REVIEW: ‘The Cuphead Show’ Season 2 Is Enjoyably Juvenile

Come with me to the Inkwell Isles as The Cuphead Show Season 2 drops on Netflix. Cuphead and Mugman unleash their unique brand of chaos once more as they battle demons, sea beasts, and angry mobs.

The Cuphead Show Season 2, developed and written by David Wasson, is based upon the video game from Studio MDHR, in which two anthropomorphic cups get up to all kinds of mischief. In Season 1 the young brothers, Cuphead (Tru Valentino) and Mugman (Frank Todaro), narrowly avoided having their souls stolen by the Devil (Luke Millington-Drake), but after a chance meeting with Ms. Chalice (Grey DeLisle) they end up getting thrown in the slammer.

While The Cuphead Show Season 2 doesn’t have a lot of character progression or continuity within the series there are a few episodes dedicated to some linear storytelling. The episodes that do link to previous stories are those stories that pertain to the Devil, and Ms. Chalice. It’s an interesting approach to the show and the characters because it allows a lot of freedom to invest in some off-the-wall antics, and gives space for the main narrative to breathe. I’m thankful there was thought given to grounding the series with the main story, and while it’s not essential, it does provide balance.

The humor employed is absolutely juvenile and for some audience members that will be very hit and miss. I enjoyed it, but I also got to sit and watch it with my 8-year-old twin boys, and daughter of 7, who were howling in laughter at the brother’s shenanigans. If you can embrace the immaturity, and take the show for what it is, it really can be a lot of fun. A lot of this has to do with the self-awareness of not to drag out the stories with most episodes running in at a crips 10-12 minutes. Enough time to enjoy, without it feeling like it’s become repetitive.

This will likely be the downfall of the show for some audience members if you’re not in that target demographic. The humor is very surface level, with a lot of physical comedy, but it’s also been strategically designed this way.

The show is inspired by the classic ‘toons of years gone by, as was the tone of the video game itself. So the animation style, the references, and even the visual cues come from that well of creation. The diverse dialogue adds an extra layer of humor by incorporating words and phrases that have fallen out of use in modern and popular culture, but within the show feel very at home.

For someone who grew up watching classic cartoons, I’ve got a lot of time for this animation style. The show’s unique style obviously has been modernized to account for more frames, and a robust on-screen transition for bigger visuals but it really sings. I loved the insane level of detail even down to the attempt to recreate the flashing particles on screen while filming.

The vocal performances from Valentino, Todaro, and Millington-Drake enhance the enjoyment of the show with the latter stealing every scene he’s in as the Devil. His performance draws upon a dastardly English vocal that oozes someone who is cunning and devious, but he’s able to capture so much more. Without a doubt, my favorite episodes are the Devil ones.

The cliffhanger for this season holds some interesting potential as a direct link for the game itself posing the show as an origin story. As to what will come of Season 3 is another story, but I’m intrigued to see what the creators have lined up.

The Cuphead Show Season 2 continues its boisterous antics and slapstick comedy routines that made it a hit with its target audience. For others, this will be more of the same surface-level humor, but the show struck a good balance by anchoring to an actual progressive plot. The vocal talent slays, and the style and theme of early animation is just fantastic to watch.

The Cuphead Show Season 2 is available now exclusively on Netflix.