Rick and Morty is an animated sci-fi sitcom on the Cartoon Network. The brainchild of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, Rick and Morty first premiered on December 2, 2013. This cartoon has become such a hit in such a short period of time that some fans are willing to permanently get the characters inked on their bodies.
Many people will see this tattoo and wonder why they have a crazy-looking scientist with green drool coming out of his mouth and a young boy tattooed on their body. It goes without saying that getting a Rick and Morty tattoo is the ultimate sign of fandom and a reminder of just how funny and weird this animated sitcom is.
The Story Behind Rick and Morty
Rick and Morty was created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. The two collided at a short film festival in Los Angeles called Channel 101 where Roiland had been submitting content since 2004 (a year after the festival started). Roiland’s style was crude and strange and often left audience members confused about what they had just seen. Harmon, one of the co-founders of Channel 101, had become a fan of Roiland’s work.
Fast forward, Harmon had created and produced NBC’s primetime show Community and Roiland had been doing voice work for Disney and Cartoon Network. Harmon was briefly fired from Community and at the same time, Adult Swim was looking for a primetime show and reached out to Harmon. Initially, Harmon didn’t think the network fit his style but nonetheless, he reached out to Roiland to see what he had up his sleeve and that’s where Roiland pitched Rick and Morty.
Roiland had initially wanted to do one 11-minute show but Adult Swim was pushing for a 30-minute slot. This is where Harmon’s background is in character development and dialogue. Harmon decided the best way to elongate the show was to create a family around Rick and Morty.
Rick Sanchez
Rick Sanchez is the lead character and protagonist of Rick and Morty. Rick could be called a “mad scientist” if one was so inclined. “Mad” is probably the best word to describe Rick as he is an alcoholic and a nihilist.
Not much is known about Rick in terms of his history. The show eludes to the fact that Rick has been away from his family for at least 14 years. It also brought to the attention of the viewer that Rick’s former wife either left or passed away. He essentially tells Morty to never fall in love and to use his energy in learning about science.
Rick lives in the Smith residence (his daughter’s home) in his own bedroom. He works on his inventions and plans in the garage creating different devices while testing them in different dimensions that he’s able to travel to. Rick is well known for his green “substance” that usually comes out of his mouth, usually after he’s thrown up from drinking too much. He’s a skinny man of 60 years with spikey blue hair and a unibrow.
Morty Smith
Morty Smith is the other protagonist of the show. He is Rick’s grandson and is usually forced to accompany Rick on his crazy adventures. Morty is 14 years old and goes to school at Harry Herpson High School with his sister. Just like Rick, there isn’t a lot of information about Morty. We know that Rick has been absent for the same amount of time that Morty has been on Earth.
It hadn’t been mentioned if there was a reason behind this or if it was strictly a coincidence. Morty is a good kid but he’s also easily manipulated which doesn’t set up well when you take into consideration that Rick is quite the manipulator. Morty isn’t the greatest student but he has the ability to be a good listener and that’s why he fits in well with Rick.
Other Family
Other family members include his father Jerry, his mother Beth and his sister Summer.
Summer is Morty’s older sister. They have the natural older sister/younger brother relationship where they get on each other’s nerves. However, if you watch the show enough you can tell that Morty respects and loves his older sister. This is evident in the ways he has defended her against Rick.
Jerry is Morty’s and Summer’s father. Jerry and Morty have a loving relationship but it is somewhat strained because of the time that Morty spends with Rick. Jerry doesn’t like Morty being with Rick for a couple of reasons. First Rick takes Morty on some dangerous adventures and has put their lives in danger on many occasions. The second reason is Rick is constantly insulting Jerry and usually points out Jerry’s less-than-stellar academic prowess.
Beth is Morty and Summer’s mother. Morty loves and respects his mother very much. It’s even implied that he respects her more than his father. Morty isn’t a fan of Beth’s parenting style and Beth is also aware of her mistreatment of the kids. In “The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy” episode, Morty chastises Beth because of the way she stays distant from him and his sister. Morty tells his mother that she doesn’t need to act like Rick to gain Rick’s affection.
Accolades
Rick and Morty has won two Annie Awards (2015, and 2018), a Gold Derby Award (2016), a Teen Choice Award (2017) and a Critics’ Choice Television Award (2018).
If you haven’t seen Rick and Morty before you read this, we suggest stopping what you’re doing, going to your TV and finding the show. In our opinion, it’s one of the funniest shows on Adult Swim. After watching a few episodes, we are pretty sure you’ll see why so many people are fans of this raunchy yet sophisticated show. Therefore, it is no surprise to us that so many people are willing to get a Rick and Morty tattoo placed on their body for the world to see.
Take a look at some of the Rick and Morty tattoos below to help you decide on an idea or style of the tattoo you’d like to get. If you’re having trouble trying to decide where to go or what to get, reach out to us and we’ll point you in the right direction.