Adult Animation
Graphic by Ande Wittenmeier
The 5th season of our favorite Adult Animation series, Big Mouth, just came out on November 5th and we don’t know how to act. The show has already proved to be absolutely incredible with its past four seasons, so naturally, our expectations for the new one were high. And needless to say, it passed with flying colors.
The series is about a group of middle schoolers who are navigating the pitfalls of puberty and their struggles concerning identity, sexuality, family, and friends, among many other issues. (Issues that seem way more serious than they really are, at the ripe age of a tweenager). The show is based on creators Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldbergs’ upbringing in the Westchester County suburbs of New York, with Kroll voicing his younger self.
If you’ve seen at least one episode, or maybe even one scene of an episode of Big Mouth, you can probably speak to how wildly inappropriate and obscene the show can be. This is most definitely not a show you’d want to watch with your parents or any family member for that matter. So, what is it about Big Mouth that is so addicting, so impressive, so entertaining? Well, we’ve gotta give the characters some credit. The way that they are able to appeal to our inner tween is especially on point. We are able to see ourselves in Andrew’s masturbation addiction, Nick’s dick size embarrassment, Missy’s desire to fit in, Jessi’s anger at the Patriarchy, Jay’s lack of an off button for his sexual desires, and Lola’s authenticity. The awkward, uncomfortable situations the characters find themselves in create a sense of nostalgia for the viewers, while not being too immature to the point that an older audience such as us can't appreciate it.
An impressive trait of Adult Animation that works well is its ability to handle intense issues in a light hearted and comedic way. For example, Big Mouth portrays the effect of divorced parents on a 13 year old girl with Jessi and her parents. As if that’s not serious enough, we also watch Jessi’s mom explore her sexuality and have an affair with Jessi’s cantor at her Temple. The experiences that Jessi finds herself in with her parents are explored through her relationships with her Hormone Monstress, Tito the Anxiety Mosquito, Depression Kitty, and her friends and family. In having certain characters represent the overwhelming feelings of sexual desire, anxiety and depression, the series is deliberately separating emotions that can easily overwhelm any tween/teen’s life. When emotions are separated, or “compartmentalized”- (something that you might’ve learned in therapy)- an attack of multiple overwhelming feelings can be managed, and each one loses its intensity. Compartmentalizing is something that we wish we could’ve known about at the ripe age of 13!
If you have already binged the entire new season of Big Mouth, and are craving some other Adult Animations that will make you crack TF up, we’ve got some recommendations. First off, if you haven’t seen Rick and Morty, what’s wrong with you? This Adult Swim series is for those of you that appreciate intelligent humor, and like to get lost in other worlds, quite literally. Although it is an acquired taste, we recommend you at least try it out. If you’d prefer a more light-hearted, easy laugh, maybe try Bob’s Burgers, a Fox cartoon that borders on adorable, while also being mature enough to appeal to adults. This one could arguably be versatile enough for an audience of a range of ages, so maybe consider watching with your family! Happy cartooning, you Jerk!