Review: StuGo “Sneako Peako (Dog Eat Dog)”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Six kids are surviving at a fake summer camp and trying to get food from fighting a bunch of weird island creatures.

OUR TAKE

I always get a weird feeling about any new kids cartoon coming out now, especially if it’s a totally original idea. It used to be that many kids networks would naturally have plenty of new shows coming out each year, and while some of them wouldn’t survive very long, there would always be some that made waves early on and would go on to be a big hit. Nowadays, with how legacy television is slowly receding and streaming more and more the norm, premiering a new kids cartoon on a regular channel OR a streaming service won’t stop it from having maybe a season or two of production before quietly fading away, even if it does build its fan base through its own appeal. I remember when The Owl House first premiered and that seeming like it would be a major show moving forward, only for it to get cut off with a truncated third season, and since then, very few shows have managed to break past even two before unceremoniously getting the axe. All this to say that StuGo is a pretty neat show so far, even if I have no idea what the hell the title is supposed to mean.

The series follows six middle schoolers who were tricked…somehow, into attending a fake summer camp on a remote island for three months and must learn to survive amongst a bunch of weirdo monsters as they scrounge for food that is sometimes provided by their concerningly apathetic mentor Dr. Lullah. Out of this ten or so minute first episode we’ve been given a “sneako peako” at the most I can really say about anything so far is that the humor is quirky and quick witted in a way that makes me kind of nostalgic for shows like Adventure Time and Steven Universe (and acknowledging that those shows came out over a decade ago is making me feel my age HARD) and that the character and creature designs are all pretty fun and would certainly keep me watching if I were still a kid. And boy do I sometimes wish that, given the state of the world I am currently an adult in, but that’s neither here nor there. The proper, non-sneak premiere for this show is in a little over a week on January 11th, when we’ll get three other episodes to look at and get a better sense of what to expect going forward, though hopefully it will be a sign the series is being given a proper chance to connect with people and possibly break this oddly imposed two season barrier.