Popee clearly draws inspiration from the classics of slapstick animation - it resembles nothing so much as Tom and Jerry - but puts a decidedly surrealist twist on it. The show follows a small troupe of circus performers out in the desert, whose only audience appears to be nothing more than crudely-painted figures on a wall (and the occasional frog or alien). Each brief episode begins with around the titular Popee attempting to practice his daring feats of strength and skill, and usually ends with him either killing his troupe-mates, himself, or even the entire planet.
The characters on the show are deranged and brutish manchildren (with the exception of Kedamono, the noh-masked purple wolf), and a lot of the humor comes from their exaggerated reactions to failure or jealousy of another troupe member outperforming them.
The show evolves from strictly slapstick humor in the first dozen or so shorts to a much more surreal and mind-freaky style as the ideas presented become more complex. Throughout the whole thing runs an undercurrent of anarchic glee, though, which is really what makes the show work. The show is at its best when seeing its cartoon logic through to absurd conclusion, especially in episodes like "Dark Side" or "Mirror."
There's really not much else to say - if you've an appetite for completely surreal, dark comedy using really low-grade CGI, this is your huckleberry, but otherwise, I'd steer clear. But if you can stomach the insanity, there's a lot to like here. Several small details are actually excellently done, in particular Kedamono's seemingly endless steam of noh masks which show his emotions as crudely drawn faces that fall from his head as his emotions change. The sound design must also be noted as being particularly clever in its usage of only two or three tracks, twisted and distorted to suit the mood of the particular scene.
Note: The show is best watched in short bursts - only two or three episodes at a time - or you run the risk of the music and humor growing stale.
