10 Shocking Adult Moments in Children's Cartoons
Intro If there's one constant truth about the human
race, it's that we love a bit of inappropriate humor.
A sly double meaning or a suggestive gesture can make us laugh much harder than we probably
should, especially when it's hidden in something that's otherwise considered good, clean fun.
That makes children's cartoons a long-time favorite for sneaking in dirty jokes and adult
implications.
Here are ten shocking adult moments in children's cartoons.
Shoe size – Frozen Disney's mega-hit computer animated film Frozen
is a tale of love triumphing over fear, but in one scene, it also might be a tale of love
triumphing over... physical attributes.
Anna, the heroic sister of the lonely Snow Queen Elsa, is talking with her traveling
companion Kristoff about the man she wishes to marry, the dashing Prince Hans of the Southern
Isles.
Kristoff asks a series of questions to learn more about Hans, such as what his eye color
is (“Dreamy” is Anna's response) and his favorite food.
Finally, with a sly look, he asks, “Foot size?”
Anna, a bit embarrassed, responds “foot size doesn't matter.”
This raunchy joke plays off of the popular urban legend that a man's foot size is linked
to the size of his...
well, you know.
Disney got away with this one because it's so subtle that it flies over the heads of
the children in the audience, but it's still a bit risque for a G-rated film.
Berry Picking – Rocko's Modern Life We could have made this entire list up of
entries just from this one show.
Rocko's Modern Life was gleefully raunchy, and not shy about it – it's full of barely-concealed
jokes about just about every body part and bodily function the creators could dream up.
But this scene stands out because of the unexpected twist.
Rocko the wallaby is outdoors, foraging for food, and he sees a bush full of tasty-looking
berries.
He reaches out to pluck a couple from the bush, and is startled when a big bear with
a pained look on its face leaps out and runs away, holding its paws over its crotch.
It takes a moment for the gag to click, but when it does, it's impossible not to laugh
at the absurdity and grossness of it all.
That wasn't a kiss – The Road to El Dorado This one may not have been intentional, but
it's hard to un-see after it's been pointed out.
In this animated adventure tale from Dreamworks, there's a scene where Tulio, one of the two
roguish main characters, is seen sitting up suddenly with a woman named Chel next to him.
Chel also looks up, and it seems to be implied that the two were making out.
However, eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the position of Chel's head when she sits
up seems to be closer to Tulio's crotch than his face.
Maybe it was just a perspective trick, or a way to give each character a different part
of the shot to fill.
But whatever the case, it certainly looks a bit naughtier than the film's PG rating
would suggest.
Too fast – Justice League It's hard not to like The Flash, DC Comics'
super-fast superhero.
In any incarnation, The Flash is typically cheerful and upbeat, a nice counterbalance
to more grounded Justice Leaguers like Batman and Martian Manhunter.
But the scarlet speedster may have some more private issues than he lets on.
In this surprisingly adult moment of comedy from the Justice League children's cartoon,
The Flash is trading banter with fellow superhero Hawkgirl, and the subject of his incredible
speed comes up.
“Fastest man alive,” he brags.
Hawkgirl dryly responds: “Which might explain why you can't get a date.”
The burn might fly over a ten-year-old's head, but pretty much any adult will catch it right
away.
“Fingerprints” – Animaniacs Animaniacs, the screwball '90s TV cartoon
from Warner Bros., is widely beloved, and with good reason – it revived Warner's classic
“Looney Tunes” practice of riffing liberally on the pop culture of the moment, with many
a wink and a nudge for people who paid enough attention to be in on the jokes.
But one gag, featuring the pop music icon Prince, pushed the envelope so far that people
who caught it couldn't believe it slipped past the censors.
In the skit, the Warners are “dusting for prints,” and Dot discovers Prince, the singer,
behind some furniture.
Yakko looks at him and says, “No, no, no; fingerprints.”
Dot then looks Prince up and down, and deadpans, “I don't think so.”
It's one of the funniest – and dirtiest – double entendres in any children's cartoon
to date.
Stiff wings – Toy Story 2 Pixar's Toy Story series of films is its flagship
property, the series that put the studio on the map and started it on the path to lasting
fame and fortune.
Loyal CBR viewers know that the studio loves to hide Easter eggs and subtle jokes into
all of its films, but Pixar movies generally keep the sly nods strictly above board.
Not so with Toy Story 2, which introduced the world to Jessie, a pretty cowgirl doll.
Woody's best friend, the toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear, takes special notice of Jessie's
good looks when the two first meet: his plastic wings pop out and stand at attention in a
very suggestive way.
Some people might write it off as mere surprise, but we say there's no way that innuendo was
unintentional.
Escort assistant – Dexter's Laboratory Dexter's Laboratory was primarily a zany show
for children, but sometimes, its creators couldn't help but slip a dirty joke or two
in around the edges.
Case in point: the episode where Dexter, child scientist extraordinaire, is sick of his meddling
sister Dee Dee, and decides to replace her with another girl.
The replacement he ends up picking is a tall, curvaceous woman – a bit unusual, but not
shocking by itself.
But when the bored Dexter asks his new assistant to dance around in his secret laboratory,
her response is “Okay, but it's 50 bucks extra.”
The clear implication is that Dexter has somehow managed to hire a prostitute.
How this one slid by Cartoon Network's censors, we'll never know.
Cord-cutting – The Rugrats Movie Because Rugrats, the super-popular '90s Nickelodeon
cartoon, dealt with very young children as its subject, it was bound to have some surprisingly
frank moments, but this one, from the Rugrats Movie, takes the cake for being shocking while
still managing to fit the show's theme perfectly.
The scene takes place in a maternity ward, where a row of newborn babies rest on small
beds.
The babies are talking with each other, trying to understand the world around them.
One of the newborns is scared, and complains “they cut my cord!”
Another baby lifts his diaper, looks inside, and replies, “consider yourself lucky.”
That's right – this G-rated movie managed to slip in a circumcision joke.
Accidents happen – The Powerpuff Girls Everybody knows the origin story of the Powerpuff
Girls.
The pint-sized trio of adorable superheroines are the result of the lonely Professor's attempt
to create children of his own to care for, by using the powers of cartoon science to
concoct them in a lab.
At the last second, the Professor accidentally breaks a container of the mysterious Chemical
X, which pours into his mix and gives the girls their super powers.
In this scene, the girls are explaining this to a new friend – that they were created
by a happy accident.
The new girl looks up at the Professor and says, sweetly: “It's okay, Professor.
I was an accident, too.”
It's dirty, but it's funny, and it also suggests some interesting metaphor behind the creation
of the Powerpuff Girls themselves.
Sexy hair – Tangled Disney's animated films are a favorite subject
of film conspiracy buffs.
Ask the right people, and you'll hear that just about every Disney animated movie is
rife with concealed sexual innuendo.
Though most of these take a pretty big leap of the imagination to believe, they're fun
to look for, and they go to show that people with dirty minds can find something inappropriate
in just about anything.
Case in point: this promotional poster for Disney's 2010 animated film, Tangled.
At first glance, there's nothing but some mild wordplay going on here: Rapunzel's extra-long
hair is tangled up and wrapped around Flynn, the movie's male protagonist.
But people with too much time on their hands have pointed out that, by squinting just so,
the letters “S-E-X” can be seen, written out with Rapunzel's hair across Flynn's body.
It's a stretch, but not such a stretch that we can't see it.
Is it intentional?
Who knows.
But the “Dirty Disney” legend lives on.
Which of these ten shocking adult moments in children's cartoons is your favorite?
Were there any you didn't know about?
Any you think should have made this list?
Tell us in the comments below.
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