Time to dive into a weirdly good show once again after several years of not watching it! This time, however, it's the TV version of that weirdly good show! Yippee! Excitement aside, it was probably the announcement of its premiere on Nickelodeon (well, Nicktoons, to be exact) that made me aware that this show existed in the first place, and when I watched it for myself when it finally premiered, it ended up being my favorite show for a while! I was a child back then, however, so I have to ask myself now, "Does this particular show still hold up today, even as I'm rapidly approaching adulthood?"
After re-watching all six episodes, I must answer, "Yes, Making Fiends does still hold up today."
Making Fiends follows two young girls, Charlotte and Vendetta, living their not-so-ordinary lives in the small town of Clamburg. Vendetta is basically the dictatorial ruler of Clamburg who takes great pleasure in terrorizing its citizens with monstrous beings of her creation referred to as fiends; Charlotte, on the other hand, is the naive, optimistic new girl who quickly "befriends" Vendetta. Instantly hating her for her friendliness and constant singing, however, Vendetta creates several fiends with the intention to kill Charlotte; however, to her growing frustration, Charlotte always inadvertently foils her plans by befriending the fiends that are sent after her. Will Vendetta ever accomplish her goal at last, or will Charlotte's naivete always end up saving her life?
....Well, considering the format, I'm sure we all know the answer to that question.
This is to be expected when comparing an animated TV series to its web counterpart, but there seems to be a boost in quality for the animation and sound. The aforementioned animation is rather fluid and runs smoothly; the character designs are practically the same, but considering that I liked the character designs anyway, this is a good thing. The voice actors are the same, too, but the quality of their voice acting has significantly improved. One complaint I had about the web series, even though it was admittedly more of a nitpick than anything, was that the screams of various characters didn't sound as terrified as they could sound; however, this nitpick is fixed in the TV series, and as a result of the screams sounding more terrified, there is weight added to the whole situation. The background music kind of helped with that, too.
"Okay, the animation and sound quality were improved, but as you said earlier, that's to be expected. What about the plot and characters?"
HOLD ON. I WAS JUST GETTING TO THAT. Ugh.... Stupid prediction that people would ask that should they somehow come across this review....
Some of the 18 episodes - which were about seven minutes long, making, sadly, only six full-length episodes - were basically remakes of episodes of the web series, which can bring some nostalgia to those who watched the web series a long time beforehand. However, these episodes also expand the original episode's plot, and while some of those expansions are unneeded (for example, while a certain scene involving a tiny car was both cool and funny, I'm not sure if it was necessary for the rest of the episode's plot), most of them provide more build-up for the climax, as well as give Vendetta more incentive to make the "fiend of the day". As for the episodes that are original to the TV series, all of them were rather entertaining in their own right. My problem with the show's plot, however, was the way it ended. Sure, "Pony" ended the series on a somewhat decent note with the direction that episode's plot took, but ultimately, it felt too abrupt and anticlimactic; if Nick really had to cancel this show this early, I would have preferred a more climactic ending, like the ending of the web series.
Even though the TV series of Making Fiends was finished with too few episodes, those few episodes actually managed to do something that the web series failed to do well, and that was develop its supporting characters. Take Mr. Milk, Charlotte and Vendetta's teacher, for example; one episode that revolves around this particular timid teacher allows us to know more about who he is, as well as what his hopes and dreams are. Another example would be Marvin; my favorite episode of the series revolves around him, and in that episode, we also learn more about him beyond his catchphrase. (Speaking of which, my favorite of his exclamations is in this episode, with it being, "MY CAREER!" I don't know why, though; it was probably the execution.) Not only do we get some development for the supporting characters, though, but we also learn more about the two main characters, as well, including their family lives. Personality-wise, Charlotte and Vendetta remained the same, but taking into account how well they played off of each other in the web series, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Overall, Making Fiends is a really good show; once again, it wasn't as good as I remembered, but I still got a real kick out of it. If you were a fan of the original web series, this is an absolute must-watch, and.... DANG IT! I can't decide on a clever way to close off my review! Perhaps a fiend will eat all of my indecisiveness and allow me to come up with something....
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