Lil' Bush is a satirical, politically-themed animated comedy show featuring super deformed versions of the current world leaders. Created by Donick Cary, initially as content for Amp'd Mobile, it has aired on Comedy Central since June 13, 2007. Each 30-minute episode consists of two story segments, with each segment featuring a musical performance by the Lil' Bush Band.
| Lil' Bush | |
|---|---|
| File:Lilbushlogo.JPG | |
| Created by | Donick Cary |
| Voices of | Chris Parson Dave Mitchell Mara Cary Donick Cary Ann Villella Iggy Pop |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Donick Cary Jay Karas |
| Running time | 30/11 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Comedy Central |
| Release | June 13, 2007 – Present |
Premise
Lil' Bush takes place in an alternate reality version of the present day, where George H.W. Bush is president and George W. Bush ("Lil' George" on the show) as well as other major modern politicians (many of them members of George W. Bush's real-life staff) are all children attending Beltway Elementary School. Issues in which the current Bush Administration is involved—for example, the Iraq War—are transferred to the elder Bush, but feature the younger Bush interacting with them in various ways. Also, just as George Bush's father is president, the parents of the other kids are members of the elder Bush's cabinet (all depicted as their present-day real-life adult counterparts, with the exception of the elder Cheney, who is shown always wearing a Darth Vader mask).
Episodes
Season 1
- June 13, 2007 - Lil' Bush and the Gang go to Iraq to find the perfect Father's Day gift; the Gang bets to see who can kiss a girl first.
- June 20, 2007 - Lil' Bush learns to stand up for himself against Lil' Kim Jong-il; Lil' Bush the Gang go to summer camp and discover a sleeper cell.
- June 27, 2007 - Lil' Bush meets Lil' Tony Blair, and the two become close friends and cheerleaders for the school's football team, while the Gang finds someone else to blindly follow; Under his father's threat of canceling Martin Luther King day, Lil' Bush and the Gang find an alternate way to complete their chores, with the help of illegal immigrant workers.
- July 11, 2007 - The gang try to thwart Lil' Al Gore's Lil' Live Earth concert, featuring the Lil' Foo Fighters and Lil' Red Hot Chili Peppers
- The Lil' Kim Jong episode is slightly different version from episode "Nuked" found on Amp'd Mobile.
Main characters
- Lil' George (George W. Bush), voiced by Chris Parson; the leader of the gang, he often makes choices without thinking about the consequences, though is sometimes corrected by his friends. He also enjoys giving people various nicknames. He doesn't seem to understand that Lil' Condi is in fact a girl. Additionally, though the show is entitled "Lil' Bush", the character himself is always referred to by the other characters (and in the scripts) as Lil' George.
- George Sr. (George H. W. Bush), voiced by Dave Mitchell; the irascible Commander in Chief who acts as somewhat of a straight man to Lil' George. He is shown to be extremely weak physically, and possessing a deep love for saltine crackers. He and Barbara are also swingers and although he loves his wife, he has a specific time scheduled at work for "old people sex" with his secretary. His morals seem to be completely based on voter opinions.
- Barbara Bush, voiced by Mara Cary; the sexually frustrated wife of the President, she resorts to having a tryst with Lil' Cheney. Barbara is actually a composite being, possessing George Washington's head, William H. Taft's body, and Betsy Ross' "Lady Parts." Confused with a polar bear in one episode.
- Lil' Jeb (Jeb Bush), voiced by Dave Mitchell; the indestructable but mentally undeveloped brother to Lil' George. His family shows a general apathy towards his well being. This could possibly because he is able to withstand things that would kill an ordainary person, and sometimes benefits from them, such as being placed in the dishwasher for a bath. It has even been shown that Jeb can withstand a nuclear blast, as he is shown climbing onto a missile about to be fired, and he is shown his normal self after the dust clears.
- Lil' Cheney (Dick Cheney), voiced by Donick Cary; a friend of Lil' George, he growls incoherently ("reh-reh-REH-reh!") rather than speaking, with the occasional interjection of a contextually relevant word or phrase ("reh-reh-REH-reh-Pizza-Pizza-reh-reh-REH"); the rest of the characters appear to understand him. He is also an expert in foreign languages, acts as a translator for the group, and, as a testament to his deranged violent tendencies, exclusively consumes raw-sometimes living-meat and blood. His father is shown wearing a Darth Vader mask.
- Lil' Condi (Condoleezza Rice), voiced by Ann Villela; in unrequited love with Lil' George, she acts as the voice of reason for her friends.
- Lil' Rummy (Donald Rumsfeld), voiced by Iggy Pop; seems to be the only remotely intelligent character on the show aside from Lil' Condi. He displays a sadistic side, possibly resulting from the fact that he is abused by his father.
Supporting characters
- Lil' Bill (Bill Clinton), voiced by Chris Parson; constantly cheats on Lil' Hillary.
- Lil' Hillary (Hillary Clinton); girlfriend of Lil' Bill, she works at an abortion clinic after school "just for fun" and is also suggested to be a lesbian or bisexual after kissing Lil' Condi.
- Lil' Laura (Laura Bush): the pudgy object of Lil' George's desire, she never speaks, and at one point goes to a fat camp.
- Lil' Foley (Mark Foley), voiced by Dave Mitchell; a member of Lil' Laura's prayer group, quite fond of texting.
- Lil' Barack (Barack Obama), voiced by Tim Meadows; shown laughing at Lil' George, he is "nuked" by Lil' George when he is seen sneaking a cigarette outside of the White House. He also leads Lil' George's friends after Lil' Bush abandons them for Lil' Tony Blair. He attempts to enlist their help in building a "Home for Humanity" for a single mother, but the gang burns it down (assuming that the plan was to commit insurance fraud)and use the money to buy themselves scooters.
- Lil' Al Gore, voiced by Chris Parson
- Lil' John Kerry, voiced by Chris Parson
- Lil' Mikey Moore, voiced by Chris Parson
- Lil' Nancy Pelosi; shown sewing a flag with rainbow-colored stripes, she is also "nuked" by Lil' George.
- Lil' Kim Jong-il, voiced by Diane Hsu; The new student at Beltway Elementary, he antagonizes Lil' Bush, who refers to him as "Kitty", as Lil' Bush's mind processes his image as a cat. He expresses a desire to be a Hollywood-type filmmaker, even kidnapping Kevin Costner (voiced by Chris Parson) to star in his latest epic (see Shin Sang-ok).
- Lil' Tony Blair, voiced by Dave Mitchell; an effeminate British boy who is on the same cheerleading squad as Lil' George. The two become friends, much to the consternation of both boys' families. Barbara Bush uses "being British" as a euphemism for homosexuality, and she is alarmed at the possibility of Lil' George "applying for dual citizenship" and "driving on the wrong side of the road".
- Lil' John Ashcroft; shown singing the iconic "Let the Eagle Soar," with a very poor reception.
- Raul, voiced by Carlos Mencia; a Mexican day laborer hired by Lil' George to do his chores for him. A chemical engineer in his native Mexico, Raul has come to America because he can make more money doing manual labor for hire than he can in his chosen profession back home. Lil' George treats him as a pet, and forgets to feed him, as he did with all his other pets, eventually leading to his death.
Cultural references
- Each episode features a musical segment (a la The Archies or Josie and the Pussycats) where the Lil' Bush Band plays a song dressed up as a famous group.
- In the first episode the gang is shown as Guns 'n Roses.
- In the second episode the gang is shown as The Sex Pistols, and later in the show as KISS.
- In the third episode the gang parody WHAM! and Tony Basil.
- In the camp episode, Lil' Bush makes a new friend he calls "Red Shirt." Red shirt is captured and apparently killed just like the Redshirts from Star Trek.
Critical response
The show has received mostly negative reviews from critics, with Metacritic giving it a metascore of 31/100 [1]. A common complaint is that the show comes too late in Bush's Presidency to remain topical[2]. Other complaints include its immaturity and lack of subtlety.[3]
References
- ^ Lil' Bush: Resident Of The United States. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ TELEVISION REVIEW; The President and His Friends, Younger and More Animated. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
- ^ Lil' Bush episode 2 quoting The New York Times