Cartoon Dump was a web series and its corresponding live comedy show created by animation historian Jerry Beck and Frank Conniff of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame. The show is a Saturday Morning Kids’ Show parody set in a garbage dump. Excited Kids' Show Host Compost Brite and her friends, usually Moodsy the Clinically Depressed Owl, present an obscure and terrible cartoon. The web series was put on hold after six episodes.
This provides examples of:
- Minimalist Cast: The only characters shown on screen are Compost Brite, Moodsy and Buff Badger the Rageaholic Animation Historian. The live shows add Dumpster Diver Dan.
- No Title: The episodes have no title. Instead, they tend to identified by the cartoon played in them.
- Recovered Addict: Moodsy mentions going to AA meetings.
- Stepford Smiler: Compost Brite acts like an Excited Kids' Show Host but suffers from depression and body issues.
- Strictly Formula: Each episode has the same formula:
- Theme Song with different lyrics each time.
- Compost Brite gives a Spoof Aesop
- Moodsy (or Buff in one episode) arrives usually plug an fictional product or sing a song.
- An obscure and terrible cartoon that takes up the bulk of the episode
- Compost Brite and her co-host comment on the cartoon.
- Spoof Aesop: Some of the lessons taught include mediocrity pays off in the end and starve yourself even if you haven't eaten in days.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Apparently, at one point Moodsy told kids to disembowel themselves so they can send him their liver. He got a lot of letters from angry parents.
