Home Movies
Cartoon Network

Humor often relies on timing as much as content.

Really.

It's all about timing. Drop something deadpan, wait a couple of beats with a blank face, and let the humor roll. Timing displays control, timing shows a command of your material and timing lets the essential nature of a humorous situation play itself out within the sluggish brains of any onlookers fortunate enough to be paying attention.

"Home Movies" has timing, and that's pretty sweet.

Put together by the creators of the long-defunct "Dr. Katz," "Home Movies" is a cartoon done in a squiggly, jumpy style that gives its characters a certain intrinsic motion even as they pause, waiting for the absurdity of a given situation to become apparent.

As the anchor of Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim," programming bloc, "Home Movies" is its most substantial presence. While "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" has its diehard cult, and "The Brak Show" has sheer absurdity completely locked down, only "Home Movies" presents a cast of relatively believable characters hanging out, cracking wise and struggling to make sense of life.

Its star, Brendon Small, is an 8-year-old filmmaker with a precocious sense of self-importance and mission distinctly reminiscent of Rushmore's madly ambitious Max Fisher. Along with his friends, the easygoing and bright Melissa and the laconically witty Jason, he spends the better part of most episodes using a video camera to create interpretations of films like Misery, All the President's Men and Kafka.

It's a good hook that lets the characters create video presentations for class, court and aged relatives while exploring various amusing childlike takes on popular film classics.

But "Home Movies" doesn't let viewers wallow in the comfort of static characters. While its animated stars don't always evolve noticeably over the course of any given episode, little facets of their personalities and histories are revealed. We learn that Brendon's family is poor. We discover that his mom teaches creative writing, and he doesn't really know his dad. Melissa's dad is a self-employed real estate agent with a penchant for gentle puns. Jason is — well, he's comic relief for an already funny show, and still somewhat enigmatic.

The details dribble out over the course of any given show, and unlike many programs — cartoon or otherwise — "Home Movies" isn't afraid to let viewers wander and explore the nooks and crannies of its characters' lives. Wealth and class are issues, as are the genuinely challenging aggravations of being a single mom. Best of all, Brendon's mom Paula, and Melissa's dad, Erik have independent lives and interests, and sometimes hilariously antagonistic relationships with their own offspring.

And as Brendon gingerly begins dealing with the concept of his absent father, "Home Movies," gets a bit serious. Contrasted with the real humor of most of the series, the drama sometimes feels forced, but it creates a motivation for viewers to tune in for the next installment — knowing that the characters aren't nailed down, you're eager to see where the show will take them next.

"Home Movies" isn't a typical cartoon; slapstick makes up a small percentage of its humor, and dry wit makes up more of its content than farcical antics, which are by no means absent. Fans of "The Simpsons" or "The Family Guy" will want to give "Home Movies" a look; it's less barbed, considerably more thoughtful and brilliantly... timed.

— James Norton (jrnorton@flakmag.com)