The Background
Carmen Sandiego is a clean Netflix original show based on the old shows and video games commonly known as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, which all had the general premise of a mysterious female thief in red, leading children on a man hunt around the world, teaching them cultural knowledge as they went.
Although that may make Carmen seem like a bad guy, she was more ambiguous than that and would never let her opponent get hurt along the way. This new adaptation sees Carmen as the main character, instead of the children, and as a misunderstood hero. This is not an unwelcome twist to the beloved classic.
As it is a Netflix original, Carmen Sandiego can only be watched on Netflix.
The Story
Carmen Sandiego tells the story of a young woman named Carmen who as orphaned and raised since infancy in the secretive super thief school of the evil group called V.I.L.E. She is the best of the best, fast as a whip, cunning as a fox and agile as an acrobat, and she is V.I.L.E's next up-and-comer. Right as she is set to graduate into the field, she starts to realise maybe this is not what she wants, and with the help of her secret friend, escapes the compound.
Carmen Sandiego now has two missions: find out about her past, and stop V.I.L.E from stealing priceless treasures from around the world. Sometimes to do this, she will have to steal priceless artifacts before they can, simply to protect and return them. With governments, agencies and V.I.L.E. after her, she has to be sneaky and rely on some help from her friends to get by and save the world. Which always has everyone asking the question where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
The Aesthetics
Carmen Sandiego is terrifically animated. It is simple but effective. Because the show's style is simple blocky animation, the animators are smart enough to use ample bright and diverse colors, keeping the visuals interesting. Their use of red is also very good as it helps emphasize the themes of the show and gives Carmen a very striking presence. I believe the animation appeals to children, while it still has enough complexity that is also appeals to adults. Sometimes shows like this go too simple, but they straddled the line very well for Carmen Sandiego.
Sound-wise, there is little music in the show, but what is there is good and catchy. In addition, the voice acting is one point, and I cannot come up with a single complaint about it.
My Final Rating and Recommendation
All in all, I find Carmen Sandiego to be a classy educational kids friendly show, that has enough intrigue to keep an adult interested. I think it is a good example on how to properly reboot a beloved franchise and never loses its educational AND entertaining edge. Ultimately, I recommend this show for all age group and give it the rating of FOUR AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!
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