As a 16-year-old human raised by anthropomorphic jellyfish, Cornell somehow never caught on that he was adopted. Sure, his parents (Barry and Debbie) and sister (KY) looked different, but he was still their son. Just … a human son.
When Cornell’s parents finally get around to telling him that he’s not their biological offspring, he feels lost. Bewildered and perplexed, Cornell begins to try new things to find out who he is. And his search for his “true” identity leads him, his parents and his sister, to rediscover their passions in peculiar and—critically for our purposes–obscene ways.
Back in 2015, Tyler Okonma (more widely known as Tyler the Creator) and buddy Lionel Boyce came up with the idea for The Jellies!. At first, the show was featured on Tyler’s own app, Golf Media, a place where Tyler could give fans a piece of his brain without restriction. Tyler said that he wanted the app to be “my own MTV or my own Cartoon Network.”
The problem? Well, Tyler’s idea of “Cartoon Network” was too obscene for the actual station. But in October 2017, the show was taken from the app and given a home on Adult Swim, the Cartoon Network’s most risqué time block. Known for its mature content, Adult Swim presents animated characters that are bound to catch an innocent eye or two. But let me warn you: this is not the kind of show you’d want your children to watch. In fact, I bet you wouldn’t even want to watch it yourself.
The show features Cornell, a malleable people pleaser, his average jellyfish dad, Barry, provocative mom, Debbie, and plain-Jane sister, KY. Some characters take a stab at morality while most are just obscene. Jokes about racism, drugs, sex, sexual orientation, abuse and rape litter each episode. Then, of course, there’s the profane language that pops in every five seconds.
It’s like every jellyfish’s worst nightmare.
Cornell’s older sister, KY Jelly, begins stripping to ease her boredom. Her father, Barry Jelly, sees his daughter’s success and forces her to compete in the annual Walla Walla Stripping Competition. Cornell tries to win his father’s affections by getting good grades, but when that doesn’t work he contemplates stripping, too.
Barry finds out his daughter is a stripper when he and his friends go to a strip club. A plethora of married men throw money at female jellyfish and female humans dancing on poles (dressed only in bras and thongs), make vulgar sexual comments and assume that each woman “has daddy issues.” Barry and Debbie encourage their daughter to continue to strip, with Barry smacking his daughter’s rear and putting money in her bra.
A female jellyfish experiences a strong physical reaction when a human man flirts with her. Barry and his wife kiss and make out. An elderly woman dances at a strip club. A man jokes about getting a lap dance. Cornell takes a picture of himself in a bra and thong. Barry graphically jokes about rape.
Barry punches multiple men in the face and hits a woman in the knee with a pipe. Later, Barry is sent to prison and released on bail. Multiple characters makes a plethora of racist comments. A man claims “there is no God.” A commerical encourages people to buy and consume “free-range puppies.”
Humans and jellyfish drink beer and hard liquor and smoke cigarettes. God’s name is misused nearly five times, once paired with “d–n.” The f-word and s-word are both used ten times each (This was uncensored in the Amazon-purchased episode we reviewed). Other profanities include multiple utterances of “n-gga,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—,” “a–” and “d–k.”
Cornell’s pseudo-gangster uncle comes into town and recruits Cornell as his protégé. Barry, Cornell’s father, tries to discourage his son from joining the gang, but he and his wife disagree on what is deemed a negative influence.
Cornell’s uncle teaches him how to be a “real n-gga” by drug dealing, killing and stealing when necessary. Later, Cornell’s family is kidnapped by a group of Russian baddies looking for Cornell’s uncle.
Jellyfish, human men and robotic Russians shoot and kill one another in a standoff. People are shot in the head and other body parts, and blood flies in all directions. In the end, only a few survive and dead bodies lie scattered on the ground. Two gummy bears shoot up a family-friendly restaurant (we only see them walking in and hear shots fired).
A married woman kisses another man. A man calls a young girl a “heifer” and a “hoe.” Debbie, Cornell’s mom, wears a cleavage-baring top. Cornell and his uncle plan to go visit convicted sex-felon R. Kelly. A man steals money and gives it to a guy for child support and makes a joke about Jehova’s witnesses.
An animated Snoop Dogg talks about smoking marijuana. Various pills and cigarettes lie on a table. “B–ch” and “n-gga” are each used more than ten times. The s-word is heard more than five times and “a–” “h—,” and “d–n” are repeated often.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
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