The Brothers Grunt (1994–1995) User Reviews

A creative exercise that falls flat

[thah00pz · 4/10 · 31 May 2021]

The plot is simple: Five brothers are sent out to find their lost 6th brother in a world filled with over-the-top caricatures of human beings, only to get side-tracked and interrupted at each and every turn.

Beyond the basic plot the show's driving forces are the funny and weird situations the brothers get involved in. It's a simple setup for a comedy show but it doesn't really go anywhere and just kinda flatlines in the brief 4 minute runtime of each episode (some episodes are twice as long).

It's not really creative or surreal either. There's certain surreal elements, such as how the brothers are born and the ceremony that takes place in the pilot episode. But for the most part it's just the brothers stumbling through stock cartoon settings (night club, biker bar, prison, supermarket, suburbia, New York city, etc.) and getting harassed by every human in sight. It seems like a good setup for a comedy but only if the writing is clever in some way. There's only hints of clever ideas and jokes sprinkled throughout the series but they're so brief it's not worth sitting through the rest of it. It comes off as a collection of poorly thought out ideas and gags thrown at the wall to see what sticks. And then before it goes anywhere, the episode ends.

It's worth noting this series was created as a expansion of a set of MTV station IDs that just featured the brothers making weird faces and noises before showing the MTV logo, which actually works great as a 5 to 10 second station ID. Not so much for a series of 4 minute cartoons (unless you're looking for time to fill in your broadcast schedule). If you're into extended sequences of funny faces and sound effects and incoherent yelling then you might enjoy this. Even the gross-out humor is pretty tame, especially by modern standards.

Overall I couldn't get into it. I was mostly bored. It definitely doesn't deserve the "worst cartoon ever" reputation it's gotten over the years. I'd put it on the same level as the more forgettable Liquid Television shorts. This show probably would've been long forgotten if it wasn't made by the same guy who created Ed, Edd n Eddy.

Favorite episode: "Sammy in a Varicose Vein" was kinda funny. It's basically a series of elderly people gags set in a nursing home. The caricatures are so over-the-top it got a few laughs out of me. Honorable mention to "To Hell with Bing" for having some interesting surreal imagery that I wish the series embraced a bit more.

3/10

[arielsiere · 3/10 · 25 May 2022]

The most disgusting show I have ever seen and one of the worst shows from Mtv along with Wonder Showzen, this show is disgusting and it contains too much toilet humor just like Sanjay And Craig, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Breadwinners, Fanboy And Chum Chum and King Star King.

Get a vaccine and Skip This Show

[caidenw-37050 · 2/10 · 10 December 2016]

Just don't watch this...at all! It's nasty, and there's no plot...I THINK there's not plot? The series' plot is the show's main characters...are looking for their brother Perry...using mindless, grotesque noises while saying "Perry" every so often...All the while, if you watch this, besides wondering what the point of the existence of such a pointless cartoon is, your eyes will be watering while breaking out in hives from whatever diseases these disturbingly ugly undead abominations possess.

If you want to watch a good cartoon, watch The Simpsons or watch a Transformers movie for goodness sake! God knows 30 minutes of this is MUCH worse than nearly 3 hours of mindless action and explosions from Transformers 4.

Grunting with annoyance

[TheLittleSongbird · 1/10 · 17 November 2023]

'The Brothers Grunt' (1994-1995)

Opening thoughts: Absolutely adore animation (something that most people know already) and have done as a child. Have always aimed to at least appreciate all kinds of humour, and have seen crude and gross out humour done well (the early seasons of 'Rick and Morty' for instances) and animated shows that broke boundaries and were ahead of their time (i.e. 'South Park'). Have though seen quite a number of bad and worse animated shows and too many instances of crude humour done terribly ('Breadwinners').

Really found it very hard to believe that the creator of the excellent 'Ed, Edd and Eddy' was responsible for this intelligence insulting rubbish that insulted my intelligence even as a child. As has been said a few times in the past couple of weeks or so, the lowest possible rating is an incredibly rare rating for me these days, as somebody who tries to be as encouraging as possible and tries to see some good in the bad. Which has mostly not been an issue. There have been times where something is so awful to an offensive degree that it is impossible to do that. 'The Brothers Grunt' is one of those instances. Actually tried to see it when younger and hated it even then, back when this reviewer had a number of contrarian opinions, it's even worse through adult eyes.

Good things: Nothing.

Bad things: Everything and where to start listing them. The animation is really horrod to put it as politely as possible. There is no colour vibrancy, everything just looks flat and garish, editing is not tight enough and is often dizzying, the backgrounds lack imagination or smoothness, almost always looking static. The character designs fare the worst, some of the ugliest easily of any animated show (with heads too big for their bodies, which in themselves are ridiculously and jarringly out of proportion) and they just look rough and animated with little care. The music has very little memorable about it, it's loud lazy, and often over-obvious and not particularly well-placed (too random) complete with an instantly forgettable theme tune that annoys rather than charms.

Every bit as awfully executed is the writing, which was bad enough to almost single handedly sink 'The Brothers Grunt'. It's very crude, random and oddly absurdist, but executes all three very poorly, going too overboard with the toilet humour and childish-ness, very often more disgusting than funny. This viewer has no problem with this type of humour, but here it constantly felt lazy and like it was trying too hard, which made every obnoxiously cheesy and countlessly witless line of dialogue even more forced and contrived. There are also puns that a vast majority of the time were so lazily obvious and lacking in taste it was groan-worthy and every increasingly predictable sight gag came over as forced. ItIt also depends whether any weirdness has a reason for being weird, but it came over very randomly more often than not and increasing in tastelessness.

Moreover, the target audience is constantly in question, because the constantly chaotic feel will see kids finding it too hard to take, and that it's embarrassingly juvenile and lacks any kind of edge or smart writing will irritate adults. The story lines, when they are ever distinguishable (the overload of childish and crude humour too often completely override the story), are also heavy in contrivance, randomness and predictability. While also being incredibly light in emotional resonance, fun or sense to the point all three are practically non-existent. With constantly uneven pacing, with some episodes in serious need of more breathing time and others feeling lazy as a result of the comic timing not being as sharp as it could have been. The characters are all extremely irritating and the voice acting is ear bleeding and like there was no effort being put into it.

Concluding thoughts: Summing up, absolutely terrible in every conceivable way.

1/10.

WTF this show is disgusting!

[AnnisaFebrina2010 · 1/10 · 8 October 2021]

Oh my God! This show is disgusting just like King star king, The problem Solverz, Secret mountain fort awesome, Almost Naked Animals, Fleabag Monkeyface and Mega babies! I hate this show because this show it make me sick!

Typical of MTV to cancel one of the few good shows it's had.

[andrews-21 · 19 October 2004]

To anyone trashing on this show, you're absolutely crazy!!! I died laughing at every episode, and while it aired, was one of my favorite programs to watch! There's pretty much no chance in hades of ever getting your hands on a copy of even one of the episodes, but if by some miracle anyone does, grab it! watch it! love it! Also, if anyone has a copy of any/all of the episodes, I will pay good money for them! Although in a genre all its own, if you like Ren & Stimpy, Beavis & Butthead, & Sealab 2021, you're sure to cherish each episode of the wondrous Brothers Grunt! I wish MTV hadn't cancelled all their really good shows, (i.e. Brothers Grunt, The State, etc) as they relentlessly air some of the absolute worst programming known to man nowadays...and shouldn't they really change the name of the channel by now??!!??!! I haven't seen anything music-related on MTV in 10 years.

Bad, even for MTV

[culwin · 1/10 · 13 June 2004]

For the last few years, I had been trying to recall the name of this show. I asked everyone. Over the years I have annoyed complete strangers by trying to describe this stupid show and ask them if they knew the name of it. Most people think I am either delusional or making it up! At last, a certain website (about shows that jump the shark) answered by question! I can finally show everyone with this IMDB link that this show truly existed! Anyways, regarding the show - it was awful. Originally a "bumper" promo for MTV where one of the brothers is on the toilet, and then an "MTV" logo is shown floating, some genius at MTV decided it would be worthy of a half-hour show. It wasn't funny, it wasn't cool. It was made even worse by the horrible video segments. Unlike Beavis and Butthead's video segments, which were made better by their funny comments, the video segments in this show had no comments. It was unbelievably bad. If you are ever confronted by the opportunity to view this material... just make sure you aren't paying for it.

Danny Antonucci, What'd did y'all expect.

[sraywineee · 1/10 · 12 October 2018]

In 1990s, MTV was the to some BAD shows, But THIS THE WORST MTV 90S PROGRAM I'LL EVER SEE BY FAR. 0 MUSIC, 0 SOUND EFFECTS, AND 0 EFFORT PUT INTO IT. Comedy: B+ 87 SURPRISINGLY good Comedy Animation: D+ 66 BAD, BUT it COULD be worse. Characters: F-- 10 NO EFFORT PUT INTO CHARACTERS. Plot: F+ 57 NOT ONE THE WORST PLOTS, BUT STILL. OVERALL GRADE: D- 60 4.8/10 Not one of the Worst Cartoons, But STILL BAD! Ed, Edd, n Eddy Managed to be Better Than This

Terrible, even for MTV today

[evandennard · 1/10 · 28 November 2019]

From the guy that brought you "Ed, Edd, n Eddy" comes the most disturbing and disgusting show to ever hit TV. The "story" follows the 5 pale and ugly humanoids: Frank, Tony, Bing, Dean, and Sammy as they look for their brother Perry? I really don't know what to say. Like nothing gets explained to you and at the end you're just scratching your head thinking " what the hell was that?" Unless you were a fan of the Ed trio and want to see what the creator made before that, skip this one at all costs.

Bad for be' the first SHOW THAT danny ANTONUCCI created

[lucachik · 1/10 · 16 April 2021]

Just sucks,awful voice ACTING,weirdo soundtracks AND STUPID CHARECTERS for be' the first SHOW that DANNY ANTONUCCI ever created!

Lucky whit CARTOON sushi AND eene ARE improvement FOR him.

Hell no!

[nasdagoodshepherd · 3/10 · 29 June 2019]

From the creator of Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy comes the most gruesome cartoon ever made. I give you The Brothers Grunt! Oh god, how nasty this show was, just looking at it makes me vomit so badly. This is totally the worst piece of animation I have ever saw from MTV, basically, the story features 5 gross looking humanoids going on an adventure to find their lost brother, Perry, but they don't do much at all. This show is so much worse than Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, I choose Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy, Beavis and Butt-Head, Daria, Aeon Flux, Clone High, 3 South, or any cartoon that is good or great over this. I give The Brothers Grunt a 3.2/10

Misunderstood Classic

[btribble50 · 10/10 · 30 November 2001]

I have to submit a differing opinion, as a Bros Grunt fan. This MTV series was made by Danny Antonucci, creator of Lupo the Butcher and Ed, Edd, and Eddy. Those cartoons, as well as Bros Grunt, are marked by crazy animation with characters doing silly, crazy, unexpected things. For example, an intense prison break is headed by a toothbrush obsessed criminal. Another episode shows a Japanese businessman in New York being flown away carried by a pigeon, while screaming "HELLP MEEE!" into his cell phone. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the weirdness in the show, and I just enjoy the oddball humor that does not let up for a second.

Early episodes of Bros Grunt were marred by video segments probably forced by MTV (how are you going to do Beavis & Butt-Head style video segments with characters who can't talk?) So, instead the videos featured the Bros swimming around, turning themselves inside out, playing their nipples like a guitar, things like that. I think this should give you an idea of what the show is all about.

All Hypocrisy Aside.......

[elarein · 7/10 · 9 April 2007]

Yes, this is a terrible show. That, unless I'm mistaken, was the point of the show. It was never intended to be anything but exactly what it came off as being - an obnoxious, vulgar presentation of the most base and banal jokes the writers and artists could make. I hated it but loved it at the same time. Although it wasn't to my taste, that does not make it bad, only "not to my liking." It was an exceptional example of Pop Culture for the time.

The artists did a great job of reflecting the cartoons' anti-social message in the drawings. A perfect example of this are the "pulling veins" scenes. I couldn't watch those segments without feeling sick to my stomach! The content was such that the writers could go way overboard with subtext. They didn't hesitate to do so. Years from now, if someone watches one of these cartoons, they will be able to see the worst of the times in which they were produced. That reflection of the perversity of our times is, if anything, worth noting as something of value. Society is most notable not for what is taken from textbooks, it is - sadly - what we can glean from pop references. The legitimate press will cover our minds and leanings from the higher level. The Brothers Grunt and Beavis and Butthead will pad the picture for those of a more plebeian bent.

AWEFUL GARBAGE!

[bajbij · 1/10 · 24 October 2001]

I'm amazed the IMDB even has this schlock listed here, though I am not surprised NO ONE has commented on it as it has been deservedly forgotten in the annals of animation. Produced by MTV, it came on during the rise of the popularity of BEAVIS and BUTTHEAD. The cartoon concerned these deformed, grunting brothers (hmm, perhaps that's where the title came from) from another dimension. One of them wanders off into our world and his brothers spend the season searching for him. Like BEAVIS and BUTTHEAD, the show was interrupted with clips of music videos, but instead of witty entendres ala B&B, we see clips of the episode and the grunting brothers appearing over the video itself- grunting. The characters appeared first in a series of spots for MTV until they got their own show, and the show itself was so bad that it was canned before the season was completed. (I assume it was never completed as I remember only 3 episodes and the wandering grunt was never reunited with his brothers. It was purely aweful and another sad example of how misguided MTV is with its animation when it capitalizes on a show (BEavis and Butthead or Ren and Stimpy) it had nothing to do with creatively. Thank goodness it is forgotten.

What in the world was MTV thinking?

[Fire_Seraph · 7 January 2005]

How in the world did this tripe managed to even get on celluloid is also beyond me! I knew there were serious problems, when they started canceling music video shows to show junk, like Road Rules for example! And when they watered down the classic animated show, Liquid Television with mild crap. How could they allow this to be animated, thinking they could bank on the success of Beavis and Butthead? They started showing various music videos through out with the ugly creatures farting and grunting, or staring for no good reason. None of these creatures were ever funny, not even when they made chicken like noises! They also seemed to try and bank on the success of Ren and Stimpy, with gross out gags and dung jokes. But alas it didn't work! The animation was too crude and poorly done, the plot didn't go anywhere (if there ever was really one), and none of the characters were likable. The mutants were bad rip offs of The Killer Clowns From Outer Space, which shows the cartoon also lacked originality! Why didn't MTV simply stick with Liquid Television and leave it alone, instead of toning it down for kids? I hope they won't do something like this ever again. I give it a zero!

Creative for sure, but execution falls flat

[Toastyrat · 5/10 · 21 May 2024]

I feel that this was intended to disgust it's audience, and if so then it succeeded with flying colors. Created by the same guy who made Ed Edd n Eddy, this is a stark contrast to his future work for sure.

The story is extremely simple. There are these five brothers who are on a quest to find their sixth brother. The animation is very smooth, even if grotesque and meant to horrify the audience. Toilet humor is inevitable in a grossout cartoon, so it doesn't feel horribly out of place here. There are tons of creative elements in here that bend the mind and are as surreal as it gets, but in terms of execution and writing, that's where the show falls flat.

Gross out humor 101

[mrwaffle-29318 · 9/10 · 24 May 2023]

I would like to start off by saying that this cartoon is absolutely disgusting! And that's a good thing! It's gross on purpose and it achieves this with flying colors.

The main characters, the grunts, are unpleasant and disgusting humanoids of a deranged mentality.

And this is awesome! This show goes out of its way to show how nasty and disgusting it's main characters are, while contrasting them with the absolute hell hole that is the modern world, or at least what it was in the 1990s. Yes. It's nasty. Yes. The main characters all look like they're in constant unending pain. Yes. ITS ROTTEN AND NASTY BUT THST IS THE POINT! THIS SHOW IS NASTY ON PURPOSE!

If you liked the erratic animation of Ed Edd n Eddy and the gross out humor or invader Zim, watch this show!

If you don't like those things, and think this show is terrible, watch it anyway. Experience something unpleasant for the sake of experiencing it.

Thank goodness I did't grow up with this Crap.

[GravityLoudHouseLover1 · 14 October 2015]

"The Brothers Grunt" was a show that ran on MTV Back in 1994 and I never heard of this show until 2 years ago. The show was created by: Danny Antonnucci who is the Creator of Cartoon Network's Ed Edd n Eddy which he made after this show. The main plot of this show is about these things called grunts who are these gross creatures that are looking for their brother perry and the show feels like an acid trip I saw The first episode called "The Ceremony on Youtube thought it was gross. The animation is horrible the characters are gross and weird. Anyway the Show ran on MTV on from August 15,1994-April 9,1995 with 4 seasons and 35 episodes and thank goodness. BOTTOM LINE stay away from this horrible show. I'm rating this 0/10 stars. Anyway See you later. BYE. Updated as of March 1st, 2021

the brother grunt is a good show

[weldemicael · 10/10 · 2 October 2023]

This show is amazing. Because i want that show to be on dvd so i can watch all 45 episodes of the brothers grunt. I sure hope mtv make a compete series dvd out of brothers grunt because i dying yo see them and don't want them to be lost media. I like this show. Because i find that mtv Viacom show to be a interesting adult show. I always enjoy brothers grunt. Since the show needs a dvd and streaming service. I sure hope mtv do acknowledged that show so the show will be no longer lost media unpopular. That all i have to say this review. I enjoy a series of the brothers grunt. So i sure hope this show will get popular.

Absolute Bottom of the Barrel

[angrytexan · 4 June 2002]

After six years, this piece of crap finally had to spring up in my memory....

Out of pure curiosity, I looked it up at IMDb to see what kind of criticism it got. Not to my surprise, it didn't really get much at all. Suffice it to say it is probably the worst piece of animation ever to hit cable TV. If I wasn't a confused middle school student at the time, I would never have survived a single episode. It's almost as if the creator of the cartoon wanted us to believe that his sense of humor was more sophisticated than ours. In actuality, it was only more warped and perverse. That may be good with classics like Beavis & Butthead but this P.O.S. was unbelievably bad. And I use the term "unbelievably" in its most literal sense. Chances are you'll never have to witness the total ineptitude of this filth, but rest assured, unless you've seen an episode of The Brothers Grunt, you have no idea what "crap" really is.

Just in case you can't picture total "crap," think of a bunch of grey, pulsating old men who look and act like retards. No, not funny ha-ha retards. REAL retards. Drooling, staring, whining, unintelligible retards. Imagine these retards wandering about curiously poking and prodding simple everyday objects like bewildered children. Don't bother to worry about a plot; there is none. They have yellow teeth, yellow eyes, and are quite possibly the most visually unappealing protagonists EVER. The "brothers" are always followed by a detective with oversized nostrils and a strong addiction to coffee. His purpose in this cartoon is clear: The genius who created "The Brothers Grunt" somehow realized that since the brothers could only whine and drool, he needed to stick in a human being to provide actual monologue. Good strategy... too bad it didn't do a lick of good.

Anyway, this horrible, horrible creation has managed to waste my time once again. In closing I'll just say this: "The Brothers Grunt" is the yardstick by which all other crap is measured. It proved once and for all that any yo-yo with an animation studio can churn out MTV-grade nonsense... and have it canceled the same year.