Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty" is a Crass and Clever Trip

Last week I attended the Adult Swim Upfront party amp8211 where Rick and Morty imagery and toys and things were everywhere amp8211 and I had the pleasure of meeting Roiland who was extremely cool amp160That39s him below leftamp160with his animated pals and yours truly on the right amp160I now understand how he became 50 of the dynamic duo that created this comedy masterpiece amp160Besides being a show thatamp8217s actionpacked limitpushing and filled to the brim with great jokes that are a perfect combo of crass and clever itamp8217s also a multilayered and somewhat satirical commentary on normally serious topics like science existentialism and the human condition amp160Simply put Rick and Morty is the shitOriginally Rick and Morty was a Back to the Futureinspired parodistic animated short called The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti amp160It was pretty funny but also way more obscene than anything the show would do now This early version had a much less elegant aesthetic that legitimately looked like it was drawn by either a very talented toddler or a very drunk adult amp160It starred Doc an eccentric and sort of creepy scientist who had a young kind of dumb kid named Mharti as his de facto sidekick Humorwise it was a lot like similar NSFW animated shorts that were gaining popularity back when the Internet was young but also becoming a common fixture in everyday homesTo call Doc and Mharti a diamond in the rough wouldamp8217ve been amp8230 generous amp8230 but through Roiland and Harmonamp8217s combined efforts the show matured amp160Adult Swim picked it up and it became the instantly legendary hit it is today amp160Roiland who voices both of the seriesamp8217 titular characters was already doing some amazing vocal work on another of parent Cartoon Networkamp8217s popular and decidedly less adult animated series Adventure Time providing the vocals for several characters from the Lemon kingdom a mythical destination in the magical Land of Ooo Hear him bring his character Lemongrab to life and itamp8217s easy to see the connection between the energetically bizarre delivery of his lines on Adventure Time and the overall outlandish tone of Rick and MortyOn RampampM Rick is a belligerent genius mad scientist and highfunctioning alcoholic amp160Heamp8217s also Mortyamp8217s grandpa amp160Morty on the other hand is a pubescent middleschool student who struggles with academics amp160Rick regularly takes Morty on dangerous trips to alternate dimensions and heamp8217s constantly berating him amp160He also uses his grandson as a means to whatever end heamp8217s pursuing whenever a selfserving opportunity presents itself amp160But deep down Rick loves the kid and as the series has progressed that has become more and more apparent amp160Morty is the viewersamp8217 connection to the showamp8217s reality because like us heamp8217s the only who knows the details of their exploits amp160Yes Mortyamp8217s dim but heamp8217s also loyal curious and has a good heart amp160Rick is his polar opposite heamp8217s selfish reckless and downright mean most of time amp160Still they have an unbeatable dynamic thatamp8217s only strengthened by the fact that theyamp8217re relatives amp160No matter how viciously hurtful their arguments may get theyamp8217re still familyamp160 Together they have encountered alien assassins multiple universes otherworldly cable TV channels sentient couches interdimensional organizations and moreBeneath the surface this show is much deeper than it initially appears amp160Rickamp8217s arrogance and bravado are actually a facade for his deep selfloathing amp160Heamp8217s secretly depressed probably because of something he did in his mysterious past amp160Rick is the most wanted man in the multiverse so itamp8217s safe to assume that whatever he did was pretty bad amp160At times itamp8217s heavy stuff but fortunately the philosophical commentary always plays second fiddle to adventure and comedyI could write a paper on this show amp160Itamp8217s that good amp160I havenamp8217t delved into Rickamp8217s alcoholism yet or how his true motives are constantly questionable I havenamp8217t even begun to unpack Mortyamp8217s relationship with his sister Summer Spencer Grammer or the failing marriage of Mortyamp8217s parents Jerry Chris Parnell and Beth Smith Sarah Chalke amp160And then thereamp8217s the influence Dan Harmonamp8217s style of storytelling has on this show and the thematic similarities said style shares with CommunitySure this is a cartoon but itamp8217s got everything emotional depth wellcrafted plots deep philosophical questions and flatout raunchy scifi humor amp160It takes a special type of person to bring something like Rick and Morty to life amp160Currently the rest of the showamp8217s fan base and I have waited over a year for Season 3 and although our collective hunger was briefly sated by the April Fools Day release of Season 3 Episode 1 I think I speak for all of us when I say weamp8217re eagerly awaiting Rick and Mortyamp8217s glorious returnClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty" is a Crass and Clever Trip

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Ainsley Andrade

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Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty" is a Crass and Clever Trip

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Ainsley Andrade

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