Rick And Morty Season 1 Review

Episode Guide

Pilot
Lawnmower Dog
Anatomy Park
M Night. Shaym-aliens!
Meeseeks and Destroy
Rick Potion #9
Raising Gazorpazorp
Rixty Minutes
Something Ricked This Way Comes
Close Rick-counters Of The Rick Kind
Ricksy Business

At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking Rick and Morty is a rip off of Back To The Future. Whilst it bears some semblance to that trilogy, with Rick and Morty slotting into the Doc and Marty archetypes, its obvious early on that this likeness is as far as the show goes. With hand-drawn animation and bright, vibrant colours, Rick and Morty does a great job of delivering a smartly written adult animation with cleverly executed ideas.

At its heart, the story revolves around super scientist Rick and his grandson Morty (both voiced by Justin Roiland) as they undergo a series of adventures transcending space and time. There are moments where the plot overlaps into other episodes but mainly the show sticks to a basic episodic structure with a new adventure every episode. The simplistic structure helps to produce an imaginative blend of clever parodies and humour while keeping the show visually pleasing with a range of different locales. The episodes have a consistent pace, helped by its 20 minute length and the stories themselves are cleverly littered with numerous jokes and cultural references.

Although Rick and Morty is a well written animated title, its also worth noting that there’s a lot of adult humour here too. It won’t be for everyone, with Rick’s constant belching and numerous butt and genitalia jokes sure to turn off some people with its crudeness. Its not a deal-breaker but there are times where it seems crude for the sake of it rather than moving the stories forward or showcasing some of the clever jokes that the show manages to produce.

With the episodes at an easily digestible length, Rick and Morty boasts a solid first season with some well paced episodes and good chemistry between its two lead characters to keep the action fresh and engrossing. The hand drawn animation is a great throwback and although it does feel a little dated, it doesn’t detract from the appeal of the show. With a bright colour palette and a plethora of different planets and locations explored through the episodes, there’s enough here to make Rick and Morty a decent animated comedy, even if its over-reliance on crude and adult humour does negate the cleverness of some of the parodies and subtle jokes it boasts.