Comments on: Recommend me some cartoons on DVD.

Question: Recommend me some cartoons on DVD.

Faint of Butt — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:40:38 -0800

I like The Venture Bros., Harvery Birdman, Attorney at Law and Drawn Together. Recommend me some more cartoons on DVD that will appeal to my loves of (A) obscure retro cultural references, (B) surreal and ironic humor and (C) jokes about farts and boobies.

By: mkultra

mkultra — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:44:38 -0800

Robot Chicken (not technically a cartoon, but animated) fits this to a T.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:51:08 -0800

"Harvery"? Good grief.

By: junkbox

junkbox — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:51:09 -0800

Wonder Showzen

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:52:06 -0800

Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends

By: cosmicbandito

cosmicbandito — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:54:40 -0800

If you haven't watched "Futurma" yet, do so. There are lots of little "in" jokes in that series. Seconding "Robot Chicken" as well.

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:59:23 -0800

Excel Saga?

By: Gungho

Gungho — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:00:10 -0800

You have just defined Family Guy. For example: Peter invents "The Sideboob show" when he gets a chance to program his own TV network.

By: Steven C. Den Beste

Steven C. Den Beste — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:00:41 -0800

Excel Saga is available now as a boxed set for $45.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:05:54 -0800

Red vs Blue has a few seasons available on DVD. Check out the highlights from the link (or best ofs from YouTube). In theory, it's a Halo-based injoke, but it moves beyond that pretty quick and you need know nothing of the game other than "people often shoot at each other" to enjoy.

By: oddman

oddman — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:06:34 -0800

Lucy Daughter of the Devil. Totally.

By: contraption

contraption — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:09:43 -0800

Wonder Showzen stands alone at the apex of quality television. It is so beautiful that just thinking about it is making me cry, here at my desk. Alas, poor Clarence! This world just wasn't cruel enough for you.

The Wikipedia article linked by junkbox is just fine, but the Rottten Library does this sort of thing best.

By: phil

phil — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:21:36 -0800

pinky and the brain

By: Lucinda

Lucinda — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:23:28 -0800

The first few seasons of Sealab 2021 would fit your bill. The ones after Captain Murphy died were sort of disappointing.

By: cog_nate

cog_nate — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:25:36 -0800

How's about Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

By: mkultra

mkultra — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:32:44 -0800

You have just defined Family Guy.

I think it's implied that the OP wanted shows that were funny.

Hey-O!

(though I wonder why anyone thinks Drawn Together is watchable)

By: hybridvigor

hybridvigor — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:34:08 -0800

I just got the first season of Metalocalypse on DVD, and am lovingly obsessed. Contains many obscure (metal) cultural references, intense potty humor, plot lines so surreal they are almost incomprehensible, and episodes only 10 minutes long, for the attention limited.

Definitely funnier if you are/were a metal fan, and you have to watch it with subtitles, unless you can actually understand scream-sing.

By: BozoBurgerBonanza

BozoBurgerBonanza — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:36:15 -0800

Happy Tree Friends, while not so big on the cultural references, will appeal to you.

By: adamrice

adamrice — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:57:25 -0800

Invader Zim, while nominally child-friendly (short on boob jokes), is very surreal and funny. Highly recommended.

Perfect Hair Forever, if you can dig it up, is pretty much all-surreal, and perhaps more puzzling than funny.

By: zeph

zeph — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:08:10 -0800

Seconding Invader Zim. And if you like The Venture Brothers I'd suggest giving The Tick (animated) a try if somehow you haven't already done so - it's not as overtly sarcastic but it does share a lot of the bizarre, unexpectedly laugh-out loud humor that makes VB so danged awesome (and for good reason, Jackson Publick was one of the main writers on The Tick, and Bed Edlund - creator of The Tick - has done some writing for VB, too).

Another thing you might like is Danger Mouse, if you enjoy bizarre -British- humor? It, hmm, strikes me a bit like a British version of Rocky and Bullwinkle, in terms of its "feel" if not its "themes," a friend showed me a few episodes once and I was hooked right away - here's a link to a YouTube sample, it's not necessarily the best episode but it oughta give you a feel for whether or not you'd like it.

Good question, btw, I've enjoyed reading the answers you've gotten thus far and eagerly await seeing further answers! Huzzah for cartoons =)

By: zeph

zeph — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:13:51 -0800

Heh, wow, I just realized nobody's yet suggested Clone High - huzzah, that means I get to recommend it! This clip of Marilyn Manson (he actually did voice voice it) makes my entire universe sparkle =)

By: jbrjake

jbrjake — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:19:28 -0800

Frisky Dingo

By: hjo3

hjo3 — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:24:00 -0800

American Dad, Sealab 2021. Shin Chan would be perfect, but the American version isn't available on DVD yet.

By: General Malaise

General Malaise — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:26:57 -0800

Definitely Tom Goes to the Mayor.

By: studentbaker

studentbaker — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:49:07 -0800

Frisky Dingo is great, but I don't think it's out on DVD yet. You can watch the pilot episode here. It is available on iTunes.

By: Lemurrhea

Lemurrhea — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:30:54 -0800

Sadly it's only 13 episodes, but Clone High might be what you're looking for. Premise: a bunch of clones of historical figures in high school. Hilarity ensues.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:31:52 -0800

Nobody's mentioned Aqua Teen Hunger Force yet?

Be considerate to others, or I will bite your torso and give you a disease.

By: Smallpox

Smallpox — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:34:42 -0800

It's time for Animaniacs!

By: prostyle

prostyle — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:37:01 -0800

The Slayers is one of my favorite series because it doesn't take itself too seriously, even though it is a but formulaic. There are some genuinely hilarious moments that develop throughout the cast interactions and plotlines, but admittedly you'd have to be a bit of a D&D/RPG/Fantasy nerd to get off on any of that.

Samurai Champloo has a lot of great moments as well, it is paced in a more contemporary fashion and contains generally more adult themes for developing the various episodes. Too bad the english dub is so poor.

Trigun is sort of a western scifi opera, but is loaded with so much slapstick you might find it at odds with the themes it relates.

Seconding Excel from SCDB, totally insane.

Obviously the rest of the Williams Street material would suit you well, Spaceghost, ATHF, etc.

The Tick, for sure... my "social studies" teacher in junior high was fucking obsessed with that show, and if we all did well on a test the next Monday we would get to watch an episode as we stared in confusion and listened to him chuckle for 30 minutes. It was either that or a reel to reel special on Banana Slugs.

By: Cricket

Cricket — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:43:43 -0800

Foamy? These are only a few minutes long each, but they are available on DVD collections and online (there's a new one every other Thursday).

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:44:38 -0800

Excel Saga is good, but kinda relies on a prior knowledge of anime conventions. I love it.

Similarly, FLCL is good, hip, retro, full of cultural references, and chock-full of all that is good in the world.

I haven't seen much of it, but you might try Milk Chan. I've liked what I've seen.

By: fructose

fructose — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:58:11 -0800

Also suggesting Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021 and Tom Goes to the Mayor.
Ahh, so you're who's keeping Drawn Together on the air. I always wonderered why it is still on.

By: fructose

fructose — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 11:58:34 -0800

Oh god, and also Futurama. Futurama is amazing and actually intelligently-written.

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:03:52 -0800

Nthing Sealab. Also, Robot Chicken is not funny and will either make you very sad or give you a headache right in your eye.

By: lhall

lhall — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:39:06 -0800

Anything on Adult Swim. Animaniacs, Time Squad, Sifl & Olly (sock puppets, not animation), Crayon Shin Chan.

By: Large Marge

Large Marge — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 12:43:09 -0800

Definitely Shin Chan. The first season came out a few weeks ago. The first few episodes list Evan Dorkin (of Milk and Cheese and Dork Comics fame) as a writer, and they are amazingly funny, but at the same time the characters are likable enough to return to.

By: wowbobwow

wowbobwow — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:24:44 -0800

Home Movies! This show is fan-fricking-tastic. Made by some folks who are also involved in Metalocalypse and Dr. Katz. Highly recommended. It's about 3 kids who make their own films, such as an adaptation of Kafka's Metamorphosis, with voice talent from the late Mitch Hedburg, Paula Poundstone, and the unstoppable duo of Brendon Small and H. John Benjamin.

By: iamkimiam

iamkimiam — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:33:14 -0800

Seconding anything on Adult Swim.
btw, I think the name "Adult Swim" is GENIUS

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:46:19 -0800

Yeah, I was gonna say Home Movies too.

By: mediareport

mediareport — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:58:51 -0800

If you like surreal, Wonder Showzen is definitely for you; it's insanely brilliant annoying funny stupid and unlike anything else on TV. Same goes for Sifl & Olly, which has tons of clips on YouTube. Try this or the crescent fresh guy or just search for "precious roy" and you'll get the idea.

[Drawn Together has moments of genius, people. Genius, I tell you. The "Clum Babies" episode is hilarious, with the Veggie Tales going very, very wrong; the Schoolhouse Rock parody in this episode is scathingly funny; and the one where Mickey Mouse was rounding up and eliminating all the old cartoon stereotypes is kinda poignant, even. It's bad a lot of the time, but when it's good, it's really, really good - and on issues other cartoons don't even come close to touching.]

By: about_time

about_time — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:04:55 -0800

These are all great shows above. Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! is at the edge of lunacy and extremely funny, though not animated. They are out of their minds. It works better than Tom Goes to the Mayor (same guys).

At the other end of the spectrum is Boondocks, which is amazing social commentary without the lunacy. Adult Swim rocks.

Also not mentioned is the first half of the one season of "Greg the Bunny". It's not animated, instead it's what if muppets were real and complete dicks sometimes. In the second half, the executives got involved, gave the bunny eyes, and killed the humor.

By: macdara

macdara — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:09:16 -0800

I love The Brak Show. I just got myself both volumes -- all three series -- on DVD.

By: lhall

lhall — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:19:24 -0800

Seconding Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Home Movies!

Also I can't believe I forgot to mention Ren and Stimpy.

There's also Rocko's Modern Life, Beavis and Butthead, Aahh! Real Monsters!, Daria ...in fact, just look at this list of MTV cartoons.