Alright, alright, I am perfectly aware that this show is made for little kids, and that little kids enjoy their show shows having a formula and all of that. But "Special Agent Oso" takes that formula to an extreme. Every episode, and I mean *every* episode, is *exactly* the same.
Here's what happens in each 11 minute cartoon...
Special Agent Oso, a teddy bear voiced by Sean Astin, is in training to become a secret agent. Each episode begins with either Agent Doty or Agent Wolfie introducing him to a training exercise and giving him very simple instructions. Oso, however, is something of a bumbler, so he tends to forget what he's been told to do.
We then cut away to some random kid somewhere in America who has some sort of *very* small problem. It could be that Billie doesn't know how to tie his shoes, or that Jane doesn't know how to make a salad. In any case, this little spy camera bug thing sees the kid in "trouble," and automatically sends a message up to a satellite in outer space. This is always done with the EXACT same animation in every episode.
Cut back to Oso, who's having trouble with his training exercise, when all of a sudden, he gets a "Special Allert" message from Paw Pilot. Paw Pilot comes across to me as somewhat creepy, as she's essentially just a bouncing head with big eyes who contacts Oso on his communicator. Oso then talks with his boss, Mister Dos, who's so secret that no one can see him. Dos then tells Oso about the "urgent situation" involving whatever child Oso is supposed to help, so the teddy bear immediately springs into action.
But first, he asks Paw Pilot for the "Three Special Steps" that he'll need to complete his assignment. Paw Pilot will then sing the *exact* same song in the *exact* same way in every single episode, with the only difference being in the steps that she gives to Oso changing each time.
Oso then asks Paw Pilot what the "Code Name" for the special assignment is. Paw Pilot will then sing a song that "spoofs" a James Bond movie title. I forgot to mention earlier that this series at least believes that it's a decent, kid-friendly James Bond parody, and that every single episode is named after a Bond film. Truth be told, it gets a little repetitive when titles are parodied multiple times ("The Man with the Golden Gun" has been done at least twice now), and it's arguable that spoofing movie titles isn't enough to make your show "clever," but we'll ignore that for now.
After Paw Pilot sings the song, Oso then helps the child with whatever problem that he or she has, always remembering to use his "three special steps." Oso isn't always very good at accomplishing the task on his own, so "help" from kids at home is usually needed...six or seven times.
But Oso, of course, always manages to come through, and it *always* somehow involves him remembering the instructions of the training exercise that he was having problems with at the beginning of the episode. He always does so under pressure, though, since Paw Pilot will always urgently inform Oso that he only has a certain number of seconds in which to complete his task. Paw Pilot, however, seems to have no idea on earth what a "second" actually is, since her countdowns are usually done extremely inaccurately. No wonder that Oso is always able to come through.
Oso will then go back to "headquarters" to complete said training exercise, and will then be given a medal. After words, Oso's boss will then contact him (which always surprises Oso, even though it seems to happen every day), and will offer his congratulations to Oso for finishing his special assignment. Paw Pilot will then sing the "Three Special Steps" song *again*, and Oso will be awarded a Digi-Medal, which he shares with the audience. Oso then makes a crack that the writers assume to be worthy of spoofing a Bond one-liner, and the episode is over.
This is, quite seriously, how *every* episode of the show works. Again, I'm aware that kids like this stuff, but "Special Agent Oso" almost feels like lazy writing. I'm guessing that the scripts for these are finished in a matter of minutes sometimes. That's how simple that they are.
It's also notable that the animation on the show isn't as good as some of the other stuff that Disney's come up with for television. Oso himself looks alright, but the kids who he helps seem have some sort of glitch involving their mouths, which seem to just...flap around. Normally, I wouldn't condemn the show for this, since I'm aware that budgeted CGI animation isn't easy, but we've seen Disney do (slightly) better than this with human animation on "Handy Manny." It just seems as though a little more effort could've gone into it.
Obviously, I am not the target audience for this thing, and really only watch it because my mom likes to have Disney Channel on when she wakes up in the morning. But preschool shows *are* capable of having at least some form of creative spark, as demonstrated by "Manny" and "My Friends Tigger and Pooh." "Oso" doesn't seem to have that, even though it seems to believe that it does. Having said that, children are bound to enjoy it very much, so if you're a parent looking for a non-offensive program that your kids are going to like, you don't need to look any further.
I just can't get over a secret organization wasting Government tax dollars on helping kids who have small problems.
Here's what happens in each 11 minute cartoon...
Special Agent Oso, a teddy bear voiced by Sean Astin, is in training to become a secret agent. Each episode begins with either Agent Doty or Agent Wolfie introducing him to a training exercise and giving him very simple instructions. Oso, however, is something of a bumbler, so he tends to forget what he's been told to do.
We then cut away to some random kid somewhere in America who has some sort of *very* small problem. It could be that Billie doesn't know how to tie his shoes, or that Jane doesn't know how to make a salad. In any case, this little spy camera bug thing sees the kid in "trouble," and automatically sends a message up to a satellite in outer space. This is always done with the EXACT same animation in every episode.
Cut back to Oso, who's having trouble with his training exercise, when all of a sudden, he gets a "Special Allert" message from Paw Pilot. Paw Pilot comes across to me as somewhat creepy, as she's essentially just a bouncing head with big eyes who contacts Oso on his communicator. Oso then talks with his boss, Mister Dos, who's so secret that no one can see him. Dos then tells Oso about the "urgent situation" involving whatever child Oso is supposed to help, so the teddy bear immediately springs into action.
But first, he asks Paw Pilot for the "Three Special Steps" that he'll need to complete his assignment. Paw Pilot will then sing the *exact* same song in the *exact* same way in every single episode, with the only difference being in the steps that she gives to Oso changing each time.
Oso then asks Paw Pilot what the "Code Name" for the special assignment is. Paw Pilot will then sing a song that "spoofs" a James Bond movie title. I forgot to mention earlier that this series at least believes that it's a decent, kid-friendly James Bond parody, and that every single episode is named after a Bond film. Truth be told, it gets a little repetitive when titles are parodied multiple times ("The Man with the Golden Gun" has been done at least twice now), and it's arguable that spoofing movie titles isn't enough to make your show "clever," but we'll ignore that for now.
After Paw Pilot sings the song, Oso then helps the child with whatever problem that he or she has, always remembering to use his "three special steps." Oso isn't always very good at accomplishing the task on his own, so "help" from kids at home is usually needed...six or seven times.
But Oso, of course, always manages to come through, and it *always* somehow involves him remembering the instructions of the training exercise that he was having problems with at the beginning of the episode. He always does so under pressure, though, since Paw Pilot will always urgently inform Oso that he only has a certain number of seconds in which to complete his task. Paw Pilot, however, seems to have no idea on earth what a "second" actually is, since her countdowns are usually done extremely inaccurately. No wonder that Oso is always able to come through.
Oso will then go back to "headquarters" to complete said training exercise, and will then be given a medal. After words, Oso's boss will then contact him (which always surprises Oso, even though it seems to happen every day), and will offer his congratulations to Oso for finishing his special assignment. Paw Pilot will then sing the "Three Special Steps" song *again*, and Oso will be awarded a Digi-Medal, which he shares with the audience. Oso then makes a crack that the writers assume to be worthy of spoofing a Bond one-liner, and the episode is over.
This is, quite seriously, how *every* episode of the show works. Again, I'm aware that kids like this stuff, but "Special Agent Oso" almost feels like lazy writing. I'm guessing that the scripts for these are finished in a matter of minutes sometimes. That's how simple that they are.
It's also notable that the animation on the show isn't as good as some of the other stuff that Disney's come up with for television. Oso himself looks alright, but the kids who he helps seem have some sort of glitch involving their mouths, which seem to just...flap around. Normally, I wouldn't condemn the show for this, since I'm aware that budgeted CGI animation isn't easy, but we've seen Disney do (slightly) better than this with human animation on "Handy Manny." It just seems as though a little more effort could've gone into it.
Obviously, I am not the target audience for this thing, and really only watch it because my mom likes to have Disney Channel on when she wakes up in the morning. But preschool shows *are* capable of having at least some form of creative spark, as demonstrated by "Manny" and "My Friends Tigger and Pooh." "Oso" doesn't seem to have that, even though it seems to believe that it does. Having said that, children are bound to enjoy it very much, so if you're a parent looking for a non-offensive program that your kids are going to like, you don't need to look any further.
I just can't get over a secret organization wasting Government tax dollars on helping kids who have small problems.