Top 10 Most Wanted Robot Chicken Specials

For a series as long-running as “The Simpsons,” it’s actually a little surprising that “Robot Chicken” hasn’t done more to lampoon it yet. Aside from a few minor sketches, as well as several couch gags on “The Simpsons” itself, there’s been very little material mocking it so far. Although its nature as a pop cultural satire itself could make it more challenging to create comedy for, “The Simpsons”’ widespread recognition and wealth of material to draw from and/or parody makes it an ideal candidate for special attention.

Since it’s a franchise that began with a line of action figures, which is kind of “Robot Chicken”’s bread and butter, it’s no surprise that “G.I. Joe” has been featured heavily throughout the show’s run. The formulaic nature of the 1980s television cartoon and its stock characters are often favorite targets, though the Joes are also used to make commentary on modern aspects of the U.S. military, like drones. All told, there are probably enough existing clips to make a whole special, but “Robot Chicken” would probably need to include some new material as well.

The “My Little Pony” franchise has been targeted by “Robot Chicken” for mockery in the past, often in rather dark subversions of its cheerful and happy aesthetic. Yet, despite this, the show has yet to really delve into the franchise’s modern iteration. While generally well received, “Friendship Is Magic” is not without its flaws and a special could make for a great way to point them out. If nothing else, “Robot Chicken” could easily take shots at the cartoon’s fanatical, and occasionally creepy, fan base.

Another frequent favorite of “Robot Chicken,” these four reptilian martial artist brothers have been featured in plenty of sketches over the years, from “what if” scenarios depicting them as senior citizens to assisting in training Joey Fatone for a fighting tournament. Given that the franchise is over 30 years old, there’s a plethora of “Turtles” media to parody, so a full special seems like it would be a natural step to take. Plus, co-creator Seth Green voiced Leonardo in the 2012 animated series. If Green and company do decide to devote more time to the heroes in a half shell, we’d be among the first to shout, “Cowabunga!”

As one of the biggest pop cultural phenomena of the last century, “Star Trek” has made regular appearances on “Robot Chicken,” though not to the degree of “Star Wars.” Even so, many aspects of the sci-fi franchise have been lampooned during the show’s tenure, from its tropes, such as the tendency of characters wearing red shirts to die, to its characters, to Trekkies themselves. We just want “Robot Chicken” to “boldly go” where they’ve never gone before by devoting a full episode to “Star Trek.”

For as long as this Comedy Central show has been around, it’s actually rarely, if ever, been directly parodied on “Robot Chicken,” which is rather odd and unfortunate, in our opinion. Both shows rely heavily on parody of pop culture and blend adult content and language with more immature humor in a similar way, so we’d love to see “South Park” characters put into the kinds of strange scenarios dreamt up by the folks at “Robot Chicken.” If a full special is out of the question, just a few sketches would at least be more than welcome.

This animation and media giant is another oft-parodied subject throughout “Robot Chicken.” Given its near century of history and thousands of properties, both animated and live-action, it’s hardly surprising that everything from its creator to its films’ tropes, like the absence of mothers in them, have been mocked by this irreverent show. A special devoted to Disney could also include some of the massive company’s other properties, like Pixar animated films. Given its glut of material to fill a special and the nostalgia most viewers have for the company, Disney was a natural choice for this list.

Wubba lubba dub dub! Another show in Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming, “Rick and Morty” has plenty of dark and weird humor that wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of “Robot Chicken.” “Rick and Morty” is no stranger to stop-motion animation since several online animators and promos for the show itself have been created in the medium. The titular characters’ adventures to other universes and tendency to break the fourth wall are additional elements in the show’s favor for a special. Given all the alternate realities out there, there’s got to be “Robot Chicken” versions of Rick and Morty on Interdimensional Cable.

There’s no disguising how much the robots in disguise have featured on “Robot Chicken!” The “Transformers” franchise is one of the show’s most frequently depicted parodies. “Robot Chicken” has devoted segments to specific characters, as well as lampooning nearly every iteration of it, from the classic cartoons to the more recent live-action films. It’s clear that “Transformers” is near and dear to the creators’ hearts, and we know that their passion would help make for a tremendously special episode, should they choose to make one.





Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:



“SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999-)





“ThunderCats” franchise (1985-)





“The Smurfs” franchise (1958-)

If there’s one special “Robot Chicken” needs to do, it’s for Marvel Comics properties and/or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given that the show has already done three for DC Comics, it seems only fair that they create one or more for DC’s biggest competitor. Marvel superheroes have featured plenty of times already on the show and given the MCU’s huge presence in pop culture right now, “Robot Chicken” would be crazy not to capitalize on its popularity by devoting a whole episode to the multimedia franchise.