History WesternAnimation / MoralOrel

''Moral Orel'' is a StopMotion animated show that first aired on Creator/AdultSwim from 2006 to 2008, created by Creator/DinoStamatopoulos (writer for ''Series/MrShow'', ''Series/{{Community}}'', and ''Series/LateNightWithConanOBrien''). Originally conceived as a {{satire}} of sitcoms from TheFifties and TheSixties, and designed to resemble an AffectionateParody of ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'' (not ''WesternAnimation/DaveyAndGoliath'', despite the art style), the show, despite copious amounts of ExecutiveMeddling, ultimately evolved into one of the darkest pieces of Western animation of the 2000s. It is notable for being one of the first animated [[{{Dramedy}} dramedies]] on television, having come out a near-decade before the critically acclaimed ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' hit Creator/{{Netflix}}.

-->-- "Beforel Orel"

** [[ScaryLibrarian Miss Censordoll]] a KnightTemplar who has the penchant of burning books and later takes advantage of Clay's UsefulNotes/OedipusComplex to get what she wants.

** And Clay, as a child, prior to [[spoiler:one of his tantrums leading to his mother's death and the subsequent abuse at the hands of his father]].

* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: Rubbing alcohol is vastly different from alcohol made for human consumption. Drinking even a little bit would make you vomit blood, and downing an ''entire bottle'' like Clay does in "Nature" would assuredly kill you.
** While no doubt a hyperbolic portrayal, long term alcoholics have been known to drink rubbing alcohol and survive. Household versions of the substance can range from 60-95% alcohol with the rest being water. 500 millimetres of isopropyl alcohol is roughly equivalent to 30 beers. So, while Clay would likely risk brain damage, both internal chemical burns and internal bleeding, as well as (obviously) alcohol poisoning, it’s not a guarantee he would die. Although the speed at which he consumes it wouldn’t bode well for his survival odds.

* CatchPhrase: Before every SpoofAesop spouted by Clay, he would find Orel and say a sentence that ends with "In my '''study'''." [[LoudGulp Cue gulping]].

The show's shift from its satirical roots to a bleaker tone was initiated by Dino moving the focus away from Orel midway through the first season, [[CreatorBreakdown caused by a rough divorce he was going through at the time]]. He then began to explore the [[StepfordSmiler dark underbelly of the seemingly happy-go-lucky townspeople of Moralton]], which culminated in the two-part season 2 finale "Nature". The network higher-ups loved the two-parter, with Adult Swim [then] head Mike Lazzo asking Dino to make the show's third season as dark as humanly possible.

** Clay Puppington's life has been full of genuine tragedy: he accidentally [[MissingMom gave his mother a fatal heart attack]] when he pulled a cruel prank on her, he began to associate self-worth with physical abuse thanks to [[AbusiveParents his dad]], and he's trapped in a [[AwfulWeddedLife loveless marriage]] with a woman who hates his guts (and vice-versa) and kids he didn't want (one of whom is [[ChocolateBaby clearly not his]]). However, he's also an unrepentant, sociopathic {{Main/JerkAss}} who is well aware of his faults but consciously [[NeverMyFault refuses to change for the better]], making it hard for viewers to feel ''any'' kind of emotion about him, let alone pity.

* BigScrewedUpFamily: A textbook example, really. Clay is alcoholic adulterer who emotionally abuses and neglects his whole family (Bloberta too for the most part); Shapey is a 7 year old who acts like he's 3 '''at best''', and Orel, despite good intentions and the most 'normal', ends up doing very messed up things just to show his love for god.

With this in mind, ''Moral Orel'' is less a critique of Christianity itself than a {{deconstruction}} of religious fundamentalism. The show aims its real critique towards [[MoralGuardians authority figures]] who pay lipservice to their inferiors' religious beliefs as a way of preserving their authority -- especially when such people [[BrokenAesop make horrible authority figures and role models]]. In short, it's not a criticism of religion specifically, but of hypocrisy itself -- specifically those who don't practice what they preach.

''Moral Orel'' is a StopMotion animated show that first aired on Creator/AdultSwim from 2006 to 2008, created by Creator/DinoStamatopoulos (writer for ''Series/MrShow'', ''Series/{{Community}}'', and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''). Originally conceived as a {{satire}} of sitcoms from TheFifties and TheSixties, and designed to resemble an AffectionateParody of ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'' (not ''WesternAnimation/DaveyAndGoliath'', despite the art style), the show, despite copious amounts of ExecutiveMeddling, ultimately evolved into one of the darkest pieces of Western animation of the 2000s. It is notable for being one of the first animated [[{{Dramedy}} dramedies]] on television, having come out a near-decade before the critically acclaimed ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' hit Creator/{{Netflix}}.

In the town of [[EverytownAmerica Moralton, Statesota]] lives the Puppington Family. Twelve-year-old Orel Puppington, a devout Protestant Christian, thinks of Jesus as his biggest role model. He always pays rapt attention in church, taking the advice of the local preacher's sermons to heart, but due to his age, he doesn't always understand some of the topics, which leads to Orel acting on them in his own special way. Needless to say, HilarityEnsues!

** While no doubt a hyperbolic portrayal, long term alcoholics have been known drink rubbing alcohol and survive. Household versions of the substance can range from 60-95% alcohol with the rest being water. 500 millimetres of isopropyl alcohol is roughly equivalent to 30 beers. So, while Clay would likely risk brain damage, both internal chemical burns and internal bleeding, as well as (obviously) alcohol poisoning, it’s not a guarantee he would die. Although the speed at which he consumes it wouldn’t bode well for his survival odds.