The State of the Cartoon'ion: Report Card for Animated Shows
- Zimran Jacob
- Jun 20, 2015
- 7 min read
It's no secret. I love animated comedy.
I grew up on cartoons made for kids (like everyone else in the known universe), and as I got older, my love for animated comedy remained.
There is something about comedies that takes the pressure off of life and makes people feel happy. I enjoy dramas, but it is hard to find something that compares to the magic of something or someone who makes people laugh.
With animation, there are no boundaries that cannot be broken. Rick and Morty can go anywhere they please. Bojack Horseman can stand, talk, and drink just like any other star in Hollywood. Peter Griffin can ride a giraffe named Alison Janney.
In the early 1990s, there was The Simpsons. Now, we have a litany of animated shows as this niche market continues to expand.
I want to preface this report by saying that all of the shows I reviewed are written by intelligent, talented and creative people that have accomplished much in the industry. My rating is only my personal opinion of how enjoyable the shows are and is not a criticism of the talented artists and business people behind the shows. I have immense respect for writers, producers, directors, executives, and all the other people behind the scenes who put their work out into the world to be enjoyed by other people.
It seems so odd to say, but when I watch TV, I want it to be worth my time. I want to enjoy it, and once I stop enjoying something, I try to stop it immediately. Hopefully, this list of shows will bring you some enjoyment of the animated shows that are worth your time.
Without further ado, this is my breakdown of the animated comedies on the air (some have been cancelled, but are available online through various distributors).
On-Air Shows
1. The Simpsons - I am a longtime fan of this show. I might have had to review episodes from the golden era, but I found all the complexity and the hilarity thoroughly entertaining. Unfortunately, in 2015, the show has lost a lot of its flair. The jokes are not as sharp and the social commentary lacks the subtlety of the earlier years. I lost a lot of enthusiasm for my longtime favorite show this year. If you want to truly enjoy this series, get the DVDs for seasons 1-14.
Grade: D
2. Family Guy - The Griffins stay laughable as ever with their comedic brand of cutaway humor and social commentary. There was great uproar when Brian Griffin was killed off (and a greater collective sigh of relief when he returned to the show) and the show still remains relevant as one of the most enduring and dominant comedic brands. Family Guy refuses to pull punches and it often takes a stand on issues such as atheism that other shows refuse to deal with explicitly. One might argue that earlier seasons had a little more originality and that the show has become a parody of itself with the Liam Neeson episode, but it is hard to argue with the strength of this show within its ecosystem.
Grade: B
3. Bob's Burgers - This is one of the most admittedly addicting shows for me to watch. While this is another family sitcom, it is set in a restaurant where many of the adventures revolve around Bob trying to make money by running a profitable business and his family invariably screwing it up for him. The humor is good-natured and the show is very endearing (despite its toilet humor).
Grade: A-
4. Bojack Horseman - This show is truly a pioneering comedy in that it is not afraid to make the audience feel sad. The show is about a horse who once had a hit TV show, but he desires to make more serious films. Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg is not afraid of showing a character who is selfish, fearful and, in many other ways, very much like ourselves. The last scene in season 1 is breathtaking and emotional, and I can't wait for season 2 to come out.
Grade: A+
5. The Awesomes - This parody superhero show is both clever and fresh. There have been a number of superhero parodies, but, once again, the animated world makes much more possible. Without the demands of a theatrical film, this show is able to experiment with genre and also have the "stunts" that other parodies such as Super lacked. The comedy is entertaining, but lacks jokes that evoke "laugh out loud" moments.
Grade: B
6. Archer - The early seasons of this show about an asshole secret agent delivered non-stop laughs. The show is more or less "James Bond" meets "The Office" with hilarious results as Archer (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) insults his co-workers and sleeps with every beautiful woman (or machine) in sight. In season 5, the show took on a season-long storyline and took a detour from its episodic approach to storytelling, but the experiment was quite fun. The jokes lack the punch of earlier seasons, but the show is highly watchable.
Grade: B+
7. South Park - South Park remains a fan-favorite with its unapologetic approach to making fun of popular culture. Recent notable episodes have taken shots at Kickstarter and the singer LORDE. My view is that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are over the show. They have had amazing success with the show, and later had great success with The Book of Mormon, the South Park plotlines have become lazy and mean-spirited. South Park definitely has gem episodes within its 18 seasons, but I am no longer the fan I once was.
Grade: C
8. Rick and Morty - Rick and Morty is about an alcoholic mad scientist and his cowardly and stupid grandson who go on adventures that sci-fi lovers dream of. There was a lot of hype surrounding this sci-fi fantasy show because Dan Harmon was one of the creators and I thought the first few episodes were quirky, charming, and subtly funny. I think that I wasn't a huge fan of the animation style and there was a lot of downtime between laughs. I have to admit that a lot of the humor is more highbrow than other comedies in this genre, but it doesn't have the replay value that I covet.
Grade: B-
9. Venture Bros - This is another parody superhero show that lampoons many famous tropes. Maybe it was just me, but I didn't really understand the style of humor that the writers used. Perhaps they just find things funny that I do not. I also found the show unengaging and a bit strange. I know that Venture Bros has a strong fanbase, but it might just be something that's not my type.
Grade: F
10. American Dad - When this show got second life on TBS, I was definitely excited. It had entertained me for years before then. I loved the idea of a family centered around a CIA agent. The show lampoons the CIA and remains a classic family sitcom. The best years for this show have passed, but Roger, the abrasive alien remains one of the funniest animated characters of all time. Its random humor packs a punch and has me laughing every time. While Stan Smith goes through pretty much the same character arc each episode, there is something fresh about each episode.
Grade: A
Cancelled Shows
1. Brickleberry - I have not laughed this hard at any show in a while. It is set in a national park and features characters such as Steve, a lovable idiot, Denzel, a black man who loves old women, Ethel, an alcoholic, and Woody, an ambitious ranger who is always looking to make extra money for the park by coming up with schemes that bring in more visitors. I was watching it on Hulu when I first fell in love with this Daniel Tosh show. I was heartbroken to see that it had been cancelled when the series provided hilarity and aimed at tackling stereotypes. It's cutaway humor as well as the irreverent talking bear cub named Malloy (voiced by Tosh) create a comedic formula that never fails to make me laugh.
Grade: A+
2. Futurama - It's really hard to criticize Futurama for anything it does. It tackles social issues and mixes in laughs which makes this show utterly addicting. There are plenty of episodes one can view on Netflix and once one begins to watch, the viewing might not stop. Fry is a delivery boy from the year 1999 who gets transported to the year 2999 on new year's eve. He has a chance at a new life, but he is sent to work with his great nephew and a band of misfits who run a futuristic delivery company (much to Fry's chagrin). From the first cold open of the series, this show had me laughing. It later tackled issues such as gay marriage and Apple's new electronic devices. It's also a kind-hearted show which is hard to root against.
Grade: A+
3. The Boondocks - This show is about two young black boys living in the suburbs with their grandfather and has a strong cult following. It takes on issues within black culture and is animated in the style of Japanese anime. The show plays on stereotypical characters such as Uncle Ruckus, a black man who is simultaneously a white supremacist. This show is very watchable, controversial, and also funny, but the pacing is sometimes slow and it is easy to get distracted while watching it (I might just have a low attention span or ADD).
Grade: B
4. Fugget About It - This is a hidden gem that was released exclusively by Hulu, but I had to see it because I love mafia films and this was a parody of everything mafia. It is a fresh, edgy twist on the animated family sitcom. The series centers around Jimmy Falcone who is forced into witness protection after he snitched out his crime family associates. Because this is a spoof of so many crime movies that I love, the cheesiness of the show never bothers me. The situations are funny and the characters all have a slight dark side that is played in a comedic way.
Grade: A
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