Lil' Bush Explained
Lil' Bush is an American satirical adult animated sitcom which premiered on June 13, 2007, on Comedy Central. The series features caricatures of members of the George W. Bush administration, and other American and international political figures, most of which are depicted as children.
The first season's episodes each consist of two story segments, with each featuring a musical performance by a band composed of main characters. The second season, which premiered on March 13, 2008, consists of ten episodes, and features the full twenty-two-minute storylines including the musical number.[1] The second-season finale aired on May 15, 2008.
Premise
Lil' Bush takes place in an alternate reality version of the present day, where George H. W. Bush is president and George W. Bush (referred to as "Lil' George"), along with his associates (members of George W. Bush's real-life former staff), are children attending Beltway Elementary School. Issues in which the latter Bush administration is involved (for example, the Iraq War) are transferred to the elder Bush but feature the younger Bush interacting with them in various ways.
Also, just as George Bush's father is president, the parents of the other kids are members of the elder Bush's cabinet (all depicted as their real-life adult counterparts, with the exception of the elder Cheney, who is depicted as Cheney with a Darth Vader helmet). The show pokes fun at George W. Bush's policies in a direct manner and provides criticism of his administration.
Production
In 2004, Donick Cary created Lil' Bush as a series for Amp'd Mobile cell phones. The series was then picked up by Comedy Central and became one of the first web series to be adapted to television. To handle animation for the series, Cary founded Sugarshack Animation with offices in Los Angeles, Miami, and Bulgaria, the show was animated using Adobe Flash.
Characters
Main characters
- Lil' George (George W. Bush), voiced by Chris Parson; the leader of the gang, he often makes choices without thinking about the consequences and is seldom corrected by his friends. Like the real George W. Bush, he enjoys giving people various nicknames. He has a crush on the series' caricature Laura Bush, refers to her as a "chubby nerd". Additionally, though the show is entitled Lil Bush, the character himself is always referred to by the other characters (and in the scripts) as Lil' George.
- George Sr. (George H. W. Bush), voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; the President of the United States who acts as somewhat of a straight man to Lil' George. He is shown to be extremely weak physically, and possessing a deep love for Saltine crackers. He and Barbara are also swingers and although he loves his wife, he has a specific time scheduled at work for "old people sex" with his secretary. He is also seen to be allergic to people who look Asian as seen in the 'Hall Monitor' episode (a reference to when Bush threw up onto the lap of Japan's Prime Minister).
- Barbara Bush, voiced by Mara Cary; the sexually frustrated wife of the President, so much so that she once resorts to having a tryst with Lil' Cheney. She has also admitted to having an affair with Michael Dukakis. She was confused with a polar bear in "Gay Friend". According to George Sr., Barbara Bush was a "Frankenstein of presidential parts" added with woman parts that he brought to life, giving her the head of George Washington.
- Jeb Bush, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; the indestructible but mentally undeveloped brother to Lil' George. His family shows a general apathy towards his well-being. This could possibly be because he is able to withstand things that would kill an ordinary person, and sometimes benefits from them. In one episode, Jeb withstands a nuclear blast, and in another, climbs onto a missile about to be fired, but appears completely unharmed. When Jeb is hit in the head with a frying pan, he speaks normally (then voiced by Colin Meloy) and openly criticizes his father's governmental decisions. Jeb is treated like a pet, as he is taken for walks, given flea dips, and eats from a bowl with his name on it (often next to the actual family dog Barney).
- Lil' Cheney (Dick Cheney), voiced by Donick Cary; a friend of Lil' George, he growls incoherently rather than speaking, with the occasional interjection of a contextually relevant word or phrase, (saying "reh-reh-REH-massive heart attack-reh-reh-REH," for instance); the rest of the characters appear to understand him. He has deranged and violent tendencies, such as consuming raw—sometimes living—meat and blood.
- Lil' Condi (Condoleezza Rice), voiced by Ann Villella in Season 1 and Kari Wahlgren in Season 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20100825012701/http://www.kariwahlgren.net/news.html, acts as the voice of reason for her friends, though they routinely ignore her sensible advice. She has a crush on Lil' George, and attempts to woo him in various ways throughout the series, such as doing his homework for him and gaining an abundance of weight.
- Lil' Rummy (Donald Rumsfeld), voiced by Iggy Pop; seems to be the only remotely intelligent character on the show aside from Lil' Condi. He also displays a sadistic side, possibly resulting from the fact that he is abused by his father. He is sometimes used as a scapegoat, such as when George Sr. says one way to cover up a scandal is to blame it on Lil' Rummy.
Lil' Democrats
The series antagonists (also called Lil' Dems).
- Lil' Hillary (Hillary Clinton): voiced by Kari Wahlgren (in season 2) https://web.archive.org/web/20100825012701/http://www.kariwahlgren.net/news.html; girlfriend of Lil' Bill, she works at an abortion clinic after school "just for fun" and is also suggested to be bisexual after kissing Lil' Condi.
- Lil' Barack Obama: voiced by Tim Meadows; shown laughing at Lil' George, he is "nuked" by Lil' George when he is seen sneaking a cigarette outside of the White House. He also leads Lil' George's friends after Lil' Bush abandons them for Lil' Tony Blair. He attempts to enlist their help in building a "Home for Humanity" for a single mother, but the gang burns it down (assuming that the plan was to commit insurance fraud or turn it into a dungeon and force single mothers to fight to the death) and use the money to buy themselves scooters. He frequently says "Yes we can" to answer questions.
- Lil' Al Gore: voiced by Chris Parson; always encouraging others to be eco-friendly and shown with an extremely eco-friendly house with many inventions created by Lil' Al himself (including a time machine, and an interconnected series of ropes which create a net that "catches dreams", he calls the "internet"). Lil' Bush constantly ridicules him for being slightly overweight (to make everyone else think so) despite the fact that Lil' George is shown to have more bodyweight than Lil' Al.
- Lil' Nancy Pelosi: shown sewing a flag with rainbow-colored stripes, she is also "nuked" by Lil' George. Voiced by production assistant Martha Cary, who is the show creator's half-sister.
- Lil' John Kerry: voiced by Chris Parson, Lil' Kerry's voice bores Lil' Bush and the gang. He loves ketchup, and says that someday he might marry it, in reference to his real-world marriage to condiment heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry.
- Lil' John Edwards: apparently obsessed with hair in reference to Edwards' $400 haircuts.
- Lil' Bill (Bill Clinton): voiced by Chris Parson; constantly cheats on Lil' Hillary.
- Tiny Kucinich: who wants to someday fly with doves. Sometimes has to be handled like an infant. Voiced by Jason Nash, who does a variety of other voices for the show.
Episodes
Season 2 (2008)
Critical response
The show has received negative reviews from critics, with an aggregate metascore of 31/100.[2] A common complaint is that the show comes too late in Bush's presidency to remain topical.[3] Other complaints accuse it of immaturity and lack of subtlety.[4]
Not all the reviews, however, have been negative. Among others, The Hollywood Reporter gave the show a positive review. A review from About.com cited the show's "cleverness and maturity," likening it to "a less bloody South Park".[5] Likewise, in a Netscape review, the show was credited as a political satire which "pinpoints the logical extreme of real life."[6]
Home releases
| Season | Number of episodes | Release date | Additional information |
|---|
| Season 1 | 7 | March 11, 2008 | The seventh unaired season finale |
| Season 2 | 10 | October 14, 2008 | |
|
See also
Notes and References
- http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20071001comedycentral01 Breaking News - "LI'L BUSH" SIGNS-ON FOR A SECOND TERM WITH COMEDY CENTRAL | TheFutonCritic.com
- https://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/lilbush Li'l Bush: Resident Of The United States
- https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E7D7173FF930A25755C0A9619C8B63 TELEVISION REVIEW; The President and His Friends, Younger and More Animated
- Li'l Bush episode 2 quoting The New York Times
- http://animatedtv.about.com/od/showsaz/gr/lilbushreview.htm Li'l Bush Review
- http://www.netscape.com/viewstory/2007/06/11/lil-bush-a-cartoon-take-on-the-prez/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsvine.com%2F_news%2F2007%2F06%2F11%2F774790-lil-bush-a-cartoon-take-on-the-prez&frame=true:`Li'l Bush: a Cartoon Take on the Prez
