Review: Duncanville “Free Range Children”

 

 

Overview:

After the kids cost Annie and Jack the chance to see Bruce Springsteen live by nearly burning down the house, the couple decides to change their parenting methods. Adopting free-range parenting, they leave the kids to learn about the world for themselves. A lousy idea considering Duncan nearly burned down the house three times within the first ten minutes of the show.

When the kids begin to get on board with their new normal, they offer to help their parents out by going to the grocery store. One misstep and Duncan and Kimberley end up in Mexico. While Jack and Annie attempt to rescue their children, their lessons rub off, and they find their own way home.

 

Our Take:

Duncanville continues to surprise as the weeks go on. Beginning with a pilot episode that was decent but failed to show what the heart of the show was up to last week when Duncanville may have been the best show on Animation Domination, the show is the definition of a sleeper. In sports terms, a sleeper refers to a player that is about to have a breakout season. Well, Duncanville is the sleeper that made it’s rookie season something special.

There was a lot of potential for Duncanville heading into 2020. Show creators Mike and Julie Scully have been around the block before, specifically with The Simpsons. Adding A-grade comedy care of Amy Poehler was the icing on the cake for anyone who loved Parks and Recreation. But, in the adult animated sitcom game, nothing is a sure thing as we have seen many talented creators fail in the endeavour. As we get to see more and more of Duncanville, we now see how perfectly Poehler’s humour translates to the media.

The initial struggle with getting on board with this show is finding what it had to offer. The average American family thing had been done to death. 

Most successful animated sitcoms these days change the status quo like Big Mouth, Rick and Morty, or Primal. But, Duncanville does include some uniqueness that isn’t as noticeable on first glance.

What this episode showcased was the lives of modern-day teenagers. The aftermath of helicopter parenting that came after the latchkey days of the 80s. As Duncan himself states in the episode, “I’m 15 years old, I’m a big, big boy,” youth today rely on their parents to walk them through more than generations before. 

This also sounds like something generations have been saying about youth for ages now, so maybe I am getting old.  However, it is the message of the show that parents are merely enjoying their time with their kids, and the “helicopter parenting” thing is just a label.

Watching Duncan and Kimberly navigate the world on their own was hilarious. The prevalence of anxiety is much more realistic than the way children speak to adults on any other animated sitcom. Duncanville’s allure is in its lovable weirdos the same way Bob’s Burgers does. While on the outside, this may seem like an ordinary family, the more we become entwined with them, the more we love and appreciate them.

As great as the last few episodes have been, this one brought to the forefront what the show is about. This was a defining moment for the series and the season. It makes us even more grateful that the series has been picked up for a second run. With the year rounding down, we can be excited for the final episodes instead of trying to analyze what the show is about.