Smiling Friends is a rather unique show. Created by Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel, it details the exploits of Pim and Charlie, two employees at a company whose goal is to provide happiness to people in need. It sounds like a straightforward premise, but Smiling Friends is right off the rails from the beginning. If you’ve never seen the show before, it’ll take you an episode or so to slip into the surrealistic landscape that it generates, but then, its game on!
The entire series is noticeably surrealistic with bits of different ultra-realistic animation and even live actors thrown in. The shifts in animation are jarring and unexpected, meant to throw the viewer off balance and the general style of the show feels more like an old Flash animation than anything else. It all mixes together really well once you adapt to the style however and lets you get into the meat of the show, it’s utterly bleak black comedy.
This is a show about extremes. The very first episode starts out with our ‘heroes’ being asked to make a child smile but when they meet him, it turns out he’s an adult whose life has collapsed and he’s about to blow his brains out with a huge revolver. Charlie and Pim try to convince him not to, taking him all over the place and end up just showing him how horrible life is entirely by accident until they happen to stumble upon a chance encounter where he discovers a newfound lust for life in shooting small creatures. It’s a painfully disturbing episode, made more so by their male boss breastfeeding a baby in a business suit for no apparent reason and saying things like ‘Hey…no biting…you want me to bite you?’. This is not a show for the faint of heart.
Other episodes are equally disturbing, addressing the problems with fame, dating, fairy tales, horror, and even a Christmas episode. Nothing ever goes entirely right for the Smiling Friends of course and there’s really no limit on what can happen in any given episode, leading viewers on wild and entirely unpredictable and unhinged rides from episode to episode. It’s a uniquely enjoyable show if your sense of humor is dark enough but it definitely won’t be for everyone so make sure you’re ready and no kids are around when you watch Smiling Friends!
There are only 9 episodes on the Season 1 collection but don’t fret, Adult Swim has already greenlit Season 2! You get the original 8 episodes of the run of the series, the bonus 9th episode (The Smiling Friends Go To Brazil) and there’s also commentary for every episode which is refreshingly casual and uncensored. One of the weird things about the Smiling Friends Blu-ray is that it comes with a warning sticker on the front cover that reads “Exclusive Special Features Warning: Uncensored” but that actually only applies to the commentary, not the show itself. This is a show that should probably be uncensored on Blu-ray but the episodes are in fact censored for audio swearing and even some of the video portions are censored, particularly areas where penises, nursing and other things are showing. It’s definitely a surprising choice for a show this raw but that’s just how it is.
Looking at the more technical aspects of the release, you’re getting a 1080p release with the standard (and excellent) Warner Bros. DTS-HD MA audio track which sounds great on any even remotely decent stereo system. Audio is available in English and French, but subtitles have English, French and Spanish, so plan accordingly. This release is exclusive to the US and Canada so that’s pretty standard, though it is surprising not to see a Spanish audio track. The sound is clear and crisp across the board however and other than the strange noises that Glep makes, you’ll have no issues understanding everything in Smiling Friends. Well, you might because it’s absolutely bonkers and off the walls, but more specifically from an audio standpoint.
Visuals are also great and Warner Bros. has really been upping the game on their Blu-ray releases lately. You might expect a show that has multiple animation and video styles to end up with some artifacting and transition issues but there’s none of that here. Black levels are great and the lines look crisp and clean, really adding to the impact of the spartan animation style that comprises the bulk of Smiling Friends. Honestly, it’s surprising how good Smiling Friends looks considering the strange retro style of animation but you can tell that the show was designed for HD rather than converted and it’s a delight to watch.
This is a single disc release with no fancy extras or anything else in the box. You get the case and disc and a cardboard slipcase. There’s an episode list on the inside of the case as well, and that’s about it. There are no featurettes and no fancy posters here, but this is a fairly niche release and it will be interesting to see if the series gains popularity as the second season comes out (if the writer’s strike ever gets settled that is). Either way, you’re getting a fun series that you’re definitely going to want to watch a couple times through and listen to the commentary on and it’s a nice little package that belongs in your Blu-ray collection. At only $24.99, it’s not too pricey either, making the bare bones release much more palatable. There’s also a $19.99 DVD release if that’s your preference and the show is available digitally on Max and to purchase through Vudu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV. This is one of those hidden Adult Swim gems that’s definitely going to be worth your time to grab so don’t miss out!
This review is based on a physical copy of Smiling Friends Season 1 provided by the publisher. It was viewed on a 55” Sony 1080p TV. Smiling Friends Season 1 is available to purchase on Blu-Ray wherever fine movies and TV shows are sold including Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Target.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.