Innuendos - Why?

Let's face it. When no ones around for us to feel embarrassed by, we like to sit down and watch crappy kids cartoons for the simple reason that they are cheesy, silly and just something to generally be slightly entertained by.

However, those who have children may not find these cartoons as entertaining, and may be more tempted to tell their children that 'Mummy would like to watch Coronation Street now'.


Innuendos are a great way preventing this as these off-side intertextuality keeps adults laughing to themselves quietly whilst their child wonders 'I don't get it?.

When I was kid I remember my mum and dad laughing their heads off at this next scene. I NEVER understood it until I looked it up recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyNa_NsMR_4

Believe it or not, but these innuendos are in almost every children's show. And the best reason why is to keep ratings high. Did you know: While Animaniacs was popular among younger viewers (the target demographic for Warner Bros.' TV cartoons), adults also responded positively to the show; in 1995, more than one-fifth of the weekday (4 p.m., Monday through Friday) and Saturday morning (8 a.m.) audience viewers were 25 years or older.^[20] The large adult fanbase even led to one of the first Internet-based fandom cultures.^[34] During the show's prime, the Internet newsgroup alt.tv.animaniacs was an active gathering place for fans of the show (most of whom were adults) to post reference guides, fan fiction, and fan-made artwork about Animaniacs

That's a lot of grown ups choosing a kids cartoon show over  'The price is right' or 'Catchphrase'.

 Why? Well here's a clue:

Not only is 'Prince' a well known artist in the 80's, but the term 'Fingerprints' or 'Finger Prince' is also a fairly black humoured joke which may or may not leave those old enough how the writer got away with that...

The next video is full the brim with innuendos and was made as a parody especially for adults who used to watch the show as a kid. 'Rainbow' proved to be insanely popular and this video is just a fun way of showing that the cartoon has 'grown up' with their audience, much like Andy from Toy Story, only with slightly more humour. Again, children COULD watch this have no idea about any of the sexual references whilst still being able to fully enjoy the show.