Beforel Orel is a 2012 22-minute special prequel for Moral Orel. This came about when the show was entering re-runs for the first time since the series ended (Weekdays at midnight, instead of just Sunday.), whose ratings were so strong that Mike Lazzo (then head of Adult Swim) greenlit this based off the re-run's success. In the interim, instead of production being handled by ShadowMachine, Dino Stamatopolous ended up starting his own animation company, Starburns Industries, (named after his character he plays in Community, created by co-founder Dan Harmon)
Four-year-old Orel is a complete innocent, not even knowing who God is. He's sent away to live with his grandfather Arthur while Bloberta is pregnant with Shapey, where he learns about reason and proof. This puts him at odds with the dogmatic town of Moralton, who insists on teaching him about God. Orel decides to prove that God exists by attempting to sacrifice Shapey, believing that God would stop him before he could kill him. Arthur finds out and stops the sacrifice, which Orel takes as proof that God does indeed exist. Arthur is disappointed that Moralton has brainwashed him, and Clay, who still resents Arthur for his childhood, forbids Arthur from seeing Orel again.
Tropes!:
- Bittersweet Ending: Orel's sacrifice of Shapey is stopped by his grandpa Arthur at the very last second, but by doing so gives Orel justification for his faith in Christianity. Clay is still hurt by Arthur's resentment of Clay and forbids him from ever seeing Orel again, to which Arthur writes Orel a goodbye letter noting that he'll never truly be corrupted by Moralton's dogmatic nature thanks to Orel's pure intentions.
