There have been more than a few TV shows and movies that have depicted talking animals and how they gather together, but Housebroken, which is coming to Fox, should be something a little different since it looks to be leaning on the premise that the animals will be coming together as a support group to talk about various issues that are bothering them and to talk about their lives with their human owners. It’s already sounding like an offshoot of The Secret Lives of Pets, to be honest, but likely with a lot more adult-oriented material that’s bound to get people laughing at jokes and situations that kids may or may not understand. There are plenty of great voices that are going to be in on this project such as Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte just to name a couple, and it’s sounding like something that will be interesting enough to take a look at given that the mix of animals is even more diverse than many shows have managed over the years. But if one is wondering what pets might have to talk about then it’s bound to happen that this will leave a few jaws hanging simply because one has to wonder at how pets view the world and how skewed it might sound to human ears.
Talking animals is nothing new really since it’s been happening on and off for decades given that animal-based shows have either opted to have the animal in question ‘talk’ as happened in Mr. Ed, or show a level of intelligence that hasn’t always been comprehended, such as Lassie and Flipper. Over the years the celebrity voiceovers that have been used for various animal movies have been quite funny since there have been a number of famous celebrities that have decided to voice the inner thoughts of various animals, but when the idea moved into animation it became a little outlandish after a while since not only did the animals start developing voices, but they were anthropomorphized to such a degree that they were only a few steps away from being human. This kind of thing has still been used over the years since people have a serious fascination with the idea, but Housebroken is going to stick with the idea of animals that can talk in voices that can be understood for the audience’s pleasure but are bound to be barking, grunting, and making other noises that humans associate with each species when people are in view. It’s kind of like Toy Story, they only get to talk when the people are out of sight, or perhaps like Pets they can understand each other but sound like regular animals to human beings. That part isn’t really known at the moment but it does sound as though it will be an entertaining show all the same.
It’s going to be interesting to see what will happen with this show since it does feel as though it could offer up a few different tales that might be capable of producing a spinoff or two and could even go for multiple seasons if things go well. Of course, time will tell since there’s no guarantee for any show just coming in when it comes to determining if they’ll stick around or not, but talking pets is usually a good bet to attract the attention of the people for at least a little while. This doesn’t have the feel of a kids show however, and it’s bound to be something that will deal with issues that, kind of like The Simpsons or one of the other shows that have been around for a bit, will bring up social issues now and again as seen through the eyes of a pet. That’s bound to be something that people might not fully expect since it’s fair to say that we don’t really know what the world looks like through the eyes of our pets no matter how much we try to imagine it. How a dog or a cat views things in the world is bound to be a lot different than a human would since it’s not just from a physical standpoint, but from an intellectual standpoint as well since a lot of people tend to assume that pets aren’t that bright and don’t know what’s going on around them. While it might be true with some pets it’s not quite the case with others since there are some animals that have shown a great deal of intelligence and while they can’t usually convey everything they’re feeling there are some breeds and some individuals specimens that have been known to communicate through actions their intent or their need. All in all, it does sound like it will be an interesting show to watch, and it could be one that sticks around.
Follow Us
