After a year and a half hiatus, the “Smiling Friends” have finally returned to Adult Swim and HBO Max. For the most part, everything is the same, but there have been a few improvements to the show.
The first episode of Season 3 starts in a familiar way, Charlie and Pim receive orders from the boss to make their client smile. In this episode the client is a 3D animated character called Silly Samuel, who is upset that no one will take him seriously because of his appearance. As is their job, Charlie and Pim try several ways to make him smile.
The B-plot to the episode is much more memorable, with the city inspector coming to inspect the Friends’ sphere shaped office. Mr. Boss takes on a main character role here as he tries to find ways to lead the inspector from the various problems with the illegally constructed building.
Without spoilers, the two plots do come together in an ending that feels rushed and incomplete. It’s obvious that the 11 minute time limit for the episodes is just not working as well anymore. Everything is more fast paced than usual, and that’s saying something. If the episodes stretched to even 15 minutes I think it would do them a lot of good.
There have been some improvements in other areas besides the story. For example, the animation quality has seen a massive increase. Silly Samuel is literally always moving when he is on screen.
There are other parts that feel more like demos for the animation than anything else. It’s nice that they got a budget increase, but “Smiling Friends” was never known for its animation quality. I like the show more when they’re just trying to make me laugh.
Is the episode funny? It depends. This episode really falls into the loud=funny trap that other episodes like “Pim Finally Turns Green” fell into. It has its moments, but it’s hard to discern anything when the characters are constantly screaming at each other. Overall it’s a mid-tier start to the season. The pH 7 of “Smiling Friends,” not bad, but not great either.
