I think, honestly, we're all well beyond the point where I need to open up this feature with a "Hey, did you know that cartoons aren't just for kids?" paragraph. Over the years, we've experienced a dissolution of the stigma once attached to animation and shows are now made available to kids on a 24/7 cable channel basis. Also, entire time blocks, primetime or later, are now devoted to shows directed solely at adults. FOX, even with their Animation Domination block on Sunday nights, is ramping up a Animation Domination High-Def Saturday block for a July 27th debut featuring new shows High School USA! and Axe Cop.
Animation geared toward adults has been around for a long while - dating back to '70s and '80s fare like Fritz the Cat, Heavy Metal and Ralph Bakshi's Wizards. Today, Adult Swim provides us with pockets of ingenious alternative after hours comedy while franchise players like The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy continue to bring absurdist humor and parody to the masses. This list, however, is not just about animated shows that are intended for grown ups. This list also includes "kid shows" that adults find highly enjoyable. It's one thing for a show to consist almost entirely of jokes meant for an older crowd and it's another for a show to find and manage a sweet spot of humor, adventure and drama that actually bridges generations. So here you'll find both types of shows. Some are designed to be just for adults while others, miraculously, are for everyone.
Oh, and the decision was made to not have any anime on this list as it, as a genre, could easily make for its own list (and just might down the line). Though you will find at least one series with a heavy anime influence...
Gravity Falls
Not quite making the list is Disney Channel's Gravity Falls, from Alex Hirsch (Flapjack, Fish Hooks). It only debuted last year, but already this ongoing story of twins Dipper and Mabel (Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal) and their "Grunkle" Stan's Oregonian Mystery Shack is a top contender. Plus, ALL THE HIDDEN FREEMASON SYMBOLISM YOU COULD EVER WANT!
That's right, episodes actually contain clues like scrambled words, codes, and whispers that you need to play backwards. Also, here's two minutes of a gnome vomiting a rainbow...
The Critic
"Raisins don't crawl. RAISINS DON'T CRAAWWWLLLL!"
From The Simpsons' Al Jean and producer James L. Brooks came the story of a fat, lazy film critic (voiced by Jon Lovitz) oft driven to the breaking point due to the horrible movies he had to endure on a regular basis - like Forest Gump 2: Gump Harder and The Merchant of Venice starring Keanu Reeves ("Has not a dude eyes?).
And with Grown Ups 2 earning over $40 million this past weekend, it's clear that Jay Sherman's message is still more relevant, and necessary, than ever...
Daria
A spinoff of MTV's Beavis and Butt-head, Daria centered on the irreverently banal existence of Daria Morgendorffer, as she and her BFF (an acronym Daria would hate!) Jane Lane faced pungent suburban mediocrity at every turn. No one in the town of Lawndale was safe from Daria's aggressive apathy and on-point one-liners.
On a side note, I'm lobbying hard to get Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs off of 2 Broke Girls and into a live-action Daria show as fast as humanly possible.
The Maxx
Covering parts of Sam Kieth's comic, The Maxx appeared on MTV as part of its Oddities show (which initially featured a series called The Head). It only scratched the surface of the comic series, not lasting long enough to delve into more of its complexities, but as a showcase for the characters of trauma survivor Julie Winters, her bizarre protector The Maxx, and the soulful, sadistic Mr. Gone, it was incredible. Decay, abandonment, depression, murder. It was haunting, confusing, and exciting.
Sealab 2021
One of Adult Swim's early success stories, Sealab 2021, from Archer's Adam Reed, used footage from an old, forgotten Hanna-Barbera series (Sealab 2020) to create an insane "continuation" of the crew's adventures, ignoring decency and any form of episode-to-episode continuity. While the show gave us many memorable moments (including an entire blackout episode featuring one single establishing shot), the crazy anchor of the show was Captain Murphy, voiced by the loopy and paternal Harry Goz.
The Spectacular Spider-Man
From Greg Weisman and Victor Cook, this gone-too-soon Spidey series was a fun, kinetic, eagerly effective spin on the web-spinner. It utilized many elements from established Spider-Man tales, from the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comics, to Brian Bendis' Ultimate stories to the Sam Raimi films, with dazzling, imaginative action that often managed to out-shine anything Spider-Man did in past animated shows or in live-action movies. It was also known for giving great new stories, looks and voices to Spider-Man's rogue's gallery of villains; such as The Sinister Six, Venom, the Green Goblin and The Lizard.
And once the theme song nestled itself in your brain, it was there to stay...
Master Shake, a giant blue crime-fighter, and afro-centric satire on Page 2...
Source : ign[dot]com
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