Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory is one of the funniest cartoons on the Cartoon Network. Everyday Dexter is always working in his laboratory and he every time when he is working, his sister DeeDee (who is a funny character who is sort of an airhead), bugs him and starts wrecking mostly everything and then Dexter always says this very memorable quote,"DeeDee, GET OUT OF MY LABORATORY!" and then DeeDee is so always asking what this button do? Then Dexter is like, "NO DeeDee, don't push that button! You don't even know what it does!" and then something goes wrong. Another thing I think is hilarious on Dexter's Laboratory is The Justice Friends segments those are so funny! With Major Glory spoofing Captain America, Valhallan spoofing The Silver Surfer and The Inbragable Krunk spoofing The Incredible Hulk of course! I like the introduction to the Justice Friends where the announcer says: Three of Earth's most mightiest heroes, all in one roof to face the challenge of everyday life and then they introduce the characters and so on. I also think it is funny about Dexter's Lab is that Dexter rival Mandark has this huge crush on DeeDee! I also liked Dexter's really cool inventions and I was wishing I had some cool stuff like that but I am pretty sure everyone does. Overall funny and memorable.

Dexter's Lab is one of Cartoon Network's best shows ever. I saw this as far back as when the pilot debuted in February 1995 on The World Premiere Toon Show (later known as The What a Cartoon Show, now The Cartoon Cartoon Show), and I remember seeing the series premiere on TNT in April 1996 (back when CN's shows were being shared on TNT & TBS). At the time the cartooning industry was making a comeback, this was one of Cartoon Network's best programs ever.

Dexter is a boy-genius who lives in the depths of suburbia, and often works in his secret laboratory (pretty big place for such a small house). But his quest for ultimate knowledge (on par with Einstein, Newton, etc.) is often squandered by his sometimes annoying sister, Dee Dee. Other characters include Mom & Dad (no real names, thus no last name for the family), Mandark (Dexter's worst enemy), plus Mee Mee and Lee Lee (Dee Dee's friends), and several more.

There are two sub-cartoons to this series. The first was Dial "M" for Monkey, a cartoon about Dexter's lab monkey, who's actually a superhero (unknown to Dexter) who saves the world from intergalactic villains. The second (and better) sub-toon is The Justice Friends. It was a cartoon about three (of total eight) superheroes living together. They were Major Glory, Valhallen, and Krunk. Both of these sub-toon were funny and cool, but I think The Justice Friends was better.

Back to Dexter's Lab, it marked the start of this "Cal-Arts" style, in where, unlike previous Cal-Arts graduates, the artists create cartoons with UPA-esque drawings (most of which are okay on their own level), mixed with emotionally compelling stories, complete with endless action movie spoofs. All thanks to Genndy Tartakovsky's brilliant supervision, and the excellent artwork of Craig McCracken & Paul Rudish. I think this show was at its best between late 1996 and late 1997, in where its art, writing, and humor was at its peak.

However, Dexter's Lab joins the list of several cartoons with a waning franchise. Its original run was from 1996 to 1998, but its new run began in November 2001.

Tartakovsky is now the executive producer, with Chris Savino now running the show. Sorry to say, but Savino is a better artist than director. These new episodes have some of the cheapest designs; unlike the older episodes, they actually look as if they've been cribbed from Kindergarden drawings! David Smith is Chris Savino's unofficial assistant, but he also makes a better artist than art director. Sorry, but even for a beginner, his designs are terrible. Plus, aside from the major character re-designs, a lot of the minor character designs are horrible. Smith has just recently been replaced by Paul Stec, whose designs are better, but not as good as the likes of McCracken or Rudish. The stories are mostly reworks of much of the classic episodes, and the jokes are few and far between. And the sub-cartoons are, if ever seldom mentioned. But some of them thankfully pick up on several concepts originally left untouched in the classic series.

Dexter's Lab had a TV movie released in December 1999, which was fine, except that its artistic quality could've/should've been better. Overall, Dexter's Lab joins Rugrats and Johnny Bravo in the list in where a cartoon had a solid run, but made an unnecessary revival, which ruins the franchise on a whole. To be fair, the new episodes did cover some lost concepts (as I said earlier). But the generally stellar material of the older episodes is sadly missing in the new Dexter's Lab episodes. Probably because most of the original artists are hard at work on the series' sister toon, The Powerpuff Girls.

The new episodes are weakening what was once a clean production. But I still enjoy watching the classic episodes of Dexter's Laboratory.

Dexter's Laboratory is about as good as it gets. It stars a little boy named Dexter, who is incredibly brilliant and has a secret laboratory attached to his room. Often times his experiments are interrupted by his sister Dee Dee, who will come in his lab whenever she feels like it. Often times Dexter will use his intelligence to stop dilemmas (which at times he or Dee Dee may be at fault for.) Despite Dexter's intelligence, the creators of the show remember Dexter is just a kid, and have given him many traits found in an everyday kid. For example, Dexter isn't too fond of vegetables, he's afraid of being grounded, and doesn't get along with his sister well. The writers also added some drama to the show, as well as some everday situations a kid must go through. Dexter isn't the coolest kid at school, and at times he feels very alone. I'm sure we can all relate to this. At times Dexter's Lab can illustrate childhood as well as Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold! can. I recommend everyone give this show a try. Oh by the way, did I mention all of the spoofs this show has?

A truly great cartoon. Don't look here for great art, its classic, simple lines and bright colors are perfect for the cartoon medium. The stories are varied enough to keep one's attention and the plots are character, not "gag" driven so they bear repeated watching. The writing is hilarious and insightful and the foibles of the main characters are those any adult could identify with. If you have any perspective on the art of cartooning, or even a sense of humor, you'll LOVE Dexter's Laboratory. Along with the Powerpuf Girls, Rocko's Modern Life, Real Monsters, Doug, Wild Thornberries, As Told By Ginger, and even Ren and Stimpy, it is a modern classic. Dexter's Laboratory is a MUST WATCH.

This show became a regular viewing for me and my brothers we would sit down from 4 till 5 and watch the show it was different episodes all stacked up the funniest things that happened was when Dee Dee was around usually.

It had everything, class, great writing, real life examples (A annoying little sibling or older).

The way Dexter had his accent was pretty cool like a Russian scientist and his way of handling situations with research and experiments.

The funniest episode was the pig one were Dexter try's to act like a average teenager, he joins a normal dull teenager who likes to annoy a local resident.

A great show for all,