Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip

Sexual innuendo, a public flogging, and crass sexism sends this banal cartoon over the edge into no-star-land. The animation, story, and voice talent lacks imagination, and the only surprises we get are Ren and Stimpy-like shockers, including a paper bag dripping with vomit after a ride in a time machine. Fans of the TV series may be unpleasantly surprised. Amazingly, even its trite plot becomes confusing due to Dexter's odd voice, which sounds like Speedy Gonzales mimicking a French man. Good versus evil is played out by characters copied from Rocky and Bullwinkle, and the depiction of the future remains unchanged from George Jetson's time.

The biggest flaw of this Dexter collection, though, isn't unoriginality but sheer tastelessness. In the opening scene, for instance, we see the lower limbs of Dexter's parents as they struggle on the living room floor. "I don't think it will fit!" exclaims the mom. We are left wondering for a second, but it turns out they were just playing "Twister." Equally offensive is that Dexter's sister, the only female with any lines, is a dimwitted blonde with large, vacuous blue eyes.