Premiere of Ned Noodlebody

Yesterday, Cold, Hard Flash broke the news of a really cool new animated series. Kurt Nielsen‘s “Ned Noodlebody” follows a failed wrestler and his surprising misadventures into fame because he’s got “Style!” he’s got “Pizzazz!” and, most importantly, he’s got “It!”

What makes the limited series so fun to watch is the sense of nostalgia that hits you like a blast of dusty polyester being pulled from an airlocked storage bag. The background, the lines, the basic sound manipulation, the simple visual characterizations…all of it feels like an old Mr. Magoo cartoon, full of hijinks and nonsensical plot twists.

There’s something wonderful about animation that is, plain and simple, a cartoon, but neatly parries parody, cynicism, and satire, heading straight for joyous and innocuous cartoon wackiness.

The first episode introduces Ned as he fights Oliver the Ogre, who promptly smashes him into a small disc and flings him out of the ring. Society finds this quick match to be a display of poor taste on Oliver’s part, who was only doing what was asked of him and what comes naturally to an ogre such as he. But Ned stands up for him, proving to the world that he’s got loads of “style, pizzazz, and it.”

I realize that last quote didn’t mean much to you, which is why you should watch the premiere short and find out why that line is actually pretty funny. Check it out! It’s definitely worth alloting five minutes from your daily budget of time spent watching online video content. Nielsen promises that new installments will appear sporadically over the next few months.