‘Rick and Morty’ Embraces Corporate Synergy with ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ Parody
While fans of Rick and Morty will reportedly have to wait until 2025 for new episodes of the show, Adult Swim has been attempting to fill the lengthy gap between seasons with the bizarre new Rick and Morty: The Anime spin-off, as well as a brief, Rick and Morty-themed recreation of another beloved cartoon series.
Adult Swim recently aired a new bumper that painstakingly replicated the opening of Batman: The Animated Series, but with Rick Sanchez in place of the Caped Crusader. And instead of two random bank robbers, he’s battling noirish interpretations of Mr. Meeseeks and Mr. Poopybutthole, who still look less ridiculous than some legit Batman villains.
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For some viewers, the knee-jerk reaction to this short might be skepticism, considering that both Rick and Morty and Batman fall under the Warner Bros. Discovery corporate umbrella. After all, it sure seems like a clear-cut example of brand synergy, like all those Disney+ Simpsons shorts in which the residents of Springfield pal around with other members of the Mouse House’s intellectual property portfolio. And it’s not like Rick and Morty haven’t already participated in soulless Warner Bros. crossovers.
But from all accounts, the Batman-themed bumper was a labor of love, not a glorified commercial, à la Space Jam: A New Legacy.
The 30-second short was a collaboration between producer/director Aron Fromm and David Braun, creative director of Open the Portal, the animation studio that previously gave Rick and Morty the “creepy Czech experimental stop-motion” treatment.
According to the pair, they were inspired to create a Batman: The Animated Series-Rick and Morty mash-up because, as Fromm told Animation World Network, “David and I both grew up on Batman: TAS and it’s probably one of the biggest influences on both of our work.” Plus, a chance run-in with Batman writer Paul Dini shortly before the animators’ meeting with Adult Swim meant that the Dark Knight “was top of mind.”
Come to think of it, combining Rick and Morty with Batman actually makes a whole lot of sense. For one thing, both franchises are about a gadget-wielding adult who continually goes on adventures that imperil a small child. And Rick and Morty has referenced Batman more than once over the years, even overtly drawing comparisons to the Dynamic Duo.
Not to mention how the famous “Pickle Rick” episode ends with a post-credit scene in which the pair are nearly crushed to death atop a giant mechanized piano wielded by the villainous “Concerto.”
Which fans pointed out seems to have been directly inspired by a number of old Batman stories, including an episode of the ‘60s Adam West-starring TV show in which Batman and Robin are nearly pulverized by Liberace.
It seems as though most people enjoyed the new Batman bumper. But hopefully this doesn’t mean that we’ll start seeing Rick and Morty-themed remakes of Euphoria, The White Lotus or Arliss.
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