Rude Removal

"Rude Removal"
Dexter's Laboratory episode

Title card
Episode no. Season 2
Directed by Rob Renzetti
Written by Chong Lee
Craig McCracken
Produced by Genndy Tartakovsky
Original air date February 21, 1998 (World Animation Celebration)
January 22, 2013 (online)
Running time 7 minutes

"Rude Removal" is a cartoon segment originally produced for the animated television series Dexter's Laboratory for Cartoon Network. The segment was intended to air as part of an episode from the second season in 1997, but was never broadcast on television. The segment was eventually uploaded to the official Adult Swim YouTube channel on January 22, 2013.[1] In the segement, Dexter and Dee Dee are accidentally split into two pairs: a rude pair, and a polite pair.[1]

Before being released to the general public, the segment was screened during certain animation festivals.[2] The characters in the episode are depicted as using profanity, although the words were censored with beeps.[2] While on YouTube, it gained over 500,000 views within 24 hours.

Plot

Dexter invents The Rude Removal System, a machine to remove the rudeness from his sister Dee Dee. However, Dee Dee thinks Dexter is the one who is rude. They start fighting and both wind up in the machine. Inadvertently, the Rude Removal System is activated, splitting the pair into well-behaved and rude halves. The rude pair use profanity and harbor destructive tendencies. They proceed to insult their mother and destroy the house and Dexter's lab. Dexter and Dee Dee trick their rude halves back into the Rude Removal System and reverse the process, combining the rude and polite halves and resolving the problem. The segment ends with Dexter and Dee Dee's mother holding a bar of soap, poised to wash the filthy words from their mouths.

Production

The "Rude Removal" segment was produced in 1997, and features a seven-minute runtime. It was directed by Rob Renzetti and story boarded by Chong Lee and Craig McCracken. Main cast member Jeff Bennett did not participate in a voice role throughout this segment.

Screenings and online release

"Rude Removal" was produced during the second season of Dexter's Laboratory in 1997,[3] but it never aired on American television. It did see limited showing at certain animation festivals and conventions, including an event at the 1998 World Animation Celebration on February 21, 1998.[4] Series creator Genndy Tartakovsky commented that "standards didn't like it."[5] Linda Simensky, then-vice president of original programming for Cartoon Network, said "I still think it's very funny. It probably would air better late at night."[2] Fred Seibert, president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons from 1992 to 1996, has attested to the existence of the short.[5] After being asked about it on his Tumblr page, Calvin Wong, storyboard artist for Regular Show, said that Cartoon Network denied that it was in their media library.[6]

Tartakovsky would sometimes show the cartoon when he spoke in public. One such showing occurred during a lecture given at the Rhode Island School of Design on November 15, 2008.[7] He was asked about the episode during a Reddit AMA in October 2012, and he replied "Next time I do a public appearance I'll bring it with me!".[8] Adult Swim later asked fans on Twitter if there was still any interest in the episode, and the response was "overwhelming".[9][10] The segment was finally uploaded to YouTube and their official website on January 22, 2013.

Before the segment was officially released, someone made a forum post claiming to have seen an uncensored version of the episode at the San Diego Comic-Con.[11]

Reception

In his review of "Rude Removal", Erik Adams of The A.V. Club opined that the segment was "nowhere near as crass" as anticipated by the Reddit community, though he felt "it's still pretty fucking funny". He concluded that "if Cartoon Network would've aired 'Rude Removal' with all its bleeps intact, we would've never learned how to use such filthy language."[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Dexter's Lab: 'Dexter's Rude Removal'". Adult Swim Video. Turner Broadcasting System. January 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Pierce, Scott D. (July 27, 1998). "Lost Cartoon?". Deseret News (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publishing Company). Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Dexter's Laboratory: Episode Ti., 'Rude Removal'". Copyright Catalog. Washington, D.C.: United States Copyright Office. October 14, 1999. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  4. ↑ Klein-Häss, Michelle (March 1998). "Thinking About the World Animation Celebration '98". Animation World Magazine (2.12). Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Seibert, Fred (October 26, 2010). "Bad Dexter!". Frederator Blogs. Frederator Studios. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  6. ↑ Wong, Calvin (February 7, 2012). "You worked at CN. You ever see the infamous 'Dexter's Rude Removal'?". Tumblr. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  7. ↑ Sedano, Caroline (November 17, 2008). "Cartoon Network Animator Traces His Path to the Top". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ Tartakovsky, Genndy (September 27, 2012). "I am Genndy Tartakovsky, the director of Hotel Transylvania. AMA". Reddit. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  9. ↑ Adult Swim (November 30, 2012). "Dexter's Lab fans: is there still interest in seeing the lost unaired episode? [...]". Twitter. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  10. ↑ Adult Swim (December 2, 2012). "Re: #DextersRudeRemoval [...]". Twitter. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  11. ↑ Koch, Dave (May 22, 2007). "I have seen 'Dexter's Rude Removal'". Big Cartoon Forum. Big Cartoon DataBase. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  12. ↑ Adams, Erik (January 22, 2013). "Watch a lost episode of Dexter's Laboratory chockfull of bleeped cursing". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved February 12, 2014.

External links