The Return Of Beavis and Butt-Head

Zack Hildebrandt, Staff Writer

 “Beavis and Butt-Head need some time to get back in shape,” said creator Mike Judge on his Twitter account earlier this year on Jan. 5. It has been almost 25 years since the adult animated duo were last seen.

 

They haven’t been seen in feature films since they appeared on the big screen with 1996´s Beavis and Butthead Do America (even though they made a cameo appearance at the beginning of 2010´s Jackass 3D where they explained 3D technology).  

 

¨I haven’t watched it in years,¨said Huron film studies teacher Robert Fox. ¨But last time I watched it, I still found it hilarious. However, there were some jokes that might be deemed too culturally insensitive today, especially in the context of comments they make about females. Though it is a satire, Beavis and Butt-Head are the targets. I mean, his name is Butt-Head, so that just about says it all.¨

 

One of MTV’s most popular programs around the time period when the network was originally only focused on music,  Beavis and Butt-Head ran from 1993 to 1997 followed by a one-season revival in 2011 with eight seasons and 222 episodes total. The show, best known for its sarcastic commentary, saw its two main characters Beavis and Butt-Head, making fun of the music videos that were popular on MTV at the time, and them trying to appeal to young women, but failing instead.

 

¨Mike Judge is an underrated satirist,¨ Fox said. ¨He had made two amazing live action satires – both were box office flops, but then later found an audience. Office Space and Idiocracy. The more time passes, the more accurate they both feel. Which is often the hallmark of the best satire.¨ 

 

The show led to animated series spin offs Daria and King of the Hill.  Though Mike Judge was not involved with the making of Daria, he created, produced, directed, and starred in King of the Hill.

 

Fox thinks that some adult animated shows wouldn’t even exist without Beavis and Butt-Head.

 

¨I also believe that without Beavis and Butthead, there might not have been South Park, Family Guy, or shows like Bob’s Burgers,” he said.

 

In 2020, Comedy Central announced that it would be developing two seasons of a new Beavis and Butt-Head series and a separate untitled movie would stream on Paramount+. In February of this year, it was announced that Paramount+ will stream Beavis and Butt-Head, with the revival series forgoing its TV premiere on Comedy Central to go to video on demand.  The new movie that will be premiering this summer in July on Paramount+ is titled Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, which according to its official synobis is described as the ¨dumbest space movie ever made.¨