Tuca and Bertie

While continuing on my exploration for new cartoons, a fairly new show on Netflix called Tuca and Bertie caught my attention. I was reeled in, once again, after I found out Tiffany Haddish is the voice for Tuca the toucan. Yes, I love her also. I decided that this was too good to not check it out. I ended up watching the first 5 episodes and then knocked out; I can NOT hang late anymore. This show is definitely not for children and I recommend only adults 18 years and older to check this show out. The show was created by Lisa Hanawalt, who also created BoJack Horseman, so the scene and character creativity are definitely abundant in this show as well. These episodes were hilarious and different from any cartoon I have ever seen.

A Breakdown of the Background

Tuca and Bertie is as different and “rated M for mature,” as it gets. The opening theme was even very outrageous and weird. If you like shows that make you constantly wonder, “How in the hell did they come up with that,” then you’ll love this show. Things happen in this show that definitely make absolutely no sense, but that’s one of the reasons I kept watching. I must say even with the sexually explicit material, the characters and plots made me laugh, so it definitely did not bother me. Also, we’re all adults here! This show does remind me of BoJack Horseman, in regard to the satire and vulgarity, but the shows premise is a lot more peculiar and eccentric. Very unique.

Catch up with the Characters

The setting is in the city of BirdTown where Tuca and Bertie are both 30 years old, best friends and former roommates. (No spoiler, but in the first episode Tuca has moved out so Bertie’s boyfriend can move-in.) Tuca is a toucan and she’s exactly how Tiffany’s characters typically have been. Tuca is outgoing, boisterous, irresponsible, lazy, invasive, funny, and she enjoys a gentlemen caller every now and again. With that being said, I must say that the show is going to be a bit more vulgar about Tuca’s sexual past and present. Tuca has her own style and her personality is very inviting, which is ironic because I did say she was super invasive, which she is! She is the type of person to say exactly what’s on her mind, regardless of who is around or what the consequences might be. However, Tuca is actually a lot better of a person than what she may appear, after you’ve seen a few episodes. She is working on her sobriety and doing a fabulous job. I actually really like Tuca because I like her honesty and sheer disregard for what people think about her. Now don’t get me wrong, I do realize that I live in the real world and some behaviors are best left in private, but if I could be who I really wanted to be, I’d be her; minus the possible STD’s and financial instability.

Tuca is really all about having fun and being loved by her best friend Bertie. She comes off as clueless, but she’s very knowledgeable on things you wouldn’t expect, which I guess is why her character is able to maintain living on her own. Tuca does not have a regular 9 to 5 job, and takes on several odd jobs to make money, as well as receiving money from her rich aunt. I’d love to have a rich aunt support my lackadaisical lifestyle.

Aside from Tuca’s aunt helping her survive, she has Bertie to look out for her as well. Bertie is a songbird, but Tuca is highly more likely to burst out into a rap or a song. She is the exact opposite of Tuca, but they do have similar qualities and interest. Bertie is very cautious, helpful, responsible, clumsy, organized, and just as loud as Tuca. Bertie is a “people pleaser,” and often puts off speaking her mind when she desperately needs to, even with Tuca. She has issues asking for what she wants, so she sometimes goes without. I noticed quickly that I scream at the tv when characters in shows or movies hold back in speaking their minds or defending themselves. In an ideal world no one gets taken advantage of but seeing as that is not realistic its important to always show kindness and honesty.

Bertie works for a magazine publishing company, Conde Nest, and has recently gotten a promotion from a data processor to a senior operations analyst. Of course, she doesn’t really enjoy her job. What else did you think? You know what is crazy? My ex-boyfriend does the same thing Bertie does and he got the same promotion. He was a data analyst, and he actually enjoys his job. Crazy. Bertie’s co-workers are a diverse bunch of people as well. You have the critical office manager, Claudette; the kindhearted boss, Holland; and the misogynistic teammate, Dirk. He’s just an awful person and I would report him to HR every single day. To keep her sanity, Bertie works hard at cooking because she really aspires to be a baker. She bakes a lot throughout the show and at one point is presented an opportunity to work for a renown baker, Pastry Pete, who has a bakery in town.

To help Bertie gain some “strength” about herself, she has her boyfriend Speckle to go through life with. Speckle is an architect and super cringy. He is very lovable to Bertie and I can tell he tries very hard in his relationship, which is all based on his frantic personality. Speckle is very different and just as odd as Tuca, which I guess this is why Bertie fell for him. Yes, I know it’s mainly because that’s how the creators wanted him to be, but I thinks its important to know how personalities will mesh. In my experience with creating character backgrounds, friendships, and romantic relationships, I always felt that these things had to seem realistic even if the show is fiction. These ideas come from our imagination and some are usually based on our real life experiences. When writing I always want to be sure that I accurately present the personalities that my characters are representing.

I really enjoyed watching this show and definitely will finish season one in a flash. Season 2 will appear on Adult Swim in 2021!