Adult animation is a relatively new concept that started to gain popularity with the premiere of The Simpsons back in 1989. Since then, the genre has blasted off with an endless list of shows that includes things like South Park, Futurama, Archer and Final Space. With the help of channels like Adult Swim, adult animation has gained its own audience and given people who grew up watching cartoons a way to remain in the genre through their late teens and beyond. And with such an abundance of content, two video-essay Youtubers have taken the helm of analyzing these shows through podcast form.
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Johnny 2 Cellos and Toonrific Tariq are the hosts of a brand new podcast called Cartoons That Curse, and they aim to go through various adult animated series starting with Futurama. The Youtubers bonded over their similar content and their love for animation less than a year ago, and they grew to become close friends. With their expertise in the field of cartoons that curse, they decided to release weekly episodes where they discuss a specific series while breaking down their favorite moments of the show.
The duo’s resume lies in their channel numbers; Johnny 2 Cellos currently has 114k subscribers and a sum total of 17 million views and Toonrific Tariq holds 213k subscribers and 11 million views. Their content is almost exclusively based on adult animation, with Johnny 2 Cellos making videos breaking down episodes of Bojack Horseman and King of the Hill amongst others while Toonrific Tariq looks into early 2000s cartoons, such as Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, Braceface and Phineas and Ferb.
It’s clear from the jump that the duo is qualified to discuss adult animation using the unique lens of leaving no stone unturned. The amount of research put into each podcast episode is clear, with the pair offering behind-the-scenes insight into specific character arcs and storylines. For instance, they make note of how Futurama’s pilot expertly introduced its characters by having the main trio of Fry, Bender and Leela meet within minutes of each other and comparing that to Disenchantment, where the main trio doesn’t meet until the 25-minute mark.
Cartoons That Curse goes on to build on that point by bringing up how Futurama introduces the rest of the cast naturally, negating the typical fish-out-of-water style of storytelling. While audiences follow Fry as he learns about the future, they follow Leela and Bender as they meet the crew of the Planet Express. Tariq praised how the series used the first season as a building block for the world without sacrificing character development. Within the cold open of the pilot, audiences know everything they need to about Fry and his life in 1999 and are thrown into the future before the theme song rings out. While discussing “A Flight To Remember,” they also notice how Bender’s insecurity has been built from the very start and how his fear of being forgotten becomes a constant drive for him.
With only three episodes released so far with a length of 2-3 hours, the chemistry between the two co-hosts is undeniable. Their love for the genre is evident in the way they discuss the shows they grew up watching, which makes for a great listen. To top things off, the podcast contains a very catchy theme song by Jakeneutron that plays on the importance of theme songs in the shows they discuss. With episodes releasing every Monday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and the duo’s Youtube channel, Cartoons That Curse is set up for the long run.
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