TV Show Review | Motu Patlu is definitely an entertainer for kids!

The eagerly awaited rib-tickling comedy ‘Motu Patlu’ premiered on Viacom 18’s Nickelodeon on 16th October 2012 at 6.30 pm. The high quality state-of-the-art 3D animation has always been a part of Nickelodeon’s constant attempt in offering differentiated Indian content to kids. The comedy Motu-Patlu of the classic Lot Pot Comics series has been portrayed with a hilarious Indian storyline. Maya Digital Studios, who have pioneered the art and technology of animation and visual effects in India, have been consistently offering international quality 3D animation for some of the best international studios. Now they are doing it for Viacom 18.

Motu Patlu the lively comic caper was telecast in two parts of 15 minutes each. The first story titled ‘Pilot Training’ revolves around Motu’s dream of becoming a pilot. The opening scene shows him flying a plane along with Patlu . But his love for samosas causes him to lose control of the plane and they come crashing down .This is when we realize that Motu has been dreaming. When he expresses a keen desire to learn flying his friend and neighbour Ghasitaram suggests that they learn flying from Dr.Jhatka. The duo land at Dr.Jhatka’s  ‘airstrip’ where they find a car with wings! Their eagerness and impatience land them in hilarious situations. Chaos ensues when both Motu and Patlu unable to get help from Dr Jhatka literally take things into their own hands and find themselves in mid air when they are thrown out of the car-plane. Patlu the smarter of the two finds an umbrella lying in the car-plane which serves as a parachute and eventually they 

 land atop a coconut tree!  The second part ‘Diamond Robbery’ depicts their adventure in a diamond robbery and their tryst with burglars. Dr Jhatka invents a sticker making device which helps to make oneself invisible. This device is stolen from his home by burglars. Meanwhile an Arab Sheikh a visitor in Furfuri Nagariya the owner of a large red diamond intends holding an exhibition for the same. He is in need of two security guards to keep a watch over the gem kept in the Furfuri Nagariya Hall. Motu and Patlu are recommended and they oblige. Burglars who have stolen Dr.Jhatka’s device use it to become invisible and land up at the hall with an intention of stealing the gem in the garb of ghosts. The two protagonists are scared out of their wits thinking the burglars to be ghosts. They escape from the hall only to end up landing on the burglars who are escaping with Inspector Jhengum’s motocycle.  Finally all of them land up in the lock up where they realize that all their efforts were  in vain and a waste of time when the Arab sheikh informs them that the diamond was a fake one!

The ‘Awesome Twosome’ Motu & Patlu despite their honest intentions always land in tricky situations without fail! Their curiosity always gets the better of them and this invariably spells trouble for the duo. Motu, the rotund character loves binging on samosas and dreams of nothing else! He has an attractive face that can only attract trouble! In contrast is Patlu, Motu’s best buddy who has a heart of undying friendship. His brain travels faster than the speed of light but always lands them in a soup.

In all funny situations Motu’s love for binging on samosas always comes to the forefront! He gets easily carried away by the very sight of it and goes to any length to attain it and in the bargain also forgets more important issues at hand! Ghasitaram too is shown as a food lover who is always hankering after jalebis and samosas.

The genre is slapstick humour and it is basically a fun show that would entertain kids mostly between the age group of 5- 8 years. Motu Patlu may not appeal to older children with a more mature mindset.

An attempt has been made to bring alive the stories that are deeply rooted with an  Indian background and this is convincing with the rural settings.  National integration is portrayed through the characters from different demographic areas of the country which makes the show more lively and interesting. The Indian background and the typical Indian characters like Ghasitaram from Bengal, Inspector Jhengum from the South and Dr. Jhatka from Punjab and Motu Patlu themselves who are from the heartland give the show a totally Indian look  and will help kids relate better to the stories. Their dialogues rendered by the different characters with the authentic accents too are impressive.

The story telling is fast paced . It is convincing and keeps one eager to know what will unfold next on the screen.

A homegrown animation by Maya Digital Studios, it is brilliant and does total justice to the Lot Pot comic series. The animation and visual effects are on par with international standards. The overall presentation is impressive and eye catching.

The theme song and background score is very rural in nature and fits in with the locales in the serial and gives a very ‘desi’ feel to the show. The musical score is also very lively and engaging. Music director Gulzar along with Sandesh Shandilya, and renowned singer Sukhwinder Singh have certainly done justice to the comedy caper.

On the flip side the stories are centred only around grownups and characters in the children’s category are conspicuous by their absence. Much scope for improvement is seen in the plot of especially the first story keeping in mind that older children too are the TG audience for this comedy. The plot of the first story did not seem very convincing with the regular banter and very run of the mill situations. The end seemed a little too abrupt. The second story was more appealing and kids would have enjoyed this more in comparison to the first one.

While Motu and Patlu are suspended in mid air in the first story we suddenly notice there is an interspersing of an English song which seemed a little out of place in the episode.

All said and done Motu Patlu is definitely an entertainer for kids with all the ingredients of slapstick humour but there is scope for improvement and we hope to see more of the promised rib-tickling comedy in the future episodes.

Team Adgully gives Motu Patlu  a 2.5 stars out of 5.

Entertainment
@adgully

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