Review: Haha, You Clowns “Movie Night”

Overview

The boys try to figure out why Dad can’t stay awake during movie night.

Our Take

launch a new animated series, Haha, You Clowns, from creator Joe Cappa, bringing a unique blend of surreal humor and surprisingly sincere family dynamics to the network’s late-night lineup.

After originally debuting as a popular short in the Adult Swim Smalls Presents digital program, the show has been picked up for a full series run. The series centers on the Campbell boys—three doting, large teenage brothers—and their tenderhearted father, as they navigate life in the wake of their mother’s death.

Instead of dark, traditional adult humor, the show finds its comedy in the juxtaposition of deeply emotional themes with its surreal, low-fidelity 2D animation style. The family lives, laughs, and loves their way through everyday misadventures, all while sensing their mother’s spectral presence in their daily routines.

Joe Cappa’s distinctive style and the series’ unique take on family sitcom tropes is very much on display for Haha You Clowns but the show’s quarter-hour time frame has me concerned that anything truly compelling can be built up here in a short amount of time. In this week’s case it’s all about trying to set up a movie night with Dad who clearly has a problem with movies that feature love scenes. Meanwhile, Mom’s flower bed outside gets about a minute of attention, but I know nothing about the mother to make me care enough yet as to why any of that is important. Fortunately, the voice cast is fantastic. Joe Cappa delivers as the voice of Preston, Tristan, Duncan, and Dad with other solid contributions coming from June Squibb, Debra Wilson, and Dax Flame.

Overall, Ha Ha You Clowns features a dynamic voice cast with interesting ideas that I’ll be curious to see if successully fleshed out over the next few episodes.