DEAD END: PARANORMAL PARK season 1 review - Drop dead perfect

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)

Dead End: Paranormal Park is a 2022 animated fantasy series based on the Deadendia comic series by the Eisner awarded Hamish Steele. Netflix, contented to play both sides of the field between promoting transphobic hate speech and funding works such as this that provide a much necessary positive trans representation, are distributing it. In other words, you could argue that this show pissed people off far more than Dave Chappelle obliterating his entire legacy. If I need to make my views clearer, it is that this show is pretty much perfect representation, but that Netflix shouldn't be getting any flowers—those are more deserved by the animators, writers, voice actors, composers, and so on who went the extra mile to not only make an incredibly fun show, but also one which can show the young'uns that the world's a bit more complex than a 5th grade science class would tell you.

To be blunt with you, I have not kept up on many ongoing animated shows that aren't things like Arcane or The Cuphead! Show—IE, brand extensions. I haven't watched many others since new Voltron, new She-Ra, Disenchantment, etc. a few years ago. So yeah, forgive me if I am overly blown away by the animation quality on display in Dead End. Not only are the character designs very appealing (particularly that of Pugsley, who never ceases to be adorable), but the animations are incredibly fluid.

With this show, I find myself consistently laughing—whether I am holding in a "guffaw", or letting one of those suckers rip. The show finds its humor in many locations, but thankfully none of them are tinged with any malice or bigotry. Rather, there's a mix of quickwitted dialogue, visual gags, absurd situations, and batshit hilarious parody. There's an episode titled, "Night of the Living Kids"—need I say more?

But when I'm not laughing, it's usually for good reason. Whether that be Barney explaining why he doesn't want to spend time with his family who ignore that he's a trans guy, or flashing back to Norma getting a completely relatable panic attack as a child—this show isn't afraid to develop its characters, to treat their flaws and identities seriously, and to settle the pace down when we need some pathos. It also isn't afraid to incorporate some romance between characters with chemistry, who aren't insufferable like 90+% of relationships in media.

There are episodes of this season that I just know I will be returning to—for their humor and creativity, but also their wonderful balance of drama too. Not many cartoons can have that allure for me—none short of classics. Am I saying that Dead End is an instant classic? How much must I put in-between these lines?

There's a lot more I could say for Dead End: Paranormal Park, but I'll leave it for season 2. Because holy shit if this doesn't get a second season after this one was so good. I adored the season finale, but it has so many hooks for a continuation, and this is a story that actually earns such a scope. After all, it's probably one of the best cartoons ever, right? Dead End: Paranormal Park season 1 gets a 10/10.

Masterpiece

Summary:

Imaginative and inclusive, gutbusting and gorgeous—Dead End's first season is one for the ages.