Kirby Buckets is a (relatively) new show on Disney XD.  According to the Disney XD press release,

• “A young boy’s vivid imagination bursts onto screen.”
• “Outrageous adventures of a young aspiring animator.”
• “Joined by his animated characters each with their own vibrant personality.”

Kirby Buckets – on Disney XD

Kirby, played by Jacob Bertrand (formerly of Marvin, Marvin; he’s a lot better here!) is surrounded by the usual oddball friends Fish and Eli.  He’s seemingly in constant competition with sister Dawn, and her trusty sidekick, Belinda (played by Tiffany Esperson, formerly of Bucket & Skinner, she’s a lot better here!).

The show is created by Gabe Snyder and Mike Aber (who created Supah Ninjas!, one of my favorites) and executive produced by Kirstofor Brown (of Beavis and Butthead fame; you can see shades of B&BH in many of Kirby’s animations).

The discourse between Kirby and Dawn reminds me of Max and Phoebe of the Thundermans, or Phil and Pim on Phil of the Future.  Its typical pre-teen/teen brother/sister angst.

I watched the episode “Happy Prank Williams, Jr Day,” the annual celebration of pranking in the town.  Apparently Mr. Williams (who founded the town) biggest prank was the Geoffrey, “the funniest, most outrageous prank ever.”  No one has been ever been able to figure out that Williams last words “at 115 on 11.29.48” means the combination to the only locker left from the original school.  Apparently they had combination locks back in the day … back in the 1800s.  Fortunately, Kirby figures it out (or we wouldn’t have an episode).  A series of coincidences leads Dawn to uncover the prank, which we never see.  As Kirby states “it was just one big trick.”

Kirby Buckets has the same vibe as many of the other Disney XD/Disney/Nick shows that have preceded it.  What I didn’t understand was the role of the animations.  Kirby doesn’t appear to interact with them at all and they don’t appear to serve any additional purpose other than comic relief.  I’d like to see the animations take a more active role in future shows.

That said, considering the target audience, Kirby Buckets isn’t too bad.  It was funny (I’m a big fan of inside jokes and witty ways of phrasing things – Pranks? No thanks!)  The characters seem genuine and Bertrand et al certainly didn’t graduate from the teen school of overacting.  If you have kids pre-teen and early teen, KB is worth more than a drop in the bucket.