Moral Orel
| Moral Orel | |
|---|---|
| File:Moralorel image.jpg The opening title for the show, showing Orel waving at God/the viewer. | |
| Created by | Dino Stamatopoulos |
| Starring | Scott Adsit Jay Johnston Carolyn Lawrence Britta Phillips William Salyers Tigger Stamatopoulos |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 25 |
| Production | |
| Producer | ShadowMachine Films |
| Running time | 11 minutes approx. |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Release | December 13, 2005 – present |
Moral Orel is a stop-motion animated television show currently airing on Adult Swim. Because of its references to violence against minorities, sexual practices (usually acts considered deviant by conservative audiences), and strong, irreverent take on religious matters, it is rated TV-MA.
It has been described as "Davey and Goliath...meets South Park".[1] Despite advertising for the show, which portrays it as being in the vein of the Davey and Goliath cartoons that it is stylistically similar to, Dino Stamatopoulos, the creator, has stated that it is less a direct parody of that, and more a parody of 1950s and '60s style sitcoms.[2]
Also, at the Adult Swim Upfront 2007, it has been confirmed that Moral Orel will run for a third season. [1]
General overview
The program takes place in the city of Moralton, in the fictional U.S. state "Statesota", which is made up of parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The globe shown in the opening credits has the United States as its own continent on its own hemisphere. The rest of the North American continent and South America are present, but on the other side of the globe. The main character is Orel, a student at Alfred G Diorama Elementary School, who constantly tries to live by the moral code of his Christian religion. It seems that the characters of Moralton's morals are slowly breaking down, with most of the other characters being miserable or jaded, with their Protestant brand of Christianity seen as the root of most of their problems (one episode reveals that being a Protestant means lacking any emotional warmth). Most episodes of the first season had a similar formula: Orel would hear a sermon in church on Sunday, then proceed to have some sort of misadventure based around his attempts to live by that lesson.
Following the series premiere, The Best Christmas Ever, the Adult Swim message boards received numerous posts (later reproduced on promotional bumps) from viewers believing that the show was too ludicrous to be an actual program and that it was aired as a joke. Although The Best Christmas Ever aired first, it was produced to be the season finale. It aired out of order to coincide with the Christmas season.
Three episodes of the first season were held back because Cartoon Network's Standards & Practices found them to be too dark and crude even for Adult Swim (one episode centered on Orel drinking alcohol in order to be more adult, the second centered on Orel and his new friend beating up two boys who are presumably homosexual, and the last was centered around Orel using his sperm to impregnate the women in town after being reprimanded for masturbating and letting his sperm go to waste). Two were approved for air in May 2006, with the last "banned" episode airing July 31, 2006.
Characters
Episode guide
Lost Commandments
The lost commandments are the extra, fictional Commandments that are used by characters to justify lessons they impart to Orel after he's lost his way.
| Number | Commandment |
|---|---|
| 11 | Thou shalt be ashamed of thy natural anatomy. |
| 12 | Thou shalt only have sex face-to-face, man on top. |
| 13 | Thou shalt not bastardize the American language. |
| 14 | Thou shalt always clean thy plate and not waste anything, whether thy stomach is full or not. |
| 18 | Thou shalt be loyal to all thy friends at the same time. |
| 19 | Thou shall not masturbate. |
| 21 | Get it right! |
| 29 | Everything's fine! |
| (no number) | God works in mysterious ways. |
| (no number) | Spare the rod and spoil the child. |
Texts of church sign display
| Episode | Text |
|---|---|
| 1.1 | Yes kids, we lied about Santa, but Jesus is for real. |
| 1.2 | This week's sermon: Heaven or Hell — which would Jesus choose? |
| 1.4 | Reminder: Ant poison on grass — 23rd Church picnic — 24th Picnic at your own risk. |
| 1.5 | "All Aboard the Censorship" ― Admiral God |
| 1.6 | Jesus died for your sins and had long hair so that you wouldn't. |
| 1.7 | The Holy Ghost: spooky or just a third wheel? |
| 1.9 | "Sinfully Good" is not always that bad. |
| 1.10 | Latin — and why it's the Devil's language. |
| 2.5 | Remember, Jesus loves you more than he loves anything else |
| 2.7 | Angel Food Cake and Devil's Food Cake: Good and Evil Fight It Out Deliciously. |
DVD Releases
Volume releases
| DVD Name | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume One | April 24, 2007 | 15 | This 2 disc boxset contains the first 15 episodes of the series, uncensored, and in production order (The Lord's Greatest Gift through Offensiveness). Special features are slated to include a director's cut versions of Gods Chef, deleted scenes, a "behind the scenes" featurette, and the now infamous Comic-Con 2006 panel.[3] |
Music
Most original music for the show is created by Mark Rivers. A number of the songs heard throughout the show have been posted to the official Adult Swim download site.
In the second season episode Satan, the song "Saturday" by IO Perry from the album Greybay was used.
References
- ^ Bozell, L. Brent. "Shower after 'Adult Swim'". Retrieved 2007-03-09.
- ^ "Adult Swim interview with Dino Stamatopoulos". Retrieved 2007-03-09.
- ^ "Warner Brothers DVD shop". Retrieved 2007-03-09.
External links
- Panel from Comic-Con 2006
- AdultSwim.co.uk - Watch Moral Orel on Adult Swim UK
- Moral Orel at the Voice Chasers Database.