By Wendy Flores '23
Source: Netflix
The wait is finally over - Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space was finally released on September 6th, 2022! Despite confirmation of a season 2 years ago, there had been little heard about the series since and fans were concerned for its renewal. It was to their relief and excitement that a remastered and extended version of the original series of Bee and Puppycat was made available on Netflix last month.
Although it had almost been a decade of waiting, Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space delivered a 16-episode show that surpassed everyone's expectations. In an age where animated series are often unappreciated, this show made us all find a newfound love and admiration for all that a 2d animated series could be.
Natasha Allegri, the show’s creator, is an accomplished artist with experience ranging in animation, writing, storyboarding, and comic book art. She had previously worked on the memorable childhood cartoon Adventure Time - specifically on the episodes featuring Fionna and Cake. Afterwards, she ventured into dedicating her talents to her own projects In an interview with ComicsAlliance, Allegri stated that she started this project with the goal of delivering a slice-of-life show that’s unapologetically feminine, which I can confidently say she accomplished with the wholesome and vibrant Bee and Puppycat show we have come to love.
The first 4 episodes consisted of combined and condensed content from what had been released in 2013 and 2019 on Youtube under Frederator Studios. For long-time fans, these first 4 episodes feel like a warm hug of nostalgia, reminding us of what characters and plots we started with. From the 5th episode onward, it’s all new Bee and Puppycat content.
We start off meeting Bee, voiced by Allyson Recher, who works in a cat cafe (one of her many temporary jobs), where she works with her friend Deckard, voiced by Kent Osborne. Unlike the first two versions of this show, this new rendition lets us further explore Bee’s life while working there.. We also learn that the cafe is owned by Deckard's brother Howell and has employed all of Deckard’s male siblings, 5 in total excluding Deckard's sister Cas.
According to Cas, Bee is a “20-something year old” girl who “hasn’t grown up”, which is a comment that contributes as foreshadowing to the exploration of Bee’s identity in later episodes that had originally never been addressed until the very end of the show. Still, her age isn’t a huge problem to anyone besides Cas, as the island that they all live on is filled with adults who aren’t necessarily “put together” either. In a way, they all symbolize the 20-year-old phase:an era where one is still on their journey to discover themselves.
Unfortunately, Bee is promptly fired from the cat cafe and despite her generally happy-go-lucky attitude, her recent termination makes her feel like a failure. Bee feels like she can do more; like she has the potential to be someone more grounded. As she’s walking home, she says:
“I wish I had a cat. It’d be nice to take care of something.”
And in front of her, there falls a cat-dog hybrid. Not exactly what she wished for, but still a half-accurate gift from the universe. From there, puppycat, a stern yet lovable hybrid pet, changes Bee’s life in the best and worst ways possible, as his presence forces her to face personal issues she’s been avoiding for so long.
Throughout the show, we meet an eccentric cast of lovable characters who are unique to themselves. Whether or not you’re typically a fan of the “2d quirky-fem-magical animated show” genre, this show is still something that sticks with you one way or another. Whether it's the one too many fart jokes or the outstandingly talented art, Bee and Puppycat: Lazy in Space leaves something to be desired in all animated shows.