Jeff Lemire’sSweet Toothcomic debuted in 2009, a series about a human/deer hybrid boy trying to survive after a virus decimates most of the human population. As with many post-apocalyptic tales,Sweet Toothwas bleak, violent, often unsettling, and with a slight hint of optimism for the future. But in the time sinceSweet Toothreleased its first issue, the world has drastically changed. Entertainment, in general, has been inundated with its share of dark, end-of-the-world stories, not to mention the fact that the real world has had to reckon with its own global pandemic. Despite its world full of human-animal amalgamations, a direct adaptation ofSweet Toothat this point would feel like yet another armageddon tale, but with particularly bad timing.
Yet the Netflix adaptation ofSweet Toothdeveloped byJim Mickle(Cold in July,Hap and Leonard) latches onto that rare glimmer of hope that permeated Lemire’s gloom. Several times throughoutSweet Tooth’s lovely first season, the narration byJames Brolinstates that “some stories start at the beginning,” but for our characters, their “story starts here,” when they’re asked to take on some large, daunting task. Mickle’s take on this tale shows the beauty of what can grow out of loss, frequently presenting characters receiving new opportunities that grow out of the pain and suffering they have encountered. Instead of focusing on the doom ofSweet Tooth’s setting, Mickle creates an optimistic take on a story we’ve seen countless times before.
Sweet Toothfollows the aforementioned human/deer hybrid Gus, played by an endearing and enthusiasticChristian Convery. After “The Great Crumble” hit the world, the only children born were these hybrids, which left many to blame the destruction on these children. While hybrids are hunted in this new world, Gus has lived far away from the destroyed human race, living in the fenced-in Yellowstone National Park with his father (a wonderfulWill Forte). Gus’ father tells him he should never leave the boundaries of the fence, yet as these stories always go, events transpire that send Gus on his own adventure. Some stories start at the beginning, but Gus’ story starts here.
Gus leaves his secluded home in order to find his mother in Colorado, with little more than a Polaroid of her and many questions about his past. Helping Gus along his way is Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie), a former football player who unwillingly becomes Gus’ guide, and Bear (Stefania LaVie Owen), a young girl who has dedicated herself to the protection of hybrids.
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So much ofSweet Toothrelies on the performance of Convery, but the young actor is immediately likable, as we see this new world through his eyes of wonder and questioning. Gus is a character that has to be just irritating enough at times so that we understand why Jepperd would want to get rid of him, but also delightful enough for us to want to follow his massive adventure. It’s a delicate tightrope act Convery has to pull, yet he never falters as the heart and soul of this story.
Sweet Toothends up resembling a fairy tale of sorts, with lush visuals and colors that pop, despite all the death and destruction on the edges. As with Lemire’s material,Sweet Toothis at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Gus and Jepperd, who Gus calls “Big Man.” This new relationship bond ebbs and flows throughout this season, but watching them on their journey to Colorado is always delightful. Gus’ excited nature, mixed with Jepperd’s consistently weary attitude makes for a dynamic that is full of charm and heart.
After a pilot that adheres fairly closely to the source material, Mickle keeps the basic bones of the story, yet restructures this narrative to make it his own. For example,Sweet Toothtakes several characters from the comic and almost makes them secondary leads, fleshing out their pasts to make them more three-dimensional. Both Dr. Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar) — a former doctor who is caught up in trying to find a cure — and hybrid Wendy (Naledi Murray) and her mother Aimee (Dania Ramirez), who live in an abandoned zoo, receive backstories that show their tragic, yet important history.
While the stories of Gus, Singh, and Wendy are mostly separate, they show a larger scale of this new world, while also implying that a potential second season will unite these stories in a more satisfying way than the first season can. Since the origins of Singh, Wendy, and Aimee are completely new aspects of this story, they lack the depth of, say, Gus and his father in the woods. The show throws the viewer into these new environments, like a suburban town of survivors or a decrepit zoo, without giving us a greater sense of these areas. As much as these secondary stories do flesh out this world, they still end up feeling very much secondary to Gus’ story.
Even thoughSweet Toothusually melds the inherent dread of this scenario with childlike compassion, sometimes sanding out some of the darker elements of the original story makes this first season a bit too saccharine-sweet at times. Bear’s army of kids that fight for the hybrids comes off as more childish than as an actual intimidating force. Similarly, when the series does show more hybrids, the design is almost too cutesy, reminiscent of the “what kind of bird are you?” scene fromMoonrise Kingdom. While the needle drops can be a bit too folksy and on-the-nose, like the use of an Of Monsters and Men song in the first episode, they mostly work, even though they get close to the edge at times.
Sweet Toothalso had to shut down filming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has allowed for reminders of correlations between “The Great Crumble” and our own past year, in case anyone could forget. There are lingering shots of social distancing signs, and a quick gag about people refusing to wear masks, but thankfully, these little flourishes are kept to a minimum.
Yet the transition ofSweet Toothinto more of a family-friendly fable is a good look for this sprawling tale, one that thankfully is full of hope rather than destruction.Sweet Toothdoes this through an endearing adventure that shows rebirth and new chances can come out of even the worst disasters — which makes this a rare uplifting pandemic story in 2021.
Sweet Toothis streaming now on Netflix.
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