Julien Neaves, Caribbean Head Writer
Plot: Upon the request of a couple of his customers, a cranky Jamaican cab driver reluctantly makes a detour to a fried chicken place.
Context: Greetings Red Mango Readers. So I was in the mood for some Caribbean animated content (which, sadly, is not that easy to find) for our weekly Facebook Cariwood Wednesday review and I came upon the Jamaican animated comedy series Cabbie Chronicles. Created by husband and wife team Alison Tabois Latchman and Anieph Latchman with Marlo Scott as illustrator, the series chronicles life in the Caribbean country through the eyes of a taxi man. There are multiple episodes on their YouTube page but with more than a million views the November 2010 episode “Drive Thru Drama”, which was the winner of Best Caribbean Animation Award at Animae Caribe Animation and New Media Festival 2010 – Jamaican entry, is by far their most popular. So now on to my review.
Review: After watching Drive Thru Drama it is easy to tell why it is so popular. The animation is colourful and quirky. The character designs are great, and the voice work is spot on. The comedy, which ranges from quick visual gags to the situational, delivers its fair share of laughs. And though based in Jamaica a frustrating experience of trying to order fast food at a drive thru is universal. The dialogue is in English and Jamaican patois, with subtitles provided for the latter. It seems a small detail, but for Caribbean content to reach broader audiences it is critical. And the opening theme is quite the banger.
I enjoyed my time at the drive thru with Cabbie Chronicles: Drive Thru Drama and I am inspired to check out more from this cool series. And I also have an odd craving for jerk chicken back.
Score: 8 out of 10
You can check out Cabbie Chronicles: Drive Thru Drama for yourself by clicking here. And you can check out more Caribbean animated content below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.