Animated shows often have more flexibility than live-action ones, being able to take viewers on grand adventures at ridiculous locations just not possible in the real world. This added freedom also comes with the ability for these shows to more shockingly break the fourth wall and engage with their own creation.
Plenty of animated series have done it over the years, and whether they’re confronting their own development or perhaps their relationship with their fanbase, it always proves to be a captivating experience.
Family Guy – “Back to the Pilot”
Family Guy‘s emphasis on references and pop culture humor has inevitably led it to go meta and make jokes about itself quite often, but this was taken to its extreme in the episode “Back to the Pilot.” In it, Stewie and Brian go on one of their grand adventures, this time to January 31, 1999, or the premiere date of Family Guy.
The show pokes fun at how much the series has changed since then, including the contrasting art styles and Lacey Chabert being replaced by Mila Kunis as the voice of Meg. That’s not all, though, as the episode also flashes forward to a CGI-styled future that mocks Family Guy‘s formulaic writing.
Rick and Morty – “Never Ricking Morty”
One of the most consistently-meta series in all of television, Rick and Morty went from mocking its genre clichés and fan expectations in simple jokes and throwaway lines to crafting an entire episode around them in “Never Ricking Morty,” which sees the titular duo stuck on a Story Train and facing a villain attempting to extract stories from them.
The episode addressed numerous fan theories, especially the ones regarding major continuity-based storylines such as Tammy and Evil Morty, while also poking fun at Dan Harmon’s Story Circle and the very concept of anthologies.
Chowder – “The Shopping Spree”
There’s breaking the fourth wall, and then there’s obliterating it, which is what Chowder did in the episode “The Shopping Spree.” When the characters go on a shopping spree using the company’s money, they go overboard, spending it all.
With no money, Mung freaks out, exclaiming that “No money means,” only to have the sentence finished with “no animation!” by his voice actor Dwight Schultz. Now in the live-action real world, all of the characters’ voice actors, Tara Strong and Kevin Michael Richardson among them, hold a car wash to raise enough money to get the animation back.
The Amazing World Of Gumball – “The Money”
The Amazing World of Gumball took the concept of “no money means no animation” in Chowder and amplified it in the episode The Money. The Watterson family, down on their luck financially even more so than usual, are shocked to see their world (literally) falling apart due to their lack of money.
Racing to Joyful Burger in order to “sell out” and star in a commercial, the Wattersons gradually decrease in animation quality. They lose their color and their movement, becoming simple storyboard drawings, and then devolve even further into incredibly crude post-it note stick figures until they sign the contract.
OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes – “Thank You For Watching the Show
OK K.O.! followed a young aspiring hero named K.O. working at a hero supply bodega and told tons of humorous and heartfelt stories throughout its three-season run. Yet, the show’s crew clearly had a lot more story left to tell despite OK K.O.! not getting picked up for a fourth season.
In the series finale, “Thank You For Watching the Show,” K.O. is distressed to see his life rapidly moving forward in time and changing. The episode uses this to showcase major plot points and milestones happening in characters’ futures, even giving each event an episode title and title card. It ultimately acts as a bittersweet farewell to the show that highlights what possible stories it would have told if it had more time.
American Dad – “Top of the Steve”
American Dad features some of the funniest characters in any show, and a lot of that is due to the ridiculous situations they find themselves in each episode. One of the most ridiculous of them all occurred in “Top of the Steve” when Steve (along with Roger) gets sucked into his very own spinoff series.
At first, he’s loving being the most important character with his dad out of the picture, Steve grows tired of it and desperately tries to escape, only to be sucked in by plot clichés and lazy writing. Meanwhile, Stan has to deal with the annoying characters brought in to replace Steve.
Steven Universe – “Say Uncle”
Crossovers often bring out the meta in shows, and “Say Uncle” was no exception. While Steven Universe is certainly full of fun and humor, it’s also a very emotional and plot-driven series, something which the zany Uncle Grandpa is not.
The meeting of the two extremely different shows caused chaos unlike anything the Steven Universe characters had ever seen, the Crystal Gems stupefied by Uncle Grandpa’s fourth-wall-breaking antics. The episode even jokes about Steven Universe‘s ships and the way in which the current adventure isn’t canon.
Teen Titans Go! – “Let’s Get Serious”
Teen Titans Go! has its fair share of detractors, many considering it to be one of the worst tv reboots of all time. The show has gone completely meta too many times to count, often mocking its own writing and perceived lack of quality, yet it also pokes fun at the fans, especially the ones who wish the series wasn’t a comedy and more serious like the original Teen Titans series.
One time this occurred was in the episode “Let’s Get Serious,” where the Titans, after meeting the much more mature Yong Justice characters, decide to become serious. They do so by changing their art style and becoming more dramatic about everything (even juice) to hilarious effect.
South Park – “The Big Fix”
South Park is another show that, while often making humorous meta jokes about itself, isn’t afraid to mock its own viewers from time to time. One of the most recent instances of this occurred in the episode “The Big Fix.” In it, Stan learns that Token Black, one of the few black characters on the show, is actually named Tolkien Black after the author J. R. R. Tolkien.
Stan is distressed to find out that everyone in town already knew this and is consequently berated for his racism in making assumptions about Tolkein’s name. The thing is, the South Park audience had been lead to believe this as well for decades, meaning they were hilariously also being berated at the same time Stan was.
Close Enough – “Halloween Enough”
The recent cancellation of the animated series Close Enough has upset many fans, the show proving popular for its likable characters and bizarre humor. One of the finest instances of this bizarre humor occurred in the episode “Halloween Enough,” which sees the young Candice have a nightmare that leads her to Cartoon Network Studios and is frighteningly baffled by the fourth-wall-breaking things she sees.
She sees the production of Close Enough, meets her own voice actress, and even meets the creator of Close Enough, J.G. Quintel, who looks just like her dad and tries to get her to watch his previous animated series, Regular Show.
