Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special Review: A Love Letter to Adult Swim... But

By Justin D Williams

The Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special is a fun celebration of twenty-five years of Adult Swim, bringing together characters and references from different generations of the network in one stop-motion crossover. The setup is actually pretty clever, with various Adult Swim personalities gathering aboard a cruise ship before everything inevitably goes wrong and Harvey Birdman becomes involved in sorting through the aftermath. I liked the idea because it gives everyone a reason to exist in the same place, but I also think the special becomes a little too committed to telling that story instead of using the setting to unleash.

The cruise ship could have been the perfect playground for classic Robot Chicken comedy. Every section of the ship could have featured a different sketch involving characters from various Adult Swim shows, while the larger disaster and courtroom storyline simply connected everything together. Instead, the plot frequently takes center stage, slowing down the pacing and giving the jokes fewer opportunities to hit. Comedy is subjective, but for me this was the biggest problem with the special because I honestly did not laugh very much. There were clever ideas and plenty of references that made me smile, but recognizing something from Adult Swim history and actually laughing at the joke are two different things. Where the special absolutely succeeds is in celebrating that history. There are characters and callbacks everywhere, including some deep cuts that longtime viewers are going to appreciate far more than casual fans. I found myself watching the backgrounds just as much as the characters speaking because you never know who might appear. I will not spoil anything, but sometimes it is worth looking under the sea, because that is where you'll find me. If you understand that reference, you already know exactly the kind of nostalgia this special is playing with.

There are some noticeable omissions, though, especially when you consider how important shows such as The Boondocks, Rick and Morty, and Home Movies have been to Adult Swim's history. The writers clearly knew viewers would notice because the special actually makes a joke about why certain characters and shows are missing, which I appreciated. There is no realistic way to represent every major Adult Swim series in twenty-two minutes, but when you are celebrating twenty-five years of the network, there are naturally going to be a few absences that stand out.

The voice cast is massive, with names including Seth Green, Eric André, Gary Cole, Zach Hadel, Tim Heidecker, Carey Means, Adam Reed, Brendon Small, Dana Snyder, Patrick Warburton, Dave Willis, and many more. While it is impressive to have that much talent involved, I do wish the production had brought back more of the original actors to reprise their roles instead of using celebrity voices or other performers for some familiar characters. I understand that schedules, budgets, and the sheer size of the crossover probably made getting everyone back impossible, but part of the fun of an anniversary special is hearing those voices you immediately associate with the characters.

Despite those criticisms, I still think The Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special works as a good love letter to Adult Swim. The comedy did not land with me nearly as much as I hoped, and I think the plot should have been used more as connective tissue for traditional Robot Chicken sketches instead of becoming such a major focus. However, the stop-motion work is impressive; the amount of Adult Swim history packed into the episode is a thrill to see, and longtime fans are going to have fun spotting characters and references throughout. I may not have laughed much, but I definitely smiled, and for a celebration of twenty-five years of Adult Swim, that still counts for something.