Adult animation used to mean Fritz the Cat and Spike & Mike's Sick & Twisted. Then it became more mainstream when the only shocking thing was The Simpsons saying "hell" on prime time, except for South Park, which was an anomaly for its time.
Now it is a free-for-all ranging from shows that are "wittingly" writer-driven, vehicles for celebrities, slices of life, and a parade of highly violent, swearing animals streaming at 2 a.m.
I draw inspiration from each of the different camps of adult animated humor, but a lot of it can feel formulaic within its given sect. And now that companies have opened the doors to more of that content, it feels challenging to find those gems.
So… what's the adult animated show you STILL swear by, and which one makes you want to throw your remote?"
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I think South Park is the most hilarious adult animation show, Bob Harper. I don't think I've seen an adult animation show I didn't like. And some adult animation shows have really weird titles.
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Great point, Bob Harper, adult animation has shifted so much over the decades, and it feels like every era has its own “shock factor” that defines it. For me, the one I’ll always swear by is BoJack Horseman. It managed to balance absurdist comedy with raw, human storytelling in a way that still sticks with me.
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I primarily consume anime so I'm pretty behind on western adult animation (still wondering if I wanna watch South Park lol, though Rick and Morty is on my list). One of my favourite adult-oriented animes has to be Paranoia Agent, and Princess Jellyfish is another good one. In terms of western adult animation I will always love Futurama and King of the Hill. I personally tend to ignore most stuff that came out after 2009 lol
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Actually animation was meant for adults since the very beginning of the medium. Betty Boop (1930), and Popeye (1933) was for adults. The Flintstones was meant for adults. All the old Warner Bros, MGM, Fleisher, and Disney cartoons were meant to be enjoyed by adults and kids. Cartoons were meant to be enjoyed by the whole family, young and old. Animation started being targeted to kids in the 60's, when cartoons shifted from theatrical releases to television, thus creating Saturday morning cartoons. The biggest problem I have with animation since the 80's is that cartoons got split into demographics (preschool, boys 6 to 8, girls 6 to 8, tweens, teens, and adults) instead of making cartoons that appeal to everyone. This resulted in preschool shows being really dumbed down, and adult shows relying on being shocking and vulgar. It's one extreme or the other. I don't think that necessarily a bad thing, but I would like to see some shows made for the whole family, rather than for one of the arbitrarily designed demographics. As far as my favorite adults cartoons, The Simpsons, South Park, King Of The Hill, Family Guy. Unfortunately I haven't been keeping up with animation for the past 20 years, so I haven't watched Bob's Burgers, or Rick & Morty, or BoJack Horseman. You'd think that's weird, since I work in the animation industry, but honestly, most of my colleagues don't watch cartoons, we make 'em. Of all the shows I worked on, my favorite gig was on the adult show, Ugly Americans.
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Zee Risek O.G. Animation was definitely created to entertain the animators creating it, but mostly it wasn't prohibitive of kids watching it, like the smut I enjoy. Interesting that you don't watch toons. Most of my professional colleagues and I do, except the ones we worked on :)
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Hey Bob, I think just because we spend anywhere from 8 to 12 hours a day working on animation, when the work day is done, we want to do things that don't involve animation, like play soccer, shoot pool, go to the gym, play guitar, paint mini figures, pub quizzes, or whatever else we are into. And speaking just for myself, I would rather work on my own personal projects, rather than watch a show someone else made. My own stuff is infinitely more satisfying, I never think I would have done this or that differently, or I don't like this or that. Nice talking animation with you. Cheers mate.
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Zee Risek I know the feeling of long hours in front of the screen or at the animation desk. And I usually do other things and often prefer watching live-action movies, but I still find time to check out some cool animated stuff. And I agree, nothing replaces working on your own content in terms of satisfaction, which is mostly what I do.
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In spite of trying to do my own adult animated series, I find I don't like most adult animation. I find it caters to the lowest common denominator and there aren't very many elevated stories. I mean, Bojack Horseman tried and I'll give it credit for that but it lacks a certain... something to it.
I am trying with my own adult animation series to elevate not only the story but the art form as well because I feel like it could benefit from smart writing and gorgeous animation. I feel like there needs to be more beautifully told stories instead of just credit humor. Does anybody else feel that way or is it just me?
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If it wasn't for South Park I probably wouldn't have ever written anything or made any cartoons.
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Mathew Tretola I was also heavily inspired by South Park. They are still killing it after all of these years.
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Bob Harper Those guys are brilliant
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G.R. Barnett I'm glad you said it because I was thinking it. I can't seem to get into the adult animations. I sorta got into Rick and Morty when it first came out but I was also a teenager graduating high school. I've watched a few episodes of Big Mouth. I did like Family Guy, American Dad and that era of cartoons but I feel like it's not my cup of tea anymore.
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G.R. Barnett & Cyrus Sales, I have lost my taste for what qualifies as adult animation these days. It's either vulgar instead of smart. Relies way too much on pop culture references, rather than original ideas. And usually looks pretty ugly in terms of animation and character design. It's like adult animation means juvenile animation. That's fine in small doses, but not when every adult show does the same thing. Old Chuck Jones Warner Brothers cartoons are more adult than the juvenile adult cartoons we get these days. One Froggy Evening, The Dot and the Line, What's Opera Doc?, The Rabbit Of Seville, How The Grinch Stole Christmas... these are all more adult than Family Guy and South Park and Rick and Morty. Again, it's adult animation vs juvenile humor.
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As for adult animation, definitely not my cup of tea. I never even liked South Park or The Simpsons. The image of Homer choking Bart never did it for me. Plus, with the smoking and stuff on the show. A lot of it has to do with the extremely violent childhood where I experienced real life choking from my alcoholic father. As for the smoking, the doctors believe my incurable lung disease started with all the secondhand smoke I inhaled in the womb from my mother and for years after.
That is why my series What the Mack? is totally family-friendly. There is no violence, no bad language, no cynicism, no smoking, no drugs, no alcohol. I am not knocking such shows, just that they are not for me. I want to create something I can proudly share with my son. He is actually one of the main characters in the show.
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Bob Harper The Simpsons still holds up today. Ok, it's had some rough seasons but not surprising after 700+ episodes. My other fave is the one I'm working on at the moment.. obviously ;)
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Marc Jaytin I'm looking forward to the new Simpsons Movie. What are you working on?
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I'm looking forward to the new Simpsons Movie too, Bob Harper!
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Bob Harper Simpsons Movie 2. I thought that was just internet rumours and all that. I stand corrected haha. Aside from Memento mori, Lucas (which I think you've seen in the animation lounge) but I also have a few more ideas that I'm kind of piecing together including a story around a group of disgruntled animals in Hollywood who have lost work because of the rise of CGI created animals. And then there is the story of a young highwayman named Stan who has adventures with his trusty sidekick, an anthropomorphic liver. It's called Stan and his Liver. (Puntastic!)
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I still consider "Allegro non troppo" the best of adult films.
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Josephine Yar. Great choice!
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Zee Risek " It's like adult animation means juvenile animation," I couldn't agree more. In small doses it's fine however when every adult show does the same thing then I'm over it. I haven't seen all the adult animation you've mentioned but I'm willing to give them a watch.