Oddballs (TV series) explained

Composer:	Ben Bromfield
Language:	English
Num Seasons:	2
Num Episodes:	20
Editor:	Megan McShane
Runtime:	15–17 minutes
Network:	Netflix

Oddballs is an animated adventure-comedy television series created by James Rallison and Ethan Banville. The series debuted on October 7, 2022.^{[1] [2] [3]} The show features a total of twelve 17–20 minute episodes in its first season, and the second and final season, released on February 24, 2023.

Premise

Oddballs takes place in the fictional town of Dirt, Arizona. It follows James, a bubble-shaped kid who goes on bizarre adventures with his best friends; a dim-witted crocodile named Max, and, as of the 4th episode, a time-travelling girl named Echo. During each episode, James's rants and questioning of social norms often end up in a disaster.

Cast and characters

• James Rallison as:
  • James, a fictionalized version of Rallison, resembles Rallison's avatar on his YouTube channel. He is a bubble-shaped teenage boy who enjoys insane misadventures and going on rants, including subjects like toasters, trophies and line-cutting.
  • Sagu, a talking cactus that houses James' trailer/treehouse.
• Julian Gant as Max, an anthropomorphic and dim-witted crocodile who is a failed genetic experiment gifted with human intelligence and voice, James's next-door neighbour and best friend. He was previously seen in the music video for Rallison and David Brown's song "Life Is Fun".
• Kimberly Brooks as Echo, a time-travelling teenage girl who comes from the future and loves eating food, as she comes from a future where processed food went extinct as the result of James and Max's action of giving sentience to Toasty/Declan. Although best friends with James and Max, she sometimes clashes with the former due to his egotism and not believing that she's from the future.
• Carl Faruolo as:
  • Greg, Max's father.
  • Stuart, a stereotypical bully slime blob who is capable of possessing people and a proficient chess player.
• Erika Ishii as:
  • Jenna, Max's sister works at the "You Break, I Don't Judge" electronics repair shop.
  • Liv, Max's mother shows a cold and calculating demeanor towards him.
• Scott Menville as Toasty / Declan, an artificially intelligent toaster created by James and Max who becomes evil.
  • Kari Wahlgren as young Toasty
• Harland Williams as Patrick, James' father who is usually mild-mannered and submissive.
• Debra Wilson as Louise, James' mother who is an astrophysicist, shows a stricter attitude towards her son.
• Gary Anthony Williams as Mr. McFly, an anthropomorphic fly teacher at the Dirt school.
• Nicolas Cantu as:
  • Smooth/Wrinkly Jason.
• Emily Eiden as Maz Scare-Ah, a goth unicorn.
• Fred Stoller as Food-Ball Joe.
• Parvesh Cheena as Principal Loudspeaker.
• Stephen Stanton as Chef Throgbort.
• Misty Lee as Roxanne.
• Paul Rugg as Doctor Bolster.
• Bob Bergen as Geefus.
• Jane Lynch as Grand-Ma.
• Ethan Banville as Bob Awman.
• Courtenay Taylor as Doctor Squats.
• Ryan George as Byron Sellers.

Production

In early 2020, James Rallison and Ethan Banville pitched their new series to Netflix, which was subsequently picked up by the streaming service in August of the same year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, the entire production of the show was done remotely. Despite this, the first season of the show was set to premiere later in the year, as Rallison announced in a video. In September 2022, the official trailer for the first season was released on various YouTube channels, along with an official release date of October 7. Rallison also uploaded a video detailing the process of pitching the show and creating its screenwriting bible. The second season of the show was announced in January 2023, with an official trailer released shortly after and the season airing on February 24 of the same year. The show was animated using ToonBoom, with Hallis Blaney serving as animation director. However, in May 2023, Banville announced the cancellation of the show and the release of a graphic novel called Oddballs: The Graphic Novel, which features five stories originally intended for the show. Ultimately, Oddballs ran for just 20 episodes and two seasons on Netflix before its cancellation.^[4]

Episodes

Season 2 (2023)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'Oddballs' Series Coming To Netflix From Youtube Creator James Rallison. Lang. Jamie. Cartoon Brew. June 23, 2022. June 23, 2022.
2. Web site: Netflix orders Oddballs series. Advanced Television. June 23, 2022. June 24, 2022.
3. Oddballs – Official Trailer. TheOdd1sOut. YouTube. September 16, 2022. September 16, 2022.
4. Web site: Banville . Ethan . May 21, 2023 . Oddballs Graphic Novel! and Odd BTS - The Show Mustn't Go On . Youtube.