Implying drug use in kids programming can be funny for adults and weird for kids. But when do some beloved characters go too far? Since the PC times have taken over mainstream programming and kids shows, we don’t see too many drug references (at least not blatant ones) in movies and TV.
When was the last time you saw Goofy going after a cigarette? Or Felix the Cat getting punch drunk? Still, animators and writers manage to sneak some in here and there and these scenes are totally bizarre. Let’s take a look at some cartoon characters who definitely got high on screen.
Berries (The Good Dinosaur, 2015)
Not as good as Toy Story (1995) or The Incredibles (2004) but Disney/Pixar still managed to come up with a new spin on prehistory in The Good Dinosaur, the story of a little Apatosaurus named Arlo and a little caveboy named Spot. On their journey they eat some fermented fruit. The rest is self explanatory. Let’s just say the movie explains how songs like “Sweet Leaf” or “White Rabbit” were made.
Kelp Shakes (SpongeBob Squarepants, 1999–present)
Fans of this crazy show will tell you it’s full of drug references. Not to mention innuendos. Many people go as far as to say the cartoon characters were always on drugs. But one episode of SpongeBob Squarepants takes the kelp cake (literally). In the episode “Best Frenemies” (season 4, episode 78b) a new drink called “kelp shakes” takes over the city of Bikini Bottom and the citizens become physically attached to it. The characters will do anything to get it. Obviously that description alone explains how powerful addictive substances can be.
60s Survival (Cars, 2006)
Two Pixar movies on this list is saying a lot. One character in Cars has one big drug reference. After crash landing in Radiator Springs, Lightning McQueen meets a VW bus named Filmore (voiced by George Carlin). Filmore is totally spaced out and raves about Woodstock. Then one character asks the bus if the 60s were good to him. He doesn’t respond but we were laughing.
Marihuana – “Speedy Gonzalez” (various dates)
If you’re a fan of the Looney Tunes franchise (who isn’t?) then you know Speedy Gonzalez. How could you forget the cute little Mexican mouse with super speed. Small and sneaky, Speedy might be one of the cutest of the Tunes. But he and his brother sing about a certain green plant throughout the series. In their version of a children’s song “La Cucaracha” Slow Poke sings how a cockroach can’t stand because he hasn’t smoked pot.
Drunken Witch – Pink Panther (1969)
After his iconic appearance in the 1963 film, the fabulous Pink Panther became one of the most popular cartoon characters of his time. He even had a hit series of shorts. But in the fairy-tale themed episode Pink-A-Rella, Cinderella gets a modern makeover, in more ways than one. In the episode a very drunk witch drops her magic wand. The Pink Panther uses it to grant the wishes of a young woman. And what’s even funnier is the witch is still drunk even after she gets her wand back.
Primate Punch – Darkwing Duck (1991)
If you’ve never heard of “jungle juice” (a term for a deadly cocktail) then you won’t get the joke in the hit series Darkwing Duck (part of the original Disney Afternoon). In the episode “The Apes of Wrath” the egotistical duck superhero, his sidekick Launchpad and adoptive daughter Gosalyn meet an anthropologist and her gorilla friends. At one point Darkwing is offered a drink called “primate punch”. Then he starts bouncing around the jungle like he’s high.
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