KIPO AND THE AGE OF THE WONDERBEASTS

BY COREY FLOYD

Okay so I was in standby mode waiting for the next batch of Steven Universe episodes. I needed something to secure that itch of childhood fantasy, and think I found it. KIPO And The Age Of The Wonderbeasts. This is a new series on Netflix produced by Dreamworks. I don’t wanna give away too much, but this is a show that black households need right now especially for girls. Imma try my best to not spoil this show whilst convincing you to sit down with the fam and check this out.

Please bear with me…

The story takes place somewhere in the future, and of course, things aren’t the best if you’re a human. We learn that our character “Kipo” was separated from his father when their colony was attacked by a giant rabbit.

Did I lose you already? Still there, cool!

Their world has mutated into a land where some of our favorite cuddly creatures are the size of skyscrapers and have grown additional limbs. Some of the creatures talk, and some are lumberjack cats or frog gangs that wear suits fresh from MIB (Men In Black) headquarters. The world-building is truly on a grand scale, and the breathtaking visuals will give every child and adult something to enjoy.

There are three main characters; Kipo, the show's namesake, Wolf, and Dave (sounds like they ran out of cool names right?), and all three characters are Black; which is a HUGE plus for me cause when it comes to fantasy and post-apocalyptic stories and shows we tend to not exist or barely exist.  I can’t completely express how refreshing it is to see this level of diversity, especially in animation. Also, the characters reflect different aspects of the adventurous mind. Kipo is curious and wants to know more about this world. Wolf thinks everything wants to kill you, and Dave is just in it for the fun.  It’s nice to see three strangers become some type of family in this coming of age show.

The voices acting is top-notch. Kipo is played by Karen Fukuhara. I had some serious doubts about her career because she was handed a bad first gig. Remember Suicide Squad from 2016, well she was Katana. Since then, she’s done great work on Amazon Prime’s show “The Boys” and her voice work on “She-Ra,” another Netflix original. Wolf is played by Sydney Mikayla who has been working on other animated shows like “Craig of the Creek” and “Loud House.”  Dave is Played by Comedian Deon Cole. I believe this is his first outing as a voice actor, but he was almost unrecognizable in his portrayal. Kipo is a big step up from “Blackish & Grownish.”  You also have Sterling K. Brown as Kipo’s father and he also has a wonderful singing voice.  This show soundtrack has a variety of entertaining music. Daniel Rojas has done some great scores for the show; awesome songs that are at Steven Universe tier in my opinion. For a Ballad about a legendary “lumberjack Cat” to a rap about astrology by wolf voice “The GZA” from the  Wu Tang Clan. This show is a full package of family delight. If you are looking for a quality show to watch with your peeps, or like I said earlier, you have aa Steven Universe itch that needs to be scratched KIPO is where it’s at.