Search - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Vols. 1-4 on DVD

Divinely Inspired

Joseph Barbarie | new haven, CT | 10/22/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Most of the "cartoons for adults" genre leaves me a bit cold. I don't care for "The Simpsons" or "Future-rama". Even "South Park," which has moments of brilliance, has dry, preachy, stretches -- often, if not always, the show ends with an explicit statement of theme, which is always an artistic gaffe. I also have no affection for any kind of Anime -- whose plotlines may or may not be clever. I just can't be bothered to tell.

Not so, however, with this divinely funny little show. I will admit to requiring a bit of a learning curve for "ATHF" -- but immediately, on a first viewing, I realized there was something different about it. It seemed to exist in its own vacuum-universe, where the allusions were to things beyond my ken. Eventually, with a few repeated viewings, I realized the show was a lot more old-fashioned (in a good way) than I originally thought. It was not like "Family Guy", whose humor is almost entirely allusive -- references to obscure (and not so-obscure) pop culture are the rule in both "FG" and "Simpsons".

The humor of "ATHF" is almost entirely self-contained, and that is the source of its strength. The main characters are absolutely worked-out personalities, perfectly etched and realized. Also, none of them is above ridicule, or beneath sympathy. They are (to borrow the familiar phrase from Aristotle) "people just like us." We, at one point or another, have had roommates like Shake (bossy, selfish) or Meatwad (the idiot-savant with the strange aura of 'cool'), or neighbors like Carl (by turns paranoid and inappropriately chummy; desperately lonely).

People like the Frat Aliens (obnoxious, drunk, horny), or the Plutonians (dictatorial, combative) exist. The Mooninites are those pushy friends of yours who can be counted on to get you into trouble (witness Meatwad's brief life of crime at their instigation).

"ATHF", then, is a "commedia" in the old-fashioned sense, like Chaucer, or Dante, where various instances of human nature are examined, placed before the viewer's eye like laboratory specimens.

Finally, the dialogue is, line for line, consistently brilliant. I have watched all of the episodes multiple times, and I am always finding new hidden gems. Sometimes, in the process of laughing at one screamer (particularly some of Carl's better lines, e.g., "Normally, I wouldn't date a fat chick from the flag corps, but this is a new era") I miss several others in its wake.

Let's hope Maiellaro and Willis stick to their original formula -- good old fashioned comedy of matters, sprinkled here and there with scatological humor."

CARTOON FOR ADULTS

Consumer 6 | 04/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"GREAT SERIES FOR ADULTS THE DIALOG IS THE BEST PART.REALLY FUNNY SERIES I SUGGEST GETTING ALL 4.
THIS SERIES HAS STRONG LANGUAGE AND SITUATIONS THAT KIDS DONT NEED TO WATCH.THIS SERIES IS ABOUT A BOX OF FRENCH FRIES A MEATBALL AND A MILK SHAKE.ITS ANIMATED NOT CLAYMATION,EACH EPISODE IS 15 MINUTES LONG ITS NOT A SAGA JUST EPISODES.THEY BEGIN WELL BUT END SUDDENLY BUT LOTS OF LAUGHS ARE FOUND IN BETWEEN"