5 Times Kids' Cartoons Told Completely Inappropriate Jokes
Kids' cartoons have been slipping in adult jokes for about as long as they've been around. But did these shows cross a line with these grown-up gags?
1. In the Season 4 episode of "The Powerpuff Girls," the girls become friends with Robin, a new neighbor whose family just moved into the neighborhood. When she introduces herself, Robin casually reveals that she was conceived as an accident in her creator's lab, a startling detail that went beyond what children would typically expect.
2. "SpongeBob SquarePants" often featured humor that was geared towards adults, with one notable instance in the Season 2 episode "Your Shoe's Untied." SpongeBob gets engrossed in a video of a dancing sea anemone and gets embarrassed when his snail Gary crawls in, leading him to change the channel abruptly. This gag implied that SpongeBob was watching something inappropriate, highlighting the show's ability to subtly push boundaries.
3. In the 2010s, "The Amazing World of Gumball" continued this trend of risqué humor seen in 90s Cartoon Network shows. One particular episode, "The Storm," featured a talking balloon named Alan who was heartbroken over a breakup. When Gumball tried to encourage Alan to date again, Alan's literal interpretation of "blowing" up to feel better led to a scene that subtly hinted at sexual connotations.
4. "The Animaniacs" was notorious for its raunchy innuendos, with a standout example being the segment "Hercule Yakko." In a parody of Agatha Christie novels, Yakko instructs his sister Dot to "dust for prints," but she mishears and brings Prince instead. When Yakko clarifies his intention, Dot again misinterprets and replies, "I don't think so," which, unbeknownst to her, was an improvised response to Rob Paulsen's sexual-sounding line reading.
5. "Rocko's Modern Life" reached a peak of inappropriate humor with its restaurant named Chokey Chicken, a slang term for a euphemism. Creator Joe Murray initially wanted to call it Chubby Chicken or Chewy Chicken but changed it to a vulgar term as a joke. In the series, Rocko visits the Chokey Chicken restaurant, which added an extra layer of cheeky, adult humor to the show.
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