As some adults already know and have known for some time, there are some kids’ shows out there that are hysterical. By not talking down to kids, there’s a sweet spot that can be reached and still entertain parents as well. It’s not always an easy line to find though, and many shows struggle to find their footing in this territory while still establishing a style of their own.
When a show does achieve this mixture of whimsy and suggestive humor, the public watches. Shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Time, and Gravity Falls all do an excellent job of subverting audience expectations while also feeling wholly unique. There are certain elements of each that add to this, but their approaches definitely differ. By taking stock of these techniques that the showrunners use, a better understanding can be reached.
Whenever looking at SpongeBob SquarePants, it’s pretty clear when one is watching an older episode versus one of the more recent seasons. The main difference between eras of the one who dwells in the pineapple under the sea is the amount of adult humor included. Newer episodes of SpongeBob follow a very specific formula. SpongeBob overhears something or sees something that confuses him, he then has a basic misunderstanding of what’s going on around him and proceeds to freak out for the majority of the episode until the end of the episode when he is promptly made aware of his mistake. He laughs it off, and the episode ends.
Take the episode from Season 4, Born to Be Wild. SpongeBob thinks that a town of nasty, dangerous bikers are going to be making their way through Bikini Bottom because he has a piece of one of their biker jackets. The entirety of the episode is spent with SpongeBob running around town, trying to warn everyone about the impending arrival of the Wild Ones. However, the piece of the jacket that he had was not actually a “W” for wild, but actually an “M” for mild. The group that actually came to town was The Mild Ones, a group of geriatric motorcycle riders. It’s tough to believe that nobody knew the difference.
Or look at the episode from Season 5, BlackJack. SpongeBob’s cousin BlackJack is getting out of prison and sends a letter to SpongeBob saying he has his parents. Cue SpongeBob freaking out and running to his parent’s house where he finds a broken picture frame and another note, this one saying that BlackJack is on the way to his Grandmother’s house next. SpongeBob frantically runs to his Grandmother’s to find that his family is celebrating BlackJack’s release from prison. The twist? He was doing time for the crime of littering. Also, he’s a fraction of the size that SpongeBob is and literally can’t hurt him.
Now take a look back to a fan favorite of the series, Season 3’s Chocolate With Nuts. There’s no basic misunderstanding of anything here, just SpongeBob and Patrick trying to attain a life of “fancy living” like Squidward claims to have by selling chocolate door to door. The encounters they have are all hilarious, especially once the heroes learn to embellish the truth to sell more product. Not only is this a shrewd insight into entrepreneurship and capitalism to an extent, but there are some seriously dark moments. Like the pair of elderly women, a mother and daughter that live together. One of them is a shriveled head essentially with a raspy voice that almost looks like it could have come out of the waiting room of the dead in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. The daughter clearly wants the mother to finally die, which is extremely dark for a kid’s show, but it’s executed in such a delightfully absurd way that anyone watching can’t help but laugh along.
More recent examples that include the same type of adult humor that flirts with being a little advanced for children has been seen in shows like Adventure Time and Gravity Falls. Specifically looking at Adventure Time episode Tree Trunks, Finn and Jake embark upon an adventure to help their friend Tree Trunks who is essentially an old woman in the body of an elephant. Tree Trunks wants to pick the “Crystal Gem Apple” out of the Evil Forest, but she needs Jake and Finn’s help to do so. Upon finding the apple, Tree Trunks takes a bite out of it. Jake asks her how it tastes, and Tree Trunks promptly explodes.
Now for Gravity Falls, specifically the character of Grunkle Stan, who owns a tourist attraction filled with questionable items. For a relative that these two children are supposed to be in the care of, he ignores them constantly to give tours and try to siphon additional money from his guests. He’s also notorious for his lack of scruples, creating the infinitely funnily named products, “Sham Total,” (shammy towels) as well as “Rip-Off” bandaids.
Both shows have a penchant for clever naming and the kinds of jokes that can have more than one meaning. Kids can enjoy the funny voices, colorful environments, and scenarios, while adults are able to read deeper into these jokes. There’s also the level of absurdity that makes them clearly transcend the realm of “kids shows.” But that’s the point, kids may enjoy the shows, but they’re made for entertainment first.
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