''Lil' Bush'' is an American

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of a television sitcom that is animation, animated instead of being filmed live-action, and is generally made or created for adult animation, adult audiences in most cases. ''The Simpsons'', ''SpongeBob SquarePan ...

which premiered on June 13, 2007, on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

. The series features

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

s of members of the

George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college vict ...

, and other

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and international political figures, most of which are depicted as children. The first season's episodes each consist of two story segments, with each featuring a musical performance by a band composed of main characters. The second season, which premiered on March 13, 2008, consists of ten episodes, and features the full twenty-two-minute storylines including the musical number. The second-season finale aired on May 15, 2008.

Premise

''Lil' Bush'' takes place in an alternate reality version of the present day, where

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

is president and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

(referred to as "Lil' George"), along with his associates (members of George W. Bush's real-life former staff), are children attending

Beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

Elementary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. Issues in which the latter Bush administration is involved (for example, the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

) are transferred to the elder Bush but feature the younger Bush interacting with them in various ways. Also, just as George Bush's father is president, the parents of the other kids are members of the elder Bush's cabinet (all depicted as their real-life adult counterparts, with the exception of the elder Cheney, who is depicted as Cheney with a

Darth Vader Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...

helmet). The show pokes fun at George W. Bush's policies in a direct manner and provides criticism of his administration.

Production

In 2004,

Donick Cary Donick Cary is an American writer and producer. Early life Cary grew up on Nantucket Island, graduating from Nantucket High School in 1986. Personal life He is the son of actors Richard and Mara Cary and the brother of actress Martha Cary, the l ...

created Lil' Bush as a series for

Amp'd Mobile Amp'd Mobile was a cellular phone service launched in the United States in late 2005, and in Canada in early 2007. The company was a Mobile Virtual Network Operator offering 3G voice and data services over the Verizon Wireless EV-DO network, inclu ...

cell phones. The series was then picked up by Comedy Central and became one of the first

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

to be adapted to television. To handle animation for the series, Cary founded Sugarshack Animation with offices in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the show was animated using

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a mostly discontinuedAlthough it is discontinued by Adobe Inc., for the Chinese market it is developed by Zhongcheng and for the international enterprise market it is developed by Ha ...

Characters

Main characters

* Lil' George (

), voiced by

Chris Parson Christopher L. Parson is an American voice actor and a 2001 graduate of the USC School of Cinema Television (now USC School of Cinematic Arts). Parson began his career working primarily as an assistant in talent management while still a student, ...

; the leader of the gang, he often makes choices without thinking about the consequences and is seldom corrected by his friends. Like the real

, he enjoys giving people various nicknames. He has a crush on the series' caricature

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...

, refers to her as a "chubby nerd". Additionally, though the show is entitled ''Lil Bush'', the character himself is always referred to by the other characters (and in the scripts) as Lil' George. * George Sr. (

), voiced by

Dave B. Mitchell David Benjamin Mitchell (born July 25, 1969) is an American voice actor, who is best known as the voice of Knuckles the Echidna in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise, since 2019. Career Since beginning his professional voiceover career in 19 ...

; the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

who acts as somewhat of a

straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

to Lil' George. He is shown to be extremely weak physically, and possessing a deep love for Saltine crackers. He and Barbara are also swingers and although he loves his wife, he has a specific time scheduled at work for "old people sex" with his secretary. He is also seen to be allergic to people who look Asian as seen in the 'Hall Monitor' episode (a reference to when Bush threw up onto the lap of Japan's Prime Minister). *

Barbara Bush Barbara Bush (; June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush. She was previously second lady of the United States fr ...

, voiced by

Mara Cary ''Lil' Bush'' is an American Satire, satirical adult animation, adult animated sitcom which premiered on June 13, 2007, on Comedy Central. The series features caricatures of members of the George W. Bush administration, and other American politi ...

; the sexually frustrated wife of the President, so much so that she once resorts to having a tryst with Lil' Cheney. She has also admitted to having an affair with

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...

. She was confused with a

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

in "Gay Friend". According to George Sr., Barbara Bush was a "Frankenstein of presidential parts" added with woman parts that he brought to life, giving her the head of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. *

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

, voiced by

; the indestructible but mentally undeveloped brother to Lil' George. His family shows a general apathy towards his well-being. This could possibly be because he is able to withstand things that would kill an ordinary person, and sometimes benefits from them. In one episode, Jeb withstands a nuclear blast, and in another, climbs onto a missile about to be fired, but appears completely unharmed. When Jeb is hit in the head with a frying pan, he speaks normally (then voiced by

Colin Meloy Colin Patrick Henry Meloy (born October 5, 1974) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band the Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acousti ...

) and openly criticizes his father's governmental decisions. Jeb is treated like a pet, as he is taken for walks, given flea dips, and eats from a bowl with his name on it (often next to the actual family dog Barney). * Lil' Cheney (

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

), voiced by

; a friend of Lil' George, he growls incoherently rather than speaking, with the occasional interjection of a contextually relevant word or phrase, (saying "reh-reh-REH-

massive heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retro ...

-reh-reh-REH," for instance); the rest of the characters appear to understand him. He has deranged and violent tendencies, such as consuming raw—sometimes living—meat and blood. * Lil' Condi (

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

), voiced by

Ann Villella Ann Villella is an American voice actress, best known for portraying Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford U ...

in season 1 and

Kari Wahlgren Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American voice actress who has provided English-language roles for animated movies, TV series, and video games. She got her start in anime voice-overs as List of FLCL characters#Haruko Haruhara, Haruko H ...

in season 2, acts as the voice of reason for her friends, though they routinely ignore her sensible advice. She has a crush on Lil' George, and attempts to woo him in various ways throughout the series, such as doing his homework for him and gaining an abundance of weight. * Lil' Rummy (

Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, businessman, and naval officer who served as United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and again ...

), voiced by

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

; seems to be the only remotely intelligent character on the show aside from Lil' Condi. He also displays a sadistic side, possibly resulting from the fact that he is abused by his father. He is sometimes used as a scapegoat, such as when George Sr. says one way to cover up a scandal is to blame it on Lil' Rummy.

Lil' Democrats

The series antagonists (also called Lil' Dems). * Lil' Hillary (

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

): voiced by

(in season 2

girlfriend of Lil' Bill, she works at an abortion clinic after school "just for fun" and is also suggested to be

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

after kissing Lil' Condi. * Lil'

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

: voiced by

Tim Meadows Tim Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for 10 seasons from 1991 to 2000. For his work on ''S ...

; shown laughing at Lil' George, he is " nuked" by Lil' George when he is seen sneaking a cigarette outside of the White House. He also leads Lil' George's friends after Lil' Bush abandons them for Lil' Tony Blair. He attempts to enlist their help in building a "Home for Humanity" for a single mother, but the gang burns it down (assuming that the plan was to commit insurance fraud or turn it into a dungeon and force single mothers to fight to the death) and use the money to buy themselves scooters. He frequently answers questions by saying "Yes we can." * Lil'

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

: voiced by

; always encouraging others to be eco-friendly and shown with an extremely eco-friendly house with many inventions created by Lil' Al himself (including a time machine, and an interconnected series of ropes which create a net that " catches dreams", he calls the "

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

"). Lil' Bush constantly ridicules him for being slightly overweight (to make everyone else think so) despite the fact that Lil' George is shown to have more body weight than Lil' Al. * Lil'

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

: shown sewing a flag with rainbow-colored stripes, she is also " nuked" by Lil' George. Voiced by production assistant Martha Cary, who is the show creator's half-sister. * Lil'

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

: voiced by

, Lil' Kerry's voice bores Lil' Bush and the gang. He loves ketchup, and says that someday he might marry it, in reference to his real-world marriage to

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

heiress

Teresa Heinz Kerry Teresa Heinz (born Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira; October 5, 1938), also known as Teresa Heinz Kerry, is a Portuguese-American businesswoman and philanthropist. Heinz is the widow of former U.S. Senator John Heinz and the current wif ...

. * Lil'

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented North Carolina in the United States Senate from 1999 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the vice presidential nominee under ...

: apparently obsessed with hair in reference to Edwards' $400

haircut A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although ...

s. * Lil' Bill (

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

): voiced by

; constantly

cheats Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert or disobey rules in order to obtain unfair advantages without being noticed. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given pr ...

on Lil' Hillary. * Tiny Kucinich: who wants to someday fly with doves. Sometimes has to be handled like an infant. Voiced by Jason Nash, who does a variety of other voices for the show.

Episodes

Season 1 (2007-08)

Season 2 (2008)

Critical response

The show has received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. A common complaint is that the show comes too late in Bush's presidency to remain topical. Other complaints accuse it of immaturity and lack of subtlety. Not all the reviews, however, were negative. Among others, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' gave the show a positive review. A review from About.com cited the show's "cleverness and maturity," likening it to "a less bloody ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

''".Li'l Bush Review
. Retrieved July 13, 2007.

Home releases

References

External links

* {{Comedy Central animation 2000s American adult animated television series 2000s American animated comedy television series 2000s American political comedy television series 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American sitcoms 2007 American animated television series debuts 2008 American television series endings American adult animated comedy television series American animated sitcoms American flash adult animated television series Animated satirical television series Elementary school television series American English-language television shows Comedy Central animated television series Comedy Central sitcoms Cultural depictions of George W. Bush Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of George H. W. Bush Cultural depictions of Bill Clinton Cultural depictions of Barack Obama Cultural depictions of Osama bin Laden Political satirical television series Animated television series about children Television series about George W. Bush Television shows set in Washington, D.C. Caricatures of presidents of the United States Television series based on Internet-based works

Premise

Production

Characters

Main characters

Lil' Democrats

Episodes

Season 1 (2007-08)

Season 2 (2008)

Critical response

Home releases

See also

References

External links