The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Announcement of Jessie Bannon's inclusion caused backlash among Quest fans. TV Guide's editors feared that Jonny and Jessie would become romantically entangled, declaring her an "icky female". H-B Chief Fred Seibert responded, "Jessie is a little older and smarter than Jonny... We're not doing Moonlighting here." Seibert also denied that Jessie had been created solely to appeal to little girls, citing extant support for Jonny and the classic team. A Miami Herald columnist called Jessie an "effort to rewrite the past to conform to the sociopolitical mandates of the present" and political correctness "run amok". Billboard conversely welcomed the change over an all-male cast. The fiasco subsided after the Cyber Insects telefilm aired; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution rebuffed the "icky girl" label, as Jessie saved Jonny's life and taught him patience. A test screening of Cyber Insects to 30- to 35-year-old males revealed that though some questioned her addition, most understood that like certain elements criticized in the original series, it was a reflection of the times. Some fans still took issue with the series' distance from classic Quest, which suffered accusations of cultural insensitivity and "racial and sexual stereotypes".

Real Adventures evoked critical comparisons to the original series. Cinefantastique felt Real Adventures remained true to the classic show's formula, and praised the "impressive" cast. Another critic recommended the show to "die-hard adult fans", affirming that Real Adventures maintained the violence and off-screen deaths of the old series, as even the opening titles featured "explosions, murder and mayhem". The Washington Post judged the first season as "grittier and more lifelike" than the original Quest. Chicago Tribune critic Allan Johnson agreed that Real Adventures was less "way-out" and contrasted the shows in detail. TV Guide applauded the writing as "miles deeper and darker than on the old show"; Hadji's quotations impressed the magazine's reviewer. Chicago's Daily Herald called the first episode "vintage Quest", and The Panama City Times-Herald echoed this position:

Critics debated the success of the show's premise. Peter Scisco of ComputerLife appreciated that the team "rely on their brains, not mutant superpowers". People praised Turner's shift from the "politically correct claptrap" of Captain Planet and the Planeteers, giving Real Adventures a B grade as "children's programming the way it oughta be". The authors of 1998's Saturday Morning Fever contrarily felt the show lacked "the sense of why the original was so successful". They disliked H-B's packaging of disparate seasons as one series, preferring the second for its characters and classic references. Greg Aaron of HotWired praised the franchise's return but warned against QuestWorld hype, arguing that "it will take more than visual sophistication to hook today's viewers". Hanna-Barbera founder Joseph Barbera considered Real Adventures a "disaster" because of changes to the characters and stories. He conceded, "that's their business. Everybody needs to do their own thing." Critics generally enjoyed the characters and voice acting. People liked the cast, particularly George Segal. Saturday Morning Fever praised Jessie Bannon for her resemblance to Dr. Quest. Allan Johnson approved of the age jump, as Jonny and Hadji were now old enough to be part of the action. He considered Jessie "cool... she gives Jonny grief just because she can, and she's not afraid of the action." He did not enjoy the "toned down" portrayal of Race Bannon. Some fans objected to Race's Western accent in the first season. Peter Lawrence defended the portrayal of Race as a "man of action, not thought—though perfectly capable of deep thought", noting that his accent and mannerisms encouraged variety, surprise, and originality.

The quality of Quest's traditional and computer animation split critics. The Toronto Star scathingly criticized the show for "facile plots heavily laced with jarring science fiction and incongruous computer animation", naming QuestWorld a "poorly explained techno-gimmick." Le Figaro concurred, but praised QuestWorld for capturing the attention of young viewers. The Star praised QuestWorld, but regarded traditional sequences as "flat and textureless, with minimal characterization, unnaturally stiff movement, and poor execution of shading and shadow". Ted Cox of the Chicago Daily Herald agreed that animated motion was sometimes "remarkably uneven", but lauded realistic imagery like "the play of light on the ocean". TV Guide also found the animation somewhat flat, but considered the sound effects and backgrounds to be state-of-the-art. The show's sound was warmly received by the industry. Episodes "Nuclear Netherworld" and "Alien in Washington" were nominated respectively for music and sound editing Golden Reel Awards in 1997, and the entire series was nominated for an animated sound editing Golden Reel Award in 1998. Real Adventures was also nominated for a 1997 Daytime Emmy Award for music direction and composition.

Special effects director Alberto Menache criticized QuestWorld in Understanding Motion Capture for Computer Animation and Video Games, considering it a mistake-laden failure. He explained that the size difference between the motion capturers and the characters caused unsteady animation and shaking, consequently mismatching interaction with props and uneven terrain. Menache blamed the show's budget, which did not allow for digital post-production and review; producers instead expected "plug-and-play" results straight from the capture studio. Menache concluded that the QuestWorld sequences suffered from a "pipeline set up for mass production" with little testing or planning. Quest's Senior Vice President of Production Sherry Gunther admitted that the motion capture technology was "a little crude" and best suited for broad movements. Menache was less critical of the facial capture, considering it "medium-quality" but still unacceptable given H-B's resources. These criticisms mirrored the comments of Buzz F/X animator Francois Lord, who cited inexperienced Montreal animators and rushed production schedules. He pointed out that Blur Studios had more time, money, and experience for season two's sequences.