Adult Humor in Saturday Morning Cartoons
by Alex Wu on Nov, 04 2013Chances are, when you were younger, you spent Saturday mornings (and afternoons, and evenings) watching all sorts of cartoons. Whenever I hear someone talk about them, I am reminded of fond adolescent memories of shoveling sugary cereals into my mouth and lounging on the couch, not yet bogged down by academic responsibilities. And I admit that even now, as a college student, I still find pleasure in doing the same (thank you Netflix and Bear Market).
However, the other day, I was streaming some classic Cartoon Network on my laptop, feeling waves of nostalgia wash over me, when I caught word of some rather…naughty dialogue. I rewinded it, and sure enough, a subtle phallic joke had been casually made. Why hadn’t I noticed this before? But of course, when we watched these cartoons years ago, our younger, innocent ears were not yet trained to know what they meant. In fact, as I went through other episodes of the same show, I found that the writers had very bravely sprinkled in adult humor just about everywhere, and it only took me until just now to start picking up on them.
Here’s a list of some adult jokes in all your favorite cartoons that you probably never noticed as a kid:
Spongebob Squarepants
I was always a huge fan of the residents of Bikini Bottom, but I have a whole new level of appreciation for the show now that I know there’s light naughtiness hidden all around.
Ed, Edd n Eddy
I definitely remember watching this often as a kid, always fascinated with the characters’ obsessions with jawbreakers and wooden planks…but I never knew that they were accompanied by so many dirty jokes.
Hey Arnold!
Who knew that everyone’s favorite football-head would have a dirty side? Unbeknownst to many of us, this show was chock-full of adult humor – you can thank Grandpa for that.
Rocko’s Modern Life
I always thought this show was a little on the strange side – and now I’m definitely convinced. The show’s creators even stated after the series ended that they would always be looking for new ways to interject the episodes with numerous sexual innuendos and satirical commentary about society.
And finally, here are some not-so-subtle miscellaneous ones:
Wow. Right in the childhood.
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