It's been a while since we checked in with WWE and Mattel's Slam City series of cartoon shorts, where a villain known at The Finisher has laid off all of the Superstars and forced them to get real jobs in Slam City.
The roughly two minute cartoons videos (available at the Slam City website or on the YouTube channel Cartoonium) continue to be a fun diversion for young and old alike. It would be better if the wrestlers did their own voice work, but they're still a well-crafted example of how to sell some toys while still being entertaining. The creators deserve kudos for integrating the character's wrestling personalities into the kind of gags that toons have thrived on since their inception.
Here's a rundown of the videos in this playlist, all of which have been released since our initial post:
- Mark Henry in Perky the Penguin
- Rey Mysterio in The Crossing Guard
- Kane in Hot Enough For You?
- Stone Cold Steve Austin & Alberto Del Rio in Cold...Stone Cold
- Sheamus in Surround, Pound & Stadium Beating, Part 1
While "Penguin, don't even think about it" is something that I'll be disappointed if I never hear the real Mark Henry say, they missed a real opportunity when they didn't have the toon version of The World's Strongest Man say "y'all a bunch of penguins".
The Celtic Warrior episode makes me want him to feud with Brock Lesnar (sword fighting with hoagies and flashlights not required, but preferred), and I'll let you all make your own jokes about Kane's smokin' hot loaf.
I'm still bummed out that we haven't met zookeeper Randy Orton yet, though.