By Becky Hurwitz
Mondo Media is an internet entertainment creation and syndication
company that provides witty animation over the web. The main site
is easy to navigate and offers information about the shows and the
company.
As a creator of animated stories, Mondo Media is terrific. Do not
expect 3D graphics. Mondo Media is seemingly much more interested
in story than flashy pictures. The writing is clever and entertaining,
exhibiting a level of irreverent humor similar to animated television
series like The Simpsons or Daria.
The question to ask is then: what is the benefit of having animated
entertainment online if it has an established counterpart on television?
Well, there are a few good reasons that I can think of.
Convenience: Convenience is the first thing I think
of when I consider the advantages to placing content in the virtual
realm that is already established in the real world. People can access
this content at any time, from any computer with an internet connection.
Whether late night paper writing or early morning code compiling,
you can view episodes of The God and Devil Show or Absolute
Zero whenever you feel like some comic relief. And, the episodes
are short. One episode can be accessed, loaded, and viewed in less
than five minutes. Surely you have five minutes to spare for some
headache-relieving humor.
Regulation: Just like The Simpsons, some Mondo
Minishows contain violence and unpleasant interactions that would
never be allowed on shows with live actors. The combination of the
only mildly censored realm of cartoons and the completely uncensored
virtual realm gives the Mondo Minishows a lot of freedom. And so,
the characters on the Mondo Minishows can be evil, impolite, disgusting,
and insulting; and they are. Without the irreverence, without the
campy counter-culture aspects, this comic animation would probably
not succeed among its 18 to 34 demographic.
As a syndicator of online entertainment, Mondo Media has been the
trail-blazer and has been enormously successful. The Mondo Media syndication
method is to create and own its own content that is then paid for
and hosted by other companies such as Netscape and NBCi. Shows are
easy to find on the host sites and load quickly from whichever site
you choose.
It takes very little effort to visit the Mondo Media site and to
watch episodes of any one of their shows. You can quickly access new
episodes of Absolute Zero (my personal favorite), and watch
as you email, type, or surf other sites. Mondo Minishows are everything
I look for in internet entertainment- frivolous fun with little effort.