The Cuphead Show! is an animated television series created by Chad and Jared Moldenhauer for Netflix and is produced by StudioMDHR and King Features Syndicate. It is based on the video game Cuphead.
The series made its world premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 15, 2020. Footage from the first four episodes of The Cuphead Show! had been leaked online before its air date.
Netflix released the trailer as well as confirming the release date of February 18th, 2022.[2] After that, new episodes for the show were released, with 13 episodes being released on August 19th, 2022, and the final 11 of season 1 being released on November 18th, 2022.
Plot Synopsis[]
"The Cuphead Show! is a character-driven comedy series following the unique misadventures of loveable, impulsive scamp Cuphead and his cautious but easily swayed brother Mugman. As the two scour their surreal home world of the Inkwell Isles in search of fun and adventure, they always have each other's back. Unless there's only one cookie left, in which case it's every cup for himself. The Cuphead Show! combines nostalgic delights, side-splitting gags, and a healthy dose of the heebie jeebies—especially when a ridiculously weird nemesis, The Devil himself, arrives on the scene to toy with our heroes."[3]
Cast and Characters[]
- Tru Valentino as Cuphead, Gameshow Announcer, Bee Cops, Giant Crawdad
- Frank Todaro as Mugman, Sargent Gumbo Gumbull, Jerry, Earthworm
- Grey Griffin as Ms. Chalice, Hilda Berg, Emma, Dorris, Screwdriver Clerk, Mrs. Mayor
- Joe Hanna as Elder Kettle, Sal Spudder
- Luke Millington-Drake as The Devil
- Wayne Brady as King Dice
- David Wasson as Henchman, Telephone, Bee Cop, Ice Cream Man
- Andrew Morgado as Stickler, Sherman, Mr. Mayor
- Chris Wylde as Ribby
- Rick Zieff as Croaks
- Cosmo Segurson as Porkrind, Chauncey Chantenay, Elephant, Hot Dog, Parrot, Burpy
- Jim Conroy as Ollie Bulb, Jasper and Duke [4]
- Christina Milizia as Baby Bottle
- Keith Ferguson as Bowlboy
- Gary Anthony Williams as Quadratus
- Kimberly Brooks as Elephant Grandma
- Candi Milo as Cherry and Brandywine
- Adam Paloian as Miss Cyclops, Hippo Usher
- Zoe Moss as Baroness Von Bon Bon, Whippet Creampup
- Jason Vande Brake as Captain Brineybeard
- Natasia Demetriou as Cala Maria
- Deeki Deke as Sword
- Chris Kattan as Werner Werman
- Marcia Gay Harden as Sally Stageplay
- Mick Wingert as Ludwig
- Melique Berger as Chief Bea, Belinda and Bonnie Birnbaum
- Dawnn Lewis as Bedelia and Boo-Boo Birnbaum
- April Winchell as Head Penguin
Silent Characters[]
- Grim Matchstick
- Pip and Dot
- Mangosteen
- Spectral Rat
- Spectre Syndicate
- Head of the Train
- Blind Specter
- Kaptain Krustacean
- Crabby Clawster
- Imps
- Cards
Production[]
Development[]
In July 2019, it was announced that Netflix had green-lit the series for a run of at least ten episodes. The series would be animated; it will not be done as meticulously as the video game using traditional pen-and-paper methods, since that would take far too long to complete, but instead will feature hand-drawn characters and movement. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer from StudioMDHR will be executive producers along with CJ Kettler from King Features Syndicate. Dave Wasson and Cosmo Segurson will co-executive produce, while Clay Morrow and Adam Paloian will be supervising directors.[5]
Episodes[]
| # | Title | Season | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Carn-Evil" | 1 | February 18, 2022 |
| 2 | "Baby Bottle" | ||
| 3 | "Ribby and Croaks" | ||
| 4 | "Handle with Care!" | ||
| 5 | "Roll the Dice" | ||
| 6 | "Ghosts Ain't Real!" [6] | ||
| 7 | "Root Packed" | ||
| 8 | "Sweater Off Dead" | ||
| 9 | "Sweater Luck Next Time" | ||
| 10 | "Dangerous Mugman" | ||
| 11 | "Dirt Nap" | ||
| 12 | "In Charm's Way" | ||
| 13 | "Jailbroken" | 2 | August 19, 2022 |
| 14 | "Charmed & Dangerous" | ||
| 15 | "A High Seas Adventure!" | ||
| 16 | "Another Brother" | ||
| 17 | "Sweet Temptation" | ||
| 18 | "The I Scream Man" | ||
| 19 | "Piano Lesson" | ||
| 20 | "Release the Demons!" | ||
| 21 | "Dead Broke" | ||
| 22 | "Rats All, Folks" | ||
| 23 | "Say Cheese!" | ||
| 24 | "Lost in the Woods" | ||
| 25 | "The Devil's Pitchfork" | ||
| 26 | "The Devil's Revenge!" | 3 | November 18, 2022 |
| 27 | "Don't Answer the Door" | ||
| 28 | "Cupstaged" | ||
| 29 | "Roadkill" | ||
| 30 | "Holiday Tree-dition" | ||
| 31 | "A Very Devil Christmas" | ||
| 32 | "Special Delivery" | ||
| 33 | "Down & Out" | ||
| 34 | "Joyride" | ||
| 35 | "Dance with Danger" | ||
| 36 | "The Devil & Ms. Chalice" |
Reception[]
The Cuphead Show! was given generally positive reception, with strong praise given to the animation, visuals and dedication to the original game. However, a common criticism on the show was on its supposed lack of substance - with which many fans disagree.
Trailers[]
Trivia[]
- The season 1 is the only one to not have any double episodes.
- The show was originally to release in 2021 but it was delayed for unknown reasons, most likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic or the art style being polished.
- A few animatics for the show were leaked on June 25, 2020 on the website 4chan.
- The show made its first debut on June 15, 2020 at the Annecy Animated Film Festival.
- The show was animated at Lighthouse Studios, an animation studio based in Kilkenny, Ireland.
- There was a kids book planned for the show, being released on May 3rd, 2022, titled "Welcome to Inkwell Isles!"[7]
- There was a website acting as a countdown for the show, with special images, GIFs, and clips able to be obtained by completing "missions" and solving codes.[8] As of November 2022, the site now redirects to an error page and is no longer available.
- This could have probably been due to the show being cancelled after the third season.
- Bimbo, Flip the Frog and the tenor saxophone from the Silly Symphonies cartoon Music Land appear as background characters.
- The unlucky telephone who would again have his soul stolen in the episode Roll the Dice was inspired by the one from the Mickey Mouse cartoon Thru the Mirror.
- In a few episodes, classical music can be heard in the background in some scenes.
- The live action sets were provided by Screen Novelties.
- Despite Netflix being willing to launch a new season and the fans' desire for a another new season, it is currently unknown if Season 4 will be made or not due to the show being currently on hiatus with no established confirmation of whether it will be cancelled or if it will resume. It could probably be made by mid-late 2024.
- The Cuphead Show! came out before the DLC.
- Oddly, on the map in the intro, Inkwell Isle Two is nowhere to be seen.
- A few leaks from the third drop of episodes were found on YouTube - one video showcasing leaked episode thumbnails, and a few unseen frames shown in the trailer for the second drop back in July of 2022.
- The ending of season 3 acts like a lead-in to the events of the story of the main game, thus implying that the whole series is actually a loose prequel. However, Studio MDHR has confirmed that the show is not canon to the game.
- Most of the bosses from the game that appear in Season 1 are bosses from the first area of the game, which is near Cuphead and Mugman's home, with the exception of the Devil and King Dice (King Dice is the game's penultimate boss while the Devil is its final boss). The only boss from a later part of the game, Grim Matchstick, only appeared when the boys went to their volcano, and they didn’t even interact with them.
References[]
- ↑ https://netflixlife.com/2009/08/15/the-cuphead-show-season-3-will-there-be-another-season/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/NetflixGeeked/status/1483454189112107008?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
- ↑ https://gizmodo.com/the-cuphead-shows-first-trailer-runneth-over-1848375982
- ↑ https://mobile.twitter.com/jimconroy17/status/1483621335381196801
- ↑ https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/king-features-and-netflix-announce-all-new-animated-series-the-cuphead-show-based-on-global-video-game-phenomenon
- ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/streaming/creating-a-rubber-hose-wonderland-for-the-cuphead-show/
- ↑ https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FG-jr9TXoAATS9X?format=jpg&name=large
- ↑ https://www.cupheadcountdown.com/