Bruce Willis' Bizarre Animated TV Show Is A Blast From The Past

Gen-Xers likely recall this with clarity, but way back in 1987, when actor Bruce Willis was riding high in Hollywood, he began to, perhaps misguidedly, branch out. He released a blues record called "The Return of Bruno," a concept album consisting mostly of covers that was said to trace the rise and success of a fictional alter-ego named Bruno Radolini. In a tie-in TV special the same year, Willis played the titular Bruno in a mockumentary about the character. Many people bought "The Return of Bruno" as a pop culture curio, more eager to mock Willis than to give his music a chance. These days, few remember "Bruno," and those that do only bring it up for reasons of kitsch. 

Even fewer people, however, will remember an additional return of Bruno. Willis, it seems, wasn't done.

In 1996, Willis co-created and starred in an animated series called "Bruno the Kid," a comedy/action show about a brave sixth-grade boy who moonlighted as a spy. The premise of the series was fun. The young Bruno, a computer nerd, liked to go online and affect different identities in his interactions with strangers. He created a CGI-rendered spy persona for himself (one that just happens to look like the adult Bruce Willis), which attracted the attention of G.L.O.B.E., a supersecret counter-terrorism force. 

G.L.O.B.E. hired the young Bruno to be a star agent, and he communicated with the higher-ups via a digital avatar. Only the stuffy G.L.O.B.E. agent Jarlesburg (Tony Jay) knew that Bruno was 11 years old. Bruno began trekking out on dangerous spy missions on the fly, and quickly became a star agent. Luckily, his skill at video games proved to be an asset in espionage work.

This was very real. It ran for 36 episodes over the course of its single season. 

"Bruno the Kid" has an appealing enough premise for a young viewer. It captured the "secret life" fantasies that many kids have, allowing Bruno to hoodwink his classmates, teachers, and family members while he sneaks away and does really, really cool things. It also tapped into James Bond-inflected spy fantasies, giving Bruno access to high-tech gadgets and weapons as a matter of course. There was a Q-like character in the form of Harris, a character played by Mark Hamill. 

Few people have talked about "Bruno the Kid" since its airing. Hamill mentioned "Bruno the Kid" onky once in a 1997 issue of Animation World Magazine (handily archived on its website) only to say that he "was hired as what they call a 'utility player,' which means they could rely on me to provide more than one voice. I was actually hired to play three voices." Hamill also noted that playing three voices on a single animated series was proof that his voice acting career was going well; casting directors finally trusted him enough to play multiple roles. 

"Bruno the Kid" is currently available on the Roku Channel, on Vudu, and on Plex. Watching it, one might note the slickness of the animation, and the unique character designs. "Bruno the Kid" was handled by Film Roman, the same production company that oversaw "Garfield and Friends," "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill," "The Critic" (the show, not the Tarantino movie) "Family Guy," "The Oblongs," and many other high-quality, adult-skewing animated shows. This wasn't some dashed-off side-hustle that a celebrity did in their spare time (see: "Hammerman," "Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos," or several dozen other celebrity-backed animated shows of the '80s and '90s). This was a legit show.

Indeed, Willis not only developed the show and played its title character, but also sang the show's theme song and served as an executive producer. "Bruno the Kid" was something Willis seemingly believed in. 

It may be odd hearing Willis' adult voice coming out of a child body, but it's no stranger than hearing Willis serve as the voice of an infant's inner monologue in the hit film "Look Who's Talking." Also, the 1995 animated series "Life with Louie" pulled a similar stunt with Louie Anderson voicing his own childhood self, so audiences took the conceit in stride.

The tone of "Bruno the Kid" is pure 1990s. It takes its spy stories seriously, and Bruno frequently finds himself in mortal peril — of the "tied to a conveyor belt and aimed toward a deadly saw" variety — but the humor is flippant and lightweight. Like a lot of media of the 1990s, it makes light, self-aware fun of the genre it inhabits while still telling straightforward stories. The writing on "Bruno the Kid" is stronger than one's average Saturday morning fare. Surprisingly, Bruno is a fun character. Willis' movie star charms occasionally poke through in his performance, and Bruno is always drawn with a casual smirk on his face. The kid is cool and confident and fun to watch. Additionally, though, he's smart. "Bruno the Kid" vaunted intelligence over cool, which is appreciated. He didn't survive via luck or smarminess, but actual skill. 

Also, the supporting cast was impressive. Tim Curry, Ed Asner, René Auberjonois, Matt Frewer, Dawnn Lewis, and Ed McMahon (!) played guest villains. Hearing them is always a treat.

Looking back, one might find that "Bruno the Kid" is ... good, actually. Bruce Willis was obsessed with his Bruno alter-ego, but seemingly had better luck exploring the character as an animated child-spy than as a blues musician. "The Return of Bruno" isn't very good, but "Bruno the Kid" is worth seeking out. 

Bruce Willis has since left showbiz after an aphasia diagnosis, but his movie star sparkle lives on, even in small projects.