Clone High

Clone High

So, our historical leaders had their own children?! Say WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

Genre:	Animated comedy
Running Time:	22-23 minutes
Country:	United States/Canada
Release Date:	November 2, 2002 - April 13, 2003
Network(s):	MTV HBO Max (Reboot)
Created by:	Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Bill Lawrence
Distributed by:	MTV Networks/Nelvana
Starring:	Will Forte Phil Lord Michael McDonald Christa Miller Nicole Sullivan Chris Miller
Seasons:	1 (Original Show) 2 (Reboot)
Episodes:	13

Clone High (occasionally referred to in the U.S. as Clone High U.S.A.) is a Canadian–American adult animated sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Bill Lawrence. Recently, a reboot was announced to be in the works and will be coming to HBO Max with a two-season order.

Summary

As the intro explains, in the 1980s, a mad scientist and his robot friend dug up the dead bodies and remains of famous people and made clones of them using their DNA. Most of the main cast in the show are teenage clones of historical figures (Abe Lincoln, Joan of Arc, Gandhi, Cleopatra, and John F. Kennedy) that all attend Clone High High School.

Why It Rocks

Very...very cool premise. This show not only exceeds in originality, but it even works. It appeals mostly to those who seem to be very interested in history and those in adult animation (at least the good adult cartoons).
The show takes the most famous people in history from a new perspective, introducing them as the dork (Abe Lincoln), the hottie (Cleopatra), the clown (Gandhi), the jock (JFK), and the goth (Joan of Arc). Keep in mind that this show was released in 2002, where cartoons based off of those characters are actually good because they do it in a more interesting way. Clone High is a very prime example of this.
The voice actors experiment with the characters based on famous people by making them sound funny to fit with modern standards. This is one of the reasons why JFK is considered to be one of the best characters in the show.
The animation and art-style is considered a love letter to not only shows like the early 2000s Cartoon Network shows (i.e. The Powerpuff Girls ), but also 50s cartoons made by UPA.
Besides the historic figures, the show also takes comedy, drama, and romance in a new perspective...using historic figures as clones, of course.
Funny references to other pop culture media, such as Mr. Peanut.
The theme and ending songs are amazing, performed by Abandoned Pools. In fact, the soundtrack is also nostalgic for the 2000s standards.
Some scenes/jokes/quotes have become memes.
- "Say WHAAAAAAAT?"
- "Nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedys!"
- "Gandhi's missing kidney, to where the other says "I miss him."
- "You got big breasts."
- It also spawned the "My day be so fine, then BOOM" meme
- "I like your funny words magic man."
There are a lot of funny and ironic jokes such as the scene where Jesus shoots himself in the foot with a nail gun and Julius Caesar telling him to be careful with the nail gun and the scene where JFK is driving a car and says that nothing bad ever happens to the Kennedys then his car flips over.
It has a recurring theme of how the clones aren't able to be themselves because they are clones of historical figures, and how they are all expected to live up to the legacies of the people they are clones of in which they struggle at. The theme song also explains this too.

Bad Qualities

Some may find the fact that using historic figures is offensive, this element caused backlash in India.
It's infamous for being canceled after one season and because of that, the last episode of the first season ended on a cliffhanger. Fortunately, it's getting a reboot on HBO MAX with a two-season order.
- The reason it was canceled is due to how Gandhi was depicted, it angered viewers in India, and caused them to protest. In response to the backlash in India, the show ended.
Some jokes aged poorly, like Eleanor Roosevelt being an offensive lesbian stereotype, and the entirety of the ADD episode
The love-triangle between Abe, Cleopatra, and Joan is very frustrating to many people, mainly because of Abe being very oblivious to Joan having feelings for him due to being in love with Cleopatra. And only realizing that he had feelings for Joan in the final episode. Thankfully, Joan and JFK got together in said final episode
Marilyn Manson's special guest appearance in "Episode Two: Election Blu-Galoo" didn't age well

Reception

Clone High received mixed reviews at release, but as time went on, it became one of the best adult cartoons of all time and deemed an "underrated gem." It currently has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.1 on IMDb.