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The Boondocks (TV series)

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The Boondocks
Created byAaron McGruder
StarringRegina King
John Witherspoon
Cedric Yarbrough
Gary Anthony Williams
Jill Talley
Gabby Soleil
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes15 (20 more in production)
Production
Running time22 minutes per episode
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseNovember 6 2005 –
present

The Boondocks is a controversial American animated television series produced for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, based on the comic strip of the same name. The show made its broadcast debut on November 6, 2005; it was originally set to premiere on October 2, but was pushed back for November sweeps. It is a production of Sony Pictures Television, executive produced by Aaron McGruder, the creator of the comic strip.

Overview

McGruder and one-time collaborator Reginald Hudlin had originally piloted the show for the Fox Network, but found great difficulty in making the series acceptable for broadcast television. Hudlin left the project after the Fox deal fell through, although McGruder and Sony Television are contractually bound to continue to credit him as an executive producer [1].

Like the comic strip, the television version of The Boondocks is a satirical situation comedy revolving around the lives of the Freeman family. Elementary-school aged African American brothers Huey and Riley Freeman have been moved by their Granddad, Robert Freeman, from inner city South Side Chicago, Illinois to the quiet and almost completely white suburb of Woodcrest. Because of the long turnaround time required for each episode, The Boondocks cartoon avoids the topical nature of its newspaper counterpart, and instead covers more long-standing issues involving race relations and politics, including assimilation of black people into white culture, what would happen if Martin Luther King, Jr. had gone into a coma instead of dying (and finally awoke in 2000), and the R. Kelly sex scandal controversy.

The animation is done in anime style, expanding upon the anime/manga influence present in the comic strip (McGruder has said he's a huge fan of anime). For the cartoon series, younger Freeman brother Riley was redesigned with cornrows, and the comic strip followed suit with a month-long story arc involving Riley growing cornrows. Uncle Ruckus, a self-hating black man originally intended to have been introduced to the strip before 9/11, was introduced into the strip in late 2004 and is being primarily developed in the animated series. The Freemans' neighbors, the Dubois family (Tom, Sara, and their daughter Jazmine), also appeared during the show's first season; Huey's best friend Michael Caesar is being withheld for later seasons. The opening theme song was recorded by hip hop artist Asheru.

Unlike other animated television series which pay little attention to continuity (c.f. Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force), The Boondocks makes constant references to past events in previous episodes. The Boondocks also shows continuity with the comic strip that serves as its basis. A running theme in the series is the concept of black unity. Even though Huey and others may disagree with the points of view of characters like Tom Dubois, Uncle Ruckus, and Old Stinkmeaner -- they still feel obliged to provide them with support and respect.

Characters

File:Boondock.jpg
Huey (left) and Riley
  • Huey Freeman: The show's protagonist. Huey is a ten-year-old black radical (described by McGruder as "just to the left of Castro"), prone to conspiracy theories and other subversive ideas such as that the U.S. Government is covering up the truth about the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, that Jesus was black, and also that Ronald Reagan was the Devil. He is portrayed as both a voice of reason and, at times, a mouthpiece for contemporary Afrocentrism. He is also portrayed as being an expert swordsman with a katana (kendo, iaido, kenjutsu) and near-master practitioner of the martial arts (a reference to anime, wǔxiá, and Samurai epics). Even though he is often cold toward Jazmine Dubois, during various episodes of the TV series, he does appear to care about her. During the course of the series Huey never appears to be in a good mood, being that he never smiles. Huey's name is a reference to Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party.
  • Riley Freeman: Huey's eight-year-old little brother, Riley is subject to influence from the gangsta rap culture. He is often easily swayed or caught up in the moment. Riley is representative of the misguided black youth; he is the Santa stalker (he shot at a mall Santa with airsoft glock 17s and at one point, attacked him with a golf club for not "paying what he owe") and is portrayed as Huey's polar opposite. He also loves weapons, as being a "gangsta", he feels the need to always be ready to "blast those fools!". Riley, however, does not own any real firearms, and has only been seen as the owner of Airsoft-style firearms. He has been seen with a Glock 17, and an MP5K (though he pals around with Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy, who have access to real weapons).
  • Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman: Huey and Riley's grandfather and their legal guardian. The fates of the boys' parents has not yet been addressed directly in the series nor in the comic strip. He retired to the suburbs so that he could raise the boys in a peaceful environment. Granddad has borne witness to many major incidents in American history: he was a part of the Civil Rights Movement, but was prone to certain faux pas (such as wearing rain gear in preparation for getting shot with a fire hose). Freeman was also a fighter pilot in World War II, where he flew the P-51 Mustang with the Tuskegee Airmen. He was also a part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, even sitting next to Rosa Parks, though she received all the credit for refusing to give up her seat. Granddad serves as another figure of reason in contrast to Huey, although his reason tends to be more pragmatic.
  • Tom Dubois: The Freemans' neighbor from across the street. Tom Dubois is a rich African-American attorney. Tom strictly adheres to the law and can be viewed as a "do-gooder". His character can be interpretted as a "race traitor" by some other black characters, as he is seen as having turned his back on his black heritage to marry a white woman (Sara), producing a mixed-race child (Jazmine), and become a criminal prosecutor who often convicts black people. Tom is also skittish and easily frightened. In one episode, a voiceover of Huey explains to viewers that Tom's entire life of following the law and being an attorney has been the result of his fear of being anally raped in prison. A flashback shows Tom at age 10 watching a prison movie on television and being terrified by it. More flashbacks show Tom running away when a friend suggests they shoplift ("But what if we get caught? We'll get arrested and anally raped!"), turning down a joint when some other boys offer him one at school ("Yeah right! You guys can go to jail and get anally raped if you want!"), and erasing all of his wife's downloaded .mp3 files as an adult ("File sharing is a crime! And I'm not gonna be anally raped so you can listen to Usher!"). Huey mentions that Tom's job as a prosecutor is, ironically, to send other black men to the very fate he most fears, even for such trivial infractions as selling bootleg tapes. He also fancies himself as a singer, dreaming of being a successful recording artist, even though his singing voice is less than desirable. Bearing a resemblance to series creator, Aaron McGruder, his name is a play on both Uncle Tom and W.E.B. Dubois.
  • Sara Dubois: Tom Dubois' white wife. She is incredibly casual toward their inter-racial marriage, even going so far as to joke about it when Tom is mocked and attacked for it. In one episode, Tom chastizes her for downloading pirated Usher to her iPod. This could be a hint as to her racial acceptance.
  • Jazmine Dubois: Tom and Sara's biracial daughter. She can be extremely paranoid and a bit naive, and is an object of ridicule for Huey and Riley. Jazmine was shocked by both the September 11 attacks (and hid in her room for two years as a result) and finding out that the tooth fairy isn't real. She is a strong believer in Santa Claus, seeming to view him as the true meaning of Christmas to the point where she imagines preaching a sermon about Santa to the masses. Jazmine seems to have a crush on Huey Freeman, despite the fact he is often cold toward her. Jazmine first appears in the episode "A Date With the Health Inspector".
  • Uncle Ruckus: An overweight black man with a grotesque appearance who idolizes white culture. Ruckus is self-hating, dissassociating himself from his African-American heritage as best he can, and instead championing whatever small traces of Native American, French, and Irish ancestry he may have. His greatest wish is that black people were still enslaved, because he believes that they were better off that way. He claims to have a mythical disease called "re-vitiligo" ("the reverse of what Michael Jackson has, lucky bastard" he always retorts). Ironically, he is the darkest-skinned character on the show. His character is a hyperbolic parody of the self-hating black man, and is named after Joel Chandler Harris' Uncle Remus character.
  • Ed Wuncler, Sr.: A rich realtor whose family founded the town of Woodcrest and have lived in the area for decades. The wealthy Wuncler owns the mortgage loan on Granddad's house (as he does with every house in Woodcrest) and somehow Woodcrest's police force, and is embarrassed by his inept grandson, Ed Wuncler III. Wuncler also owns the fictional fast food restaurant franchise, "McWuncler's", and bears a resemblance to the man who voices him, Ed Asner. Ed, sometimes, does things thought of as racist, such as referring to Grandad as "Robert Free-man", and employing only illegal Mexicans at his restaurants; ultimately, though, his racism is portrayed as simply being a byproduct of his insatiable greed, rather than an active hatred of those from different races. Ed seems to have taken a general liking to Robert, referring to him as "Old School," and even funding his Soul Food Restaurant venture in the episode The Itis, though this may have merely been a plot to lower property values in the area so that he could purchase the nearby park and "develop" it (in which case he succeeded). In the episode Garden Party, Ed told Robert that his only joy in life was making mean-spirited jokes at other people's expense, to which Robert happily replied "Me too!". The name 'Wuncler' may be a respelling of the name of the greedy industrialist character from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, The Once-ler.
  • Ed Wuncler III: The grandson of Ed Wuncler I, who owns the Freemans' home. Ed III is a somewhat psychopathic and trigger-happy ex-soldier, freshly discharged from active duty in Iraq, and is portrayed as a representation of the "wigga" stereotype: a white person who acts like an exaggerated version of a young black person (in this case, he appears to be a white person's exaggerated version of Riley and looks like WWE wrestler John Cena). His character, voiced by Charlie Murphy, could be seen as a parody of a young George W. Bush, painted in broad strokes -- a figure destined to be president on the strength of his family's wealth and power, despite his sub-average intelligence (as referenced at the end of the Garden Party episode, where Ed says "In 30 years, that boy will be President of the United States...and he'll still be a fucking idiot!"). Ed's bling includes a large medallion in the shape of the letter W, which is not only the first letter in "Wuncler" but also the nickname of the president he appears to be a caricature of ("Dubya"). Ed III and his friend, Gin Rummy, get away with their misguided and comically inept criminal antics because Ed Wuncler I (Ed III's grandfather) has the police, and everyone else in the city, on his payroll, and because his status as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces makes the public view him as a hero, no matter how immoral his actions may be.
  • Gin Rummy, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, is a former soldier and Ed Wuncler III's best friend. He can be seen as a parody of Donald Rumsfeld, in name, appearance, and use of actual quotes. His last name, Rummy, matches the nickname given to Rumsfeld that was often said by President George W. Bush. His name is also a play on the card game, Gin Rummy. Gin Rummy will repeatedly explain away his poor criminal planning by saying that "the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence", parodying how Bush and Rumsfeld continue to assert that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, despite the fact that none have been found. The name may also be a convienent homage to the character Jin (pronounced like "gin" in the English dub) from the anime Samurai Champloo, of which McGruder is a big fan, and additionally may be a convienent homage to anime in general, where pun names are common. Gin Rummy considers himself a patriot, and will do whatever it takes to bring the "Fugitives of Justice" to justice. Gin first appears in the episode "A Date With the Health Inspector".

Controversy and critical reception

The Boondocks series has attracted a great deal of controversy for its heavy use of the "n-word". Aaron McGruder defended the usage of the word, stating that its use made the show feel "more sincere", since the word is commonly used in the everyday conversations of African Americans.[2] The show's premiere episode, "Garden Party", makes a joke of the long-standing controversy surrounding the word:

Granddad: ...and all I ask y'all to do is act like you got some class!
Riley: [to Huey] Hey...what's "class"?
Huey: It means, "don't act like niggas."
Granddad: Now, now, see? That's what I'm talkin' about right there! We don't use the "n-word" in this house!
Huey: Granddad, you said the word "nigga" 46 times yesterday. I counted!
Granddad: Nigga, hush!

According to an article in The Washington Post, references to Rosa Parks were removed from one of the series' completed episodes within a week of her death. [3] In the second episode, "The Trial of R. Kelly", Parks was originally outside the courtroom protesting Kelly. In 2006, The Rev. Al Sharpton protested Martin Luther King's use of the "N word" in the aforementioned hypothesis episode. The controversy stirred by Rev. Sharpton was later referenced in the cartoon strip itself five times - February 6-9 and February 16, 2006 and also in the cartoon in the episode "The block is hot" in the form of a morning radio announcement.

In January 2006, The Boondocks was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 37th NAACP Image Awards, alongside The Bernie Mac Show, Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends, and Half & Half. Adult Swim has ordered 20 more episodes for season two of The Boondocks. The new season is scheduled to begin airing in late 2006. The Boondocks has also recently been picked up by the Canadian broadcaster Teletoon.

Running gags

File:Huey che.jpg
Huey Freeman stylized in the likeness of Che Guevara, from the opening credits sequence of the show.
  • The throwing a metal folding chair, either with the intent of hitting someone specific or simply to incite a mass brawl in a crowd. Riley's hypothesis is that when you throw a chair in a room full of people, a fight will break out no matter the circumstances.
  • Sometimes, Ed Wuncler or Uncle Ruckus addresses Grandad by his last name and nonchalantly says it as two separate words, "Free Man," an obvious slavery pun.
  • Criticisms of black pop culture. If someone turns on the television network BET, a music video with women dressed in skimpy outfits is shown, with an MC yelling "Oh dem butt, Oh dem butt, Oh dem butt cheeks!" McGruder has parodied and criticized the content in hip-hop music videos, particularly the programming on BET, for some years. Also, whenever a radio is turned on, it happens to be playing either "Booty-Butt Cheeks" or "Thuggin Love" by Gangstaliscious.
  • Whenever a TV is shown (unless it is needed for a plot device) it always has "Booty-Butt Cheeks", Gangstalicious' "Thuggin' Love" video, Whitney Houston's trial or a video of rapper Eat Dirt getting hit with a folding chair, thrown from offscreen, at an awards show followed by a riot breaking out.
  • Uncle Ruckus has a different job in every episode. Duties he fulfilled include security guard, janitor, mall Santa, usher, police officer, and preacher.
  • Whenever Riley becomes exceptionally disrespectful, Grandad will take him off screen and beat him ("whoop his ass").
  • People watch Riley getting beaten offscreen by Robert, someone then makes a comment and/or go back minding their own business.
  • All minor altercations involving thugs or rappers escalate into a "nigga moment" in which the participants eventually begin shooting at each other over essentially nothing, such as bumping into one another. Most "nigga moments" result in nobody actually hitting their target.
  • The Wunclers have a tendency to refer to Arabs or those who appear Arab as "people of terrorist descent".
  • Every time two males hug or show signs of affection Riley says, "Y'all niggas are gay".
  • Most Christian characters refer to Jesus Christ as "White Jesus".

References

For episode-specific references, see List of The Boondocks episodes.

  • Aaron McGruder enjoys watching anime, martial arts films and Samurai epics, elements of which find their way into both fantasy segments and actual fights throughout the series. Two specific anime McGruder said would influence the show were Samurai Champloo and FLCL. For example, the intro to the show is also an homage to the intro of Samurai Champloo. Huey also showed Granddad a Zatoichi film to reference the "blind swordsman" legend.
  • The comic strip Bloom County is referenced several times. There are similarites between Ruckus and Bill the Cat, mainly the eyes. Also, in Riley Wuz Here, Ruckus directly references the creator of Bloom County when discussing master artists as "that genius that drew that strip with the talkin' penquin...Master Penquin Draw'er".
  • The show parodies scenes from several Bruce Lee films. When Huey and Grandad are training for combat, Huey uses the line "What was that? An exhibiton? You need emotional content", all while wearing the same uniform Bruce Lee wore in Enter the Dragon. Also, Bushido Brown from the episode ["Let's Nab Oprah"] is inspired by Jim Kelly's character in Enter the Dragon, with his martial arts, general appearance, and quotes like "You come straight out of a comic strip."
  • McGruder is an admitted Star Wars fan. Quotes like "Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wuncler," and the name of the show's production company (Rebel Base) are indirect references to the movie.
  • There is a brief image of Huey in the opening sequence of the show that is drawn in the style of the iconic photo of Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara. Guevara's photo can also be seen as a poster in Huey's room. An image of Riley in the opening sequence is a reference to Al Pacino's Scarface character Tony Montana.
  • Since many of the voice actors also were in the Friday film series (King, Witherspoon, D.J. Pooh, Mike Epps, and Kym Whitley), random references are made to the films. For example, Granddad says "Nobody go in the bathroom for 35-45 minutes" in "The Itis", and "It's your ass, Mr. Postman" in "The Passion of Ruckus." Riley also recites part of the infamous Chris Tucker line "You got knocked the fuck out" in "Wingmen". Also, in one episode Robert Freeman can be seen in his car watching the film.
  • The show also references Monty Python, especially Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In "Riley Wuz Here", the scene cuts to a man who speaks about the dangers of Black television, with the subtitle "An Expert Guy," not unlike the "A Famous Historian" scene. There are also references to the "not dead yet" running gag:
    • Gin Rummy: I want you to know that you are not going to die...in vain.
    • Officer Frank: I don't think I'm dyin'.
    • Gin Rummy: Oh. Well, I want you to know you wasn't mortally wounded in vain.
    • Officer Frank: Actually, I think I'm gonna make it.
    • Ed Wuncler III: You hear that, you sweaty bastards? Freddy ain't dead. Freddy say, "Bring it on, bitch"! BRING IT!
  • In a scene in episode 105, "A Date with the Health Inspector," Samuel L. Jackson's character, Gin Rummy reenacts some lines from Pulp Fiction (the "Say what again!" conversation) nearly line for line. His dialogue before the bank robbery on "Nigga Technology" in "Let's Nab Oprah" is inspired by the conversation held by Vincent and Jackson's character Jules before killing Brett in the movie.
  • Armstrong Elders, the conservative black media personality who provides Ruckus with publicity for his idea of "white heaven", is a direct reference to Larry Elder and Armstrong Williams. The body is modeled after Williams though the mustache is similar to Elder's. McGruder has had well-publicized confrontations with Elder in particular, referring to him as an embarrassment to black people in his strip.
  • In the episode "The Block is Hot", as Ed Wuncler Sr. is about to buy lemonade from Jazmine's stand, he declares "Lemonade was a popular drink, and it still is". This is a very obscure reference to an odd line from the Gangstarr song "DWYCK".

Voice cast

DVD Releases

Season Releases

DVD Name Release Date Ep # Additional Information
Season 1 July 25 2006 15 3-disc set that include all 15 Season One episodes, uncut and uncensored, and presented in a widescreen format. Extras include 7 episode commentaries, a behind the scenes featurette, animatics, DVD-ROM storyboards, and bonus previews. The set will also be available for the UMD Video format, though it may not contain any bonus features. The episodes are said to have uncensored audio.

See also

Notes

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Boondocks.
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