Review: Housebroken “Who Did This?”

 

Overview:

Honey thinks life is going reasonably good when she finally meets the charming coyote in the backyard. 

That is until she gets a new haircut at the groomers. Too embarrassed to be seen with her new box-shaped cut, Honey hides indoors until she can no longer contain herself. Now she must face the shame of being the dog that pooped inside the house.

Meanwhile, Diablo is enjoying the extra love he has been receiving as a dog of divorce. That is until one of his owners finds a new partner who happens to have a baby. Unsure what to do with the human child, Diablo crosses the line of being a good house pet.

 

Our Take:

After debuting just one week ago, Housebroken is managing to establish a large ensemble cast and multiple themes in a short amount of time. But, more significantly, the fresh series is putting the work in to try something different than its Animation Domination brethren.  

Housebroken is not playing by the same rules as Fox’s other animated sitcoms. Putting away with the overdone middle-class family theme is a significant step towards that. But more definitive is establishing larger ongoing plots for a large cast of characters.

This second episode picks up a lot of the story that was introduced in the pilot. Most of which involves Honey’s uncertainty with her life choices. Her relationship with Chief is strained, at best, and will undoubtedly be tested by the stud of a coyote who continues to visit their yard. Even further are her relationships with her owner and counselling group.

Thankfully, these larger plots do not take up the whole pie. There is still a lot of fun to be had within each individual edition. For example, the first episode introduced a new member to the therapy group and established a bizarre relationship between a tortoise and a shoe. Whereas this episode played on those notes and went further.

Diablo, the OCD pup and newest member of the group, got his chance to open up about his home life. With his owner’s divorce, the terrier is facing challenging times at home. A theme that takes some prominence when he happens to take a bite at a baby.

Additionally, the third plot in this episode expanded on a couple more cast members, Lyle and Chico. While both cats, they live vastly different lives. One a member of a household overrun with cats, the other a loner who has an unhealthy attachment to his depressed owner. Yet, somehow in this episode, those differences manage to make them the perfect best friends.

The most exciting part about all these combatting plots is that plenty is going on within a 21-minute episode. After two episodes, the world of these animals is established and expanding more than other sitcoms manage in a season. Still, the large ensemble is held together with open discussions during their therapy groups that tie the series together and help carry the viewers along.

It is still early to make any broad judgments on this series. However, it is exciting that some new ideas are being explored, and this is not another cookie-cutter cartoon coming out of Fox. If the show can manage a few extraordinary episodes in this rookie year, there may be something more significant here than we expect. At a minimum, it will be a fun season with plenty of jokes about the beloved animals in our homes.