Smiling Friends

The landscape of comedic adult animation - often dominated by Simpsons duplicates, try-hard attempts at gross edginess that yearn to be the next South Park or Drawn Together, deliberately bad/ironic ones that try to mimic Xavier: Renegade Angel or Aqua Teen Hunger Force without the method to the madness, and whatever the f-ck Big Mouth is - has been enriched by Zach Hadel. You may know him by his YouTube/Newgrounds persona Psychicpebbles.

Exceptions to the rule of lame modern-day "adult cartoons" have included Bojack Horseman and, at one point, Rick and Morty. Now, we have something truly unique in the form of Smiling Friends. After seeing its pilot last year, I knew it had the potential to become its own full-fledged series on Adult Swim (which has now finally been confirmed) and while I maintained a healthy dose of pessimism, given the network's rejection of Hellbenders, there was reason to have faith this time.

Hadel's rapid-fire grotesqueries, some of them so brisk you'll miss them if you sneeze, and agonized-looking lifeforms are as unmistakable as his fluid animation style. However, his characters are often interchangeable morons, e.g. The Hellbenders, hence why that pilot failed to take off on Adult Swim (who instead went with Mr. Pickles, a great example of the tryhard-edgy brand of adult cartoons I named earlier). With Smiling Friends, the main characters Pim and Charlie are of very different personalities and attitudes, working off each other in a way that's sustainable and will surely lend itself to many great episodes - even when the moral of the story is that "happiness" will always be a distraction from the inevitability of doom unless you find a solid life purpose, such as murdering small animals for money.

The cast unites all sorts of Internet greats, including Hadel himself, co-creator Michael Cusack, Red Letter Media founder Mike Stoklasa, and also Finn Wolfhard, who frequently interacts with Psychicpebbles when he isn't on the set of Stranger Things. There's also Finn's brother Nick and even Newgrounds' daddy himself, Tom Fulp. Indeed, what a triumph of animation this is, especially in the year that would end Flash.

If you haven't seen the pilot, give it a watch in anticipation of what's to come. You will laugh, squirm, wake up screaming from a subsequent nightmare of both existential despair and body horror, and also possibly crave some cheese.

This was actually funny, unlike a large portion of the shows from that block during the last few years.

More bizarre cartoons like this and less Tim and Eric garbage, please.

All I have to say is that Adult Swim needs to continue this. It was a shame that Hellbenders was never picked up, but now I see this as a great opportunity to make up for it. Both Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack are masterful animators and comedians. They both have a gift to implement moments in their craft that are eternally quotable. Denying this show a series would be a disservice to the world. I know that sounds weird, considering the absurdity of the content, but I honestly see this as a beacon of hope in these dark times.The creators deserve so much recognition and support.

When i first saw the poster of that show, immediately in my head was like: great another adult swim sh💩y show incoming.

But then after watching the whole 1st episode i actually wanted to see another. And after watching the entire season i rewatched it.

The show has unique artstyle, characters, and story. The jokes are surprisingly good. They are not trying hard to throw every possible edgy joke they can think in our faces. Some character desgins look ridiculous and bizzare and they were funny and i wasnt disgusted by it, for example mr. Frog who looks like it was drawned by pre-schooler but at same time looks good and its original which i can say for the artstyle of this show.

I hope this show gets season 2. :)

Smiling Friends is a testament to the creative landscape of what personal content creation can lead to and how it focuses on artist to consumer interactions that allow the creators of animation or anything of the sort to be more grounded and appreciative of the craft and their impact on it. The animation is not too large a departure from other familiar styles. The characters and personalities are by far the most driving factors of the show itself. The dry and absurdist humor as well as the range of which the show can strike your funny-bone is incredibly enjoyable. Coming from the platforms of Newgrounds and Youtube has allowed for some truly interesting and hilarious comedy from the likes of Zach Hadel and his constituents. I have no doubt in my mind that there is more to come from the minds behind Smiling Friends and I am left eagerly awaiting.