Moonbeam City. I’m still waiting for you – CWAR!

March 2, 2015

Happy Monday everyone! Before your eyeballs gaze into this piece, head over to soundcloud.com/fanbros and let your earholes be blessed with this week’s special delivery episode of the FanBros Show! Done? Good. It’s now Cartoons With A Robot time! Around July of last year Comedy Central dropped a 1980s themed bomb that was equal parts Archer and equal parts Patrick Nagel’s Miami Vice nightmare. It was a teaser for the upcoming animated series, Moonbeam City.

There’s a lot about Moonbeam City that’ll make you say “that looks familiar…” And if we’re going to talk about the aesthetic of this show then we need to lay out the facts. Character designs are are clearly inspired by Patrick Nagel. Patrick. Fucking. Nagel. I’m a fan of Nagel’s work, by proxy. Being born in 1989 I don’t really have a lot of cultural ties to anything pre-1991. But I also have the internet, a functioning cerebrum, and pretty decent vision. So when I say there is nothing that gets me more excited then those 1980s knockoff Patrick Nagel paintings that appeared throughout every nail salon for the better part of two decades… excuse me, I’m exciting myself. Outside of the thousands of knockoffs burned into our memories, Patrick Nagel’s art is iconic. And with that I am done professing my adoration of Patrick Nagel, let’s get back to the art at hand.

Our lead character Dazzle Novak. Half brought to life by the voice of Rob Lowe.

Nagel inspired character designs. Retro-future aesthetic. Always sunset. Always.

Moonbeam City comes from the depths of Scott Gairdner’s mind. Gairdner has a long history writing for programs like Conan, Morel Orel, Robot Chicken, and the hit comedy website; Funny or Die. He’s responsible for that Conan cold open that satires Breaking Bad. When you consider his work, it’s clear that Gairdner is going to bring his atypical brand of satirical humor into this new series. Also, he’s made a terrifying remix of the Family Matters theme song that is surely going to drive you crazy in a good way.

Comedy Central shared a short synopsis of Moonbeam City on their website;

‘The animated series Moonbeam City stars Rob Lowe as Dazzle Novak, a detective in America’s most fluorescent metropolis, whose desire to serve is second only to his non-stop sex drive. But with Chief Pizzaz Miller (Elizabeth Banks) cramping his style and his rival Rad Cunningham (Will Forte) undermining him at every turn, he may have to face the (very synthy) music and do some actual police work.’

So we’re not worried about glass in our champagne? No?

Neon colored suits! Silhouetted Dancers! Zebra print!

The press release and trailer for Moonbeam City came out during July of 2014 and I still wait with baited breath. On the surface, it seems like an Archer clone dipped in 1980s excess. And really, how is that a bad thing? Archer: Vice was a hit for the series, but it was only a season long departure from the normal format of Archer itself. How long are we going to enjoy Moonbeam City before we get sick of the 80s aesthetic? Even if it doesn’t exclusively take place during that time period. Solution, the same for every cartoon on television. Suspension of disbelief. It’s a cartoon. Expectations are only going to upset you as a viewer. And with a look like this, I know I’ll never get sick of this series.

Rolled up suit sleeves are coming back this year, I can feel it!

Face by Mac, Hair by Sassoon, Shoulders by Versace.

There aren’t many things standing in the way of this series becoming wildly successful. An all-star cast, a creator with a more than dazzling resume, and a design aesthetic that’s enough eye candy to last a lifetime. Not to mention animation by Titmouse, Inc. They’ve given us Avatar: TLA, The Venture Bros, Superjail, the highly underrated Motor City, and much more. Moonbeam City will be getting my attention when it finally hits television screens on… wait a minute. Seven months since the press release and teaser, and no sign of a premiere date? Fret not, this is most likely a good sign. Quanity is lovely but quality takes time. I’ll still wait for you Moonbeam City.