If you’re a fan of subversive cartoons, then you’re probably familiar with Cartoon Network’s highly entertaining, yet sometimes baffling Regular Show. To put it simply, there is nothing regular about Regular Show. On paper, the show makes no sense. Why would a raccoon who sleeps on a trampoline, and a man-sized bluebird be best friends and roommates? Why is their boss at a walking and talking gumball machine with a suspiciously phallic coin slot? Most romantic interests are interspecies, or sometimes even intergalactic. Yet despite the outlandish, seemingly nonsensical world that Regular Show takes place in, it grounds itself expertly on the line between kid and adult humor, giving it mass appeal.
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Regular Show was one of those shows that got caught in between networks. It was probably too mature to be on Cartoon Network, but not quite mature enough to be hosted by their nighttime affiliate, Adult Swim. Older viewers are immediately reminded of a similar relationship between MTV and Nickelodeon back in the 90s when shows like Rocko’s Modern Life and Ren & Stimpy were given a “Y” rating when parents should have been screening some of the content their kids were watching after school. It’s within this blurred line that Regular Show thrives, and why loyal fans maintain that it’s one of the best cartoons of the 2010s. Regular Show is both sophomoric and sophisticated in its delivery, and its legacy is one of adoration from fans of all ages for a number of reasons.
Occupational Humor
Cartoon Network Studios
Regular Show has a simple enough premise: Mordecai and Rigby are best friends and roommates who work as lackeys maintaining a park and doing odd jobs. They often put their social lives before their work, which infuriates their boss Benson, a walking and talking gumball machine with anger issues. From a kid’s perspective, it’s all about having some fun because you have the rest of your life to work. It’s a nod and a wink to shows like Rocko’s Modern Life, and other beloved and bizarre cartoons from a past era. From an adult perspective, Regular Show competes with the humor that you’d see in Office Space, or various other workplace comedies. It doesn’t matter how old you are; sometimes slacking off is fun, and everybody needs to stop taking themselves so seriously every once in a while.
Regular Show Graciously Handles Heavy Topics
Season five kicks off with Mordecai finding himself in a deep depression over romantic rejection, and it’s all too real to watch the bluebird fall to pieces. While it may not be the best show for a younger child to process on their own, it has the potential to open up a healthy dialogue between a child and their parents about serious emotional issues that we will all experience at some point in our lives. Subjects like depression and mortality aren’t necessarily kid-friendly topics, but these kinds of realities show up uninvited every day in real life, and Regular Show has an ability to put a positive spin on the often ugly side of humanity. Sure, Mordecai feels trapped in an endless abyss of hopelessness and sorrow, but Rigby, Muscle Man, and even Benson get together to bring him back to his regular self.
Treading a Fine Line Between Slapstick and Subtle
One thing that Regular Show pulled off a lot better than its contemporaries was finding that sweet spot between “pie-in-the-face” tomfoolery and the real joke that lands right beneath the surface. Sure, it’s funny when Benson explodes into a fit of rage because Mordecai and Rigby somehow set the house on fire for the 10th time while playing video games, but that’s not the full joke; it’s the fact that Benson gives the mischievous duo second chance after second chance despite his judgment. Despite Benson’s anger issues, he’s a kind-hearted person, and it’s not just his explosive moments that evoke humor, it’s his wholesome smile slowly taking the form of a grimace when a disaster unfolds exactly how he expected it to.
Old and New Tech Work Together Seamlessly
Just like every other aspect of Regular Show that causes confusion, the video games that Mordecai and Rigby love so dearly throughout the series are probably the most confusing. The show takes place in the present day, but the new gadgets and games all give off a retro ’80s vibe. There are arcade machines at the cafe, and archaic joysticks in the living room, but they always boast the “state-of-the-art graphics.” Looking at this objectively, it’s clear that this kind of decade blending only helped Regular Show bolster a wide viewing demographic; the visuals bridge the gap between Generation X and Gen-Z cultures in a way that doesn’t come off as forced or far-fetched.
