Blog Post 10: Mission Hill
As I have stated in a previous blogs, I am quite interested in the idea of adult animation, but find the current trend of black comedy cartoons to be rather boring and played out. It seems with the success of the simpsons in the 90′s people drew the wrong conclusions for why it was so great. The Simpsons wasn’t just an “edgey cartoon” it also took animated humor away from simple sight gags and crude and violent jokes and added a great deal of topical humor. Unfortunately more people seemed to enjoy it because it was a cartoon that didn’t need to be censored and that is where most modern animated shows take their inspiration from.
This wasn’t always the case however. Back in the 90′s before adult swim there were many attempts to create cartoons for adults that relied on far more than black humor. One particular show that comes to mind is Mission Hill. The show is about an overacheiving and nerdy high schooler named Kevin who goes to the city to live with his lazy older brother Andy. As with many comedies the show uses the contrast in the two main character’s personalities to create many humorous situations. The interactions between Kevin and his new urban environment is also a source of humor as Kevin oftentimes does not reat well to the unfriendliness and vulgarity often found in urban areas. Andy’s constant failure is another source of amusement. Andy frequent attempts at being with the in crowd and skirting by life with as little effort as possible have a freqeunt habit of going incredibly wrong.
Besides the two main characters, Mission Hill also contains a very interesting supporting cast. Andy’s roomates are quite interesting characters. Jim resembles Andy in a great deal of ways though is is much more laid back and in some ways even lazier, but he is a whole lot more successful. Posey seems to fit in with the new age girl stereotype but oftentimes buried within her spacy comments is a great deal of scathing criticism. Andy’s Neighbor’s are also quite interesting. The Henandez-Leibowitz’s are a unorthodox family, with ultra politcally correct Natlie, her stay at home marital partner Carlos and their child baby nameless. Perhaps the most interesing character’s are Andy’ neighbor’s Gus and Wally. Gus and Wally are an elderly gay couple devoid most stereotypes. Gus is a gruff diner manager who is incredibly open about his sexuality, while Wally is a fairly mild mannered movie therter owner.
The Urban environment also provides a great backdrop for stories to take place. Big cities can be very exciting and very menacing places and both are exemplified in the cartoon. The main character’s oftentimes go out to night clubs, bars restaurants, concerts etc., generally places that Andy would enjoy and Kevin would not. The streetsof mission hill can also be quite manacing at times, with threats such as rabid dogs and creepy lewd men. The city also provides another source of conflict in the show. Whlie Andy may be at home in the city, the sheltered Kevin is uncomfortable in his new surroundings and sometimes gets into trouble due to his naivety.
Mission Hill is very much a product of it’s time. It’s a very 90′s show with it’s pop culture references and portrait of a fairly unorthodox way of life. Rather than relying exclusively on crude and lewd humour it also features a lot of interesting character interaction and creative plots. (Though it certainley has quite a bit of crude and lewd humor as well).
It seems to me as of late cartoons are one of the other (for adults of for children). I can see in some cartoons primarily marketed to children that there are moments where they animators had adults in mind (so parents, baby sitters, and older siblings don’t go bonkers watching a cheesy kid movie) but I don’t think I’ve yet seen a movie that blends the two. I am beginning to think it is not possible.
I honestly haven’t ever really sat down and watched this show. I’ve seen a minute or two on like Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, but that’s really it. I have to agree with the previous comment as well about there being cartoons aimed at two completely different audiences, kids and adults. But I have to also disagree in some respects to the previous comment as well because I think there is some shows/movies that blend both audiences. I’d say something like Shrek since it has it’s overall plot aimed at kids, but a lot of the stuff Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy say are innuendos that only adults would get. But overall, I agree with the main point of the blog post.
Mission Hill is phenomenal I was so mad when it was canceled but Im glad that adult swim keeps it alive. I love the dog and the hippy girl. Yes the comedy is a bit lewd at times but it works with the audience it is meant for. The age group strikes me as that similar to Ren and Stimpy. There is a reason this show is shown late night.