Bubble UK Review: Warren United, True Colours

ITV4’s newest animated series, Warren United continued this week so I checked in with it to see if it fared any better on its second outing. Find out the results below.

 

 

This week on Warren United, Warren attempts to get his family as enthusiastic about the beautiful game as he is when he proposes a family day out to Brainsford United’s big cup match.  The ever cheery dad-of-two presents his brood with a list of “reasons to be excited” about the game, the most promising of which is that “it might be sunny”. Warren#s list gives us some important insight into his beloved team and we see some of his “reasons” in action at the game, including: the team’s new signing, Metrosexual striker Ronaldinho, and the cheerleaders that Brainsford are experimenting with, who, like all cheerleading teams at British soccer games, are fucking shit. We are also introduced to the team’s dodgy owners and the stalwart old school manager.

As it is a cup match, Warren encourages his family to don some Brainsford coloured facepaint and his wife and young son begrudgingly oblige. Unfortunately after the match they realise the yellow and maroon colours are  indelible enamel paint which just won’t wash off. The rest of the episode covers the unwanted attention that comes with having a stripey face as the family spend their work and school days looking like deranged clowns.

I still have ambivalent feelings toward Warren United’s animation style, I keep thinking that for a TV show it needs to be of a better quality. This particular animation  style illustrates much of the problem I have  with the show; to me it is oddly disjointed and lacks a sense of flow. One thing I can say in its favour is that I love the colours; it’s a bright and bold looking show and this adds a layer of excitement to proceedings that a more muted palette may not have.

Warren’s Indian workmate and best friend, Dilip (voiced by Nitin Ganatra) continues to a tad one dimensional but the titular hero’s family become more interesting with each episode. Apart from Warren’s mother and her septuagenarian Romeo, the Kingsley clan are by far and away the most endearing aspect of the programme, there is an unforced family dynamic that brings a smile to your face. Warren’s Dutch wife, Ingrid (Eleanor Lawrence) is surprisingly well written and a far cry from the typical sports widow that, in any other show, would have been lucky to receive  few lines of dialogue. Warren himself is an amiable chap and Darren Boyd seems to have settled into the role considerably compared to last week’s uneasy delivery.

For this second episode, I refrained from comparing the show to its American counterparts and tried to just enjoy it for what it is, Warren United means well but still has little in the way of groundbreaking formula. The writing is still a little disconnected but has also stepped up a notch from the debut episode.

Warren United is still a show that is a little stilted and unsure of itself but is hitting its stride more with each showing. I’m not completely sold on Warren and co yet but they are growing on me, if only for a positive portrayal of a modern mother who successfully juggles work and a happy home life without resorting to TV tropes. For Ingrid then, this week I give Warren United: True Colours a six.

 

You can watch episode #2 of Warren United right now via the ITV iPlayer or read all the news and episode guides on  the official website.