Daydreaming

I think snuggies are the one example almost everyone knows. They were invented for wheelchair users (Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a coat on and off of someone in a wheelchair? Cause it’s PRETTY FUCKIN HARD.) But now everyone just acts like they’re some ~quirky, white people thing~ and not A PRODUCT DESIGNED TO MAKE PEOPLES DAY TO DAY LIVES 10000X EASIER.

Like… of course there’s no reason for that guy to knock over that bowl of chips. However, the person it was actually designed for has constant hand tremors that would make this pretty rad, but since we don’t want to show that in a commercial, here’s an able bodied guy who can’t remember how gravity works.

It’s not because I like Rick and Morty that it bothers me, this is my love of animation talking. If you think Rick and Morty is the worst show in history, if you personally find the animation completely unappealing that’s fine, you’re entitled to that opinion.

But categorizing a show that regularly features sequences like this as having the same kind of animation as any given Seth McFarlane clone is just unfair. I know I pay more attention to the animation than many casual viewers of cartoons, but surely anyone can see the difference between that sequence and anything in an episode of American Dad.

There are other adult cartoons that occasionally have lavish or experimental animation sequences–Bojack Horseman has had two of note, even Family Guy in its hideous 16-season slog has tried it once or twice, but in Rick and Morty every episode, even the pilot has extended action sequences or a vast alien landscapes or giant, weird creatures and technology. It’s an integral part of the show.

This isn’t even about it being a good or bad show, it’s just a different kind of show than the more “grounded” exclusively dialogue-centered animation that most adult cartoons are based around. 

I’m willing to go ahead and say that it’s more based around action, creative design and visual gags than any other (western) adult cartoon today, possibly ever. (Archer has action scenes, yes, but they tend to be stiff and are mostly a setting for funny dialogue.)

Part of this is because we see dialogue-based humor as more “grounded” and “adult” than sight gags or action sequences. This idea goes all the way back to the early days of animation and is a significant factor in a lot of modern adult cartoons. 

That said, I understand why it gets put on that list, especially by people who don’t watch it. Because if all you ever saw of Rick and Morty was a screenshot of the Smiths in their living room:

BBT is the epitome of ‘You have to have a high IQ to enjoy this’, from it’s smug and condescending ‘I’m so much smarter than you’ presentation to it’s characters. 

Rick and Morty takes scientific concepts but has stupid fun with them.

           It is Halloween

    Today is Halloween

The first lion is asking for comfort because she was given a big spook!!! and she needs mommy to tell her it’s safe and ok!!!! (What’s cuter is that mommy clearly reassures her, and goes on to take the parent role of ‘deal with the scream rat in order to protect my large and easily frightened daughter’)

Three apex predators

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