Moral Orel | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Dino Stamatopoulos |
Voices of |
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Composers | Mark Rivers Eban Schletter |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 43 (and 1 special) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Cinematography | Jeff Gardner |
Editors | Chris McKay Garret Elkins |
Running time | 11–12 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Adult Swim |
Release | December 13, 2005 December 18, 2008 | –
Release | November 19, 2012 |
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) |
Moral Orel is an American adult stop-motion animated black comedy drama series created by Dino Stamatopoulos which originally aired on Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim from December 13, 2005 to December 18, 2008. The series follows the titular Orel Puppington, a young, happy-go-lucky and naïve Protestant who showcases his commitment to God, while dealing with the cynicism of his abusive and alcoholic father, his lethargic mother, and the devoutly Protestant town of Moralton in which he resides.
The show, predominantly in the first season and second seasons (excluding the “Nature” two-parter), is a straightforward satirization of the archetypes of Middle American suburban life, modern-day White Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture, and religious fundamentalism. The "Nature" two-parter and the final season is featured in a non-linear but episode-to-episode continuity, in which it showcased the show's shift from a satirical black comedy to a nihilistic and bleak psychological comedy-drama, depicting the convictions and mentalities of other characters (meant as an expansion on subplots from the first two seasons), exploring topics such as child sexual abuse, rape, abortion, and latent homosexuality.
The series has been described as "Davey and Goliath meets South Park".[3] However, Stamatopoulos denies the comparison with Davey and Goliath, telling The New York Times that Moral Orel grew out of a concept for a send-up of a Leave It to Beaver-style 1950s sitcom that would star Iggy Pop.[4] The series received acclaim from critics and audiences alike for the performances, characterization, emotional weight, and the frank depiction of its subject matter, and has developed a cult following over the years.[5]
At the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con, Stamatopoulos announced that the show would not be renewed for a fourth season.[citation needed] The final season was aired interspersed with repeats from the first two seasons, as many of the episodes took place in parallel with events of past episodes. The event, which was called "44 Nights of Orel", was hosted by Stamatopoulos and others and started on October 6, 2008, running through December 18, when the series finale premiered.[6] A prequel special entitled "Beforel Orel: Trust", meant as an exploration of the origin of Orel's Christianity, later aired on November 19, 2012.[7]
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