We had talked about doing something like that, but it became really clear what we could do after getting together with Carl. Michael Jai White: I had worked with Carl Jones on The Boondocks and when he saw the movie, he got really excited about doing something with us in animation.
I had a chance to discuss the show with Michael Jai White, Black Dynamite himself, the co-writer, co-creator, actor from the film and voice on the series.ĭan Sarto: How did Black Dynamite go from a feature film to an animated TV series? Watching a razor sharp 1970s Cadillac race down a city street makes you want to grab an Auto Trader and buy one of those classic lumbering GM dinosaurs on the spot. It’s brutally frank in its satirical depiction of every layer and facet of contemporary society while at the same type beautifully designed and animated in a stylized sleekness that accentuates both the dramatic pause of a scowl as well as the jaw smashing force of a Kung Fu kick. The show grabs you by the lapels, slaps you in the face before head butting you into laughter. Watching a show like Black Dynamite reaffirms my faith in humanity. This show tackles sensitive issues of sex, violence, politics, race, gender, drugs, family values, and societal ills with great dexterity and no remorse. But Black Dynamite is fearless and uncompromising. We live in a world where media darlings are dropping like Game of Thrones main characters from their hallowed entertainment perches, losing careers in an afternoon because of a single thoughtless tweet or Instagram post that offends the wrong person or group. You have to applaud the guts Adult Swim has displayed broadcasting this type of show on TV. The show is dense – there is much going on across many layers, obnoxious and subtle playing side by side, each having a field day making fun of anything and everything, including itself. Put this show alongside those two in the pantheon of some of the most brilliant animated TV ever produced, absurdist cartoon fare riddled with edgy, subversive, offensive, controversial and utterly hilarious themes. My bromantic affections for shows like Archer and Robot Chicken are well known.
With the July 15 release of Black Dynamite Season One on Blu-Ray, Adult Swim has compiled onto a single disc possibly the funniest animated series I’ve ever seen.