Shows that went adult/kiddie

N

Narba

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Most shows stick with catering to one group of people. But there are several cartoons out there that changed at some point, whether it was going from a kid show to an adult show or vice versa. Several examples I can think of:

Space Ghost Coast to Coast: It always had a bit of adult humor, but was still mainly for children. As the show progressed, it got a lot more mature, talking about sex and minor swearing (and this was even before the Adult Swim days). Then when Adult Swim hits, the show hit full-on adult mode, no longer restrained by the standards of regular Cartoon Network.

Ren and Stimpy: I guess this one might be kind of out there, considering the kid show and adult show are technically different shows. We all know the story here. Ren and Stimpy was originally a kids' show for Nickelodeon which was eventually canned. Many years later, the show resurfaces on Spike TV as Ren and Stimpy Adult Party Cartoon. This was the show creator John K envisioned when he first thought of the show...and it was completely different than the other show...much to many fans' dismay.

There are also shows that target one demographic that have more adult/kid humor that switch things around. One example that comes to my mind:

Rocko's Modern Life: The early episodes were jam-packed with adult jokes (Spank the monkey, the episode Leap Frogs), but the later shows were more or less squeaky clean.

Any shows you can think of? And please go into detail about each cartoon you mention.
 
I discovered the original Speed Racer when I was still a kid, and appreciated it for its action and intrigue. At the time, the tongue-in-cheek dubbing went completely over my head, and I had no idea how goofy the show was. When I rediscovered it in my late teens, I found I could enjoy the show on a completely different level than when I was a kid. I think this is a show that appeal to adults and kids simultaneously, but for completely different reasons.
 
I can safely say The Simpsons went the opposite direction. Especially any episode starring Lisa. The one where she dealt with monsters and living near a grave site was just really designed to speak to kids.

And this, mind you, is well after the 1990 period where we actually had Simpsons merchadise that was meant for kids (Video games, T-shirts).
 
One show I can think of is Cow and Chicken. While it was aimed at kids too, the show had a lot innuedo and jokes that could cross the line. The pilot of Cow and Chicken, No Smoking, was banned because it featured the use of smoking by minors, and it also featured the Red Guy as the Devil.There was also the banned episode, Buffalo Gals. As Cow and Chicken progressed, it did become a little more timid, but the butt jokes that the Red Guy cracked nearly every episode did not stop completely:D Cow and Chicken was a very edgy show for CN, and did frequently cross the line of kid jokes to adult jokes. Then again, I found it funny all the same. But Cow and Chicken did become more of a kid show when it progressed, however it never completely lost its pubescent humor. I think Cow and Chicken had the right amount of edginess, and just like Ren and Stimpy, if the show had premiered on an adult network, it would loose all its charm(I'm glad Cow and Chicken never did air on an adult network) All the same, Cow and Chicken was an adult/kiddie show.
 
Back then, saying "sex" on ANY cartoon was taboo, until there was one story on The Beverly Hills Teens that broke that rule; when Bianca told Wilshire to spy on the male BHTs, he said, "You're asking me to betray my own sex."

Also, on the Flintstones, Barney once said to Fred: "I think my money is better than the old fashioned way, and I am going to spend the day shoving it, as they say in the funny money bisness."

Rocko's Modern Life also had a lot of farts and gay references, as did Square Bob and Bugs Bunny. and cross dressing.

Also, in The Rugrats, Angelica (who else?) once said, "Not even a reindeer t**d."
 
I know it depends on your definition of 'adult'.

But American Dragon turned quite a bit more serious in the second season.I like shows that can balance out and cater to a vast majority of age groups.:)
 
Hmm---- in "The Jetsons Meets the Flintstones" (debuting in 1987(?)), Fred tells Barney (who's in drag as a disguise) to "act sexy"... first time I heard such a word in a cartoon.

-B.
 
Actually, I think that The Flintstones' original sponsor was Winstons cigarettes. That should give you an idea whom the series was originally aimed at.

The Flintstones Vitamins and the Pebbles cereals didn't come until years later, after the series went into syndication.
 
The Flintstones was a family show when it originally aired. This is back when smoking wasn't a gigantic deal and there wasn't as big of a concern about kids seeing what we would call objectionable content nowadays.
 
This is true, cigarette ads would not be banned from TV until many years later. But obviously, the sponsors weren't aiming the cigarette ads at kids, even if kids happened to be watching. That was my point.
 
Eek! Stravaganza (which I worked at):

During the first season (1992), the show was very adultish, with things most shows can't get away with today, like "The Red Nose Rambo", a Reindeer blowing up Santa Claus, the episode Bearz In The Hood (so many things), and many other things in the first year. When The Terrible Thunderlizards came in Late 1993, The Thunderlizards were like dinosaurs into the future, with weapons and other things little kids would be afraid of. But back to Eek!, it featured some more adult things that you'd see on Rocko's Modern Life, and Ren & Stimpy, like Eek going to Hell (called the Hot Spot), and in the 4th episode, Rocketship To Jupiter with Kozy, the orange bear describing a A-6 Intruder fighter-bomber (that's education for ya), and a host of other things.




But after Bill Kopp left the creative end of Eek! and Thunderlizards (he still did the voice of Eek! and Kutter on TTL) for The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show (Includes Pith Possum and Tex Tinstar), and the retooling of the show into a variety like show named Eek! Stravaganza in 1994, the new episodes were kind of kiddish (maybe because of new writers like Kati Rocky (she was with the show since 1993, and even voiced herself in the 3rd season episode Eek's SnEek PEek, left after that season), Henry Gilroy (Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force GO!), Sandy Fries (a veteran writer), Paul Germaine, Pamela Wick, and Frank Santopadre), but still had that adult feel into it, like Fatal Eektraction, Shark Doggy Dog, and so on with a lot of parodies, joking about the FOX network (something The Simpsons does), and guest stars, like Don Cornelius (Shark Doggy Dog), Heather Locklear (as Alice in Fatal Eektraction), Mr.T (Mr.T Rex in T-Rex and Sympathy on the TTL side), and The Barbi Twins (Honey I Shrunk The Cat).

Then the fourth season (1995), found even more changes. The show was mostly about parodies (Pulp Fiction, Rain Man, Octopussy, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Psycho, etc) with more guests, with Mr. T (again), William Shatner, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, John Landis, Fabio, and again, The Barbie Twins. Savage himself was the sole writer now, and sometimes his writing felt recycled with some new writing, with watering down a lot of things.


And here's the biggest factor that made Eek! a little more kiddish: Klutter. After The Critic was canceled by Fox, Savage Steve Holland had inherited at least everybody (by the way, it was the Film Roman team) that worked for The Critic to work for that load of cow pie you call a segment. Klutter was a main factor to Eek's demise as a cleverly funny show into a variety show with episodes not starring Eek at all (there were 4 episodes without Eek). Then, due to the Fox Kids/Saban merger (and it was time for Eek! to go) in the 1996-1997 year (5th and final season), Eek's season was cut short, and Eek! and TTL almost completely lost its humor it was known for with mostly recycled plots and kiddish remarks (except for The FugEektive, Molten Rock-N-Roll, and Nightmare On Elmo St.). This season only had a few guests, like Dee Snider for TTL, John Walsh, Weird Al Yankovic, Cynthia Rothrock, Fabio, and once again, The Barbi Twins. So the first two seasons were fantastic, while the last 3 were exceptional.




-John.

800 posts. 200 to go.


 
Surprisingly, there is a lot of adult humor in Bobby's World... 2 examples...

In "Bobby's Big Move" Bobby has a fantasy where he's Goldilocks, and he hears the 3 bears' announcements. The Momma announcement was "I have a headache." to which Bobby replies, "that's not that big of an announcement. I hear that one all the time, and I'm in the next room!"

And in another, which I forget the name of the episode, Bobby fantasizes he's in a submarine, and they get attacked by an Octopus version of Jackie. At one point he says, "I though only boys had tentacles."

Not surprising, since Howie wasn't exactly a children's performer to begin with, but clearly this was meant to be a show for kids and their parents to watch and discuss the messages together.
 
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