Recommend me some cartoons on DVD.
December 3, 2007 8:40 AM   Subscribe

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.
posted by Faint of Butt to Media & Arts (42 answers total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
Robot Chicken (not technically a cartoon, but animated) fits this to a T.
posted by mkultra at 8:44 AM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: "Harvery"? Good grief.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:51 AM on December 3, 2007


Wonder Showzen
posted by junkbox at 8:51 AM on December 3, 2007


Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends
posted by hydrophonic at 8:52 AM on December 3, 2007


If you haven't watched "Futurma" yet, do so. There are lots of little "in" jokes in that series. Seconding "Robot Chicken" as well.
posted by cosmicbandito at 8:54 AM on December 3, 2007


Excel Saga?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:59 AM on December 3, 2007


You have just defined Family Guy. For example: Peter invents "The Sideboob show" when he gets a chance to program his own TV network.
posted by Gungho at 9:00 AM on December 3, 2007


Excel Saga is available now as a boxed set for $45.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:00 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:05 AM on December 3, 2007


Lucy Daughter of the Devil. Totally.
posted by oddman at 9:06 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by contraption at 9:09 AM on December 3, 2007 [2 favorites]


pinky and the brain
posted by phil at 9:21 AM on December 3, 2007


The first few seasons of Sealab 2021 would fit your bill. The ones after Captain Murphy died were sort of disappointing.
posted by Lucinda at 9:23 AM on December 3, 2007


How's about Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
posted by cog_nate at 9:25 AM on December 3, 2007


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)
posted by mkultra at 9:32 AM on December 3, 2007 [2 favorites]


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.
posted by hybridvigor at 9:34 AM on December 3, 2007


Happy Tree Friends, while not so big on the cultural references, will appeal to you.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 9:36 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by adamrice at 9:57 AM on December 3, 2007


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 =)
posted by zeph at 10:08 AM on December 3, 2007


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 =)
posted by zeph at 10:13 AM on December 3, 2007


Frisky Dingo
posted by jbrjake at 10:19 AM on December 3, 2007


American Dad, Sealab 2021. Shin Chan would be perfect, but the American version isn't available on DVD yet.
posted by hjo3 at 10:24 AM on December 3, 2007


Definitely Tom Goes to the Mayor.
posted by General Malaise at 10:26 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by studentbaker at 10:49 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:30 AM on December 3, 2007


Nobody's mentioned Aqua Teen Hunger Force yet?

Be considerate to others, or I will bite your torso and give you a disease.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite]


It's time for Animaniacs!
posted by Smallpox at 11:34 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by prostyle at 11:37 AM on December 3, 2007


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).
posted by Cricket at 11:43 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by lekvar at 11:44 AM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by fructose at 11:58 AM on December 3, 2007


Oh god, and also Futurama. Futurama is amazing and actually intelligently-written.
posted by fructose at 11:58 AM on December 3, 2007


Nthing Sealab. Also, Robot Chicken is not funny and will either make you very sad or give you a headache right in your eye.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 12:03 PM on December 3, 2007


Anything on Adult Swim. Animaniacs, Time Squad, Sifl & Olly (sock puppets, not animation), Crayon Shin Chan.
posted by lhall at 12:39 PM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by Large Marge at 12:43 PM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by wowbobwow at 1:24 PM on December 3, 2007


Seconding anything on Adult Swim.
btw, I think the name "Adult Swim" is GENIUS
posted by iamkimiam at 2:33 PM on December 3, 2007


Yeah, I was gonna say Home Movies too.
posted by Cyrano at 3:46 PM on December 3, 2007


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.]
posted by mediareport at 3:58 PM on December 3, 2007


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.
posted by about_time at 5:04 PM on December 3, 2007


I love The Brak Show. I just got myself both volumes -- all three series -- on DVD.
posted by macdara at 6:09 AM on December 4, 2007


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.
posted by lhall at 10:19 AM on December 4, 2007


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