Movies

Drawn Together

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Animated productions are known for taking risks by venturing beyond the norm and sometimes causing offense to various audiences. Some spectators may find this approach slightly inappropriate, but others contend that such humor demonstrates the exceptional skill of the animators. Shows like South Park and Family Guy have been criticized as offensive, yet Drawn Together is widely considered even more off-putting than its counterparts, given its unique and daring style.

The animated series “Drawn Together” debuted in 2004 and featured an assortment of cartoon characters cohabiting under one roof as part of a peculiar reality show. Beyond its witty stereotypes, this sitcom heavily relied on visual humor. However, a single joke about Superman nearly led to the series being canceled permanently.

A Joke Referencing Christopher Reeve Was Considered Too Distasteful

In the eighth episode of Season 2 titled “Terms of Endearment,” the story unfolds with an unexpected twist as Captain Hero peeks into a private moment between Foxxy and Clara, both in the shower. At first, it appears Foxxy is unbothered. However, Hero oversteps boundaries excessively, leading to Foxxy developing a brain tumor due to the misuse of his x-ray vision. Shockingly, Captain Hero feels remorseful and courageously chooses to relinquish his powers to ensure he won’t hurt anyone else in the future.

It’s quite apparent that Captain Hero is modeled as a satire of Superman. They share a striking resemblance and both possess a charismatic demeanor, although Captain Hero uses it more for romantic pursuits. The movie “Terms of Endearment” makes these similarities more explicit, though not always in a positive light. An interesting twist is when Captain Hero mounts a horse, only to fall off and end up wheelchair-bound. To move the chair, he must blow into a tube – stripping him of his powers, strength, and self-respect. Originally, Captain Hero lost his abilities after falling from a horse, but the writers at Comedy Central decided this was too severe a consequence for viewers.

It’s clear that this episode is a satire referring to Christopher Reeve’s tragic accident in 1995, where he sustained a spinal cord injury during an equestrian competition. Initially planned for Season 1, the team decided against airing it due to the sensitivity surrounding his death close to the show’s premiere. However, even after waiting a full year, viewers found the portrayal of Reeve in this episode offensive.

Initially, the situation became increasingly dire when Diana, the widow of Reeve, expressed her desire to have an episode removed following her terminal illness diagnosis. Surprisingly, Comedy Central chose to air the episode as planned and even re-aired it a week before Diana’s passing. It is worth mentioning that this sequence of events was likely just a coincidence rather than an intentional act of insensitivity. The episode “Terms of Endearment,” while humorously tackling a sensitive topic, was not banned due to the omission of its most disturbing scenes and a delay in broadcast out of respect for Reeve and his family.

Drawn Together Often Took Its Satirical Stance Too Far

It’s true that likening Captain Hero, without powers, to Christopher Reeve in his disabled state may seem severe, but this episode goes much beyond that comparison. In this storyline, Foxxy is unfortunately afflicted with a brain tumor which causes her to metamorphose into a racist stereotype, specifically a malicious “Mammy” figure. To remedy the situation, the Bureau of Animation Political Sensitivity apprehends her and tries to eliminate her. During her detention, the rest of the team encounters numerous other offensive characters such as minstrel cartoons, Speedy Gonzales-like mice, and a boisterous group of Native Americans.

Occasionally, the dark humor in “Drawn Together” can be quite amusing, with even minor gags causing fans to erupt in laughter. However, episodes like “Terms of Endearment” illustrate that “Drawn Together” struggles with subtlety. It frequently recycles the same racially insensitive remarks, eventually rendering them unshocking and tiring. In fact, over time, these references become more exhausting than entertaining. Many animated sitcoms share this pitfall, but “Drawn Together” seems to stumble into it often. For multiple seasons, the team tried to revitalize the joke by making it increasingly violent and disturbing, but eventually realized that the humor had grown stale. Sadly, “Drawn Together” never seemed to learn from its mistakes and continued to make offensive jokes, hoping they would become funny again if repeated enough times.

IMDb ScoreRT Score
7.1/1086%

In this episode, the show attempts to recover its lost ground but falters once more in execution. At the Cartoon Erasement Camp, the team encounters their toughest adversary yet – a caricature of Mickey Mouse named Mickey. As viewers might anticipate, this villain is a satire of the original Mickey Mouse character, and he’s determined to make all cartoons politically correct, creating a world that resembles Disney’s enchanting realm. Spanky attempts to clarify that these racially insensitive cartoons are historical artifacts, and by ignoring them, they only exacerbate the issue.

In simpler terms, the truthfulness of the statement isn’t the issue here. What makes this episode problematic is that when people examine the character, they find a racist stereotype teetering on the edge of falling. Compared to other episodes, this one is particularly offensive and comes close to being banned. It’s troubling that Comedy Central appeared more focused on mocking Christopher Reeve rather than Black women in this instance.

Although it’s undoubtedly shocking, Drawn Together deserves recognition for its inventiveness. Compared to many other animated sitcoms during that period, the shows were often set in uninspiring locations and lacked diverse art styles. Shows like Family Guy remained confined within Quahog, while even The Simpsons hadn’t ventured much beyond their traditional style at that time. However, Drawn Together stood out by employing a clever format and exploring numerous ideas. While viewers don’t get to see much of the house, the characters draw inspiration from various corners of the animation world. For instance, Ling-Ling is a parody of Pikachu, while Xandir resembles Zelda. This allows the show to incorporate Anime-style tropes into a Western series. This creative approach not only makes Drawn Together more innovative but also results in a visually appealing television program.

Despite the fact that the show “Drawn Together” may seem a bit outdated now, it boasts an exceptionally talented voice cast, which includes actors from popular shows such as “The Fairly OddParents” and “The Powerpuff Girls”. Notably, Foxxy’s voice actor, Cree Summer, has lent her voice to characters like Elmyra Duff and She-Hulk in the late ’90s series of “The Incredible Hulk”. Therefore, when you overlook the show’s shock value, “Drawn Together” is a remarkable fusion of animation and voice acting. Moreover, not many animated sitcoms can deliver satire as effectively as this one does. It often mocks contemporary pop culture, but it also doesn’t shy away from making jokes about other franchises such as Disney and Strawberry Shortcake.

In this day and age when reboots appear to be the most financially successful forms of entertainment, it’s evident that Drawn Together won’t be making a comeback any time soon. However, fans remain steadfast in their belief that it holds significant value, particularly within the comedy realm. With the rise of streaming services and video-sharing platforms, fans can now effortlessly access previously prohibited content and appear to relish debating about why this content was so controversial initially. Consequently, while more popular animated sitcoms like Family Guy and South Park strive diligently to minimize their questionable content in order to attract larger audiences, Drawn Together will forever be remembered as a show that dared to push boundaries in a much more artistic and cooperative manner.

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2025-05-03 20:58

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