Larva
By Emily Ashby,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Bathroom humor, physical violence dominate cartoon shorts.
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Larva
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Based on 118 parent reviews
SO GROSS
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What's the Story?
Two larvae who live in the gutter under a busy street pass the time playing with an assortment of objects that fall through the sewer grate above their heads. Yellow is the larger of the two, due in some part to his gluttonous tendencies, but he's mild-mannered unless he's hungry. Red has a fiery temper and usually resorts to pummeling Yellow when his friend gets under his skin. Often the two larvae are joined by other bug friends and foes.
Is It Any Good?
LARVA is a kind of blend of A Bug's Life and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, with the comical violence of Tom and Jerry. Because the characters are the size of worms, everything around them is larger than life, and that perspective is always fun to see in action. Of course, the downside is that you also run the risk of glimpsing things you might not want to see in magnification, particularly in a show that's as in love with bathroom comedy as this one is.
From a bubble inflated by farts to mysterious yellow liquids that stream down the grate from passing dogs, the gross-out humor dominates many scenes in this show. What's more, the fact that the characters communicate in grunts and squeaks rather than in words makes their physical behavior even more prominent, and that's bad news if you're not fond of your kids seeing cartoon characters walloping each other The Three Stooges-style over minor disagreements. The bottom line? There are plenty of shows that offer kids more well-rounded content.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence as entertainment. Is it fun to watch Red and Yellow butt heads (and butts) in this show? Would the effect be different if they were people and not insects?
Kids: Do you ever play video games that allow you to take part in violent exchanges? Do you enjoy it? Would you ever consider acting that way in a real-world scenario? Why, or why not?
How do shows such as this encourage us to imagine the world differently from how it is? If you could tell a story from the perspective of an unusual character, what would it be?
TV Details
- Premiere date: January 2, 2015
- Network: Netflix
- Genre: Kids' Animation
- Topics: Bugs
- TV rating: TV-G
- Last updated: February 18, 2023
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