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Cartoon Network gets ‘Close Enough’

More and more shows that appear to be for children but are actually not are cropping up.

The latest in the line of binge-worthy adult animation is ‘Close Enough’ on Netflix.

It took me a weekend to consume all 16 episodes and honestly I am still confused as to what I watched exactly. 

The show was created by JG Quintel, the same brain behind the Cartoon Network children’s series ‘Regular Show’, and the similarities seep through quite often.

From the voice acting, to the style of drawing, to the way things just always go wrong in each episode; it feels eerily similar to its sister show.

The title might even be a play on this – the fact that it’s pretty close to being ‘Regular Show’, or it might have to do with the fact that the main characters – parents Josh and Emily and their five-year-old daughter Candice – aren’t quite the ordinary nuclear family they appear to be at first glance despite their best attempts.

‘Close Enough’ follows the young and unprepared parents’ exploits as they try to do the best they can for their child, while being homeless and, for some reason, squatting with divorced couple Alex and Bridgette. 

They are fun to watch and hilarious – as seemingly easy parenting tasks make fools out of them. This is what gives the show its heart, and what will make you come back time and again is the sincerity in their love for their child and their desire to do right by her.

The writing is very clever and you never really know in which direction the story will turn, leaving you almost sitting on the edge of your seat. While carefully coming across as a mindless children’s cartoon – a tool the directors employ well – I definitely wouldn’t advise you to leave your little one in front of the screen for this.

The show allows for some very heartfelt and serious moments – to swear, to reveal their negative traits, and then, they simply reset after minutes, giving everyone a clean slate at the start of each new story. 

It’s engaging, but not too serious that you actually think about the real-world consequences of cursing in front of a child, or the awkwardness of talking about sex with them, or the shame of playing video games all day instead of being a productive adult.

What makes this show great is that all the characters’ flaws and imperfections are comforting, because we get to see our own flawed selves reflected in them, but in a fun and quick 10-minute burst of wacky animation. 

Other shows featuring these types of anti-heroes often play too heavily on existentialism. With ‘Close Enough’ you can connect with Alex’s lack of structure in life, but you can also laugh when he has pizza stuck to the side of his face, and that’s the beauty of this ‘Regular Show’ look- and sound-alike that isn’t quite the same, but certainly ‘Close Enough’.

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