Cartoons Can Be Lucrative

I recently saw an article about the richest people in the comedy industry. Some were obvious, like Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, David Letterman, etc. But many of them were people who have made a fortune in animation. Matt Stone and Trey Parker (South Park creators) are worth a staggering $700 million and $600 million respectively. The Simpsons and Futurama creator, Matt Groening, is worth $600 million. Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show is worth $300 million. Here is a list of a few full length animated shows.

The Flintsones (1960)

The Jetsons (1962)

The Simpsons (1989)

Doug (1991)

Rugrats (1991)

Ren and Stimpy (1991)

Rocko's Modern Life (1993)

Beavis and Butthead (1993)

The Critic (1994)

Dr. Katz (1995)

Hey Arnold! (1996)

Dexter's Laboratory (1996)

King of the Hill (1997)

Daria (1997)

South Park (1997)

Futurama (1999)

Home Movies (1999)

Family Guy (1999)

Mission Hill (1999)

Sponge Bob Square Pants (1999)

Baby Blues (2000)

Aqua Teen Hunger Foce (2000)

Drawn Together (2004)

American Dad (2005)

Bob's Burgers (2011)

Brickleberry (2012)

Rick and Morty (2013)

BoJack Horseman (2014)

The Critic

There are a few animated series that I enjoy, such as The Simpsons, Futurama, South Park, Beavis and Butthead, Daria, Family Guy, etc. I discovered that the Tubi streaming service has a program I had not watched in years, but used to enjoy, The Critic. The main character is a New York City film critic (Jay Sherman) with his own cable TV show, voiced by Jon Lovitz of SNL fame. His catchphrase was “It stinks!” The show lampooned actors and the film industry. Jay Sherman is a loveable loser who has challenges with his personal life. He has a tyrannical media mogul boss who was based on Ted Turner. In 1994-95, the show aired on ABC, then Fox, then Comedy Central for a total of 23 episodes. The final 10 episodes were put on a website called atomfilms.com in 2000-01. The Critic spoofed films such as Howard’s End, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Apocalypse Now, The Lion King, The Godfather, Arthur and more. This show would be enjoyed by film fans, and Siskel and Ebert guest starred in an episode. The duo gave the show a lukewarm review. Film critics Rex Reed and Gene Shalit also played themselves. The show was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who were also the primary writers. These two have an impressive comedy resume. They wrote for Johnny Carson and The Simpsons. Like many successful comedy writers at the highest level, they went to Harvard. Some people from The Simpsons provided voices for The Critic (such as Nancy Cartwright, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Doris Grau etc). This show was the voice acting debut for Billy Crystal. Later, he did voice work for Pixar films Monsters Inc and Cars. Park Overall from the show Empty Nest provided the voice of Jay’s girlfriend Alice. The Critic was intended as a love letter to New York City. Ironically, it did better ratings-wise in the Midwest than New York or other major cities. The show was never a smash hit but achieved a cult status. *Some information from imdb and wikipedia.

Book Review: Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons by Mike Reiss

This book is excellent, and it's a must-read for all fans of The Simpsons. Author Mike Reiss explains all aspects of working for this legendary show, which has been on the air for over 30 years on the Fox network. Like many successful comedy writers, Reiss attended Harvard and wrote for their publication, The Harvard Lampoon. His writing partner, Al Jean, also attended Harvard and writes for The Simpsons too. The pair worked as writers for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1980s. Reiss wrote for ALF, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Sledge Hammer and Head of the Class. Besides The Simpsons, he also has written for animated shows including The Critic (starring Jon Lovitz), The Oblongs, Hard Drinkin' Lincoln and the Ice Age films. This book is packed with trivia about The Simpsons, the cast and crew, and he mentions the impressive list of guest stars who have done the show. Reiss talks about his experiences traveling the world and meeting Simpsons fans. He acknowledges that being a comedy writer is a strange way to make a living, but his wit and talent is evident in this book. He mentions his favorite comedy movies and his favorite books about comedy. He was one of the writers for The Simpsons Movie, which was released in 2007. Anyone who enjoys The Simpsons will be pleased with this book since it is filled with fascinating facts about this great show, put together by very talented people.