====== Dootle Dots Episode 1: "Welcome to Dot City Spaghetti" ====== | **"Welcome to Dot City Spaghetti"** || | //[[dootledots]]// episode || | {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_01.jpeg?250%}} || ^ Created by | [[tim|New Amato]] | ^ Executive producer | New Amato | ^ Written by | New Amato\\ [[grok]] | ^ Animation supervisor | [[aidan]] | ^ Storyboard artists | New Amato\\ Aidan Boyle | ^ Music by | David Augusto\\ Amy Shein | ^ Original character designs by | [[gamato]]\\ New Amato | ^ Animation services provided by | Riverboat Digital Media | ^ Special thanks to | [[amatofoundation]] | ^ In loving memory of | G. Amato | ^ Original air date | March 15, 2026 (//[[oscar13|Last Oscar Special]]//)\\ March 17, 2026 (YouTube) | ^ Runtime | 7 mins. | ^ Reviewed in | //The Last On Cinema Oscar Special// | ^ [[https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/rating.jpg|Viewers]]' rating (average) | 🍿 | ^ Video link | [[https://youtu.be/24khiNuF9u0|YouTube]] | **"Welcome to Dot City Spaghetti"** is the series premiere of the American animated television series //[[dootledots]]//. Written by series creator [[tim|New Amato]] and [[grok]], the episode aired as a sneak peek on [[heinetwork]] on March 15, 2026, during the //[[oscar13|Last On Cinema Oscar Special]]//. Following unexpected public demand, the first episode was posted on an official //Dootle Dots// YouTube account on March 17, 2026. In this episode, a new Italian restaurant opens in Dot City and [[rondot]], set to cut the ribbon in the opening ceremony, is nowhere to be seen. Immediate responses during the special were mostly negative, with [[axiom]] and [[manuel]] both deriding the depiction of [[enzo]] as racist towards Italians, with online viewers giving the episode an average of 1 bag of popcorn. It is unknown when, or if, there will be more episodes of //Dootle Dots//, following the negative reception and falling out between New and the animation supervisor, his son [[aidan]]. {{INLINETOC width18}} ===== Plot ===== [[sam]] welcomes the citizens of Dot City to the official ribbon cutting ceremony for Dot City Spaghetti. Sam attempts to welcome [[rondot|Mayor Ron Dot]] to kick-off the day's festivities, but is told that he is running a bit late. Sam welcomes restaurant owner [[enzo]] to the podium instead, who talks about his longtime dream to open a place like Dot City Spaghetti, and gushes about the quality of the various Italian foods the restaurant will serve including spaghetti, pizza, and lasagna. [[cloud]] is shown sleeping during Chef Enzo's speech. Sam leaves to find the mayor, but not before welcoming [[baxter]] to the podium. Baxter proceeds to give a very short speech, leading Enzo to come back up and assure everyone that Sam will be able to find the mayor. While Sam is looking for the mayor, the citizens of Dot City speculate on the mayor's whereabouts, with several people noting he was last seen at the grocery store the day prior. One person noted the mayor had asked the fishmonger where the pickles were, noting the oddity of asking the fishmonger that. Cloud wakes up and asks "What is a fishmonger?", before Baxter tells everyone to settle down. Sam continues to look for the mayor, peeking into the windows of places like the barber shop and the post office. In the meantime, Baxter welcomes Cloud to the podium, who wastes everyone's time and proceeds to say nothing of value. Eventually, Sam makes it to the mayor's resident, who tells him to "go away". Sam goes inside to ask Ron what's wrong, and Ron confesses that he is afraid of scissors, begging Sam to not make him hold "those pointy nightmares". Sam has an idea, suggesting that he, the mayor, Baxter, [[mel]], Cloud, and Chef Enzo all hold the scissors together as a team, so the mayor doesn't have to do it alone. Cutting back to the ceremony, Mayor Ron Dot thanks Sam for helping him face his fears, as well as Chef Enzo for all the future bowls of spaghetti. After a count of three, the team successfully cuts the ribbon, officially opening Dot City Spaghetti. Sam tells the citizens, who already have spaghetti in their hands, to "fire up those pots and pans! It's spaghetti time!" {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_27.jpeg?250%}} "In loving memory of G. Amato" ===== Characters ===== * [[sam]] (debut) * [[mel]] (debut) * [[cloud]] (debut) * [[baxter]] (debut) * [[enzo]] (debut) * [[rondot]] (debut) * Citizens of Dot City (debut) ===== Production ===== [[aidan]], the animation supervisor, was hired by New through Indeed, unaware at first that Aidan was his first son, when he was married to [[stephanie]]. Aidan, a graduate of CalArts with prior work on //[[wp>The Croods]]// (2013, 98 mins.), used Toon Boom Harmony to produce the series. With show co-creator [[gamato]] having passed away during the development of the series, New Amato co-wrote the episode with [[grok]], who has taken on the voice of his late father. An in-memoriam card for G. Amato is placed at the end of the credits. {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/rating.jpg?250%}} "Welcome to Dot City Spaghetti" gets the lowest possible average score ===== Reception ===== The episode has received mostly negative reviews from critics and animation fans. The //Dootle Dots// [[https://dootledots.com/|website]] was updated to allow viewers to rate the special, using //[[ocatc]]//'s traditional [[popcornscale|popcorn scale]] rating metric. The average rating, as seen during the special, was 1 bag of popcorn, the lowest possible rating. [[axiom]] and [[manuel]] at first called it "cool" and "great", but shortly after criticized the Italian stereotypes as seen in the Dot City Spaghetti chef [[enzo]] as "racist". Show creator New Amato also had some criticism towards the animation, supervised by his son [[aidan]], noting how Enzo's humanoid design fails to match with the rest of the show's art style. Near the end of the special, he more directly criticized his son's work, calling it, and him, a "disappointment". On [[twitter]], the everything app, reception was slightly more mixed, with plenty of animation fans expressing confusion over the similarities between this show and //[[wp>Battle for Dream Island]]//, of which they accused the //Dootle Dots// crew of stealing art assets from the latter. Gold Coin (OSSP) called it "decent I guess",[(cite:goldcoin>[[https://x.com/gold_coin69/status/2033621735128633375?s=46]])] while FlannelFloofs stated that "it's a pretty good episode on its own," calling it "feelgood kids show content".[(cite:flannelfloofs>[[https://x.com/flannelfloofs/status/2033387776478257576?s=46]])] DooplissAnimate stated that they preferred //Battle for Dream Island// and //[[wp>Rocket Monkeys]]// over this,[(cite:doopliss>[[https://x.com/KirbyBenign/status/2033648727345320133]])] while 2026 Animation Hype (Mario Galaxy, Toy Story 5) and Jimmy (Johnson) stated it was better than two seasons of //BFDI//, //Elsewhere// and //The Power of Two//.[(cite:dylan>[[https://x.com/Dylan9427711221/status/2033638081342148971]])][(cite:jimmy>[[https://x.com/figurethejohn/status/2033651469296062817]])] ===== Trivia ===== * This is the second original piece of animation in the overall //[[oncinema|On Cinema]]// franchise, after the //Decker// [[deckeranimated|animated pilot]]. * The voice cast is currently unknown. ==== [META] ==== * Annie Dolan and Katie Dolan are credited in the //Last Oscar Special// credits for actually writing this episode, while Ashley Brown is credited for the animation. * As mentioned above, this episode takes heavy influence from so-called "[[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/object_show|object shows]]", of which //Battle for Dream Island// is the most well-known and influential series. The mouth movement on all the characters (save for Enzo) appears to be directly taken from //BFDI//, and the character design and backgrounds look incredibly similar. === Observations === * With Grok "G" Amato being credited as a co-writer, one can assume all New did for writing was ask Grok for a premise for a cartoon episode. ===== Gallery ===== {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_02.jpeg?150%}} \\ The citizens of Dot City are ready for the grand opening of Dot City Spaghetti! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_03.jpeg?150%}} \\ Mel chuckles at Baxter's quip. {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_04.jpeg?150%}} \\ Uh-oh! Sam is told the mayor is nowhere to be seen! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_05.jpeg?150%}} \\ Chef Enzo prepares the crowd for all the delicious food he'll serve them! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_06.jpeg?150%}} \\ ...but Cloud doesn't care! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_07.jpeg?150%}} \\ Sam leaves to find Mayor Ron Dot. {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_08.jpeg?150%}} \\ Baxter keeps his speech short... very short! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_09.jpeg?150%}} \\ The mayor is nowhere to be found at the bank... {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_10.jpeg?150%}} \\ Mayor Ron Dot was last seen talking to a fishmonger! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_11.jpeg?150%}} \\ Sam is still on the hunt! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_12.jpeg?150%}} \\ Cloud proves unable to say anything relevant to the current situation at hand! Useless! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_13.jpeg?150%}} \\ The mayor's not at the barber shop... {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_14.jpeg?150%}} \\ ...nor the post office... {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_15.jpeg?150%}} \\ Cloud! You're not saying anything of worth! Get off the stage! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_16.jpeg?150%}} \\ Sam found the mayor! But he's telling Sam to go away? {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_17.jpeg?150%}} \\ Sam comes in anyway, something seems wrong! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_19.jpeg?150%}} \\ Mayor Ron Dot is afraid of scissors! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_20.jpeg?150%}} \\ Sam tells the mayor teamwork can help solve this problem! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_21.jpeg?150%}} \\ Back at the ceremony! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_22.jpeg?150%}} \\ Mayor Ron Dot thanks Sam for the help! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_23.jpeg?150%}} \\ The team helps the mayor prep the scissors... {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_24.jpeg?150%}} \\ ...and the ribbon is cut! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_25.jpeg?150%}} \\ Dot City Spaghetti is OPEN! {{https://file.garden/aNh3wqVR3HAdRpcG/oncinemawiki/dootledots/dootledotse01_26.jpeg?150%}} \\ "Fire up those pots and pans! It's spaghetti time!" ===== Links ===== * [[https://youtu.be/24khiNuF9u0|YouTube]] {{wst>season16}} {{tag>dootle_dots season_16}}