There are many weird machinations running amok through Frederator Studios’ GO! Cartoons, and we happen to fall on the very last, and one of the absolute strangest episodes. Amidst the animated fever dreams that course throughout the various shorts that comprise the series, the dream team of Damien Barchowsky and Jeff Drake manage to make something that I am actually struggling (with the utmost sincerity) to describe. Pottyhorse exists; and we should all just bask in the incredulity of its wacky world and characters.
The story centers on Pottyhorse (Chris Tallman), “a horse who is a sheriff and the only toilet in town”, and his sidekick, “an adorable pillow who loves lichens”. Please let that sentence sink in before continuing, because it doesn’t get any easier to digest from this point forward. Pottyhorse spots a “poopsteriod” (a giant flaming asteroid made entirely of feces) through his telescope, and sets out to warn and prepare the town of Fiber Gulch. The town of anthropomorphic objects (ranging from cactuses to water pitchers and tree stumps) and animals buck Pottyhorse’s plans and he is forced to find other methods to combat the impending doom.
“…we should all just bask in the incredulity of its wacky world and characters.”
As a standalone piece, Pottyhorse is an absurd abstraction that is hardly kept afloat by a singular running joke; and the filmmakers run more mileage out of that fecal through-line than conceivably possible. As part of the larger GO! Cartoons series, it stands as one of the lesser entries and feels comparatively half-baked as a result. The character designs are fascinating, and appear as if they populate a much more interesting overarching world than what is given, and aren’t utilized all that often. Also, though there are no particular stand-outs, the vocal work by the cast is (overall) quite cheeky, and amusing.
As far as animated oddities go, this is on the comically lighter end of the spectrum, but there isn’t much here to warrant ample investment beyond its premise’s wholesale lunacy. Pottyhorse is competently animated, though it offers far less substance and laughs as its series’ companions (namely Joel Veitch and David Shute’s Kid Arthur and Gabe Janisz’s Tyler & Co.).
Pottyhorse (2018) Directed by Damien Barchowsky, Jeff Drake. Written by Damien Barchowsky, Jeff Drake. Starring Brooke Dillman, Jeff Drake, Chris Tallman.
★★½ / ☆☆☆☆☆
