Lil' Bush

Li'l Bish(a.k.a. Mark Manera)
Created by	Donick Cary
Voices of	Chris Parson Dave B. Mitchell Mara Cary Donick Cary Ann Villella Iggy Pop Kari Wahlgren
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	17 (1 unaired) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Release
Original network	Comedy Central
Original release	June 13, 2007 – May 15, 2008

Lil' Bush is a satirical, politically themed animated television series which premiered on June 13, 2007 on Comedy Central. The series features childlike caricatures of members of the George W. Bush administration, and other American and international political leaders. Donick Cary created the series initially as content for Amp'd Mobile. The first season's episodes each consist of two story segments, with each segment featuring a musical performance by a band composed of main characters.

The second season, which premiered on March 13, 2008, consists of 10 episodes, and features thirty-minute storylines including the musical segment.^[1] The second season finale aired on Thursday May 15, 2008. The show was not renewed for a third season.

Premise

Li'l Bush takes place in an alternate reality version of the present day, where George H. W. Bush is president and George W. Bush ("Li'l George" on the show), along with his cronies (members of George W. Bush's real-life former staff), are children attending Beltway Elementary School. Issues in which the latter Bush Administration is involved (for example, the Iraq War) are transferred to the elder Bush, but feature the younger Bush interacting with them in various ways. Also, just as George Bush's father is president, the parents of the other kids are members of the elder Bush's cabinet (all depicted as their real-life adult counterparts, with the exception of the elder Cheney, who is depicted as Cheney with a Darth Vader helmet). The show pokes fun at George W. Bush's policies in an indirect manner and provides a criticism of his administration.

Main characters

• Li'l Bush (George W. Bush), voiced by Chris Parson; the leader of the gang, he often makes choices without thinking about the consequences and is seldom corrected by his friends. Like the real George W. Bush, he enjoys giving people various nicknames. He doesn't seem to understand that Li'l Condi is in fact a girl. He has a crush on the "new girl" at school, who is the future Laura Bush. He refers to her as a "chubby nerd". Additionally, though the show is entitled Li'l Bush, the character himself is always referred to by the other characters (and in the scripts) as Li'l George.
• George Sr. (George H. W. Bush), voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; the irascible Commander-in-Chief who acts as somewhat of a straight man to Li'l George. He is shown to be extremely weak physically, and possessing a deep love for Saltine crackers. He and Barbara are also swingers and although he loves his wife, he has a specific time scheduled at work for "old people sex" with his secretary. His morals seem to be completely based on voter opinions. He is also seen to be allergic to people who look Asian as seen in the 'Hall Monitor' episode (a reference to when Bush threw up onto the lap of Japan's Prime Minister).
• Barbara Bush, voiced by Mara Cary; the sexually frustrated wife of the President, so much so that she once resorts to having a tryst with Li'l Cheney. She has also admitted to having an affair with Michael Dukakis. She was confused with a polar bear in "Gay Friend". According to George Sr., Barbara Bush was a "Frankenstein of presidential parts" added with woman parts that he brought to life, giving her the head of George Washington.
• Jeb Bush, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; the indestructible but mentally undeveloped brother to Li'l George. His family shows a general apathy towards his well-being. This could possibly be because he is able to withstand things that would kill an ordinary person, and sometimes benefits from them. In one episode, Jeb withstands a nuclear blast, and in another, climbs onto a missile about to be fired, but appears completely unharmed after the dust clears. When Jeb is hit in the head with a frying pan, he speaks normally (then voiced by Colin Meloy) and openly criticizes his father's governmental decisions. Jeb is treated like a pet, as he is taken for walks, given flea dips, and eats from a bowl with his name on it (often next to the actual family dog Barney).
• Li'l Cheney (Dick Cheney), voiced by Donick Cary; a friend of Li'l George, he growls incoherently ("reh-reh-REH-reh!") rather than speaking, with the occasional interjection of a contextually relevant word or phrase ("reh-reh-REH-massive heart attack-reh-reh-REH"); the rest of the characters appear to understand him, much in the tradition of the mumbling Kenny McCormick on South Park. He is also an expert in foreign languages, and acts as a translator for the group. As a testament to his deranged violent tendencies, he consumes raw—sometimes living—meat and blood, matched with foods high in saturated fats. His favorite food is chicken ("reh-reh-reh-Cheney snack-reh-reh-reh"). His father appears to be Darth Vader.
• Li'l Condi (Condoleezza Rice), voiced by Ann Villella in Season 1 and Kari Wahlgren in Season 2 , acts as the voice of reason for her friends (though they routinely ignore her sensible advice). She has a huge crush on Li'l George- so much so, that she does his homework for him and even gains an abundance of weight. She also takes piano lessons for her parents' amusement. In an unrelated episode, she becomes a drug addict (prescription pills) and requires the help of her friends to become clean.
• Li'l Rummy (Donald Rumsfeld), voiced by Iggy Pop; seems to be the only remotely intelligent character on the show aside from Li'l Condi. He also displays a sadistic side, possibly resulting from the fact that he is abused by his father. According to a video on Comedy Central, he is kept around as a scapegoat. This is verified in the show when George Sr. says one way to cover up a scandal is to blame it on Li'l Rummy. This is the second cartoon series in which Donald Rumsfeld is depicted as a regular or semi-regular character, the first being Kid Notorious.

Supporting characters

Li'l Democrats

The series antagonists (also called Li'l Dems).

• Li'l Hillary (Hillary Clinton): voiced by Kari Wahlgren (in season 2) ; girlfriend of Li'l Bill, she works at an abortion clinic after school "just for fun" and is also suggested to be bisexual after kissing Li'l Condi.
• Li'l Barack Obama: voiced by Tim Meadows; shown laughing at Li'l George, he is "nuked" by Li'l George when he is seen sneaking a cigarette outside of the White House. He also leads Li'l George's friends after Li'l Bush abandons them for Li'l Tony Blair. He attempts to enlist their help in building a "Home for Humanity" for a single mother, but the gang burns it down (assuming that the plan was to commit insurance fraud or turn it into a dungeon and force single mothers to fight to the death) and use the money to buy themselves scooters. He frequently says "Yes we can" to answer questions.
• Li'l Al Gore: voiced by Chris Parson; always encouraging others to be eco-friendly and shown with an extremely eco-friendly house with many inventions created by Li'l Al himself (including a time machine, and an interconnected series of ropes which create a net that "catches dreams", he calls the "internet"). Li'l Bush constantly ridicules him for being slightly overweight (to make everyone else think so) despite the fact that Li'l George is shown to have more body weight than Li'l Al.
• Li'l Nancy Pelosi: shown sewing a flag with rainbow-colored stripes, she is also "nuked" by Li'l George. Voiced by production assistant Martha Cary, who is the show creator's half-sister.
• Li'l John Kerry: voiced by Chris Parson, Li'l Kerry's voice bores Li'l Bush and the gang. He loves ketchup, and says that someday he might marry it, in reference to his real-world marriage to condiment heiress Teresa Heinz Kerry.
• Li'l John Edwards: apparently obsessed with hair in reference to Edwards' $400 haircuts.
• Li'l Bill (Bill Clinton): voiced by Chris Parson; constantly cheats on Li'l Hillary.
• Tiny Kucinich: who wants to someday fly with doves. Sometimes has to be handled like an infant. Voiced by Jason Nash, who does a variety of other voices for the show.

American politicians

• Li'l Mark Foley, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; a member of Li'l Laura's prayer group, quite fond of texting.
• Li'l John Ashcroft; shown singing the iconic "Let the Eagle Soar", to very poor reception.
• Li'l John McCain, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; says "That's the straight talk" at the end of almost every statement, loves chocolate milk. He disrespects Li'l Bush when he's hall monitor. Li'l Bush gets his vengeance by stoking fear of hippies in the school, then detaining John McCain in the back of a nearby Cuban restaurant as part of his anti-hippie security measures. Li'l Rummy then removes his brain with an ice cream scoop, after which he is a mindless zombie who does whatever Li'l Bush wants.
• Li'l Karl Rove, voiced by Kevin Federline. Once the most intelligent student at Beltway Elementary, he hates the Li'l Dems more than the Cronies due to their mocking of his rap styles, which only rhymes "Rove" and "trove." Lives in seclusion and eats nothing but Hot Pockets. If you require his advice, according to Li'l Rummy, "he takes over your brain for all eternity, or at least until he retires to spend more time with his kids". This is a reference to the reasons why real-life Karl Rove retired from the Bush Administration.
• The Ghosts of the Founding Fathers, later revealed to be the Li'l Dems trying to scare the gang á la Scooby-Doo - except for the headless ghost of George Washington, who tried to get his head back from Barbara Bush, then used a Quaker Oatmeal container instead. All horribly murdered by some unknown curse, they tried to teach the gang a lesson about destroying the Constitution.
• Li'l Fred Thompson, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; an actor in the drama club.
• Li'l Rudy Giuliani, nickname is Julie, depicted as a cross dresser (in reference to the real Giuliani's guest appearance on Saturday Night Live in which he acted in drag), uses the number 9-11 often, and will do anything "to keep the terrorists from winning today."
• Li'l Mitt Romney, tends to flip-flop and tries to convert people to Mormonism.
• Li'l Joe Lieberman, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; a Jewish kid, interested in buying the White House but is ignored.
• Li'l Mike Huckabee, tried to buy the White House, also is best friends with Lil' Chuck Norris
• Li'l Katherine Harris, went on a double date to the school dance with Lil' Cheney, taking Lil' Ann Coulter and Lil' Rummy with them.
• Li'l Ralph Nader and Li'l Ron Paul, were also mentioned, but not seen, tried to buy the White House.

Others

• Li'l Laura (Laura Bush): the pudgy object of Li'l George's desire, she never speaks (though she has grunted a few times), and at one point goes to a fat camp.
• Li'l Kim Jong-il, voiced by Diane Hsu; The new student at Beltway Elementary, he antagonizes Li'l Bush, who refers to him as "Kitty", as Li'l Bush's mind processes his image as a cat. He expresses a desire to be a Hollywood-type filmmaker, even kidnapping Kevin Costner (voiced by Chris Parson) to star in his latest epic (see Shin Sang-ok). He also collects enriched uranium and is followed around by 2 large thugs named Tito and Gilligan
• Li'l Tony Blair, voiced by Dave B. Mitchell; an effeminate British boy who is on the same cheerleading squad as Li'l George. The two become friends, much to the consternation of both boys' families (Tony's mother is portrayed as the Queen). Barbara Bush uses "being British" as a euphemism for homosexuality, and she is alarmed at the possibility of Li'l George "applying for dual citizenship" and "driving on the wrong side of the road".
• Neil Bush, voiced by Donick Cary; Li'l George's hippie/druggie older brother, who he refers to as both crazy and bisexual (because Neil once brought home two Thai prostitutes and one of them was a transvestite). When Li'l George asks for help with scaring the school with hippies, Neil gives Li'l George a sheet of LSD blotter that looks like the presidential seal so he and his friends can find their inner hippie. In real life, Neil is George's younger brother by more than 10 years.
• Li'l Dave Grohl, voiced by himself.
• Li'l Anthony Kiedis, voiced by himself.
• Li'l Flea, voiced by himself.
• Li'l Wolf Blitzer, a caricature of Wolf Blitzer (Host of The Situation Room on CNN). Li'l Wolf Blitzer is the host of the "Situation Homeroom" on "BNN," the Beltway elementary News Network, which is most likely the morning announcements in Li'l Bush's school.
• Raul, voiced by Alanna Ubach; a Mexican day laborer hired by Li'l George to do his chores for him. A chemical engineer in his native Mexico, Raul has come to America because he can make more money doing manual labor for hire than he can in his chosen profession back home. Li'l George treats him as a pet, and forgets to feed him as he did with all his other pets, eventually leading to his death.
• Goddy, voiced by Jeff Tweedy. He is mistaken by Li'l George for a member of ZZ Top.
• Satan, voice by Frank Black. Welcomed Lil Cheney to hell after his fatal heart attack but sent him back after Cheney's methods of running hell became too extreme for him.
• Li'l Mikey Moore (Michael Moore), voiced by Chris Parson. He made a feature documentary called "Frankfurter 9/11" about how Li'l George tortured the cafeteria staff, a reference to the Abu Ghraib scandal.
• Li'l George's Brain, voiced by Fred Schneider of The B-52's, whose helpful advice, which, though never heeded, could have helped Li'l George out of a few jams over the course of the series. Killed by Li'l George with a seven in his mind. This leaves only Li'l George's Gut (voiced by Bootsy Collins) to make decisions for him.
• King Fahd, lords his oil over the president, and likes to party. Voiced by Jason Nash.
• Drug company CEO, voiced by Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead fame. CEO of the company Drugzall, which randomly distributes prescription drugs to the elementary school kids and causes them to act very abnormally.
• Li'l Ann Coulter, tends to turn people away from herself with her looks and collection of venereal diseases.
• Osama bin Laden, uses his followers to capture Li'l Cheney. He decides to take out his heart and transplant it into him after he was diagnosed with a weak one.
• Li'l Arnold (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker. He keeps Li'l George to govern Fishy and is a recurring character.
• Fishy, Li'l George's pet fish. Li'l Bush says that he calls him Fishy because he's a fish.

Episodes

Season 1 (2007)

No.	Title	Original air date	Prod. code
1	"Iraq / First Kiss"	June 13, 2007	102
Lil' Bush and the Gang go to Iraq to find the perfect Father's Day gift; the Gang bets to see who can kiss a girl first. The gang is shown as Guns N' Roses in a musical number.
2	"Nuked / Camp"	June 20, 2007	101
Lil' Bush learns to stand up to a bully named Lil' Kim Jong-II by bombing, among other things, his residence; Lil' Bush and the Gang go to summer camp and discover a sleeper cell. The Lil' Bush Band is shown as the Sex Pistols, and later as Kiss in this episode.
3	"Gay Friend / Mexican"	June 27, 2007	103
Lil' Bush meets Lil' Tony Blair, and the two become close friends and cheerleaders for the school's football team, while the Gang begins to blindly follow Lil' Barack Obama in Lil' George's place; Under his father's threat of canceling Martin Luther King day, Lil' Bush and the Gang find an alternate way to complete their chores, with the help of illegal immigrant workers. The gang parodies WHAM! and Toni Basil in their musical numbers.
4	"Global Warming / Hall Monitor"	July 11, 2007	104
The gang try to thwart Lil' Al's Lil' Live Earth concert, featuring the Lil' Foo Fighters and Lil' Red Hot Chili Peppers to secure the earth's future as a completely flooded uninhabitable wasteland that the gang sees as an "awesome water park"; Lil' Bush competes with Lil' John McCain for the position of Hall Monitor by exploiting the school's fear of hippies. The band ends up parodying the Red Hot Chili Peppers (wearing only socks during their performance) in the first short, and in the second short, they parody the Grateful Dead.
5	"Evolution / Press Corps Dinner"	July 18, 2007	105
Lil' Cheney goes to hell after perishing of a heart attack, where he proves himself more evil than Satan, and Lil' Bush becomes a born again Christian and denounces evolution; Lil' Bush is the headliner at his father's Press Corps Dinner when he discovers he has a knack for comedy. The Lil' Bush band parodies several rap artists, including Eminem and 50 Cent, in an anti-evolution video.
6	"Haunted House / Hot Dog"	July 25, 2007	106
Lil' Bush and the gang spend the night up in the haunted White house attic, and are visited by the ghosts of the Founding Fathers which turn out to be the Lil' Democrats in disguise (except for the real ghost of George Washington in search for his head)-- this short parodies the chase scenes and imagery of Scooby-Doo; Lil' Bush and the Gang meet Lil' Michael Moore, who attempts to expose their torture of the school cafeteria workers in an attempt to bring back the american institution of hot dogs when the school decides to be in favor of a more multi-cultural menu (based on the Abu Ghraib torture photos). The "Hot Dog" episode also features Jeb with a short-lived but greatly improved intelligence as a result of a frying pan blow to his head.
7	"Walter Reed"	Unaired	107
Lil' Bush and his gang put on a concert at the nearby Walter Reed veteran's hospital, which accidentally brings media attention to the atrocious conditions there. As punishment, he and the gang must raise money for repairs, which the eventually spend on themselves. Featuring Henry Rollins as the voice of an injured veteran that Lil' Bush knicknames "Halfsy". Note: This 11-minute storyline was produced but never aired as a backup episode. The network was worried that the story of show 105, featuring Lil' Dick Cheney dying of a heart attack, would be insensitive to air if the real Dick Cheney had a heart attack. It appears on the Lil' Bush Season One DVD, along with an introduction from show creator Donick Cary and writer Opus Moreschi.

Season 2: 2008

No.	Title	Original air date	Prod. code
8	"St. Patrick's Day"	March 13, 2008	201
The Lil' Gang doesn't want the Lil' Dems to ruin St. Patrick's Day with their liberal and tolerant St. Patrick's Day float. They enlist the help of Lil' Karl Rove (voiced by Kevin Federline), who gives them advice and does some bad rapping as his alter-ego, MC Rove. Meanwhile, first lady Barbara gets a tanning bed and inadvertently cooks her liver.
9	"Big Pharma"	March 20, 2008	203
When Beltway Elementary's book fair is taken over by a drug company, it becomes a drug fair, and all the Lil' Cronies get hooked on meds. In order to kick their addiction, they face off against the big pharmaceutical company's charismatic CEO (voiced by The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh). Meanwhile, George Sr. attempts to appear more manly for the state of the union by taking beard-growth pills. Unfortunately, the side effects involve a prolonged and prominent boner.
10	"Crony Break-up"	March 27, 2008	202
After a big fight, the Lil' Gang break up. Each of them finds comfort in new friends: Lil' Mitt Romney, Lil' Rudy Giuliani, Lil' Fred Thompson and Tiny Dennis Kucinich. When the new friendships turn disastrous, the Lil' Cronies put their differences aside in a heartwarming, vomit-filled reunion. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush inadvertently invents a new diet craze called "The Pudding Hole" which involves leaving a hole in your stomach so food can pour out.
11	"Katrina"	April 3, 2008	204
George Sr. and Barbara punish the Lil' Gang for destroying the White House by sending them to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina. They end up creating a surprise Mardi Gras float (out of a tank that was supposed to be a FEMA trailer and money that was being kept from the residents) trying to cheer up the residents. They instead crash into one of the levees and flood the city. Meanwhile George Sr. and Barbara cannot pay of the mortgages for the White House and look to sell it, with many of the Lil' Politicians looking to buy it. They eventually pay it off with all the money on the Mardi Gras float.
12	"Three Dates"	April 10, 2008	205
With the school dance coming up, Lil' George doesn't know who to take. His brain advises him to be cautious, but George plows ahead and ends up inviting three dates. Once they get to the dance (featuring Good Charlotte as Good Charlotte cover band "Good Charlotter") George has to silence his brain once and for all. George Sr. is dealing with an annoying houseguest, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who parties like a frat guy and lords his oil over the president.
13	"Weekend at Saddamy's"	April 17, 2008	206
It's spring break, and Lil' George and the gang join George Sr. on a camping trip to Baghdad. Lil' George tries to impress his father and fix Iraq at the same time by digging up Saddam Hussein's body and turning him into a real puppet dictator, a la "Weekend At Bernies." Meanwhile, Lil' Bill Clinton convinces all the Lil' Democrats to spring break on South Padre island. When some of their antics end up on video, "Lil' Dems Gone Wild" becomes a top-selling DVD.
14	"Afghanistan"	April 24, 2008	207
When Osama bin Laden is diagnosed with a weak heart, he finds the only perfect match for a donor is Lil' Cheney. Al Qaeda kidnaps Lil' Cheney, forcing Lil' George and the gang to smoke him out of his hole in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Barbara gets her groove back in Jamaica.
15	"Wedding"	May 1, 2008	208
When Lil' Bill Clinton invites Lil' George to his "Rainbow Party," Barbara and George realize he's growing up too fast. They decide the best way to preserve George's innocence is in a "purity wedding" in which he marries Barbara. When Lil' George decides his own father's a better match, they are forced to have a gay wedding, sending Barbara into the arms of super-smooth man-about-town Colin Powell.
16	"Pooty-Poot"	May 8, 2008	209
When Lil' Vladimir Putin and Lil' George start a schoolyard rivalry, it escalates to Lil' Putin poisoning Lil' George, whose head swells to five times its normal size. After some training from former wrestling champ Barbara Bush, Lil' George faces off against Lil' Putin in a classic playground battle. Meanwhile, Lil' Cheney has been partnered with Lil' Nancy Pelosi, and given a watermelon to care for as their child. When it becomes apparent that their watermelon is a lesbian, Lil' Cheney has some hard choices to make.
17	"Anthem / China"	May 15, 2008	210
The first story pits the Lil' Gang against the Lil' Dems in a battle of the bands for who can write the best new national anthem. Featuring a secret super-surprise awesome musical guest star. In the second, the Lil' Gang faces off against China, where they must win the Olympics to save America from being recalled by the Chinese.

Critical response

The show has received negative reviews from critics, with an aggregate metascore of 31/100.^[2] A common complaint is that the show comes too late in Bush's presidency to remain topical.^[3] Other complaints accuse it of immaturity and lack of subtlety.^[4]

Not all the reviews, however, have been negative. Among others, The Hollywood Reporter gave the show a positive review. A review from About.com cited the show's "cleverness and maturity," likening it to "a less bloody South Park".^[5] Likewise, in a Netscape review, the show was credited as a political satire which "pinpoints the logical extreme of real life."^[6]

Home releases

Season	Number of episodes	Release date	Additional information
Season 1	7	March 11, 2008	The 7th unaired season finale
Season 2	10	October 14, 2008

See also

• That's My Bush!

References

1. Breaking News - "LI'L BUSH" SIGNS-ON FOR A SECOND TERM WITH COMEDY CENTRAL | TheFutonCritic.com
2. Li'l Bush: Resident Of The United States. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
3. TELEVISION REVIEW; The President and His Friends, Younger and More Animated. Retrieved June 27, 2007.
4. Li'l Bush episode 2 quoting The New York Times
5. Li'l Bush Review. Retrieved July 13th, 2007.
6. Bush: a Cartoon Take on the Prez. Retrieved July 13th, 2007.

External links

• Li'l Bush The Show at MySpace
• Li'l Bush Review at Variety.com
• Media analysis of Li'l Bush on FlowTV.org
• Li'l Bush at the Internet Movie Database
• Li'l Bush at TV.com