guns at the island creatures, and another character throws a spear to kill one. Characters engage in a tense fight scene with the animals, and in another fight scene, an animal knocks some characters over. One creature bites a character, flinging her into the sky. We hear a loud roar from an unseen monster. And at one point, a character throws a spear into a person’s leg and attempts to strangle someone.
At the beginning of the episode, some characters meet in a bar to make a shifty exchange. We also hear someone say “stupid” several times, and another character refers to the island as “godforsaken.”
At one point, someone asks Mike and Charlie if all boys are as useless as them (to which they respond, “yes”). And Charlie sheepishly admits that he likes every girl he meets.
Charlie has an idea to get off the island: Coerce Kong to duke it out with the sea monster.
The showdown between Kong and the sea monster is rather violent. The sea monster rips massive, bloody gashes in Kong’s flesh, and Kong pounds the sea monster with his bare fists, tearing off some of the tentacles as well. We hear both Kong’s and the sea monster’s terrifying roars, and sometimes the creatures’ fight puts our main characters in harm’s way.
People drown, and we see a human character hit her head on a rock, causing her to black out. Someone gets caught in a vine as he runs, and island natives surround and threaten him. We also see a character fight a giant centipede, and another shoots a creature with a gun.
One character is dying from a painful infection. At one point, he passes out due to strain.
Throughout the episode, characters use minor profanities and crudities such as “jerk,” “h—,” “shut up,” “jeez” and several misuses of God’s name. Some male characters are seen without their shirts. For comfort, a female character hugs a male character, and we also see Charlie hold onto a girl’s waist as they ride a giant dog.
At one point, Charlie threatens to disobey Cap. Later, Cap explains that he recognizes Charlie’s expanded independence, and they display a healthy father-son relationship.
Ireland is frequently listed as one of the safest countries in the world. But the same cannot be said for the Irish Bodkin.
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