It is fun to browse at Reckless

Reckless Video does have standard genre sections for Comedy, Action, Drama, etc, but one of the things that makes the store special (and a lot of fun to browse through) is our array of nooks, crannies, and subsections... sometimes small and sometimes not-so-small sections of movies among the more normal categories that might be just what you're looking for (even if you didn't know you were looking for it). Finding the right section-- the one that really captures your imagination-- might keep your movie-watching schedule booked for a month, so feel free to wander around and see if anything catches your eye.

This page will always be highlighting one of Reckless Video's spotlight sections. Right now, it's...

Adult Swim

(located in TV Animation)

The genesis of the Cartoon Network had to do with the expanding cable landscape and the rights to a number of old cartoons. Their first breakthrough original program clipped a few cells from an old cartoon called Space Ghost, and re-spliced them together to give Space Ghost his own talk show: Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. Dropping human guests into Space Ghost's absurd world, people as varied as Michael Stipe and Carrot Top were forced to play straight-man to Space Ghost's theater of the absurd. The show became a hit, and The Cartoon Network launched Adult Swim, a safe-haven of bizarre meta-humor that could be cordoned off from re-runs of The Fintstones and The Jetsons.

The ability to re-cut old cartoons into new configurations led to Sealab 2020 being re-imagined as Sealab 2021, which played up the adventure show in increasingly strange adventures (usually destroying Sealab by the end of any given episode. Birdman hung up his superhero tights became a lawyer in Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, defending cartoons in the courtroom after their arrest for any number of offenses... including Scooby and Shaggy's bust for possession.

The quick-and-dirty animation style created original characters, too, as Aquateen Hunger Force took a container of french fries, a milkshake, and a wad of hamburger and made them a a superhero team... albeit, a superhero team that mostly hangs out in their own livingroom. They became popular enough to launch a feature film: Aquateen Hunger Force: Movie Film For Theaters.

Adult Swim now offers a great deal of variety, including from the elegantly animated action series Samurai Jack to the razor sharp racial commentary of Boondocks. The animation has developed from cutting pieces from old Space Ghost cartoons to the stop motion religious spoof Moral Orel, as well as the animated action figures in Adult Swim's sketch comedy show, the acclaimed Robot Chicken.

Adult Swim has continued to push boundaries and provide cutting-edge animated programming, which Reckless Video features in our Adult Swim section. Adult Swim both keeps its roots, referencing 60's adventure like Johnny Quest in shows like The Venture Brothers and stretching out into new areas, like the "Spinal Tap meets Scooby Doo meets Sweden" Metalocalypse, easily the most metal cartoon ever made.