Latest news with ##1HappyFamilyUSA
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘#1 Happy Family USA' cocreator Ramy Youssef reveals how animation was the perfect way to capture the middle school experience
When the idea of #1 Happy Family USA was becoming a reality, part of what drew cocreator Ramy Youssef to do it as an animated show was the age of the show's protagonist. 'Middle school in general feels dramatic. [It] feels like the surveillance state. You go, who's looking at me? Is Courtney talking about me? What did she say? All of that stuff feels like a level of national security for a kid. There's no real wall of understanding that a kid's personal drama is not the biggest thing going on in the world,' he tells Gold Derby during our recent Meet the Experts: TV Animation panel. Doing this as an animated show has also given the show the perfect tone. 'There are things that we can animate here that would be just too dramatic, but in this format feel really alive and really fun.' The series, which can currently be streamed on Prime Video, follows the Husseins, an Egyptian-American Muslim family living in New Jersey as they navigate trying to be seen as a quintessential American family in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Youssef created the show alongside Pam Brady and stars Salma Hindy, Randa Jarrar, Alia Shawkat, Mandy Moore, Chris Redd, Kieran Culkin, and Timothy Olyphant. More from GoldDerby As Joel returns to 'The Last of Us,' cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt explains what went into killing him off TV Animation roundtable panel: '#1 Happy Family USA,' 'Secret Level,' and 'Arcane' 'Secret Level' creator Tim Miller explains how he gets writers to create short stories based on video and role-playing games Youssef had a very specific idea of what he wanted the show to look like. 'I think part of what we were trying to nail is this feeling of could this show almost feel like a found VHS tape of something that came out in that time? So, we didn't want a modern computer animation look.' They ended up using an all-Muslim animation studio in Malaysia, which presented some additional unexpected challenges. 'We actually had to downgrade the computers that we were using in L.A. to fit what they were using in Malaysia. It's this really trippy process and they had not done something at this scale of a series.' He adds that his family has seen the show and that they have really seemed to enjoy it, especially since it's not directly based on specific instances in their life from that time period. His family particularly liked getting to see him do so many different things in the series. 'I got to do so much voice work on this, which Pam Brady honestly really encouraged me to wasn't exactly my goal but I got to play with that and play with creating. I wrote a bunch of songs for it as well.' This article and video are presented by Prime Video. Best of GoldDerby Making of 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' panel: Bringing the Balrog to life was 'like doing a slight of hand card trick' TV Animation roundtable panel: '#1 Happy Family USA,' 'Secret Level,' and 'Arcane' 'Secret Level' creator Tim Miller explains how he gets writers to create short stories based on video and role-playing games Click here to read the full article.
The Guardian
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
#1 Happy Family USA review – a truly special comedy that's packed with 00s nostalgia
Not content with co-creating the brilliant (albeit frequently watch-through-your-fingers) dramedies Mo and Ramy, and starring in the latter, Ramy Youssef has turned his attention to a riotous animation for adults. Like the Egyptian-American comic's previous work, #1 Happy Family USA is all about the modern Muslim experience, feeling adrift from the world, and the extent to which you should change yourself to fit in. And what better way to underscore this often excruciating, existential experience than to make our lead an insecure, hormone-plagued teen, coming of age in the wake of the September 11 attacks. For real Ramy heads, this show will almost certainly call to mind the flashback episode from the first season of his self-titled series, set during 9/11. There, we saw a young Ramy anxiously fight off accusations that he was a terrorist ('Egypt's in Africa – if anything, I'm black!'). Like that episode – which featured a dream sequence starring Osama bin Laden – this series frequently leans into flights of fancy, and the kind of magical realism that is all the more possible in an animated context (South Park's Pam Brady is the co-creator). Our hero, Rumi, is best friends with a talking lamb, and there's a character who appears almost exclusively as a ghost, but you'll likely accept these as a given pretty quickly. Besides, there's plenty that feels totally, often painfully real – not least when Uncle Ahmed (Paul Elia) is wrongfully arrested, bound for a shiny new facility called Guantánamo Bay. At the outset, the Hussein family are leading an ordinary, suburban life in New Jersey – albeit one where dad Hussein (Youssef) is unfeasibly frugal, measuring each family member's electricity consumption down to the watt, and mum Sharia (Salma Hindy) is quietly dissatisfied, spending her days trying to solve what she is certain was the murder of Princess Diana. Meanwhile, Rumi (also voiced by Youssef) is nursing an inadvisable crush on his teacher, Mrs Malcolm (Mandy Moore), and sister Mona (Alia Shawkat) is desperately hiding the fact that she's gay from the rest of the family. The Husseins aren't exactly thriving, but little do they know that their lives are about to get a whole lot worse. After the terror attacks and Ahmed's arrest, Sharia suggests that it's time to 'find our faith and be strong!' Hussein couldn't disagree more, as he manically adorns the house with American flags and assorted patriotic tat, including a model of Mount Rushmore. 'We must blend in and change our values as much as possible!' he demands. 'We will change everything about who we are to fit in!' Of course, fitting in isn't really an option, as the show's musical numbers convey, with Youssef giving his pipes a real workout as both father and son. As Hussein, he belts out Spies In The Mosque ('They're watching yooouuuu / They rearrange the shoes') and Money For The Meat, a lonesome ballad about your education being irrelevant in a new country, and being forced to become a street-food vendor. As Rumi, Youssef nails a parody of Eminem's Stan ('Here I am, your biggest fan, doubtin' Ramadan …'), complete with poorly bleached hair. This is a show that's steeped in 00s nostalgia, and mentions of illegal streaming services like LimeWire and Napster, classic anime series Dragon Ball Z and even the Game Boy Advance had me feeling misty-eyed. But it's also rooted in the present. At a time when religious and racial prejudices seem to be steadily creeping back into vogue, and with Trump back in power, it feels quietly subversive – underlining just how necessary switching between two identities is for many people's survival in American society. Or, as Rumi's classmate Dev (Akaash Singh) puts it, 'I've always wanted to be the less weird brown kid … India's about to be the new Egypt!' As funny as the family's ambiguous relationship with their FBI agent neighbour Dan (Timothy Olyphant) is (is he really just a lonely divorcee?), his presence reminds us that many people today find themselves looking over their shoulders, surveillance causing a heady cocktail of fear and paranoia. The show takes a bit of time to warm up, and I wish there had been more to Mona than her sexuality and a by-the-numbers plot about her running for class president. Kieran Culkin also makes an all-too-brief appearance as a troubled man whose stepsons were literally raised by a computer. But when it hits the bullseye, it is something special. This certainly isn't America's happiest family, but there's a lot of laughter mixed in with the pain. #1 Happy Family USA is on Prime Video
The National
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Arab animation for grown-ups, from Masameer to #1 Happy Family USA
The Arab world has had a long-standing appreciation of cartoons and animated series, beginning with the arrival of Japanese shows dubbed in Arabic. Since then, Arab creatives have developed their own animated series, offering fresh perspectives on their culture and stories that had previously gone untold. Comedian Ramy Youssef is the latest to create an animated show about his Arab culture. #1 Happy Family USA is inspired by Youssef's own experience of growing up in the US during and after the events of September 11. Ahead of #1 Happy Family USA's release on Amazon Prime Video in April, The National looks at some of the funniest and most significant animation series and cartoons for grown-ups created by Arab talent. It began as a series on YouTube, but Masameer has since evolved into a full-fledged animated TV series, followed by a feature film on Netflix. The show, created by Faisal Alamer, Abdulaziz Al-Muzaini and Malik Nejer, is a satire of Saudi society and the many people that inhabit it. Masameer, which translates to nails, is drawn in a style that emphasises facial expressions rather than physical comedy, leaning on the strength of the scripts to make the show as popular as it is today. The characters in the series have been voiced by its creators as well as comedians from Saudi Arabia such as Youssef Al Dakhil and Ibraheem Alkhairallah. A staple of Ramadan programming since 2006, Shaabiat Al-Cartoon is an Emirati comedy animation about the many cultures that make up the fabric of UAE society. Created by Haidar Mohammed and Adnan Al-Obthani, the show was directed by Amer Koukh in its first five seasons and then by Mohammed from the sixth until the most recent. Set in Dubai, the show features caricatures of different nationalities as they navigate the evolving and expanding culture of the country. The show's style has gone through many iterations, beginning with simple 2D in its first seasons until it was changed to 3D, before being changed back to 2D to celebrate the show's origins. Mohammed Saeed Harib's Freej also began in 2006. The show was an instant hit upon release in Ramadan, with many waiting patiently for the newest episode to air before the days of streaming. The show features four grandmothers with distinct personalities, each with her own catchphrase. The title, which means neighbourhood in colloquial Emirati Arabic, is apt as it is a focused version of UAE society. The grandmothers go on escapades as they experience cutting-edge technology and visit Dubai's newest buildings and projects. Testament to the popularity of the show, the characters have since featured in airline flydubai's safety video. Kuwaiti writer, entrepreneur and clinical psychologist Dr Naif Al-Mutawa's comic book The 99 was adapted into an animation series in 2011. The story follows Dr Ramzi Razem and 99 young people from around the world who possess ancient powers. Razem wants the 99 to use their powers for good, but an evil character named Rughal wants them for nefarious means. The series ran for 52 episodes and featured the voices of Matthew Gorman, Sara Clare and professional wrestler Matt Hardy. Despite being written for younger viewers, the show's mature and serious themes have won over audiences of all ages. Almasaqeel, produced in Jordan, debuted on MBC in 2011 and ran for three seasons. The show is a satire of Jordanian society from the point of view of its Bedouin populations. Created by Moayed Zidan, the show's characters were voiced by Mutlaq Matar, Mohammad Alqass and Mishal Almutairi. Almasaqeel's episodes were short, often only between five to six minutes, as they appeared between shows during Ramadan.
