What’s the deal with adult cartoons?
“I don’t understand what the obsession is with adult cartoons.” That’s something I would have said six months ago. I didn’t understand why grown people would sit down to watch what I deemed stupid and irrelevant storylines with bizarre characters. Series like Family Guy, American Dad and South Park came on late at night on Sky and the channel was quickly switched.
Once upon a time in Springfield
I wasn’t really allowed to watch The Simpsons growing up and never felt like this impacted my entertainment opinions. My mummy often referred to The Simpsons as “inappropriate yellow ducks” and that sealed my fate of never getting to watch them. I hate to admit it but I’ve only recently watched my first full episode of this 35 series behemoth and I had a wholly enjoyable time. Plus, if Kelsey Grammar is involved I know I am going to have a great time (he’s Sideshow Bob if you weren’t aware).
The Simpsons was certainly the catalyst for animation being mainstream and today the adult animation market is growing at an extraordinary rate. Production companies recognise the demand in viewers and via streaming wars they want there is a huge push to create the next big thing.
Toilet Humour is Shit
One of the main reasons why I always veered away from these types of shows was the often crude, gross-out humour they offered which certainly isn’t my thing. It’s a longstanding trope that seminal series relied on shock value and offensiveness to entertain audiences. If we look at South Park, it’s seen its fair share of contraversies since 1997 due its depictions of religious figures, politicians and society.
Creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone however made me realise how nuanced this type of comedy and storytelling was. Using these animations and the absurdist behaviour of their characters they are able to address polarising societal issues behind the guise of adult animation.
I feel it’s also important here to mention that this duo also wrote the award winning “The Book of Mormon” musical that I saw last year in Liverpool (read my review here). It’s genuinely one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed and was a catalyst for me to look beyond the “offensiveness” of their lyrics and try and understand the real meaning behind them. A trait I think is at risk of being lost due to the “woke generation” - how can sophisticated satire compete in a world where everyone feels offended? But that’s a discussion for another time.
Big Mouth & Me
In terms of adult animation, I get it now. So much so, one of the best shows I’ve watched this year is the Netflix phenomenon “Big Mouth”. CM recommended this show to me and I physically scoffed at the suggestion. Cartoons? Me? Absolutely not. But I gave it a go, and got far more into it than he did. “Big Mouth” is my gateway series into adult cartoons and more importantly my appreciation of how fu*cking talented Nick Kroll is.
Ghosts, Pillows and Hormone Monsters
The above is a title I never thought would be featured on The O Word and here we are. If you are unsure of what Big Mouth is, here’s the premise: the show “follows a group of teenage 7th graders, including best friends Nick Birch and Andrew Glouberman, as they navigate their way through puberty with struggles like masturbation and sexual arousal all in the Westchester County suburbs of New York City.”
I can’t stress enough that this show a lot of the time is gross but it’s also heart warming, heart aching and extremely relatable. Sometimes it does feel like you’ve swallowed something you shouldn’t have but more often than that the show tackles issues facing teens globally in a hilarious and interesting way.
David Thewlis
One of my favourite scenes is when the “Shame Wizard” , voiced by Professor Lupin from Hogwarts, visits the kids during their swimming class. Jessie feels shameful of her leg hair and feels compelled to shave it off but the only razor available at her house is a rusty, rotten blunt blade literally screaming not to be used. Yet she does anyway and the results are chaos. Body consciousness is bad enough in your adult years let alone when you’re going through puberty. And the series perfectly references all of these instances for all genders.
Nick Kroll
Amazingly, creator Nick Kroll voices over 40 characters in Big Mouth and its spin-off Human Resources. My favourite being “Lola” and yes, I have tried replicating this many times when I’ve had a little too much wine. Whilst Nick Kroll may not be shaking in his boots that I lend my voice to character development I nonetheless have complete respect and admiration for his talent.
This is yet another reason why my view of adult cartoons has changed from the stunning animation, creativity and voice acting - it’s so sophisticated. If you were like me and felt that these types of shows weren’t for you I really recommend Big Mouth as a gateway series. Not only is it hilarious and engaging but the titular song is an absolute tune.