Movies - TV
Dexter’s Laboratory Was Obsessed With Referencing Sam Raimi
By RAFAEL MOTAMAYOR
"Dexter's Laboratory" changed the course of TV animation and gave many future legends their start, like Craig McCracken, Butch Hartman, Rob Renzetti, and Seth MacFarlane.
The creator of "Dexter's Laboratory," Genndy Tartakovsky, uses silence to tell stories and has an eye for iconography and imagery, along with a knack for pop culture references.
Among the many sources of inspiration in "Dexter's Laboratory," like anime and Tex Avery cartoons, lies the work of Sam Raimi.
Via SyFy Wire in 2021, McCracken told of how "Army of Darkness," and the scene where Ash builds his robot hand, became a compass to Tartakovsky.
Tartakovsky wanted to replicate it every chance he got. "He applied that sequence to the show all the time, especially when Dexter was building stuff," McCracken said.
Even "Dexter Dodgeball'' quotes Bruce Campbell in "Evil Dead 2" — and features enough devilish imagery to satisfy Raimi fans, even in the context of a kids' cartoon.