The Maxx (1995)

"Cartoons today are so pretentious."

An old nineties cartoon that aired as part of the MTV Oddities block about a big purple pseudo-superhero with huge yellow claws called The Maxx. He thinks himself a hero, but is really just a bum who lives in a box in an alley and is regularly bailed out of jail by Julie Winters, a freelance social worker. They rely on each other to survive the violent and corrupt city while serial rapist and murderer Mr. Gone prowls the streets. Maxx also has a habit of randomly switching between reality and an alternate reality where he roams open plains and protects his Jungle Queen (Julie). He chalks this up to probable insanity, but how much of it is fantasy and reality is unknown to him as is the effect it has on those around him. Gone frequently torments Julie with phone calls about his latest crimes and also seems to have a deeper knowledge of not just Julie, but Maxx as well including his forays into his fantasy land.

Part superhero tale, black comedy and psycho drama makes this an odd cartoon which if you haven't guessed by now is not for kids. The show revolves around themes of rape and murder to violence in media and various tenets of feminism(or as much as they can with just 11 minute episodes). The feminism stuff fell a little flat probably because it was written by two men, Sam Kieth with help from William Messner-Loebs. The animation is very comic-like as it should be since it is often taken panel by panel from the original comic , but is frequently changed and mixed with other artstyles and even live-action. That sounds disjointed, but it blends very well. Very odd, but very interesting.

Episodes to See:
Episode 7 - Dialogue written all in verse with a change in artstyle.

Episodes to Avoid:
Episode 8 - Some cool action with a very comic-like villian, but it is also largely unimportant.

Buyer's Guide:
Originally only available on VHS edited into a single movie with large edits, it has recently been released on DVD as part of Amazon's Manufacture on Demand service with episode commentary. Also available streaming on MTV.com.

3½ There are never therapists in media out of 5