I have fond memories of watching numerous cartoons on Cartoon Network when I came back home from school and had finished my homework. Of these, only a few stick out in my mind and given my apparent pre-midlife crisis I have attempted to re- live these memories. Of those on my list, Dexter's Lab ranked pretty high up, mainly due to the fact that I could remember various snippets that I desperately wanted to watch!
Dexter's Lab is truly representative of a time when cartoons were not just good, they were great. Creators could truly create and were under less restrictions by regulatory authorities, various social pressures and so on. Sure, cartoons of the time were considerably more senseless, violent and lacked learning points. But, why should all cartoons have to be harmless fun filled with learning when schools, parents and real- life scenarios should be doing this already? A cartoon should give the watcher a chance to be entertained and that is what Dexter's Lab does.
The series follows the antics of Dexter, his annoying sister Dee-Dee, his competitor Mandark and their respective parents. Dexter is a boy genius who ends up in the craziest of situations, whether it be travelling back in time or shrinking down to battle a virus inside a dog. Seriously, this cartoon covers all the bases without becoming repetitive. The episodes themselves were entertaining in the sense that they did not rely on the same jokes, since the creators did have more freedom. This did result in quite a few adult jokes slipping through that I could not appreciate as a child. Boy oh boy was I laughing!
The animation style is quite iconic of the time. It is simple on the surface, but the true talent is shown in Dexters bespoke inventions, battle scenes etc. Whether it be giant robots or ray guns, you could see that each component was really well thought out. It certainly beats the cartoons currently being pumped out, where the animation is so needlessly complex, ugly (in my opinion) and distracting from the cartoon itself. The success of Dexter's Lab can be seen by the career trajectories of its animators, of which Seth Macfarlane is the standout example.
In a nutshell, nostalgia did not disappoint here. Dexter's Lab is even better watching it as an adult, as the jokes that used to make me giggle still make me giggle, with the added naughty adult jokes! If you are a parent wondering whether this cartoon is 'safe' for your child, believe me it is. It is great fun and certainly blows current cartoons out of the water!
Dexter's Lab is truly representative of a time when cartoons were not just good, they were great. Creators could truly create and were under less restrictions by regulatory authorities, various social pressures and so on. Sure, cartoons of the time were considerably more senseless, violent and lacked learning points. But, why should all cartoons have to be harmless fun filled with learning when schools, parents and real- life scenarios should be doing this already? A cartoon should give the watcher a chance to be entertained and that is what Dexter's Lab does.
The series follows the antics of Dexter, his annoying sister Dee-Dee, his competitor Mandark and their respective parents. Dexter is a boy genius who ends up in the craziest of situations, whether it be travelling back in time or shrinking down to battle a virus inside a dog. Seriously, this cartoon covers all the bases without becoming repetitive. The episodes themselves were entertaining in the sense that they did not rely on the same jokes, since the creators did have more freedom. This did result in quite a few adult jokes slipping through that I could not appreciate as a child. Boy oh boy was I laughing!
The animation style is quite iconic of the time. It is simple on the surface, but the true talent is shown in Dexters bespoke inventions, battle scenes etc. Whether it be giant robots or ray guns, you could see that each component was really well thought out. It certainly beats the cartoons currently being pumped out, where the animation is so needlessly complex, ugly (in my opinion) and distracting from the cartoon itself. The success of Dexter's Lab can be seen by the career trajectories of its animators, of which Seth Macfarlane is the standout example.
In a nutshell, nostalgia did not disappoint here. Dexter's Lab is even better watching it as an adult, as the jokes that used to make me giggle still make me giggle, with the added naughty adult jokes! If you are a parent wondering whether this cartoon is 'safe' for your child, believe me it is. It is great fun and certainly blows current cartoons out of the water!