A parody of past religious-geared animated shows starring Orel, an optimistic God-fearing young boy in a world of cynicism.A parody of past religious-geared animated shows starring Orel, an optimistic God-fearing young boy in a world of cynicism.A parody of past religious-geared animated shows starring Orel, an optimistic God-fearing young boy in a world of cynicism.
- Won 2 Primetime Emmys
- 2 wins & 6 nominations total
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This is a great parody of the old show from the 60's or 70's called "Davey and Goliath" It's a show poking fun at far right wing christians so if you are a born again Christian you will not want to watch this. It is done in what looks like claymation. Orel is a little boy who lives with his family, mom, dad and little brother. They live in the town of Moralton in a NEW state wedged between Kansas and Missouri called "Statesota". This is really short like most Adult Swim programs. It is about 12 minutes long. There is some claymation blood and gore so if that bothers you you might want to skip this. This cartoon is really meant for left wingers like me or maybe atheists or perhaps people WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR. I'm sure there will be complaints and they will come mostly from people who never watched it but just heard about it. Have fun, hope it goes on for a long successful season or more.
A juvenile religious fanatic. His alcoholic, closeted homosexual father. A sexually and emotionally repressed mother. The father's gay, satanist lover. Scenes of gay bashing, molestation, and underage drinking. All the things that make a comedy great.
Moral Orel is an Adult Swim comedy with an extremely dark heart, even crossing over into dramatic territory in its last season. It focuses on the family of Orel, a young evangelical Christian living in the Midwestern town of Moralton. Due to his often literalistic interpretations of his parents' and other adults' advice, Orel's actions frequently culminate in distinctly immoral results.
This is a show that gets better as it goes along. The first season and a half were characterized by an extremely formulaic approach as each episode followed Orel's screw ups. (The episode "Loyalty," for instance, is a masterpiece of dark humor.) Although many of the individual episodes were funny, watching more than one or two at a time could grow very tiresome, very quickly.
However, the third season is arguably a masterpiece of adult animation. It marked a dramatic shift in tone for the series, with much more emphasis on the development of individual characters aside from Orel. For example, the episode "NUMB" focuses on Orel's repressed mother Bloberta, and often crosses between the darkly comic and the genuinely disturbing.
Moral Orel will clearly not appeal to all people, and is best enjoyed by those whose sense of humor leans toward the warped. Nevertheless, with those who are up to it, it is a great, under-appreciated series.
Moral Orel is an Adult Swim comedy with an extremely dark heart, even crossing over into dramatic territory in its last season. It focuses on the family of Orel, a young evangelical Christian living in the Midwestern town of Moralton. Due to his often literalistic interpretations of his parents' and other adults' advice, Orel's actions frequently culminate in distinctly immoral results.
This is a show that gets better as it goes along. The first season and a half were characterized by an extremely formulaic approach as each episode followed Orel's screw ups. (The episode "Loyalty," for instance, is a masterpiece of dark humor.) Although many of the individual episodes were funny, watching more than one or two at a time could grow very tiresome, very quickly.
However, the third season is arguably a masterpiece of adult animation. It marked a dramatic shift in tone for the series, with much more emphasis on the development of individual characters aside from Orel. For example, the episode "NUMB" focuses on Orel's repressed mother Bloberta, and often crosses between the darkly comic and the genuinely disturbing.
Moral Orel will clearly not appeal to all people, and is best enjoyed by those whose sense of humor leans toward the warped. Nevertheless, with those who are up to it, it is a great, under-appreciated series.
After watching so many adult animated cartoons from the past few years-many that tackle serious issues and real life problems-I was surprised to hear that Moral Orel, which preceded all of them, managed to do what those shows did but even better and even grander than I thought.
I think one of the best things about this show is that despite it's extreme ways to push the boundaries of darj subject matter, it still manages to portray an optimistic and careful view on our world and the concept of religion as a whole. Even though it is very clearly satire on religion and has constant gags and jokes about religious teachings, it doesn't insult Christianity nor does it downright dismiss it completely-it is only making light of those who misuse passed down morals to hurt others in contrast to those who use it to be better people, and that is very much shown all the way to the final episode. And to me that is a very powerful message and recurring theme of the show, and one I wish many other shows tried to do but better
The stop motion animation is also incredible for a TV production. Some of the scenes and shots in this show are incredibly impressive and unique. The work done in ShadowMachine to make this show come to life is admirable and one that shouldn't be taken for granted.
Please give this show a chance, you will not be disappointed. (And you may cry, like how I have with several episodes because of how deeply they resonated with me)
I think one of the best things about this show is that despite it's extreme ways to push the boundaries of darj subject matter, it still manages to portray an optimistic and careful view on our world and the concept of religion as a whole. Even though it is very clearly satire on religion and has constant gags and jokes about religious teachings, it doesn't insult Christianity nor does it downright dismiss it completely-it is only making light of those who misuse passed down morals to hurt others in contrast to those who use it to be better people, and that is very much shown all the way to the final episode. And to me that is a very powerful message and recurring theme of the show, and one I wish many other shows tried to do but better
The stop motion animation is also incredible for a TV production. Some of the scenes and shots in this show are incredibly impressive and unique. The work done in ShadowMachine to make this show come to life is admirable and one that shouldn't be taken for granted.
Please give this show a chance, you will not be disappointed. (And you may cry, like how I have with several episodes because of how deeply they resonated with me)
Having grown up in a town very similar to Orel's, I can safely say that this show is only slightly a hyperbole. Which is a scary thought.
The animation is good, but when you have content like this, that doesn't matter. If shows like Southpark and Aqua Teen Hunger Force have taught us anything, they have taught us that you can easily get away with terrible animation if your content is quality.
And, this show is pure genius. It is witty and entertaining, and pulls no punches.
I could do with a daily dose of this show. I'm shocked (and pleased) it managed to get on the air. I'm also very glad to hear there will be a season two.
Most Christians will hate it, bash it, and complain about the contents, but that doesn't make it any less funny (or any less true!).
The animation is good, but when you have content like this, that doesn't matter. If shows like Southpark and Aqua Teen Hunger Force have taught us anything, they have taught us that you can easily get away with terrible animation if your content is quality.
And, this show is pure genius. It is witty and entertaining, and pulls no punches.
I could do with a daily dose of this show. I'm shocked (and pleased) it managed to get on the air. I'm also very glad to hear there will be a season two.
Most Christians will hate it, bash it, and complain about the contents, but that doesn't make it any less funny (or any less true!).
I can't for the life of me figure this show out. Sometimes I find myself genuinely laughing almost uncontrollably, others I'm left reflecting on the message, and still others I'm just lost and a little bored even; the episode with orel's stop-motion animation for example. Interesting concept but fell very short. In any case I admire the uniqueness. Now I've seen jokes in a negative light and dark comedy in plenty other animated shows but this one manages to pull off full on cynicism about a wide range of topics using some very unique yet inexplicably relatable characters.
In fact the character analysis alone makes for interesting conversation. I mean for a show that takes a pretty good number of jabs at Christianity the reverend seems to be the most logical down to earth character. Which may be a statement about people's inability to truly understand what's being said to them. In any case the entire show has so many undertones that can be interpreted in just about any way depending almost entirely on the individual. I know I found some new little thing each time I watch the show.
The soundtrack used is another thing I loved about this show. Unique again but you feel an instant attraction to almost every song. Be it tongues in other people's mouths from the first season or The strangely alluring mountain goat songs in the 3rd season.
Which brings me to the third season. It in my opinion is one of the best final seasons of any show I have ever seen. This doesn't just include animated or comedy shows but just about every series I've followed. I am very sad this show was unable to come to the end intended of it.
I'm sad that adult swim couldn't let it run its course to the end. I mean I like their programming for the most part but I would have preferred keeping something like metalocalypse (a show I also enjoy) at 15 minutes so this could continue, if not just for curiosity's sake to see how it would continue to play out. C'est la vie. Thank you Mr. Stamatopolous, this will forever be one of the more memorable shows I've ever seen.
I watched the full series again recently and had to up my rating even higher. I miss this show.
In fact the character analysis alone makes for interesting conversation. I mean for a show that takes a pretty good number of jabs at Christianity the reverend seems to be the most logical down to earth character. Which may be a statement about people's inability to truly understand what's being said to them. In any case the entire show has so many undertones that can be interpreted in just about any way depending almost entirely on the individual. I know I found some new little thing each time I watch the show.
The soundtrack used is another thing I loved about this show. Unique again but you feel an instant attraction to almost every song. Be it tongues in other people's mouths from the first season or The strangely alluring mountain goat songs in the 3rd season.
Which brings me to the third season. It in my opinion is one of the best final seasons of any show I have ever seen. This doesn't just include animated or comedy shows but just about every series I've followed. I am very sad this show was unable to come to the end intended of it.
I'm sad that adult swim couldn't let it run its course to the end. I mean I like their programming for the most part but I would have preferred keeping something like metalocalypse (a show I also enjoy) at 15 minutes so this could continue, if not just for curiosity's sake to see how it would continue to play out. C'est la vie. Thank you Mr. Stamatopolous, this will forever be one of the more memorable shows I've ever seen.
I watched the full series again recently and had to up my rating even higher. I miss this show.
Did you know
- TriviaFive seasons were planned. By the fifth season, Orel would have evolved from being naive and innocent to an emotionally mature person. According to creator Dino Stamatopoulos, the fifth season would have focused more on other townspeople and the title would have been changed to "Moralton".
- Crazy creditsDuring the closing credits of each episode, Orel is seen animating a different stop-motion movie, each starring Jesus or God.
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Adult Swim Shows (2014)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Моральний Орел
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 11m
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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