Many shows geared toward kids are rife with jokes written for an older audience. This makes it a little bit easier for parents to sit through the same season of a show over and over. In some cases, it means these shows develop a devoted fan base of adults. There are plenty of boundary-pushing kids' shows.
Few cartoons are quite as edgy as The Amazing World of Gumball. The show is full of zany violence, grown-up jokes, and plenty of overtly sexual humor. No topic is off-limits and no punchline goes too far. The show's faithful following of grown-ups appreciate every over-the-top line.
Questionable Internet Habits
Barging into a friend's bedroom is a recipe for embarrassment. Gumball learns this lesson the hard way when he runs into Banana Joe's room without knocking. He's sitting at his computer when Gumball bursts through the door. Banana Joe was caught red-handed watching peeled fruit. He's fruit. His peel is essentially his clothing. Maybe next time he'll lock his door before he loos up fruit salad videos.
Thirst Traps
A new layer of the character is revealed when the audience gets to look at Gumball's Instagram. Gumball's sexy selfies including his flexed guns are more than a little bit creepy.
It seems Gumball likes to keep his selfie game strong. His profile seems a bit risque. He obviously knows how to get attention on social media. He knows just what his followers like.
Hot Air
Alan the balloon was left wilted and flat after his heartbreaking break-up with Carmen. Gumball tried his best to give his deflated friend a pep talk but he simply couldn't muster the strength to self-inflate. Gumball is asked to do the unthinkable. In the school's bathroom Gumball blows up Alan with his mouth. The mood is very awkward. In general, most cartoons do not include children putting their mouths on their friends in a public bathroom.
Rude Eclipse
The Amazing World of Gumball has an incredible variety of characters. One recurring favorite is the moon. The character himself is a bit saucy. This moon has arms, legs, and two prominent buttocks which he refuses to cover up.
In one instance, the moon finds himself airborne. As he travels by the sun, effectively causing an eclipse, he shouts: "Dude, you just got mooned!" It's a little on the nose, but it's one of the most memed jokes on the show.
The Ultimate Censorship
Parental controls are incredibly helpful but in Gumball's universe, they get out of hand. Darwin equips the child lock on the entire house. For some reason, Gumball discovers this by looking at his genitals. He runs to his brother to show him the issue. When Gumball pulls down his pants we see the classic pixilated censor bar. But, underneath that, is simply air. Gumball's genitals were censored off of his body.
Montage of Yikes
In episode 25 of season 1, Gumball and Darwin take a horrifying walk down memory lane with Mr. Robinson. As the angry old man reminisces about what attracted him to his wife Margaret, some uncomfortable parallels begin to form. Mr. Robinson remembers that he and his wife loved to share their favorite pastime several times a day. They liked to do it in the morning, just before bed, and even in public. The Robinsons argued constantly but at least things were passionate. What brought on this nostalgia? Peeping on another couple while they bicker. At least this joke is lost on the kids.
Someone Call HR
This particular NSFW scene flips an old trope on its head. We've all seen the creepy male boss relentlessly harassing his secretary. In The Amazing World of Gumball, women are far more empowered.
Lucy Simian is an ape who knows what she wants. And she wants her boss. Principle Nigel Brown returns the crush. In one episode Ms. Simian demands a kiss from Mr. Brown while they're both at work. Considering they work in a school, that's even more inappropriate.
Incestuous Future
Through a series of comical mishaps, Darwin finds himself convinced that Gumball is a girl, and he's interested. Gumball ponders what could happen if Darwin never finds out about the confusion and his vision is horrifying. He sees himself as the oppressed housewife of his own brother. In the nightmare, fantasy Gumball is surrounded by crying babies. Darwin arrives to demand more children. Not only are Darwin and Gumball siblings, but they aren't even the same species. There is nothing savory about this situation.
Ravenous Horror
There are few things more horrifying than thinking about the sexuality of your grandparents. Gumball and Darwin know this from first-hand experience. The boys receive lengthy text messages from Louis as he extols all of their grandmother's sexiest features. he gets pretty graphic.
Even the phone is horrified by the content. as soon as Louis mentions granny JoJo's cutie patootie the phone throws itself to its destruction to avoid visualizing the image. These gross-out jokes are an example of what makes this one of the best cartoon network cartoons.
Stalker
In an episode titled "The Fan" young Sarah explores the criminal side of love. She becomes obsessed with Darwin and Gumball. She even sings a big musical number revealing all of her horrifying stalker habits. Sarah is seen filming Darwin through his bedroom window. She happily describes how she breaks into the boys' bedroom window and even spies on them in the shower. The whole situation is cringe-worthy. This segment depicts graphic crimes like breaking and entering. Sarah should be arrested, not singing a ballad about obsession. The boys should beef up their home security. Some alarms on those windows would go along way.