Cartoon television shows are usually thought to be aimed at children and this is often the case. However, in 2020 we have a wide selection of animated television series which have been created for adults. A good example of that is Rick and Morty but before we take a closer look at this series in detail, when did adult cartoons first hit our screens?
You must go back to the 1920’s and 30’s to find the first cartoons aimed at an adult audience. Some of these were made by Disney and looked at alcohol and prohibition. Then there was the cartoon sex symbol of Betty Boop, which had to be toned down because of the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930.
One of the most famous cartoon television series to be aired is The Flintstones. Although this was not aimed directly at adults, it appealed to people of all ages. It was a show about a prehistoric family and hugely popular. The longest-running television comedy in history, The Simpsons is also based on a family, all be it a very different one to The Flintstones. Should The Simpsons be classed as an adult cartoon? Well, there are plenty of jokes and references which children would miss and there has been explicit language used in the series.
Then we come to Beavis and Butt-head and South Park, which are both definitely aimed at the older audience but also enjoyed by teenagers. Fast forward to 2001 and Adult Swim was formed. This television segment was used to create adult animated programs and one of the most successful to be aired on the channel is Rick and Morty. This is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon. It was created specifically for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, which is now a night-time programming segment on the cable network.
The series is based on the lives of two people, Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, hence the name. Rick is a mad scientist while Morty is his grandson. Interestingly, co-creator Roiland provides the voice of both characters while Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer and Sarah Chalke voice the rest of the family. For those who may be wondering where Rick and Morty started, it was actually from an animated short parody film of Back to the Future.
The second half of the fourth season of Rick and Morty is due to air at the beginning of May and there are million of fans who cannot wait. The pilot of Rick and Morty aired in May 2012 and was given a full series, in October 2012 on Adult Swim. It was one of the network’s first primetime original shows and at the time, they probably could not have imagined the success it would enjoy. The first series started in December 2013 and concluded in April 2014. There were 10 episodes in total, not including the pilot and in February 2014, the show was renewed for a second season.
One glance at the television ratings and it became clear Rick and Morty was outperforming rivals in its time slot so it was a no-brainer to renew the animated series for a second season. The second season aired between July and October 2015 and included 10 episodes. Due to its continued success and growing popularity, Rick and Morty returned for a third season in August 2015. The third season formed part of an April Fool’s day prank in 2017 and was screened unannounced. However, the rest of the season did not follow immediately and fans of the cartoon were forced to wait until July that year for the remaining 9 episodes.
It appeared as though a fourth season could be in jeopardy as the creators wanted to have assurances that there would be many more seasons of Rick and Morty to come. By doing this, they could focus more of their time on the animated series and cut down their time on other projects. Thankfully, in May 2018, it was announced that Adult Swim had agreed to a long-term deal with the creators and there were 70 new episodes, over an unspecified number of seasons, in the pipeline. This was great news for fans, who could not wait for a fourth season to begin on their screens.
The fourth season of Rick and Morty was announced in May 2019 and the first episode went out on November 10 of that year. As with the previous three seasons, the fourth season consists of 10 episodes but this time they are being split into two sets of 5 episodes to be screened at different times. The first set of 5 episodes concluded on December 15, 2019 and the second set of 5 episodes are due to commence on May 3, 2020.
So, if you have yet to tune into the series now is a good time to catch up by watching previous episodes of Rick and Morty. In truth, it is difficult to figure out exactly what is going on if you have not watched the previous episodes. Not that it is a bad thing and you should watch them all anyway, as it is great entertainment. However, what if you have seen all of the previous episodes and maybe even watch them over and over again, like many fans have over the years? Well, you are in luck as there is now a slot game based on Rick and Morty available online.
Rick and Morty Megaways is a brand new online slots game, having been released in February 2020. It has been created by Blueprint Gaming and features the Megaways game engine, which plays using the cascading symbols. By using this feature, if you land a winning combination the successful symbols are removed. These are replaced by new symbols and the cascade effect continues as long as a new winner is created.
If some of the other titles released by this company such as Primal Megaways, Gods of Olympus Megaways, Return of Kong Megaways and Genie Jackpot Megaways are anything to go by, the Rick and Morty slot was going to be a great game. That’s exactly how it has turned out and the slot has 6 reels with 2 to 7 rows on each, in addition to a 4 symbol horizontal row across the top of the slot. Due to the fact the rows alternate on each spin, there are up to 117,749 ways to create a winner, which is very exciting.
The regular icons can be split into two different sets containing standard symbols (9 to A) and specialist icons from the cartoon. As one would expect, the standard symbols are the lowest paying while the icons based on the television series are the highest paying symbols. In terms of the highest paying symbols, they include the green rock with the parasite eggs, two shards, Morty and Rick. These symbols are what really brings home the theme of Rick and Morty, in addition to the sound effects and the commentary from Rick. For example, get to the feature picker early and Rick will move to the front of the screen and say, ‘beginners luck’.
Rick is the most valuable of these regular symbols and if you are lucky enough to land 6 of a kind you will return 50 times your stake, which is fantastic. However, Rick also pays if you land two of a kind or more so it is worth looking out for this symbol when you play the slot. There needs to be 3 or more of the other symbols to create a winning combination. Thankfully, there is a wild symbol to help you on your way.
As you play the game, you will notice there are bonus positions above reels 2, 3, 4, or 5. The wild can replace any regular pay symbol and this pushes the usual 96.55% RTP up to 97.05%, which is very good. In addition to all of the features highlighted above, the fun of playing the Ricky and Morty slot does not end there. Random modifiers and triggered extras bring a whole new level to the gameplay, with mystery symbols and scatter offering new and exciting ways to win. The bonus symbol is the scatter and if 4 of these land, the feature picker opens. From here, there are four options form which to choose.
Pickle Rick Free Spins, Federation Wild Spins, Vindicator Free Spins and Mystery Free Spins each become available. These are all different and you can choose the one which most appeals to you. Some come with an Unlimited Win Multiplier, symbols with instant prize values and plenty of free spins.
So, while you are waiting for the second set of episodes of the fourth season of Ricky and Morty to begin, why not try your luck at the game? It’s a lot of fun and who knows, you may even bag a big win.