Ah, "Rick and Morty," If you haven’t watched it you’ve undoubtedly heard of it. If by some miracle you haven’t, it’s a hit animated show written and produced by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, starring a scientist grandfather and his naive grandson, which narrates their adventures and travels as they jump from dimension to dimension.
Don’t be fooled by that description though, it doesn't even begin to cover the scope and depth of the show. The question here is, what exactly makes it so appealing to its audience? Why does it leave you in such a state after each episode?
What genre is it?
Looked at from the outside, one might say it’s SCI-FI, and it is. But once you watch a couple episodes and begin to get a feel for it, aliens and weird tech just kind of take a backseat. The term “Cosmic Horror” may not be a familiar one, so let’s put it like this, it’s like spacey SCI-FI, but it touches down on the size of the universe and therefore on the insignificance of our world, making it scary. (As scary as a Cartoon Show can be)
Cosmic pessimism is something we all carry inside of us, after all, we are tiny in an unimaginably massive universe, and "Rick and Morty" makes light of a notion that makes a lot of people nervous. Like any comedy, it takes day to day problems and laughs at them, but add in next-to-impossible travels, aliens, and insane gadgets, and it just gets funnier.
In love with the characters
“Wabalabadubdub,"It sounds like a jumble of meaningless letters, but according to Bird Person, Rick’s best friend, it means “I am in great pain. Please help me.” I’m probably not the only one that was shocked by that revelation, after all, Rick always shouts this when he’s off on an adventure am I right?
But the show progresses, and so does Rick’s character, and next thing you know, where you were looking at a narcissistic grandad with a God complex, there is now a sad, alcoholic old man. Hey, but he’s still a narcissistic grandad.
Rick’s character development is something we all ‘felt’, and the concept of adding depth to a show that seems so inane superficially is a great way to get the audience to connect with the show’s characters.
This connection, along with comedy, makes for episodes that just keep on rolling. Who doesn’t want to avoid mundane problems and responsibilities while they laugh at bigger, existential ones?
The point is, I just want to kiss each of the producer’s heads and tell them that they’ve made my weekends. This is a show that won’t only endlessly entertain you, but it will make you think, and its lightheartedness is contagious, so there’s that too. If you haven’t watched it, what are you waiting for?
