The Cartoon Song is a contemporary Christian

Contemporary Christian music

Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...

 song by Chris Rice

Chris Rice

Chris Rice is an American songwriter who works in the contemporary Christian music, contemporary folk, and adult contemporary genres with a style similar to David Wilcox and James Taylor. He became a recording artist as well in 1996 after signing a contract with Michael W...

, written in 1989 as a tongue-in-cheek

Tongue-in-cheek

Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...

 skit

Sketch comedy

A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...

 for a church youth group

Youth group

Youth group may refer to:* Youth Group, an Australian band* Youth club, a social and activities club for young people* Youth ministry, an age-specific type of religious ministry...

 of middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

 students. The song mentions many cartoon characters popular in the United States at that time.

Despite demand for the song, Rice stopped performing the song live in 2004, prompting Rice to write an article for his own official website entitled "Eulogy For A Song About Cartoons." In the article Rice explains that his misunderstood intention in writing the song/skit was to mock the commercial-Christian tendency to "make a Christian version of everything."
Rice states, "I was hoping everyone would get the satire, but they missed the satire, and embraced the song as legit.” This legitimizing of the song, evidence of his fans' misunderstanding of the purpose of the song/skit, frustrated Rice to the point of eliminating the song from his live performances, as well as refusal to discuss the song in interviews on the air.
In 2004, Rice decided to stop playing the song at concerts. He has kept to his decision, despite popular demand for the song, and despite the fact that Christian radio stations continue to air the song frequently.

Hidden track

Chris Rice wrote the song while in college, as a joke for students, but after much success, his former record label insisted that he record it for a CD. He reluctantly agreed, although only if it was a hidden track.

This track has received a lot of criticism from the Christian community due to its theology, more evidence that Rice's satirical

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 intentions went well over the heads of his fans. Chris Rice explains, "Also, in correcting my 'theology' in the cartoon song, people were totally missing the fact that the whole song is about soul-less cartoons, none of whom can 'get saved.'"

Chris Rice's official site FAQ states that the cartoon song is a hidden track on Chris's "Past The Edges" CD. It is not on the cassette tape. It is after about two minutes of silence, beginning at 6:20 on Track 10, which is "Missin' You."

Boycott

This song has also led to a boycott by Bible Belt

Bible Belt

Bible Belt is an informal term for a region in the southeastern and south-central United States in which socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a significant part of the culture and Christian church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's average.The...

 Conservatives and some fans of Chris Rice's music. According to Rice's website article, Rice's intention was to "bring attention to the silliness of the typical Christian over-reaction to Beavis and Butthead during their popularity. By calling Butthead 'the other guy' I was satirizing many who were 'offended' by that name. I was also trying to point out the snobbery of those who would limit Christianity to only a certain type of person. Many fans misinterpreted my satire of THEM as if I were making a statement of my own beliefs. You can see why I have no desire to perpetuate the life of this song."

Lyrics

The premise of the song shows the outcome of Christians succeeding in incorporating Christianity into cartoons. Cartoon characters would then sing their own versions of the word, 'Hallalujah.' For example, Fred and Wilma Flintstone would sing "Yabba-dabba-dujah"

The song also mentions Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo (character)

Scoobert "Scooby" Doo is the eponymous character and the protagonist in the Scooby-Doo animated television series created by the popular American animation company Hanna-Barbera...

 and Shaggy

Shaggy Rogers

Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character from the American animated television series Scooby-Doo, about the adventures of four crime-solving teenagers and Shaggy's pet great dane, Scooby-Doo. Shaggy is a cowardly slacker more interested in eating than solving mysteries. He is the only...

, Astro, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...

, Kermit the Frog

Kermit the Frog

Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...

, Elmer Fudd

Elmer Fudd

Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...

, Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear

Yogi Bear is a fictional bear who appears in animated cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera Productions. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi Bear was the first breakout character created by Hanna-Barbera, and was eventually more popular than...

, Rocky and Bullwinkle, "all those little blue guys

The Smurfs

The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...

" and Beavis and "that other guy"

Beavis and Butt-Head

Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...

.

External links

• Feature on Chris Rice in The Baptist Standard
• The Fish on Chris Rice
• Crosswalk.com on the "Cartoons" controversy