Famous 5: On The Case

Famous 5: On The Case is a British-French animated television series that aired on the Disney Channel and France 3 network from 5 April to 27 September, 2008.

Plot
The series centers on the Famous 5 consisting of Jo, Max, Allie, Dylan and Timmy as they go on new adventures with use of newer technologies.

Why It Is Not On The Case

 * 1) The series is very unfaithful and disgraceful to the original book series. Some examples are:
 * 2) * The use of gadgets and technologies, which didn't exist back in the 1940s. You know, where the book series are set.
 * 3) * The characters. It originally consisted of Dick, Julian, Anne, George and Timmy. But here, for some reason, the former four are replaced with Jo, Max, Allie and Dylan. The flaw with Timmy is the fact that he looks nothing like his book counterpart.
 * 4) *And not to mention, it feels more like a Scooby-Doo knockoff then you know a Famous Five cartoon
 * 5) The adventures don't really feeling exciting, endearing and thrill-seeking. They are instead contrived, predictable and sometimes ridiculous.
 * 6) The character designs fall under the uncanny valley, due to the small eyes making their faces look a little like As Told By Ginger. Also the proportions make their movements seem rigid.
 * 7) The animation is cheap, robotic, stiff and ugly, looking like it was animated in Adobe Flash. The proportions make the movements also seem rigid as stated above.
 * 8) Bad voice acting. Some of the characters sound either too young or too old. In fact, Max sounds like Horrid Henry for some reason.
 * 9) The characters are unlikable stereotypes.
 * 10) It basically killed The Famous Five from getting a sequel and the franchise as a whole.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Despite the uncanny designs, they do look rather appealing once you get used to them.
 * 2) The show does have several funny moments.
 * 3) It was thankfully axed after a single season of 26 episodes.
 * 4) While the soundtrack does not fit the tone of the franchise, it's pretty decent on it's own especially the theme song.

Reception
The show met with heavy criticism from Enid Blyton fans, who criticized its unnecessary updated modernization, unfaithful characters and overall execution. One critic felt that it will teach kids that the Famous Five was all about gadgets.

Despite this, Enid Blyton's daughter believes that her mother would love the show.

It holds a 4.6/10 on IMDb and a 3.7/10 on Senscritique.