"Rude Removal" is an episode segment in the second season of

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

's animated television series ''

Dexter's Laboratory ''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series follows Dexter, an enthusiastic boy-genius with a science laboratory in his bedroom, which he keeps secret from his u ...

''.

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

produced it in 1997 as part of the second season, but was left unaired due to foul language. In the segment, Dexter and Dee Dee are accidentally split into two pairs, one polite and one rude, with each respectively having

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and

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accents. The latter is depicted as using

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

with

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ship. The segment was only screened at some animation festivals before finally being released online by

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

on January 22, 2013.

Plot

Dexter invents the Rude Removal System, a machine to remove the

rudeness Rudeness (also called effrontery) is a display of actual or perceived disrespect by not complying with the social norms or etiquette expected within a relationship, social group, or culture. Social norms are established as the essential guideli ...

from his sister Dee Dee. However, Dee Dee thinks Dexter is the one who is rude. They start fighting and both wind up in the machine. Inadvertently, the Rude Removal System is activated, splitting the pair into well-behaved and rude halves, with the well-behaved duplicates speaking with English accents, and the rude duplicates speaking with

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

accents while using profanity. The rude pair harbor destructive tendencies by misbehaving and being disrespectful towards their mother while she has her friends over, prompting her to angrily tell them off and send them to their rooms. Afterwards, the nice pair manage to trick their rude halves back into the Rude Removal System and reverse the process by combining the rude and polite halves. The segment ends with Dexter and Dee Dee's very angry mother standing in front of them holding a bar of soap, poised to wash the filthy words from their mouths before the short cuts to black.

Production

The "Rude Removal" segment was produced during the second season of ''Dexter's Laboratory'' in 1997, and features a seven-minute runtime. It was directed by

Rob Renzetti Robert John Renzetti is an American animator and author. Renzetti is known for creating '' My Life as a Teenage Robot'' and the '' Oh Yeah! Cartoons'' series '' Mina and the Count'' for Nickelodeon, directing '' Dexter's Laboratory'', '' The Powe ...

and storyboarded by Chong Lee and

Craig McCracken Craig McCracken (born March 31, 1971) is an American cartoonist, animator, director, writer, and producer known for creating Cartoon Network's ''The Powerpuff Girls'' and ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'', Disney Channel and Disney XD's ''W ...

, the latter of whom did confirm that he never had a copy, and neither did creator Genndy Tartakovsky. Main cast member

Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...

did not participate in a voice role throughout this segment. The segment was never broadcast on television. Series creator

Genndy Tartakovsky Gennady Borisovich "Genndy" Tartakovsky (; born January 17, 1970) is a Soviet-born American animation, animator, screenwriter, film producer, and film director, director. He is best known as the creator of various animated television series on ...

commented that "

standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...

didn't like it".

Linda Simensky Linda Simensky is an American executive. She served as a creative executive for Nickelodeon Furniss, Maureen. (February 5, 2008)240 ''Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics'' ''Indiana University Press''. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved October 1 ...

, then-vice president of original programming for Cartoon Network, said "I still think it's very funny. It probably would air better late at night." After being asked about it on his

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page, Calvin Wong, writer and

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for ''

Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its Regular Show season 8, eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the cours ...

'', said that Cartoon Network denied that it was in their media library. The title card depicted Dee Dee giving the

finger A finger is a prominent digit (anatomy), digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (dactyly, pentadact ...

and Dexter

mooning Illustration of a woman raising her dress and mooning a nun (1905) Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, and also pot ...

at the audience.

Screenings and release

Despite never airing on television, "Rude Removal" did see limited showing at certain animation festivals and conventions, including an event at the 1998 World Animation Celebration on February 21, 1998. Tartakovsky would sometimes show the cartoon when he spoke in public. One such showing occurred during a lecture given at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

on November 15, 2008. He was asked about the segment during a

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AMA in October 2012, and he replied "Next time I do a public appearance, I'll bring it with me!". Adult Swim later asked fans on Twitter if there was still any interest in the segment, and the response was "overwhelming". The segment was finally uploaded to YouTube and Adult Swim's official website on January 22, 2013. The episode was made private shortly after its upload.

Reception

In his review of "Rude Removal", Erik Adams of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' opined that the segment was "nowhere near as crass" as anticipated. He concluded that "if Cartoon Network would've aired 'Rude Removal' with all its bleeps intact, we would've never learned how to use such filthy language."

Notes

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Cartoon, Animation, Comedy, 1990s, Television 1998 American television episodes Censorship in the United States Dexter's Laboratory Animated television series episodes Television episodes about cloning Television episodes about profanity Television controversies in the United States Television episodes pulled from general rotation Unaired television episodes Animation controversies in television Obscenity controversies in television Obscenity controversies in animation