Big Nate is on Paramount Plus and it’s kind of a big deal! Fans of the Diary of a Whimpy Kid rejoice; Nickelodeon has brought a new cartoon name with a big personality to life! First, what we know about the show. Big Nate is the story of Nate Wright, an artistic sixth grader with a pension for trouble. It’s based on the best-selling middle-grade novels by acclaimed cartoonist Lincoln Peirce. Who has been heavily praised for their humor-filled approach to an otherwise mundane topic: middle school.
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Our thoughts? One of the first things viewers notice about any animation is the art. Art style can really make or break a series and for Big Nate, it makes it. The animation team stays true to the comic-like, stylistic nature of the book in a way that translates really well. The show also uses a lot of mixed media, especially in their cutaways. This reminds me of another recently published animated movie, The Mitchells vs. The Machines. Comics that Nate has drawn will pop up on the screen, or a dancing fish chorus will bust into the shot to give Nate’s perceived victory a backup. This keeps the style ever-changing and visually interesting.
The humor is also really well done in the show. If you have little fans of shows similar to Captain Underpants that use absurdist humor, then this will be a hit in your house too! My six-year-old is a big Dogman buff, so even though the characters are in middle school, this was still a win with him. Big Nate‘s humor shines through its use of a series of montages overlayed with Nate’s own narration and mixed media. There’s a scene where Nate describes the perils of being assigned a partner for a group project that was particularly hilarious because it’s so relatable.
Like most media for this age group, there is a heavy focus on friendship and self-discovery. The focus on friendship worked really well in all of the episodes we watched as Nate relied on his friend group, especially his two besties Francis and Teddy, to help him get out of trouble. But don’t worry too much for his friends as trouble is always fun when Nate is around. I was also really impressed at how highly developed the characters outside of the groups were. No one felt like a plain stand-in, from the staff to his classmates; everyone has a defined personality.
As far as the second aspect, self-discovery, Big Nate does a great job with this too, as the viewers watch Nate’s artistic side grow. We were glad to see him confident as an artist as he worked to show the world just how awesome he could be. The viewers get to looks into Nate’s mind through these freeze-frame narration scenes, akin to a show the adults here probably grew up watching, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
Overall the show is a blast to watch and we recommend it! It’s just enough nostalgic Nickelodeon-style humor to entertain adults with a big, heaping side of outrageous hijinks to appeal to kids. Want to see a little bit more of the misadventures of Nate Wright before you commit to another series? Check out the official trailer below!
You can watch Big Nate now on Paramount Plus by clicking here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTB1q6r0e0&ab_channel=ParamountPlus
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/anime-netflix-march/
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