Dexter's Laboratory "Rude Removal" (found unaired Cartoon Network animated series episode; 1997)
Title card originally released by Adult Swim.
Status: Found (censored version)
Lost (uncensored version)
Date found: 22 Jan 2013 (censored version)
Found by: Adult Swim (censored version)
"Rude Removal" is an unaired episode from the second season of Cartoon Network's 1996 animated television series Dexter's Laboratory.[1] The episode revolves around one of Dexter's inventions separating both himself and Dee Dee into respective rude and polite versions of themselves, resulting in a tirade of swearing (albeit censored) and general rudeness.
Though it was fully produced for the second season, the episode was pulled before premiering due to Cartoon Network executives' fear of backlash at the (censored) foul language. Series creator Genndy Tartakovsky occasionally brought a copy of the episode with him to screen at conventions, including once at the 1998 World Animation Celebration on February 21, 1998, and another during a lecture given at the Rhode Island School of Design on November 15, 2008.
During Tartakovsky's 2012 Reddit AMA, a question about "Rude Removal" instigated trending searches for the banned episode online. Adult Swim's Twitter account asked followers if there was any interest in seeing the segment, and the account's followers showed approval. On January 22, 2013, Adult Swim uploaded the full episode on their YouTube channel.[2]
Original rediscovery
Before "Rude Removal"’s relatively recent unearthing, many dismissed it as fake until 2010, when Frederator's Fred Seibert (who served as president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons from 1992 to 1996) confirmed its existence and the fact that it was indeed pulled before airing via his Tumblr page, after consulting Genndy Tartakovsky (creator of the show) during a senior animation class, in which the episode's existence was brought into question by a student.[3]
Prior to 2013, cartoonist Craig McCracken, an art director and storyboard artist for seasons 1 through 4 of Dexter's Laboratory, attested to the episode's existence via his DeviantArt account.[4] Shortly after that, in September of 2012, Tartakovsky conducted an IAmA session on Reddit to promote his then-upcoming, animated feature film directorial effort Hotel Transylvania. Eventually, a comment regarding "Rude Removal" came up and quickly gained traction, rising to become one of the thread's top comments. After giving a first-hand account quite similar to Seibert's and McCracken's, when asked if the episode would ever find its way online, he replied "it might", also stating that he would bring it with him to his next public appearance.[5]
Adult Swim's Involvement
In the weeks following Tartakovsky's IAmA session, Adult Swim, realizing the increasing amount of public interest in "Rude Removal", began airing bumpers suggesting that they were going to attempt to acquire the episode and have it aired on TV. After a handful of bumpers regarding the episode, Adult Swim went quiet on the issue until December 1, when they sent out a tweet asking if there was still interest in the episode.[6] Following an overwhelmingly positive fan response, Adult Swim aired a follow-up bumper the next day stating that they had succeeded in obtaining a copy and were in negotiations to get it put online "in the next week or so", advising users to "remind us to tell Jeff to put it up" by using the Twitter hashtag #tellJeff.
Weeks passed with no word from Adult Swim whatsoever; people started becoming bitter, some suggesting that Adult Swim never actually had the episode in the first place and that the whole thing was nothing more than a cruel publicity stunt. However, on January 21, 2013, Adult Swim ended any doubts by tweeting a picture of the episode's title card, along with the notification that the episode was to be uploaded the afternoon of the following day.[7] Keeping to their word, Adult Swim uploaded a (censored) high-definition rip of "Rude Removal" to their YouTube account on January 22, 2013, at around 1:00 PM Atlanta time (Atlanta is the location of Adult Swim's Williams Street headquarters), along with a tweet simply stating "With love, from Adult Swim"., also containing a link to said YouTube video (albeit embedded on a page via Adult Swim's official website).[8]
The episode's unearthing was generally well-received despite some people's disappointment at the fact that it was censored, and Adult Swim's efforts were met with mass praise. The episode, however, was removed from Adult Swim's YouTube channel just a few weeks after it had been uploaded, with no explanation, although by that time, many mirrors had popped up, ensuring that the episode can still be watched by the general public.
Unedited Audio
Ever since the episode's original resurfacing, rumors of an alleged uncensored version actually existing, possibly on a VHS tape in possession of one of the show's former crew members, float on the web. It's unknown if the copy Adult Swim obtained had the censoring on it originally or if they added it themselves, and none of the rumors have been confirmed or denied. On July 15, 2017, Craig McCracken officially confirmed via Twitter that uncensored audio was originally recorded for the episode.[9] In another tweet, Craig said that he doesn't know if Cartoon Network has the original uncensored version, only knowing that Adult Swim uploaded one of the versions in 2013[10] – the censored version.
The unreleased nature of the unedited audio eventually attracted the attention of fans trying to earn an advantage from the situation. Forgeries coming from people claiming to own copies of the uncensored episode arose, with the most famous one being sourced from a "YouTube Poop" published by mrSimon (at the time known as electricthecheese) shortly after the episode's airing in early 2013. In this edit, the censored episode has its bleeps replaced with audio clips from other episodes altered to resemble profanity, giving the illusion of uncutness.[11] Users abusing of bad faith took advantage of this and re-uploaded the video without proper credits, passing it as the official uncensored version.[12]
Gallery
Footage
Videos
See Also
Anthology and Short Series
- Big Bag (partially found Cartoon Network live-action animated puppet series; 1996-1998)
- The Moxy Show (partially found Cartoon Network CGI animated anthology series; 1993-1995)
- Sunday Pants (partially lost Cartoon Network animated anthology series; 2005)
- ToonHeads (partially lost Cartoon Network animation anthology series; 1992-2003)
- ToonHeads "A Night of Independent Animation" (found special of Cartoon Network animation anthology series; 1996)
- Villainous (partially found Cartoon Network Mexico online animated short series; 2012-2013)
- What a Cartoon! (found Cartoon Network animated anthology series; 1995-1997)
- Youri, the Spaceman (found Cartoon Network France CGI animated short series; 2002)
Audio
- Adventure Time (lost uncensored episode commentaries from Cartoon Network animated series DVDs; 2012-2014)
- Akazukin Chacha (partially found Cartoon Network Asia English dub of anime; 1998)
- Ani-Yoko: My Next Door Neighbor (lost Cartoon Network Philippines English dub of anime; 2008)
- Class of 3000 (found original English audio of Cartoon Network animated musical series; 2006-2008)
- The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy "Matinee Mandy" (lost original English audio of Cartoon Network animated short; 2007)
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps (partially found Cartoon Network India English dub of anime; 2001)
- Mojacko (lost Cartoon Network Asia English dub of anime; 2013)
- My Melody (lost Cartoon Network Asia English dub of anime; mid-2000s)
- Out of Jimmy's Head (found Cartoon Network live-action/animated teen sitcom; 2007-2008)
- Spaced Out (partially found Cartoon Network UK English dub of French animated series; 2000s)
- Sugar Sugar Rune (lost Cartoon Network Philippines English dub of anime; 2011)
- Uncle Gus (partially lost original English audio of Cartoon Network animated pilots; 2000-2001)
- Yatterman (lost Cartoon Network Asia English dub of anime; 2011)
- Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? (partially lost unreleased original voice audio and unfinished/unknown Cartoon Network animated series episodes; 2002-2003)
- Zoids Genesis (partially found Cartoon Network Asia English dub of anime; 2007)
Bumpers and Interstitials
- The Big Game XXVI: Tom vs. Jerry (found Cartoon Network marathon special; 1998)
- Cartoon Network (partially found "High Noon Toons" bumpers from TV channel block; 1994-1996)
- Cartoon Network (partially lost "Nood" bumpers from TV channel; 2008-2010)
- Cartoon Network "Cartoon Network Responds!" (partially lost interstitials from TV channel; 1997-1999)
- Cartoon Network Mayors' Awards of Excellence (partially found interstitials of Cartoon Network Philippines civic campaign; 2000s)
- Cartoon Network NBA All-Star Slam (found interviews of marathon; 2003)
- Cartoon Planet (partially found bumpers of revival block of Cartoon Network animated variety series; 2012)
- Codename: Kids Next Door Mission Weekend (partially found marathon bumpers for Cartoon Network animated series; 2003)
- Fridays aka "Cartoon Cartoon Fridays" (partially found interstitials from Cartoon Network channel block; 1999–2007)
- Hotdog TV (partially found Cartoon Network interstitial series; 2010)
- Ice King Steals Christmas (partially found Cartoon Network UK Christmas themed bumpers starring "Adventure Time" character; 2015-2018)
- JBVO, Toon FM & Viva Las Bravo (partially found interstitials from Cartoon Network channel blocks; early-mid 2000s)
- Tickle-U (partially found Cartoon Network preschool block; 2005-2006)
- VBirds: Perfect (lost Cartoon Network UK interstitial series of British virtual girl group; 2003)
Pilots
- Ben 10 (partially found pitch pilot of Cartoon Network animated series; early-mid 2000s)
- Billy and Mandy in Trepanation of the Skull and You (found prototype short of "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy" Cartoon Network animated series; 1995)
- Camp Lazlo "Monkey See, Camping Doo" (lost pitch pilot of Cartoon Network animated series; 2004)
- Captain Sturdy (found Cartoon Network animated pilots; 2001/2003)
- Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe (partially lost pitch pilots from British animation studio; 2008-2011)
- Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (found pitch pilot of Cartoon Network animated series; 2003)
- Imp Inc. (found Cartoon Network animated pilot; 2001)
- Jeffrey Cat: Claw and Order "All Dogs Don't Go to Heaven" (found Cartoon Network animated pilot; 2002)
- A Kitty Bobo Show (found storyboard of cancelled second animated pilot for Cartoon Network; 2002)
- Major Flake in "Soggy Sales" (found Cartoon Network animated pilot; 2001)
- The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (partially lost unaired "Wedgies" pilot and short of Cartoon Network animated series; 2007)
- Mess O' Blues (partially found prototype short of "Johnny Bravo" Cartoon Network animated series; 1993)
- My Gym Partner's a Monkey (lost pitch pilots of Cartoon Network animated series; 2003/2004)
- The Powerpuff Girls (lost pitch pilot of Cartoon Network animated series reboot; early-mid 2010s)
- Project Gilroy (lost Cartoon Network animated pilot; 2007)
- Regular Show (non-existent Flash pilot of Cartoon Network animated series; late 2000s-2010)
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast (partially found pitch pilots of Cartoon Network adult animated comedy series; 1993)
- Squirrel Boy "Kite Makes Right" (partially found pitch pilot of Cartoon Network animated series; 2004)
- What's Wrong With Ruth? (found Cartoon Network animated pilot; 2007)
Live-Action
- Bobb'e Says (partially found Cartoon Network live-action clip series; 2009)
- BrainRush (partially lost Cartoon Network live-action game show; 2009)
- Track Rats (partially found Cartoon Network reality short series; 2010)
- The Othersiders (found Cartoon Network paranormal reality series; 2009)
Other Cartoon Network Series
- The Amazing World of Gumball (partially lost deleted scenes of Cartoon Network animated series; 2011-2019)
- The Amazing World of Gumball "The Downer" (lost original draft of Cartoon Network animated series episode; existence unconfirmed; 2012-2014)
- The Amazing World of Gumball "The Rex" (partially found production material of cancelled Cartoon Network animated series episode; 2012)
- Ben 10 (partially found pop-up trivia version of Cartoon Network animated series episodes; 2008)
- Chowder (lost pop-up trivia version of Cartoon Network animated series episodes; 2010)
- Chowder (lost production material of cancelled Cartoon Network TV film; 2009)
- Codename: Kids Next Door (lost production material of cancelled Cartoon Network animated series episodes; 2002-2008)
- Droopy's Guide to the Cartoon Network (found launch preview of TV channel special; 1992)
- Ed, Edd n Eddy "Luck Be an Ed Tonight"/"A Room with an Ed" (rumored/lost unfinished Cartoon Network animated series episodes; existence unconfirmed; 2005)
- Ed, Edd n Eddy "Special Ed" (non-existent unproduced Cartoon Network animated series episode; late 1990s/early 2000s)
- Hall of Game Awards (partially found Cartoon Network award show; 2011-2014)
- I Heart Tuesdays (lost production material of cancelled Cartoon Network animated series; 2011-2012)
- I-10: The Ben 10 User Generated Experience (found Cartoon Network TV special; 2008)
- Mixels (partially found unaired/unproduced episodes of Cartoon Network animated comedy series based on LEGO toy line; 2014-2016)
- OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes "Crossover Nexus" (partially found original 22-minute version of Cartoon Network animated series episode; 2010s)
- Skatoony (found original British version of Cartoon Network quiz show; 2006-2008)
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast (partially lost Gametap episodes of Cartoon Network adult animated comedy series; 2006-2008)
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast "Snatch" (lost script of ending of Cartoon Network adult animated comedy series episode; 1999)
- Sym-Bionic Titan (lost production material of cancelled Cartoon Network animated series episodes; early 2010s)
External Links
- Adult Swim's first bumper regarding the episode.
- Adult Swim's second bumper regarding the episode.
- Adult Swim's third and final bumper regarding the episode.
References
- ↑ United States Copyright Office entry for "Rude Removal". Retrieved 13 Oct '14
- ↑ A fan's testimonial, in which he claims to have seen the episode at Comic-Con (in the uncensored form). May 22nd, 2007. Archived. from the original on 10 Apr '13
- ↑ Fred Seibert's Tumblr post confirming the existence of "Rude Removal". Retrieved 13 Oct '14
- ↑ Screenshot of Craig McCracken's DeviantArt post on the episode. Retrieved 17 Oct '14
- ↑ Genndy Tartakovsky's Reddit IAmA. Retrieved 17 Oct '14
- ↑ Adult Swim's first tweet regarding the episode. Retrieved 17 Oct '14
- ↑ Adult Swim's tweet containing the episode's title card. Retrieved 17 Oct '14
- ↑ Adult Swim's final tweet regarding the episode, in which a streaming link to it was provided. Retrieved 22 Jan '13
- ↑ Craig McCracken's tweet on the supposed "original non-bleeped out version". Retrieved 15 Jul '17
- ↑ Craig McCracken's second tweet on the subject matter Retrieved 16 Jul '17
- ↑ Discussion on the unearthing of the episode and mrSimon's YouTube Poop. Retrieved on 22 Jan '13 Retrieved 18 Sept '17
- ↑ Re-upload of mrSimon's edit. Retrieved 25 Mar '15