Moral Orel

Orel is an 11-year-old boy who loves church. His unbridled enthusiasm for piousness and his misinterpretation of religious morals often lead to disastrous results, including self-mutilation and crack addiction. No matter how much trouble he gets into, his reverence always keeps him cheery.

Moral Orel (2005-2008) is a American adult stop motion animated dark comedy series created by Dino Stamatopoulos for Adult Swim. Eleven-year-old Orel Puppington (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) is an eager churchgoer whose sincere attempts to live by the Bible's lessons keep spiraling into humiliation and harm. His loving but troubled parents, Clay (Scott Adsit) and Bloberta Puppington (Britta Phillips), and the well-meaning Reverend Putty (William Salyers) often feed his misunderstandings rather than correct them. Each twelve-minute episode is built around a small-town moral lesson that Orel takes too literally, producing crude, uncomfortable set pieces in a handmade, deliberately crude puppet world. The show spans three seasons and forty-three episodes, and it plays as a cringe comedy with a sincere heart. Its tone swings between sweet and bleakly absurd, and its satire of American religious community is pointed without being cruel. Fans of Rick and Morty, Team America: World Police and Mr. Hublot will find resonance in its mix of puppetry, dark humor and earnest protagonists. The series was canceled after its third season, leaving its story unfinished.

Audiences regard Moral Orel as a sharp, darkly funny stop-motion satire of religious piety and small-town hypocrisy that rewards repeat viewing.

• Rick and Mortydark absurdist comedy, stop motion style, satirical take on small-town religious culture
• Mr. Hublotstop motion animation, deadpan satire of suburban life, adult animated comedy
• Team America: World Policestop motion, uncomfortable cringe comedy, sincere protagonist whose naivety drives chaos
• Pinky Malinkyadult animated satire of American religious and suburban life, cringe comedy with dark edges

Created by

Dino Stamatopoulos

Release Date

2005-12-12

Episode runtime

12 min

Rating

8.1 / 10 (111)

What is Moral Orel about?

An earnest eleven-year-old devoted to church turns his misreadings of Christian morality into escalating disasters in this dark stop motion comedy.

What is Moral Orel like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Moral Orel as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is Moral Orel violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Moral Orel as moderate.

What did critics think of Moral Orel?

Audiences regard Moral Orel as a sharp, darkly funny stop-motion satire of religious piety and small-town hypocrisy that rewards repeat viewing.

Which shows are like Moral Orel?

Shows with a similar feel include Rick and Morty, Mr. Hublot, Team America: World Police, and Pinky Malinky.

How long is Moral Orel?

Moral Orel: 3 seasons, 43 episodes.

Is Moral Orel still running?

No, Moral Orel was canceled.

Where can I watch Moral Orel?

In United States, Moral Orel streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Adult Swim, HBO Max.