Chowder, Vol. 1

Veteran storyboard artist C.H. Greenblatt established his reputation on such shows as SpongeBob SquarePants, where he no doubt realized that occasional live-action sequences dropped into animation was refreshingly inventive. In Chowder, Greenblatt illustrates the furiously paced, aggressively hued stories of his show with animation, puppetry and stop-motion effects, so although the humor is hit or miss, the visuals are endlessly engaging. But who is Chowder? He’s a purple blob of a boy of indeterminate species and language (made-up words are the norm) who constantly exhibits his love of food. Chowder wants to be a chef but can’t help gobbling everything, as he helps caterer Mung Daal (Dwight Schultz) and his wife Truffles (Tara Strong) in their cluttered kitchen. Hilarity, gross-out regurgitations and gaseous emissions ensue.

Shelf Talk: This daft series anchors Cartoon Network’s “Har Har Thursday” block of comedy hits, ringing up the No. 1 spot for boys 6 to 11 and reaching more than 11 million pre-adolescent viewers in its debut season. Chowder is still flying a bit below the pop culture radar as far as mainstream awareness, but this DVD debut should go a long way in broadening household penetration.