Wolf Joe (2021-Present)

I've always had a strong interest in Native American culture and history, as well as media. Regular American movies are dime a dozen, but it's not often you see films or programs that star a majority indigenous cast. Luckily things are finally starting to shift a little. One recent case is the Canadian animated series Wolf Joe...

Joe and his friends, Buddy and Nina, live in the peaceful town of Turtle Bay, where day to day life is always an adventure. Together they do what they can for each-other, and the town, learning new things along the way...

Wolf Joe is a very pleasant surprise! It's your typical series about kids getting into all sorts of adventures. But the setting is a native village, and the entire cast indigenous! The show comes to us from the Anishinaabe region, in, where else, Canada! (Far be it from me to impugn the American media industry, but I don't see them making a show like this!).

The stories to each episode are fairly simple, but well-written for the most part, with just the right amount of detail.

Being a cartoon, there are plenty of familiar cliches and tropes every week, such as the constantly recycled "Spirit POWERRRR!" montage, like a Power Ranger morphing sequence. The kids also get a new token for their spirit wheel every episode, despite it only having 7 slots. Without fail they learn a new lesson about the Eagle's  honesty, loyalty, conquering fears, etc.

The characters are decent. Joe, Nina, and Buddy are energetic and youthful. Likeable enough to enjoy watching, and rarely little shits. Despite the supernatural being a commonly accepted force in this world, I'm not sure if the heroes really have special powers, or if it's just childhood imagination. I'm leaning towards the latter. Their dog Smudge is also cute.

There's a pretty colourful cast of supporting characters that populate the town, and it's nice seeing the same faces pop up either in major roles, or just minor ones about the town. Makes it feel like a real place.

One touch I really like about Wolf Joe is its approach to the supernatural. There's an unintended side-effect of the modern world that tends to erase native mysticism, and attempts at showing it are seen as 'backwards' and 'not fit for the enlightened modern world', and some even act as if showing it itself is a stereotype. But here in the world of Turtle Bay, it's perfectly common, for example, for Mei-Mei's to fly about, causing trouble or chasing shiny things.

Wolf Joe teaches some good messages, sometimes in a pretty obvious way, other times it's not super overt. The episodes always end how you expect them to, with the characters learning a positive lesson, often applying it directly. Like conquering a fear of public speaking just in time to perform on a radio show.

It isn't all good though. This is highlighted in one episode that does exemplify a flaw of the series. The trio are a bit unrealistically altruistic for children, always happy to abandon playtime to do chores and help out the adults. This comes to a head in one particular episode, which expects an awful lot of kids. There's a big storm whipping up, and the trio are sent outside to warn townsfolk. How the hell is that the responsibility of some 8 year olds? Why don't some adults do it, instead of foisting it on some easy child labour? And if any dipshits still outside aren't aware there's a storm on, just call them on their mobiles!

There's also another episode where they're out cleaning litter from the beach, which has the unintended message of making every adult in Turtle Bay to be massive litterbugs! It seems like you could read between the lines and get a whole other show here, about lazy and negligent adults relying on kids to do all their dirty work!

The animation is good all round. Never cheap or lazy, characters are designed well and move naturally. I also think there are really nice transitions, that have a very fluid look and sound to them.

The voice cast all do good jobs, from the child leads, to the supporting cast. Some of the deliveries sound a bit cheesy, but nothing bad. They also use a nice amount of Ojibwe words. Enough to teach the audience a thing or two, and not enough to obscure the dialogue.

And lastly, the music here is pretty fun! There's a nice mix of tribal sounds with regular modern instruments, making for some nice comfy tunes. The kind you could imagine in something like Banjo Kazooie, or Jak and Daxter.

Overall, Wolf Joe is a fun series, and a good distraction for the kiddies, especially if you wanna teach them a bit of culture, without it feeling like work!...