Cartoons used to be primarily for children, with shows like “The Flintstones,” “Hey Arnold!,” “Recess,” and “The Jetsons” capturing the hearts of young viewers. However, in recent times, adult animated series have become more popular, offering a unique blend of colorful animation and mature content. This allows grown-ups to enjoy the world of animation while exploring themes and stories that resonate with them.

Just because a show is animated doesn’t automatically make it suitable for kids. While many cartoons are seen as decent and highly recommended for children, some don’t live up to that reputation. These following shows fall into this category.

“Bojack Horseman” is a show that offers a unique blend of bleak humor, deep sarcasm, and satirical commentary on movie star culture. However, it’s not intended for children.

The show tackles mature themes like drug abuse and explores complex emotions and relationships. So, unless you want the kids around you to be exposed to those topics, it’s best to keep it for a more mature audience.

“Family Guy,” an animated series created by Seth MacFarlane, revolves around the dysfunctional and over-the-top Griffin family and their daily adventures. The show features characters like Peter Griffin, who is portrayed as a bumbling idiot with a penchant for drinking too much.

There’s also Stewie, the super-genius talking baby, and Brian, the martini-loving talking dog. The show often pokes fun at societal norms and includes humor that may not be suitable for all audiences.

“The Boondocks,” an animated series showcases a Black family and addresses various social issues, including racial bias. It touches on sensitive topics and can contain elements like racism, graphic violence, foul language, and street gangsters.

Due to its mature content, it may not be appropriate for young viewers. It’s important to consider the age appropriateness and content of the show when deciding who should watch it.

“American Dad” includes elements like violence, drugs, profanity, and graphic scenes, which can make it inappropriate for young viewers. The show revolves around a family that engages in numerous unethical activities with themselves and their neighbors.

Considering the content and age appropriateness when deciding who should watch it should be prioritized. Safety and suitability should always be our priority when selecting shows for different audiences.

The “Robot Chicken” animated cartoon series is about a chicken that dies and comes back as a cyborg. It emphasizes cruelty, horror, and obscene behavior.

In the cartoon, there were blasphemous remarks disrespecting the Christian faith, which upset a lot of Christians. It almost seems the show was meant to offend or preach against Christianity.

“Smiling Friends” is an animated series created by Michael Cusack and Zach Hadel. It follows the misadventures of two friends as they work at a charity group called Smiling Friends Inc.

This charity group sought to improve lives. However, their adventure is far from appropriate for kids. The duo is called to assist a woman’s adult son in the show’s first episode, only to discover that he always has a pistol to his head. They also help a “toxic” celebrity investigate murders in other episodes.

This show is about teen slackers who are really into watching adult media and using violence, often at the expense of others. The show does have a lot of explosions, fire, and destruction, which is just part of the universe it’s set in.

There were some allegations that the show inspired copycat crimes, but many of those claims were unfounded. As a result, the show was moved to a later time slot and viewers were advised not to show it to susceptible audiences.

“Rick and Morty” is a popular animated series that follows the adventures of a brilliant but eccentric scientist named Rick and his timid grandson, Morty. They go on sci-fi adventures across different dimensions and galaxies.

The show contains a lot of gratuitous violence, coarse language, mature themes, and regular depictions of drug and alcohol use by its characters.

“Invincible” is about a guy named Mark Grayson. He’s got a dad who is a superhero, so he starts developing superpowers too. The fights in this show are not for the faint of heart.

They can get intense and even have some horror movie vibes. The ideas explored in the series are dark and adult, and the violence is even more intense than what you’d find in the source material.

The cartoon is a satirical series that tackles some adult themes. It’s not afraid to dive into topics like abuse and substance use disorders. The show takes a critical look at contemporary WASP culture and exposes the negative impacts of a rigid and exclusive fundamentalist society.

It does this through a mix of heartbreaking and darkly hilarious situations. Interestingly, the network temporarily shelved three episodes from the show’s first season because they were considered “too dark” by the Standards and Practices department.

The “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” animated series features three mischievous fast-food products who always find themselves causing trouble, especially with their grumpy neighbor Carl.

Just a heads up, though, the show is aimed at adults and the content can get offensive and graphic. The characters engage in all sorts of wild and questionable behavior, like criminal activities, plastic surgery gone wrong, drunk driving, and even creating a creature out of a condom.

“Happy Tree Friends” is a unique online series. It’s like a kid’s cartoon at first glance, with the characters going about their daily lives. But here’s the twist: unexpected and gruesome events unfold, resulting in some pretty terrible violence.

The surprising thing is, despite all the brutality, the characters seem to bounce back in fresh episodes, almost as if nothing happened to them.

“The Ren and Stimpy Show” is a classic animated series that aired in the 1990s. It follows the wacky adventures of Ren, a neurotic chihuahua, and Stimpy, a dimwitted but lovable cat. The show is known for its offbeat humor, exaggerated animation, and surreal storylines.

While it was initially targeted towards a younger audience, it also had a lot of mature humor and themes that appealed to older viewers. It pushed the boundaries of what was considered appropriate for a kids’ show.