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Drawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting. Like that of The Surreal Life, the show's eight characters are a combination of personalities that were recognizable prior to the series. Drawn Together, however, uses cartoon parodies of stock characters.
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Quotations
:Captain Hero: I want to beep the head off of a fucking pig and rip its fucking guts out and then beep its fucking beep beep beep beep ...
:Female Transformer: not in the hair, I have a date tonight
:Foxxy: Oh my God, Clara's vagina is killin' those old bastards!
:Ling Ling: Talk to honorable hand, honorable face ain't ristening. (english subtitles)
:Snow White: That's what we get for letting Mulan drive.
:Spanky: Die or gay marry a Homo, I didn't know what to do, but I tell you what... You decide America!
Encyclopedia
Drawn Together is an American animated television series, which ran on Comedy Central from October 27, 2004 to November 14, 2007. The series was created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, and uses a sitcom format with a TV reality show setting. Like that of The Surreal Life, the show's eight characters are a combination of personalities that were recognizable prior to the series. Drawn Together, however, uses cartoon parodies of stock characters. In addition, their character traits parody personality types that are typically seen in reality TV shows. The characters agreed to live in a house together in a setup similar to that of The Real World. Comedy Central advertises it as the first animated reality show.
In some episodes, characters participate in challenges that are based on reality TV challenges. The show was made by Rough Draft Studios in Glendale, California, with much of the animation done at the studio's facilities in Korea.
Comedy Central's original tagline for the show was "Find out what happens when cartoon characters stop being polite… and start making out in hot tubs," referring to Clara and Foxxy's kiss in the pilot episode. The line is a parody of The Real World's tagline, "Find out what happens when people stop being polite… and start getting real." The aforementioned hot tub kiss is considered one of the show's defining images; Comedy Central based nearly all of its first-season promotional material for Drawn Together on it.
A total of three seasons have been produced and completed to date. Season 3 began airing on Thursday, October 5, 2006, and took a mid-season break which started on November 15, 2006. The second half of Season Three began airing on Thursday, October 4, 2007.
In March 2007, it was announced that creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein had left Comedy Central and signed a two-year contract with Fox Broadcasting Company to create new series and/or work on the network's existing ones. Even if the show had been renewed for a fourth season, Jeser and Silverstein would not have been involved with the show on a day-to-day basis.
The season three finale included multiple jokes about the show's cancellation. TVGuide listed this episode as a series finale and described the episode as follows: "The series wraps up with the housemates participating in a singing competition as they look back on their recent misadventures."
In an interview with on March 20, 2008, Tara Strong confirmed that the show has been cancelled, and the back of the third season DVD's box refers to it as the "third and final season".
Since cancellation, the show has partial rotation late-nights. Uncensored on Comedy Central's Secret Stash and on Comedy Central sister channel Logo.
Style
The show's visual style is that of traditional ink and paint animation, which is actually a departure for Comedy Central, which usually favors more specialized approaches to animation. The style was chosen both for the retro feel it gives the show and for the versatility it allows the animators, providing an environment in which it is possible to combine many different styles of animation. Another unique aspect of the show is that, where most cartoons present their characters, though animated, as real within the show's world, the Drawn Together characters retain their identities as cartoon characters even within their animated world. The show also features many cameo appearances by famous characters (or in some cases, copyright-avoiding clones) from all across the animated spectrum.
In keeping with the various animation styles that form for the various characters, Wooldoor and Toot have four fingers on each hand, whereas Clara, Foxxy, Hero, and Xandir have five. In promotional artwork for the show, Toot and Wooldoor are drawn with the standard five fingers, but in the show itself they have four. Also, whereas most of the characters are drawn with black outlines, Clara and items belonging to her are drawn with soft edges, a reference to Disney animation techniques.
Content
The show is adult-oriented and laden with black comedy, with plot lines revolving around such topics as the fact that Princess Clara's vagina is a multi-tentacled monster (a theme found in a number of hentai films). The humor is largely satirical in nature, its primary focus being the mockery of stereotypes. Some episodes have heavy emphasis on homosexuality and/or bisexuality, with some episodes (such as "Gay Bash" or "A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special") solely devoted to these topics. Kinky sex is a common topic of conversation; several of the characters have extremely perverse sexual tastes, and the show makes frequent reference to masturbation, paraphilia, and BDSM. Death and violence are also constant themes. Nearly all episodes feature at least one death, and several episodes feature characters going on killing sprees or perpetrating massacres. Even the main cast die with great frequency, though these deaths are never permanent.
The show's content is controversial, partially for its explicit dialogue and graphic violence, but primarily for the casual attitude the show takes toward taboo subject matter. A great deal of the show's humor revolves around making light of difficult topics such as abortion, rape, incest, pedophilia, gay marriage, spousal abuse, racism, homophobia, antisemitism, necrophilia and terrorism. The extensive use of stereotypes is another controversial aspect of the show, though the intent is actually to make fun of bigotry. As Jess Harnell states in the DVD commentary for "Hot Tub", "Most of the racism on the show is coming from people who are so obviously stupid about it; it really isn't that threatening." (Notably, one of the groups most commonly mocked is Jewish people, which includes both creators.)
Though the two shows are stylistically dissimilar, the coarseness of the humor in Drawn Together has led to frequent comparison with South Park, the show that immediately precedes it on the network. South Park was thought to be extremely profane upon its premiere seven years earlier. By 2004, the preceding cartoon had dropped its TV-MA warning bumper, and almost immediately following, a TV-MA warning was shown before episodes of Drawn Together.
Much like The Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy, Drawn Together is heavy with popular culture references. Animation is a major source of material; as mentioned above, many characters from comics and animated cartoons make cameo appearances and often are the subjects of parody. However, numerous live action films, TV shows, and video games are referenced as well. Reality shows are another prime inspiration, not surprising given that Drawn Together is presented as a reality show that takes place in a cartoon world. However, although many of the first-season plots made extensive use of the reality show scenario, this aspect of the show has largely been de-emphasized in later episodes. The spoofing of film and television clichés is another common theme on the show; many Drawn Together stories are parodies of overused plots from TV and movies.
Although, figuratively speaking, the characters come from different kinds of cartoon worlds with radically different laws of nature and behavior (Princess Clara's fairy tale kingdom, Xandir's video game reality, Captain Hero's universe of super-heroics with set rules for hero/villain behavior, etc.), no explanation for how these worlds co-exist is given. All seem aware that they are in fact animated cartoons and that live action creatures exist.
Another hallmark of the show is its extremely loose continuity. Events in different episodes contradict each other, as there is a very loose sense of canon, with humor serving as an ends unto itself, and not as part of a consistent continuity. One such example is in "The Other Cousin", in which Toot is pictured with a penis, but whether or not she actually has one is debatable. Another is Foxxy's various and contradictory stories about her son Timmy (one involves selling him on the black market, another involves her accidentally shooting him after believing him to be rabid, when he was really just brushing his teeth). Often plotlines exist that do not make any kind of internal sense, such as Foxxy, who is in her twenties, having a teenaged grandson. According to Executive Producer Bill Freiberger, "Very little on Drawn Together can be considered canon. If you try to find continuity on this show you'll drive yourself nuts. The only thing that's consistent is we try to make the show as funny as possible. And we'd never let a little thing like continuity get in the way of that."
Occasionally, episodes of Drawn Together are shown with less editing for content during Secret Stash, a Comedy Central program aired on weekends at 1 A.M. that showcases movies, comedy specials, and animated programs with uncensored language. Though Secret Stash programs typically have the nudity still censored, Drawn Together is an exception to this. Some nudity not seen in the original broadcast is shown in the Secret Stash version, while the nudity in other scenes is censored with a caption reading "DVD only"; this is done as a way of promoting the show's DVD releases.
Reception
Initial reception of the pilot episode, "Hot Tub", was given mediocre reviews which focused mostly on its crudity. USA Today deemed Drawn Together "the smutty offspring of Real World and Superfriends," stating that the pilot pushed the limits of taste, being overpowered by violence, sex, and disgusting subject matter. According to the New York Times, "Hot Tub", while it had many good sight gags, did not go far enough in parodying reality television. The domination of Clara's racism in the story was criticized as being a weak attempt to "send up racism while still showcasing its cruel excitement." Toot's cutting was praised as a good parody of self-harm present on reality shows, but Spanky's flatulence was considered more disgusting than humorous.
Cast
Drawn Together features a cast of voice actors, which contains a mix of veteran voice actors (Tara Strong, Cree Summer, Jess Harnell, and James Arnold Taylor) and newcomers to the field (Abbey McBride and Jack Plotnick). Comedian Adam Carolla rounds out the cast.
Members of the show's voice cast have previously collaborated with each other on numerous other projects prior to Drawn Together. Taylor (Wooldoor), Summer (Foxxy), and Strong (Clara and Toot) all performed in the Square Co./Square Enix-developed video games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 as Tidus/Shuyin, Lady Belgemine/Young Tidus/Lenne (speaking voice)/Calli, and Rikku, respectively. On a similar note, Taylor, Strong, and Jess Harnell all performed in the video game Kingdom Hearts II (also developed by Square Enix) as Captain Jack Sparrow/Timon, Rikku, and Doctor Finklestein/Lock, respectively.
Tara Strong and Cree Summer have also worked together on several other projects, most notably Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Danny Phantom, Codename: Kids Next Door, The Buzz on Maggie (which also features Jess Harnell) and Transformers Animated. According to the DVD commentary for the episode "Hot Tub", the two have known each other since childhood (both grew up in Toronto, Ontario).
Three of the show's voice actors had previously worked with creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein on other projects: Jack Plotnick on Action, and Adam Carolla and Abbey McBride on The Man Show. Two of Drawn Together's guest stars also came from the casts of earlier Jeser/Silverstein projects: "The Other Cousin" guest star Sarah Silverman (from Greg the Bunny), and Carolla's Man Show co-host Jimmy Kimmel, who guest-starred in "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree" and "Alzheimer's That Ends Well".
Originally, Xandir was to have been played by Nat Faxon, but the network forced the creators to fire him following the first table read, feeling his portrayal of the character was "too gay". They would end up replacing him with Jack Plotnick.
In addition to their regular roles, the show's cast also provides many of the guest voices on the series, Summer, Strong, Harnell, and Taylor in particular. In the DVD commentary for "Hot Tub", Tara Strong jokes that this is because the show doesn't have a lot of money to pay guest stars. Chris Edgerly also appears in the majority of Season One and Two episodes despite not having a regular role on the series.
Crew
- Executive producers: Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein
- Line producer: Mike Mendel
- Associate producer: Mark Douglas
- Supervising producer: Jordan Young
- Supervising director Peter Avanzino
- Writers: Reed Agnew, Valerie Ahern, Elijah Aron, Jeffrey Bushell, Reid Harrison, Jeff Kahn, Dave Lewman, Joe Liss, Christian McLaughlin, Matt Silverstein, Erik Sommers and Jordan Young
Characters
- Foxxy Love (voiced by Cree Summer) - A sharp-tongued parody of Valerie Brown from Josie and the Pussycats, she is a promiscuous mystery-solving musician. Her name is an amalgam of 1970s blaxploitation characters Foxy Brown and Christy Love.
- Toot Braunstein (voiced by Tara Strong) - An overweight alcoholic sex symbol from the 1920s reminiscent of Betty Boop. Toot demands to be the center of attention, cuts herself with razor blades when depressed, and often instigates conflict in the house.
- Ling-Ling (voiced by Abbey McBride) - A homicidal spoof of Pikachu from the Pokémon franchise, who battles using various supernatural powers/abilities (reminiscent of anime) and speaks in pseudo-Japanese gibberish (or "Japorean", as Ling-Ling's voice Abbey McBride calls it) with English subtitles.
- Xandir P. Wifflebottom (voiced by Jack Plotnick) - A hypersensitive, homosexual, overemotional, and effeminate parody of video game heroes like Link from The Legend of Zelda series. The princess he was trying to rescue strongly resembles Princess Zelda in her adult form.
- Recurring and guest characters
Episodes
DVD releases
Season releases
| DVD name | Cover art | Release date | Discs | Episodes | Special features |
|---|
| Season One Uncensored | | October 4, 2005 | 2 | 7 |
- Uncensored and extended versions of every episode
- Commentary by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein (along with cast and crew) on "Hot Tub", "Clara's Dirty Little Secret", "The Other Cousin", and "The One Wherein There Is a Big Twist"
- Deleted scenes
- Karaoke/sing along versions of the show's songs
- Censored/Uncensored game
| | Season Two Uncensored | | September 25, 2007 | 2 | 15 | Uncensored and extended versions of every episodeCommentary by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein (along with cast and crew) on "Clum Babies", "Super Nanny", "Terms of Endearment", and "A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special"Commentary on the commentary of "Terms of Endearment"Behind the scenes interviews with the cast and creatorsKaraoke/sing along versions of the show's songs | | Season Three Uncensored | | May 13, 2008 | 2 | 14 | Uncensored and extended versions of every episodeCommentary by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein (along with cast and crew) on "Freaks & Greeks", "Lost in Parking Space, Part One", "Drawn Together Babies", and "Breakfast Food Killer"Original network promos from all three seasonsKaraoke/sing along versions of the show's songs | |
The set also contains a game called the Censored/Uncensored game: A line is given, and the viewer must decide if the line aired on television as given (uncensored), or if it had to be altered significantly or deleted (censored). Some of the censored lines appear intact in the extended DVD version of the episode. Getting at least 11 of the 19 questions correct unlocks a hidden feature, a prank phone call by Jeser and Silverstein to their agent regarding the royalties they are to receive for the DVD audio commentaries.
The song "Time of My Life" from "Dirty Pranking No. 2" had to be left off the first season DVD due to copyright issues. The show mocked the situation in the lyrics of the replacement music.
Season Two Uncensored was released on September 25, 2007. Like the Season One set, the set features audio commentaries by Jeser and Silverstein along with assorted cast and crew members, as well as karaoke/singalong versions of the show's songs. The set also contains, in the words of the box art, "potentially annoying" commentary on the commentary for "Terms of Endearment". The behind-the-scenes interviews in the set are the same ones that appear on Comedy Central's website, which feature each of the voice actors talking about his or her character, along with a separate interview with creators Jeser and Silverstein. Tara Strong does two separate interviews, one for each of her characters (Princess Clara and Toot Braunstein). The interview with Adam Carolla, the voice of Spanky Ham, does not appear on the set for reasons unknown. (However, it can still be accessed from the
The set also includes the controversial horse shot from "Terms of Endearment", which was not allowed to air on television. (See "Terms of Endearment" for more information.)
Season Three Uncensored was released on May 13, 2008. According to commentary on the Season 3 DVD set, the creators of the series are in talks with Comedy Central about trying to get the funds together for a possible direct-to-DVD Drawn Together movie.
Previously on Drawn Together
An aborted first season feature of the show was the "last week" segments showing possible outcomes of other episodes. This was a parody of serial dramas, which typically begin with a sensationalized recap of previous events. (In the case of Drawn Together, the events depicted did not actually occur on the show.) Four were produced but not used, and were included on the Season One DVD set.
I: In a parody of Full Metal Jacket, shown in night vision, the housemates gather around a sleeping Toot, gag her, and then beat her with bars of soap in socks because she keeps leaving empty milk cartons in the fridge.
II: After a nuclear apocalypse, the housemates repopulate the Earth with their kids, amalgams of themselves that include a Captain Hero/Clara going out with a Foxxy/Captain Hero/Wooldoor.
III: Xandir tries to have a pillow fight with Spanky and Captain Hero, who are less than pleased. So instead of fighting with their pillows, they smother him.
IV: The housemates run for their lives as they are chased by a giant Wooldoor who proceeds to eat them.
DVD movie
Creators Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein, have signed on to do a Drawn Together movie, which is to be released sometime in 2009.
External links
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