Can't believe am saying this but imma be reviewing a new Netflix show that's not religious at all. 😂 But definitely I thought it's something anyone can enjoy watching! Well except the really hardcore Christians maybe? I dunno am not too hardcore yet so I can still watch shows like this.
I've never even heard of Exploding Kittens before but I saw an image posted about it on social media and I immediately watched the first episode on Netflix. 😂 I mean... it must be because it's about a cat, well about a god who turned into a cat! 😆 Why wouldn't I watch it upon seeing it?
Of course I thought a bit if I would enjoy something like it or not. Didn't even bother watching the trailer and went straight up to episode one. Whew. This is why you're about to read my review on it based on my "renewed Catholic" eyes! Booyeah!
Coming in hot after I did the DC's Constantine and the Catholic Doctrine: Reel Vs. Real Life. Arrrre you readyyyyyy?!? Lezgooo!
⚠️ Warning: Spoiler Alert!!! And the show is NOT FOR KIDS.
source
👓 The Voice Cast
◙ Tom Ellis voices Godcat/God
A god from some sort of heaven was turned into a bearded white cat .
◙ Sasheer Zamata voices Devilcat/Beelzebub
A female black cat which turned out to be the devil CEO of hell.
◙ The Higgins Family: a dysfunctional family working at being better.
Suzy Nakamura voices Abbie Higgins; Mark Proksch voices Marv Higgins; Ally Maki voices Greta Higgins; Kenny Yates voices Travis Higgins
🔸 Trailer & Synopsis
God is sent to Earth as a cat in order to "save" a family! But then the devil is not far behind. Guess what happens next? 😆
When an eternal conflict reach the epic proportions when God and the Devil both are sent to Earth... in the bodies of chunky house cats! — Netflix
🔸 Artgirl's Review
Okay, so here's my review with a Catholic lens on. If you haven't read the one I did with Constantine as linked above then feel free to read that first to get an idea.
Anyway, on with my take on reel vs. real. Although Exploding Kittens is a trying-to-be-funny adult cartoon show based on its card game of the same name, I can't decide yet if it's being deliberately blasphemous or just attempting to entertain viewers, or what! Well yes most likely it is telling people mostly wrong things about the real God in Heaven... So, is it worth watching?
Here's my take on what God is and isn't in the show, according to Catholic doctrine/teachings. I'll use "god" for the show's version of such a deity and "God" for the one true God in Heaven. Unless of course the sentence starts with a capital letter G.
source
◙ Story and Character
Prepare to laugh out loud, like literally. First episode had me laughing a lot. 😂 Don't know if it's because it's so wrong that it's funny or because such scenes are just preposterous since god became a pompous talking cat. 😆 Maybe only Christians will even find this show humorous at some point. 🤣
Yes it's got geeky stuff in it too and... who doesn't love cats?!? Another reason to love the show then huh? But WAIT, there's more!
📺 Episode 1: God is booted to Earth... as a magical bearded cat! 🤣
First we see like a coup d'etat scenario in heaven from mostly non-heavenly creatures. That first scene is already so wrong, it's like a parody. 😆 Like, yes it establishes how fictional the story is and no it's definitely NOT a Christian nor RELIGIOUS show!
In that initial scene I will say, both will never ever happen. Definitely their version of god is not God the Father of the Holy Trinity. It is like an amalgam of what secular people and nominal Christians think God and Heaven could be.
👉 The real deal:
1.) The Lord only does good things as opposed to how god is depicted in the show. Even when humanity needs chastisement for our wicked ways, He gives us a ton of chances to change our ways.
2.) Only the Holy Trinity, the saints, His angels, cherubims and seraphims are in Heaven. It's no place for sorcerers, witches, aliens, Greek/Roman gods, unicorns and all sorts of creatures! 😬
3.) Rebellion against God results in the disobedient ones being thrown out of Heaven. Remember, 1/3 of such angels fell to Earth and became demons. No amount of human argument will ever change that. So god being thrown out for having indecent behavior and "ruining" heaven is quite a joke for it led him to be sent to Earth as a magical, talking cat as punishment instead. Only demons can be happy with thoughts of booting the real God out of Heaven and everything else in this episode. 😂
4.) God isn't someone who doesn't care about anything or just a little bit for someone. He is overflowing with love and mercy towards all His creation despite us humans being insolent fools and effing spoiled brats! 😂
5.) The show did get one thing right, anything with "Dear God" (or Jesus) in it is definitely a prayer. Remember the 10 Commandments has one that says not to take the Lord's name in vain. Anytime you say God's name (or anyone in Heaven), He will definitely listen to it and hear it. Same goes with calling demons. Even if you say/think it's a joke, it's a serious matter to them all. You've been warned. 😉
The Higgins family on the other hand is the perfect example of non-practicing Catholics, nominal Christians or the irreligious, whichever you wanna lump them into. Definitely a group that God would love to accept back into His flock.
The Higgins family. | source
📺 Episode 2: The Devil Arrives as a Black Cat
Oh boy, didn't laugh as much watching this. I mean... I don't really care much about hell so whatever way they depict it is fine with me. Also, they just made it seem like the whole good vs. evil is a useless thing to bother with. Disappointing really. More on that below.
Let me just get into this instead:
👉 Reel vs. real:
1.) Godcat flipping the bird at Devilcat. Shocker. 😆 More like cat attitude if you ask me. Super NOT something God would do at all. Jesus wouldn't even do that. See my comment on the Constantine movie review on when he did the bird flipping to the devil.
2.) Good vs. Evil exists and it's all over the world and not just the Bible. It's not something to disregard like some New Age guru (and others) who keeps claiming it's just a man-made concept that doesn't exist. That's what the devil wants us to believe. Like duh...
God made us all to live eternally with Him and yet, in short, a third of His own angelic creations defied Him and became demons. That's why Original Sin existed because the serpent prodded Adam and Eve to sin. It's the reason people are living and suffering in the world since then. The Lord then wills us to sanctify ourselves after such an event to get back to Heaven yet the devil and its minions keep on influencing us to do the opposite! Oh I can go on and on...
3.) There is no place like Heck but there is a Purgatory instead.
4.) God didn't physically write the Bible but He inspired His chosen people to do so. Man is not capable of knowing things of Heaven without being given such thoughts by Him.(Isaiah 55:8-9) If you haven't heard God while praying with the profound surety that it is Him then you won't understand what I'm talking about.
5.) What they got right: God and the devil having a conversation. Remember Job in the Bible?
source
📺 Episode 3 and onwards: I'm Not Even Gonna Do This Anymore
Too many things to write about. Much better to just not watch it. You'll probably dislike each episode unless you like mindless drivel. Lol.
Somehow only episode 1 is better than the rest. Again this show isn't about God at all. Just some parody thing made to look like fun with some family drama mixed in. Oh well.
It's not that funny anymore and it's contradictory with how it deals with the good vs. evil thing.
Meh, just pointless from episode 4. Doesn't know what kind of show it wants to be. Is it a comedy or trying to be moral and all that shizz? Nope, writers don't even know what they were doing with it. Just slapped some family and distorted religion and morality issues in there and voila.
In the end it just offered up a bunch of mindless mumbo jumbo. Just a patch up job of trying to be a decent adult family cartoon but fails. Don't waste your time watching because it's almost pointless. 😂 It reminds me of the 4th Matrix movie, just a big FU on the legacy of its trilogy. It's also like Deadpool & Wolverine, just mindless action scenes and nothing else.
◙ Voice Acting
Excellent work on this part. I enjoyed the English accent of Godcat. 😆
◙ Animation, Design & Music
It's like, I dunno, both cat characters reminds me of Sheldon from Spongebob. Cute "cats" like Plankton. Haha.
Animation is not spectacular but okay enough for me. Just the usual animated stuff. Music, not so much into their choices. Design, well I'm not amazed with anything, heaven, hell or Earth. It does have more cute cats only in the end, if that counts.
🔸 Rating
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest, I rate this movie a 2 in terms of religious doctrine, and a 5 for overall entertainment value. If you enjoy mindless drivel perhaps you'd like the show. Too bad I still watched everything. Only episode 1 is worth watching.
It's a 2 because it's much worse than the movie Constantine, just a bunch of whatever they thought of mixing. 5 because overall it doesn't have that much value at all. Doesn't make you feel happy or sad or whatever, not entertaining at all except for the first episode and the trailer. Not disgusting but it's not that bad enough to hate yet I don't suggest spending time watching the entire show. Sorry not sorry.
XOXO,
@artgirl