Hamster & Gretel Review

Hamster & Gretel tells the story of 16-year-old boy, Kevin, who helps his sister, Gretel, when she and her pet hamster get superpowers. It is an animated action, comedy, and superhero series created by Dan Povenmire. He is well-known for being a co-creator of Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law, with Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, often his writing partner. The series debuted on August 12.

Hamster & Gretel has a pretty simple storyline. An elementary school kid named Gretel (Meli Povenmire) is granted the power to fly and super-strength. She fights alongside her hamster (Beck Bennett). Her older teenage brother, Kevin (Michael Camino), tries to guide Gretel and Hamster, helping them recognize what it means to defeat evil and remain superheroes.

The series is set in the same universe as Milo Murphy’s Law and Phineas and Ferb. Although it has been stated that no official crossover will happen, it is not known which characters will reappear in Hamster & Gretel.

Diversity is a big part of Hamster & Gretel. Gretel and Kevin are Venezuelan lead characters. Their mother, Carolina Grant-Gomez (Carolina Ravessa) is Venezuelan. The fact that the head writer, Joanna Hausmann, is Venezuelan, as is Povenmire’s wife, according to a podcast, inspired these characters.

Additionally, the series is based on a dynamic between Povenmire and his younger sister. It is also inspired by Povenmire’s family. The series will focus on Kevin and Gretel’s sibling relationship, according to show director Amber Tornquist Hollinger.

Hamster & Gretel includes many former cast and crew who worked on Povenmire’s previous projects. Hiromi “Romi” Dames, who voices Hiromi, a geeky comic book shop employee that Kevin has a crush on, voiced Charlene & Sharon Burlee in Milo Murphy’s Law. Phil LaMarr voiced Marcus Underwood in the same show, while Alyson Stoner voiced Lydia.

Danny Jacob, a composer, performer, and songwriter for Phineas and Ferb, is the series composer and song producer. Like Milo Murphy’s Law, Povenmire is involved with the show’s music. However, he is more involved in the songwriting for this series.

As for Stoner, her voice acting as Isabella Garcia-Shapiro in Phineas and Ferb is well-known. In this series, LaMarr voices a supervillain, Professor Exclamation. Stoner voices Lauren/The Destructress. The latter is part of a fraternal evil duo with Lyle/FistPuncher (Brock Powell).

Hamster & Gretel has promise as a new series due to its animation and voice acting. Even the simple storylines have the potential to lead to something more. It is easily digestible and doesn’t take itself seriously. This quality is not only present in Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law, but Kim Possible, a classic 2000s Disney series.

Reportedly, Hamster & Gretel has action sequences with better quality than the two aforementioned series co-created by Povenmire. The series garnered voice actors like Joey King, who voices Fred, a tech-savvy cousin of Kevin. Also, actor and comedian Matt Jones voices Dave, the father of Kevin and Gretel.

Povenmire voices an unseen extraterrestrial entity. Internet personality Liza Koshy voices Veronica Hill, a no-nonsense news reporter. Priah Ferguson (best known from Stranger Things) has a breakout animation voice role as Bailey, a school friend of Gretel. Also, Povenmire’s daughter, Meli, has her first big-time voice role as Gretel.

The show’s voice actors are experienced. They voiced characters in The Simpsons, American Dad!, Adventure Time, Amphibia, and Onyx Equinox. Series such as Victor and Valentino, The Ghost and Molly McGee, The Legend of Korra, We Bare Bears, DC Super Hero Girls, Harley Quinn, Final Space, Craig of the Creek, and Disenchantment also featured some of the show’s voice talent.

Diverse representation of characters of Venezuelan descent and Black characters, like Bailey, is a key part of the series. However, it remains to be seen whether there will be LGBTQ+ characters or not.

Specifically, Camino described himself as straight but said he doesn’t want his sexuality “in a box”. Stoner, as I noted in my review of Phineas and Ferb, stated her attraction to men, women, and “people who identify in other ways”. She also said she wanted to remain fluid in how she identified her sexual orientation. Hopefully, these qualities are portrayed in the characters they voice.

Furthermore, the series has emphasized the importance of being your true self and acceptance. Having LGBTQ+ characters would not be a stretch. It would easily fall within the series.

Even so, the series has some downsides. For one, it is not a young adult series like The Owl House, which will is ending possibly this year with its final season, or the recently ended Amphibia. Instead, kids and families are the target audience.

This is not unique. Currently airing Disney series like Big City Greens, The Ghost and Molly McGee, Chibiverse, Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life, and Monsters at Work appeal to this demographic. In addition, upcoming series such as Cars on the Road, Firebuds, Cookies & Milk, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Tiana, Iwaju, Moana: The Series, Hailey’s On It!, Primos, and Kiff are geared toward the same audience.

This contrasts with Star Wars: The Bad Batch and What…If?, which have more mature themes. Even The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder falls into this category. Such series are not, for the most part, the focus of Disney executives. Instead, they want to remain family-friendly despite the growth of the young adult animation genre with series like Dead End: Paranormal Park, The Owl House, and Infinity Train.

In addition, the series has an issue with implied self-inserts. For one, Povenmire appears to loosely base Kevin on himself. Secondly, the father of Kevin and Gretel has a similar name to Povenmire. This complicates the series in various ways.

It is an open question as to how effective the series can be without Swampy, who is reportedly voicing characters later in the series, as a co-creator, and co-writer. Milo Murphy’s Law and Phineas and Ferb were strong due to their combined talents.

In addition, I have concerns about the series’ staying power considering the first episode is not strong. The theme song is not very good.

Furthermore, since Povenmire wrote and performed the song, it makes me worried that the series will be middling, rather than superb. Generally, I have a high tolerance for theme songs. But, I dislike this one more than Arcane‘s theme, sung by Imagine Dragons.

Despite this, the pop music of Hamster & Gretel is like Milo Murphy’s Law and Phineas and Ferb. I was glad to see a rap battle at the end of “Neigh, It Ain’t So!” It reminded me of the much smoother rap battle between Rinku and Muni in D4DJ, voicing their grievances about each other in song. Hamster & Gretel may do something similar.

It is a distinct possibility that this series will do something akin to the sick battle dance in now non-canon 2005 The Proud Family Movie. It has a bizarre plot almost pulled from Kim Possible or Totally Spies! episode. Currently, such music battles generally only occur in anime series, but Hamster & Gretel could change that.

I liked the reference to the anime series within the show’s universe about cheerleaders who masquerade as students in the daytime but have superpowers otherwise. It had a feel of Totally Spies! and was a clear parody of absurd anime out there.

Situational comedy is an important part of the series, similar to Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law. It is coupled performances said to be “inspired“, featuring actors like Thomas Sanders, who voiced a character in the TV film, Candace Against the Universe.

With other Disney series like Elena of Avalor, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, and Mira Royal Detective having elaborate musical numbers, it is likely that Hamster & Gretel will follow suit. There is also a distinct possibility that Disney will revive Phineas and Ferb as well.

Since ten episodes of Hamster & Gretel are on Disney+, the series appears to be one-third through the 30 episodes ordered for its first season. This means that there is a possibility that the series will become even better as the season continues.

Despite my criticisms, I tentatively recommend the series, and hope it improves in the future.

Hamster & Gretel can be watched on Disney+ or the Disney Channel.