A cynical dismissal of adult Western Animation is that its just a bunch of shows filled with dick jokes. The Venture Brothers, existed to defy that notion by being show filled with dick jokes, but actually having a larger overall plot. It's a show that is a satire, but its a satire that explores our inner desires for escapism and contrasts them to mundane, and at times bleak reality. Rusty isn't just an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, he is a tragedy and a horror story. He's what we fear of becoming when we wake up in the morning, someone so afraid of feeling anything that as a self-defense mechanism, he detaches himself from everything.
Venture Bros primary satire involves the exploration of a Johnny Quest expy's life when all of the romanticism is stripped away. He's involved in horrible dangers as a kid, because his father sees him as an ornament, rather than a son. He's impatient and anti-social because he's been surrounded by adult men that are more interested in the fame of being a superhero than wondering if a kid is suited for the harsh conditions of their lives. He is perceived to have peaked at a young age, when he was only appreciated by the masses as a Kid Appeal character not through any accomplishment he achieved himself.
Venture Bros asks the difficult question, that if you are unhappy with your life, and you want to start over, how can you move on from the way that life molded you? The question is explored many times throughout the series, and never gets an entirely spelled out answer. The primary guinea pigs throughout the series is Hank and Dean, the titicular Venture Bros. Initially, dumb and naive, the various bizarre and strange events, make them start to realize that they need to find their own identities or risk becoming like Rusty. Other characters like Quizboy and Brock Sampson, explore the aspects of their lives that turn them to such extremes, before rebuilding them in ways where they are not entirely living up to their ideal, but are starting to make steps in realizing who they are.
The show is also absurdly funny. Supervillains with incredible resources make mundane mistakes like confusing addresses resulting in an unexpectedly brutal raid of a standard office setting, culminating in the villain offering a small but sincere apology to the dead and traumatised people around him. A villain challenges two of the protagonists to the world's most dangerous game, lawn darts. A Wham Episode about the Hank and Dean, is followed by one of the most darkly hilarious montages broadcast in television. Then, of course, are the tendency for characters to deflate tension with Seinfeldian Conversation, like an Italian mafioso being revealed that he is faking being italian, Brock torturing a mook with a groin attack before realizing he has prostate cancer and discussing medical options with him, or two characters playing celebrity guessing games, before realizing they are heading for certain doom, before lapsing back into the game.
Unfortunately, the latest seasons have been less than stellar. Most of Season 5 is either filler or more interested in opening new plot points than closing others. Season 6 is better, but padded out to the extent that important plot points have to bleed into Season 7. Season 7 feels like it should have taken its characters in more definitive directions, and goes as far to have one of the brothers (emotionally) stab the other in the back with little to no build up. The show is still good, but it feels like its paced to be a long-runner rather than paced in a way that convinces me that the new directions are natural. The show has been on for a decade and a half, it really should be preparing its characters for the final incarnations that are going to depart the show, rather than wring its hands so it can produce more episodes.
Venture Bros really did break new ground for adult animated comedies. Rusty's comedic sociopathic applications of science opened the door for Rick and Morty. Brock's extreme violence contrasted by mundane situations opened the way for Archer. Bojack Horseman carried on the show's central theme of characters that never lived up to the romanticism their lives initially projected. Maybe someday, western animation creators will finally be able to release content that doesn't involve dick jokes. Until then, Venture Bros. strives to make you cry as well as laugh at the dysfunctional lives of its characters.
The Godfather of the Adult Animated Dramedy
A cynical dismissal of adult Western Animation is that its just a bunch of shows filled with dick jokes. The Venture Brothers, existed to defy that notion by being show filled with dick jokes, but actually having a larger overall plot. It's a show that is a satire, but its a satire that explores our inner desires for escapism and contrasts them to mundane, and at times bleak reality. Rusty isn't just an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, he is a tragedy and a horror story. He's what we fear of becoming when we wake up in the morning, someone so afraid of feeling anything that as a self-defense mechanism, he detaches himself from everything.
Venture Bros primary satire involves the exploration of a Johnny Quest expy's life when all of the romanticism is stripped away. He's involved in horrible dangers as a kid, because his father sees him as an ornament, rather than a son. He's impatient and anti-social because he's been surrounded by adult men that are more interested in the fame of being a superhero than wondering if a kid is suited for the harsh conditions of their lives. He is perceived to have peaked at a young age, when he was only appreciated by the masses as a Kid Appeal character not through any accomplishment he achieved himself.
Venture Bros asks the difficult question, that if you are unhappy with your life, and you want to start over, how can you move on from the way that life molded you? The question is explored many times throughout the series, and never gets an entirely spelled out answer. The primary guinea pigs throughout the series is Hank and Dean, the titicular Venture Bros. Initially, dumb and naive, the various bizarre and strange events, make them start to realize that they need to find their own identities or risk becoming like Rusty. Other characters like Quizboy and Brock Sampson, explore the aspects of their lives that turn them to such extremes, before rebuilding them in ways where they are not entirely living up to their ideal, but are starting to make steps in realizing who they are.
The show is also absurdly funny. Supervillains with incredible resources make mundane mistakes like confusing addresses resulting in an unexpectedly brutal raid of a standard office setting, culminating in the villain offering a small but sincere apology to the dead and traumatised people around him. A villain challenges two of the protagonists to the world's most dangerous game, lawn darts. A Wham Episode about the Hank and Dean, is followed by one of the most darkly hilarious montages broadcast in television. Then, of course, are the tendency for characters to deflate tension with Seinfeldian Conversation, like an Italian mafioso being revealed that he is faking being italian, Brock torturing a mook with a groin attack before realizing he has prostate cancer and discussing medical options with him, or two characters playing celebrity guessing games, before realizing they are heading for certain doom, before lapsing back into the game.
Unfortunately, the latest seasons have been less than stellar. Most of Season 5 is either filler or more interested in opening new plot points than closing others. Season 6 is better, but padded out to the extent that important plot points have to bleed into Season 7. Season 7 feels like it should have taken its characters in more definitive directions, and goes as far to have one of the brothers (emotionally) stab the other in the back with little to no build up. The show is still good, but it feels like its paced to be a long-runner rather than paced in a way that convinces me that the new directions are natural. The show has been on for a decade and a half, it really should be preparing its characters for the final incarnations that are going to depart the show, rather than wring its hands so it can produce more episodes.
Venture Bros really did break new ground for adult animated comedies. Rusty's comedic sociopathic applications of science opened the door for Rick and Morty. Brock's extreme violence contrasted by mundane situations opened the way for Archer. Bojack Horseman carried on the show's central theme of characters that never lived up to the romanticism their lives initially projected. Maybe someday, western animation creators will finally be able to release content that doesn't involve dick jokes. Until then, Venture Bros. strives to make you cry as well as laugh at the dysfunctional lives of its characters.