The DVD for “JibJab: The Early Years” features a quote from Jay Leno expressing his love for the fellows at JibJab. When Leno heralds these quote unquote comic masterminds, you should have an idea of what is about to follow.
JibJab, an Internet site producing satirical flash cartoons, rose to national attention during the 2004 presidential elections with its nonpartisan, satirical rendition of “This Land is Our Land,” and now they’ve collected 14 animated shorts, each averaging two and a half minutes, on DVD. National media outlets and pundits lauded their good-natured humor and unbiased jabs because they skewered both political parties equally, and they became as chic as a Michael Moore film or an Al Franken rant—with the exception, of course, being that conservatives approved of their form of humor.
The bulk of the shorts included in this compilation DVD involve musical parodies and brief political satires, occasionally featuring re-edited speeches by politicians such as President Bush and Former Vice President Gore. There are also holiday themed shorts featuring Santa singing, and an annoying short, nearly two minutes in length, featuring a rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas entirely made up of fart noises, which would have been funny had it been one-tenth that length, but at a little under two minutes, the joke wears out quickly.
As a critic, this reviewer should refrain from inserting “I” into a review, but I feel it important to note that I am not, nor have I ever been, fond of JibJab shorts. Their humor is often comprised of one-trick ponies and their song parodies are as unfunny as a Weird Al Yankovic song. They poke fun at the most obvious facts of a politicians’ life: Kerry as flip-flopper, Bush as pronunciation challenged orator, Clinton as stoned sex-fiend, over and over and over. They are as funny as a Jay Leno monologue, without the edge—and that’s saying a mouthful.
But, hey, if “The Tonight Show” is your favorite talk show, then this is definitely worth a look.
