TELEVISION REVIEW
Bush cartoon humor is too lil' and too late
One of the easiest targets in comedy is, of course, George W. Bush's manner. Jokes about the President's sloppy grammar, his malapropisms, his smug comebacks, and his cowboy attitude now run a penny a dozen. They are to humor writers what Lindsay Lohan is to the paparazzi: run-of-the-mill fare. Years after T-shirt companies and late-night hosts built an industry around Bush's unpresidential demeanor, the material evokes little more than a yeah-so-what-else-is-new shrug.
So "Lil' Bush: Resident of the United States" arrives on Comedy Central tonight at 10:30 about seven years too late. The mildly amusing animated series would have packed more of a punch back when Americans were still a little shocked about Bush's seeming arrested development, but these days it comes off as merely facile. When the show's Lil' Bush -- a chunky elementary school kid -- thinks Baghdad is the place to buy a Father's Day gift because it has the word "dad" in it, well, you know you're on too-well-trod territory.
Created by Donick Cary, a writer whose credits include "The Simpsons," the show is modeled after the old Saturday morning cartoons made about the Beatles and the Jackson 5. All the major political figures on "Lil' Bush" have been turned into children, so along with Lil' Bush, who is voiced by Chris Parson, we meet Lil' Condi, Lil' Rummy, Lil' Cheney, and Lil' Clinton. They hang out in the cafeteria, go on special adventures, and unexpectedly break into song, with Lil' Condi banging the tambourine like Betty in the Archies. Tonight, the gang joins the Army and, in another segment, Lil' Cheney winds up inside Lil' Bush's mother's womb. Yep, Bar hosts the vice president, literally.
Lil' Cheney has some funny moments, biting off the heads of birds and sucking down their guts. He doesn't speak so much as mumble-grumble, but a word or two can creep into his noise-making. When he tears off his shirt and goes all "Rambo" to save a hostage, he mutters "Grr mmm grr Adrian! Grr mmm" in a nod to Sylvester Stallone. But Lil' Condi is tiresome, with her unrequited crush on Lil' Bush, and Rummy seems unnecessary, given the fact that Donald Rumsfeld resigned last year. Lil' Rummy is given voice by Iggy Pop, by the way -- perhaps that's why he's still onboard. Upcoming voice guests form a miniature Who's Who of rock, including Dave Grohl, Jeff Tweedy, Frank Black, and Anthony Kiedis.
The jokes won't be unpopular with most Comedy Central viewers, as "Lil' Bush" makes fun of Bush's win in 2000,
"Lil' Bush" originated as a series of mobisodes -- cell phone shorts -- from Amp'd Mobile. They found their way to YouTube and finally to Comedy Central, which commissioned Cary to make full-length episodes. That's an interesting twist in series TV's development process, but I'm not convinced the show works better in longer form. Ultimately, it might be more fun to watch lil' snippets of "Lil' Bush" and e-mail them to friends.
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more on TV, visit boston.com/ae/tv/blog/. 
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