On its own, Wayside is just okay. It's a cartoon with harmless storytelling that can occasionally crack a joke here and there, but ultimately there are far better cartoons you can seek out. The biggest offense Wayside has is its relation to the books it's based off of, which is pretty much... in name only. If you changed the environment and names of the characters, you'd probably be able to market this thing as its own original work. Only one book chapter makes a cartoon episode, "Mrs. Gorf," while the rest are all original stories. If you are looking for a means to relive Louis Sachar's novels... forget about it, because this show is hardly like them. If you're a die-hard Wayside School fan, then maybe throw this on as a time-waster and get a taste of this show. However, if you get caught up in all the little, mostly unnecessary changes, don't say I didn't warn you. I think what this show is missing most is the characters. The novels were heavily character-driven, to the point where the first book had each chapter named after a character. In the show, most characters are reduced to one trait, while others like Myron can become grating rather quickly. It's just... "meh." Unless you really want all the Wayside School you can handle, you can probably just stick to the books and give this show a skip.
Review of Wayside
Wayside
(2005–2008)
Not as bad as the Mushroom Surprise, but ultimately falls flat when compared to the books.
16 April 2017