Saturday Night Live Season 50 aired its post-election episode this week, with comedian Bill Burr as the host. Between the general socio-political climate right now, and Bill Burr at the helm, it’s no surprise that the episode’s sketches were edgier than usual. That said, few expected a sketch like “Rorschach Test” to be in the lineup – or for it to exist at all. That’s because the sketch quickly takes a hard turn into depicting some of today’s most beloved animated characters in ways no child should see!
The premise of the “Rorschach Test” sketch sees SNL cast member Heidi Gardner as a “mental health expert” who’s come to a Boston fire station to give the firemen there a Rorschach inkblot test. Three out of the four guys on the team (cast members Andrew Dismukes, Marcello Hernández, and Emil Wakim) provide reasonable answers to each inkblot presented – but the fourth guy (played by Burr) outs himself as seeing popular animated characters from Disney (Monsters Inc., Frozen, UP), Peanuts, Bluey, and even Halo’s Master Chief all engaged in suggestive if not outright scandalous acts.
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What makes “Rorschach Test” a jaw-dropping case of SNL pushing the envelope is how the show swaps out the normal ink blots for full-displayed artwork of these animated characters in adult situations. It takes a comedic master like Bill Burr to articulate the insane imagery that seems genuinely nonchalant and even deliciously revealing for a supposedly “man’s man” firefighter. The levels to the sketch – from what goes on inside a guy’s fantasies, to brushing up against the subject of adult kinks, to the wildly uncomfortable imagery that bridges adult play and parenting – this hits on so many things without having to say much at all.
The comment threads are already lighting up with jokes and/or genuine curiosity about how SNL got away with his one. Fans speculate that Disney and other companies could already be on Zoom calls with their legal teams to address the matter. It’s one thing to get away with something in the moment during live TV – it’s another to keep it out there circulating afterward.
Then again, SNL is (obviously) one of the most seasoned comedic platforms when it comes to parody, fair use, and the general tightrope walk of making light of society and major figures within it, without sparking major backlash or personal grievances – legal or otherwise. Ironically enough, Bill Burr’s post-election appearance began with the cold open of the SNL case winkingly addressing the very subject of powerful people who may be sensitive to their mockery, and making sure they don’t get into too much trouble for it. Based on how dirty they did Mike Witkowski (Monsters Inc.), they may have pointed their apology in the wrong direction.
Saturday Night Live airs Saturday nights on NBC, and can be streamed on Peacock.