The Cartoon Network offers a new original
animated series from Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of the network's popular Dexter's
Laboratory. In the distant past, a once-great warrior tells his son how he vanquished the
evil wizard, Aku with the help of a magic sword. But as the warrior soon discovers, Aku
(Mako) has broken free to threaten the land once again. The young son barely escapes, but
his father is not so lucky.
The boy is sent around the world to study
with scholars and be trained in the martial arts. Over the years he learns the way of the
Samurai, with but one goal in mind—to return to his home and save his people from
Aku. When he is finally ready, the young man does return. Once there, his mother gives him
the magic sword. The young samurai sets out to free his father and the other slaves of
Aku. He defeats Aku's minions and is about to vanquish the evil wizard, when Aku
transports him through a time portal into the future.
The Samurai suddenly finds himself in a
strange land that has flying cars, aliens and talking dogs. Worse yet, the earth is run by
Aku, and he finds the wizard's image at every turn. An odd-looking group of locals dub him
Samurai Jack (La Marr), and send him to a bar where the least strange thing he runs into
is a group of talking dogs who want to hire him.
Jack discovers that Aku has sent him into
a bleak future that is dominated by the vile wizard's rule. The dogs are hoping that Jack
will help free them from Aku's slavery. Jack agrees, and he soon must face an army of
strange, enormous insect-like machines. Jack decides he will help save the dogs, but more
importantly, he must find a way back to his past so he can destroy Aku before this future
ever happens.
A sword-swinging stylistic feast
In an attempt to transcend ordinary
cartoons, Tartakovsky has combined different animation and music styles to create
something unique. With its exciting action sequences, striking visuals and its odd
combination of everything from traditional to modern to the bizarre, Samurai Jack does
indeed have an impressive style of its own.
The opening 90-minute episode does a good
job at introducing the character of Samurai Jack and Aku, and the struggle between the
two. In a typical good-against-evil story, Samurai Jack tells the simple tale of a
stranger in a strange land who can't help but continue to be a hero even though he's out
of his element. It's not an unusual story, but it's well-told, and while Jack rarely
speaks, he is a hero to root for.
When Jack finally gets to the future,
after a long and visual introduction to the story, he runs into all manner of creatures
and situations. The animated series could easily have become a mishmash of clashing
elements, but Tartakovsky makes it all work by keeping the story line simple, yet
interesting.
There is plenty of room for the series to
continue, as Jack travels, searching for a way back to his own time, fending off Aku's
minions and helping the oppressed people of the future. Along with the dynamic and exotic
animation and the rich musical score, Samurai Jack does offer the occasional humorous
moment. While this first long episode is more focused on introducing the series, the
talking and upright walking dogs show some of the potential the series might mine in other
fun and interesting situations.
