Unlike most people, I’ve always found the idea of clean entertainment being dirty to be funny (no offense). Of course, as long as children aren’t exposed to it, it’s no problem.
That is why I like Robot Chicken, which is a stop-motion animated program on Adult Swim where they make clips of different already-existing movies and TV shows and make their own little stories. And yes, a lot of the entertainment used was originally clean, such as Peanuts, Scooby Doo, Disney, and much more.
They don’t take requests, though. It started out as a TV show and the creators have a bunch of lawyers. So, a request could require more lawyers, which would cost more money.
Below are my favorite clips:
The Muppet Babies clip, “Kermit Kong”
Kermit is acting like King Kong while holding onto Miss Piggy. Gonzo and a few others are on planes. They squirt water onto Kermit, and he falls onto the ground.
The scene reverses back to Nanny’s home, where the Muppet babies were just playing make-believe. Kermit has died, and Miss Piggy tries to get his attention. Nanny comes and has everyone clean up the crime scene.
Miss Piggy is still sad, but Nanny says, “He never loved you.” Then she forces Miss Piggy to move along.
This clip is a bit milder than other Robot Chicken clips. It’s also clever and engaging. I admire the part when Miss Piggy refers to a tall stack of chairs as “The Empire State Building.”
The Beavis and Butthead and Teen Titans Crossover Clip
Another thing that differentiates me from others is that I’ve always liked the idea of clean and mature entertainment crossing over. So, I was excited to discover the “Teen Titans meeting Beavis and Butthead” video.
Robin needs Beavis and Butthead to complete some important tasks. Of course, Beavis and Butthead behave like their usual uncivilized selves. Danger comes.
While the Teen Titans are fighting a monster, Beavis and Butthead are eating nachos. Then Robin is hurt.
I loved when Beavis and Butthead sang a Batman parody tune to Robin. That was clever. The whole clip was amazing. Robin, however, said, “Yeah” instead of “Thank you” when Butthead complimented on his belt. Does Robin have manners? Who knows?
The Wild Thornberrys clip
The clip starts with Nigel trying to pitch a documentary to the Discovery Channel. The other man tells him to give them a story worth telling, or he’ll reject it.
He tells his family that they’ll go on wild adventures. The next scene cuts to them skydiving in the nude (but censored), then the title sequence comes, and the adventures begin.
The characters were true to themselves for the most part, such as Debbie complaining, Eliza knowing about animals, and Nigel’s signature phrase, “Smashing!”
One part that stands out to me is when Nigel asks the person in charge of the Discovery Channel, “Discovering that people are human garbage?” He said the same thing twice in one sentence. I tell him out loud, “Somebody needs to work on his English.”
Marianne is also more flawed where she acts nothing like herself, but not in a bad way.
For example, she tells Debbie something that she does with Nigel, that isn’t something to share with a 16-year-old. She also mocks another person’s culture after Debbie complains about what they’re doing. A local agrees with Debbie while speaking his native language. But Marianne “agrees” and “speaks” his language.
That would never happen in the actual Wild Thornberrys series—unless Marianne were drunk, which also would not have occurred in the real series as it would’ve been too inappropriate for kids.
Which brings me to some displeasing moments: when I first saw this clip, I found it disappointing that Eliza didn’t get much screen time, nor does she talk to animals. She only “educates” her family about tarantulas’ venom not being fatal to humans.
Although she’s the main character in the actual series, the clip focuses on Nigel as the main character. So, at some point, I understood.
The Lord of the Rings clip written by J.R.R Tolkien JR JR
A man is introducing a new LOTR story written by the author’s 6-year-old grandson, J.R.R Tolkien JR JR. Then a sneak peek shows up. It shows Merry and Pippin having a conversation. Then Gandolf comes and warns them of danger in a silly way.
Everyone flies on planes (obviously, out-of-premise for the LOTR universe) and tries to defeat a three-headed peanut-butter-and-jelly monster.
This was, perhaps, the funniest Robot Chicken clip ever created. From including Hannah Montana, the PB & J monster, and to the breakout of singing “The Muffin Man Song,” this made me laugh my brains out. Bravo!
The Harry Potter clip, “Pubertus”
As Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sitting in the great hall, a hat, similar to the sorting hat, predicts what body changes each student will experience. Harry goes to different professors to warn them about Pubertus.
Dumbledore gives Harry a stone that needs to be rubbed 3 times in order to defeat the Pubertus monster.
I laughed a lot when I first saw this video. A couple of moments that stand out to me are the magic jacuzzi and Dumbledore being black.
Speaking of which… when Harry is about to tell Dumbledore about Pubertus, he gets surprised when he turns his chair around. Harry almost says that Dumbledore isn’t supposed to be that race.
But Dumbledore says that he’s played by a different actor in actor in each movie. He also mentions a DVD featuring Halle Berry.
The magical jacuzzi belongs to Snape. When Hermione tries to inform him about Pubertus, he suggests discussing that in his jacuzzi. He even uses his wand to reveal, as well as a disco ball spinning over it.
I was under the impression that they’d have to undress. If they did, thank goodness it wasn’t shown.
The “A Whole New World” Parody
The clip shows Jasmine and Aladdin (who for some reason, doesn’t have his big hat) riding on the magic carpet. Aladdin sings his lines, which both them and the tune are altered for copyright reasons.
But shortly before the chorus equivalent, the magic carpet crashes into an apartment. Aladdin and Jasmine bump onto different objects until they encounter a guy on the toilet telling them, “Get the [beep] out of here!” I’ve thought, Imagine if that happened in the actual “Aladdin” movie? But then it wouldn’t have been rated G.
Conclusion
Do you have a favorite Robot Chicken you’d like to share? Please let me know on the comments section if you’d like.
I can’t believe how many unique ideas they were able to fit into each episode of this show.
I know! It’s a lot.