In July, there are tons of great titles available to stream – some of which sync great with the franchises we are spotlighting this month! It’s our latest roundup to compliment your loot when it arrives. Let your imagination soar in ANIMATION, and check out these recommendations!:
Bob’s Burgers
So the big bummer news earlier this year was that Netflix removed all of the older seasons of Bob’s Burgers from it’s streaming lineup. We know. It’s not magic, it’s tragic. However, if you want a big heapin’ helping of Belchers you’re in luck, because as a part of its recently-announced streaming deal with Fox, Hulu now has all of the seasons available to stream! Up to and including this year’s Season Seven – and there were some truly fine episodes this season, one of the best of which was the Valentine’s Day centric, Richard Curtis-worthy (kinda) “Bob Actually,” in which *gasp!* Jimmy Pesto Jr. actually asks Tina to eat lunch with him. And it gets EVEN BETTER!
Futurama
At the moment, Netflix are the keepers of the biggest trove of streaming Futurama episodes, though we were as confused as you probably were buy what is listed as Seasons 7 through 10 there. That’s interesting, considering Futurama only lasted 7 seasons! Turns out, these are actually Seasons 6 and 7 – aka the seasons that originally aired on Comedy Central – which originally went out in two batches each. Still a super-fine selection of episodes, including winners like “The Late Phillip J. Fry” and (clip, above) “The Prisoner of Benda.” And as we noted above, Fox did recently make a deal with Hulu so we’re actually anticipating that the earlier Futurama episodes will go up there any day now. Stay tuned!
Rick and Morty
It’s back to Hulu for this streaming rec, as – praise be! – you can actually watch the entire run of Rick and Morty (so far!) as you prep for the it’ll-be-here-before-you-know-it Season 3! Of course, we don’t know if we recommend watching every episode one right after the other because your brain just might melt. (We can think of worse ways to go…) Unfortunately, we can’t bring you any unedited clips here on TDC (content warning!) but we’re happy to serve up this Season 2 trailer which manages to make mind-blowingly cool music choices like Tones On Tail and Oingo Boingo. (I just dated myself there, didn’t I? – Ed.)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Sighhh… here we are, with TMNT making an appearance in this column again and we still don’t have a streaming service with the original animated classic from the 80’s! Sadness. Over on Netflix you can check out the CGI 2007 animated movie, if you like, but in the spirit of something retro, we’ve got to go with Hulu who have all three of the 1990’s Turtle features with delightfully goofy guys-in-rubber-suits action: the eponymous original, plus Secret of the Ooze, and Turtles in Time. Check out the trailer for Ooze above; I mean, we’re pretty sure having the great David Warner turn up in a lab coat and then the Turtles dance with Vanilla Ice makes this the very greatest TMNT entry, but we’ll have that debate if anyone wants it!
BONUS: If you’re looking for some additional fun ANIMATION to stream totally free – not even a monthly fee required! – then Shout Factory TV is worth checking out. Their Animation section features some really interesting stuff including Home Movies, the 90’s relic Reboot, and multiple classics from the studios of Britain’s Gerry Anderson, pioneer of that animation style that you just don’t see anymore – SuperMario-Nation! No, not as in Mario the plumber… as in marionettes. Come on, Thunderbirds fans, I see you!
