Cartoons are traditionally funny and comedy-orientated and when they break away from that mold for even a couple of seconds, it tends to provide talked about and memorable moments. It isn’t always necessary for cartoons to write deeply emotional scenes, but when written well they tend to be beautiful and thought-provoking instances.The Simpsonswere thekings of writing emotional momentsback in the 90s but seemed toslip away from its writing qualityasFuturamabecame the go-to animated show from the world of Matt Groening. There have beenmore recent shows such asBojack Horseman, Rick & Morty,andGravity Fallswho have had some heartbreaking moments, but no show has done it as many times, or to the style and quality ofFuturama.RELATED:Are 2-D Animated TV Shows In A Golden Age Right Now?Futurama’semotional moments are so well-written that they have beenrated as many of the best episodes. The one episode that fans who have only watched a few episodes will know of is"Jurassic Bark." The story of Fry’s old dog Seymour who was almost brought back to life, but decided against as Fry believed Seymour would have forgotten about him. The following montage shows the moment Fry was frozen in time and how Seymour aims to find him and later waits outside of Panucci’s Pizza for Fry’s return until his death. The timeline of Seymour waiting through the years with just music to fill the silence is a heartbreaking scene about the love he had and no doubt affected viewers who owned pets.This isn’t the only time where music has played a striking moment in an emotionalFuturamascene which has included Leela’s youth in “Leela’s Homeworld,” Bender’s life being saved in “Lethal Inspection” and the original end ofFuturamawhere Leela watches Fry play the holophonor in “The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings.“Now thatFuturamais returningfor another series, it is exciting and anxious to think that there are still more emotional moments to come. The ending to season seven, “Meanwhile” was also a beautiful moment in the show where Fry and Leela who married and lived their lives whilst everything was frozen in time were given the chance to do it all again. It’s an interesting cliffhanger for the show to go with and makes the viewer wonder if the two of them will create that special bond again.A lot ofFuturama’smost touching moments have come from Fry’s love for Leela and usually how something has gone wrong or not worked out between the two of them. Frombeing the dorky pizza delivery boy, Fry is one of theFuturamacharacters that have the most character development. The worms that infect Fry’s body and turn him into Leela’s ideal man influence his dedication to trying new things in the future, but his decision to reject the worms and Leela’s ideal man in the hopes she’ll love the real him is an emotional and also hopeful moment in the show. Relating back to another musical-themed moment, after the time split is destroyed in “Time Keeps On Slipping,“the moments before make Fry realize how he’d made Leela fall in love with him in the past by moving the stars themselves to write a love letter. The episode closes with Bender’s solemn whistling of “Sweet Georgia Brown.“Other Sci-FI cartoonshave been successful in writing emotional episodes, but the relationships built with theFuturamacharacters hit harder and when Fry and Leela are finally dating, Leela’s message to Fry in “The Late Philip J. Fry"gives a new look at her feelings for him. Following Fry falling into the Professor’s time machine and missing the birthday meal, Leela writes that her time with Fry was short, but it was the best time of her life, and to finally see her true feelings for Fry after six seasons really pulled on the heartstrings. Iconically, Fry staying by Leela’s side in “The Sting"will be well remembered as a classic episode and one of the first real moments between the two of them developing a loving bond.
Most likely the second most poignant emotional moment inFuturamaonce again revolved around Fry. In “The Luck Of The Fryrish,“Fry tells of how his older brother Yancy used to copy him and after seeing a statue of Philip J. Fry with Fry’s old lucky seven leaf clover, he believes his brother changed his name to become him and take all of his luck and dreams. It’s only when the episode reaches its conclusion that fans find out Yancy named his son after Fry, and with the clover he went on to achieve great things in his uncle’s name. With a reference toThe Breakfast Cluband “Don’t You Forget About Me” playing in the background, it is the perfect song to call back to Fry’s past and to give him a sense of closure to what became of his memory. Episodes like this and “Game Of Tones” show Fry’s love for his family with the latter showing a side of Fry missing his past.
Whether fans believeThe Simpsonshad more emotional moments due to the factthere are more episodes, or thatBojack Horsemanhit on a personal level due to its continuous depressing themes, it’s hard to argue that they produced the unexpected emotion and quality that came fromFuturama. Whilst the emotional moments center around fewer characters than inThe Simpsons,the development of Fry’s character, Leela’s story, and Bender’s characteristics stand-out greater due to the continuity of the show and its continued impact on the relationships between the characters.
At the end of the day, very few shows would risk an animal death as it’s hands downone of the saddest moments in life, butFuturamadid it and “Jurassic Bark"will forever be known as that episode fans can’t watch due to the emotional impact.
