The Fictional Fascism of Moral Orel

Moral Orel is a (mostly) stop-motion animation show based on the adventures of Orel Puppington in his small town, Moralton, in the fictional state of Statesota.

If this show had been released on 2016, 2020, or 2024, it would have been hailed as visionary, prophetic, and a biting satire of Evangelical Christianity and Christian Nationalism. It was released between 2005 and 2008. In hindsight, it's not so much visionary and prophetic as it is a dark view of a future we haven't managed to avoid.

It has a lot to teach us in 2024 that we could have learned sooner.

This is the first installment in a series of essays about fascism in fiction. The goal of my series isn't to examine every instance of fascism, Christian Nationalism, allegories for the same, etc. in every fictional work. Instead, I'm using a few works to illustrate things about Christian Nationalism and fascism that I think we need to be aware of in 2025.

This show is on Max which is the only legally viable way to watch the show in the U.S. right now. Because David Zaslav has been pulling shows and movies from Max with gleeful abandon, I'd recommend watching it as soon as possible.
🚨 Moral Orel contains dark themes including rape, sexual assault, child abuse, racism, homophobia, and hate crimes. The show may not be suitable for all audiences. 🚨

They don't believe in God the right way

“Son, she's only pleasant because she's different. Remember that. When you're normal like everyone else here in Moralton, you have the luxury of not being pleasant.”
— Clay Puppington in Moral Orel, Season 1 Episode 5 “The Blessed Union”

Moral Orel centers around the character Orel Puppington, a twelve year old boy who has a genuine faith in the version of Christianity he has been raised in. He has an almost naive belief in both God and the people around him. Almost every other person in his family's circle pays lip service to the faith and tries to appear righteous. Their hypocrisies and cynicism lead Orel astray throughout much of the series. The show uses the ~11 minute format popularized by Adventure Time and is organized to feel a bit like a sitcom where the characters spend more time out of the house than in it.

By accident, the show originally aired with the dark season 1 cliffhanger finale as the first episode and then switched to the real season 1 first episode. That accident may have saved the show. Without the context provided by the finale, the first two episodes of the show are disgusting and reprehensible in a way that many viewers may struggle to get past.

Clay, Bloberta, and Orel sitting in a car with a festive logo obscuring their faces. The logo says "The Best Christmas Ever!" and features green text outlined in red with several stylized snow flakes in the logo.

Since this isn't a series review, I'm going to focus attention on two episodes today. I may write about other episodes of Moral Orel further along in the series.

Those poor heathens

Bloberta: Those poor heathens.
Clay: God gave them eyes but they cannot see.
— Moral Orel, Season 2 Episode 8 “The Lord's Prayer”

In the episode The Lord's Prayer, a new family moves next door to the Puppingtons. Each family member has their counterpart in the new family. The fathers are alcoholics who have similar tastes in fashion, booze, discipline of their children, and hyperspecific comedy tastes. The mothers are neurotically obsessed with household cleaners and, outwardly, seem to have no other interests. The second child in both cases was born from an affair the respective mother had.

The Puppington family faces off with their counterparts in the Posabule family. The biggest difference between the families is that Orel's opposite is a girl named Christina.

Orel's counterpart, Christina Posabule, is kind-hearted and a true believer like Orel. We don't see as much of the shenanigans she gets up to but it's not her show. She and Orel share an instant attraction. While the other characters see a possibility of friendship with their counterparts, Christina and Orel start a romance.

Christina flies a paper airplane from her basement window to Orel's basement window. The scene occurs at night and both characters are smiling.

The Puppingtons host the Posabules for dinner and bond over their similarities. When they sit down to share a meal, they pray The Lord's Prayer together. Whether the word should be “debts” or “trespasses” causes a rift between the two families with the parents on both sides saying that the other side is going to hell.

“Using that prayer is like believing in a Jesus without blue eyes!”
— Reverend Rod Putty in Moral Orel, Season 2 Episode 8 “The Lord's Prayer”

If you're an outsider to the Evangelical movement, you might think this is a little over the top. It's exaggerated for comedic effect and to illustrate its point but it is absolutely a familiar experience in that circle. What seem like minor doctrinal differences lead to schisms all the time with life-long relationships being upended.

The characters in Moralton are generally miserable. They have little control in their lives and they feel stuck. Being right about God gives them the ability to lord it over others and they can't stop just because a possible genuine friendship is threatened. I don't suggest that this is the only reason anyone is an Evangelical but I think it's a factor in Christian Nationalism that is often overlooked.

There are signs in the story that in the universe of Moral Orel, Christianity is true. Not the Christianity of the Moralton or of Christian Evangelicals but the faith of Jesus. Of faith, hope, and love. Most of the characters of the show have missed this in favor of something else.

Orel hugs his dog, Bartholomew. Orel has a big smile on his face and is saying something to his dog. They're on the sidewalk in a suburban neighborhood with a house in the background. A refuse bin is behind Bartholomew and some trash is inside the bin. Screenshot comes from Moral Orel, Season 2 Episode 2 "Love"

Living a righteous life modeled after the teachings of Jesus isn't as important as being right. This dynamic pushes people out and moves people toward extremism of all kinds. The dynamic isn't unique to the Evangelical movement but it is a crucial dynamic in Christian Nationalism.

It's also something that we can all fall victim to regardless of our faith (or lack thereof) or political beliefs.

They all are if you find a way to look at them just right

“We shouldn't tolerate evil just because it's convenient.”
— Francis Clara Censordoll in Moral Orel, Season 2 Episode 5 “Offensiveness”

In Offensiveness, Orel shares protagonist responsibilities with Fran Censordoll, the town's librarian, book burner, and chief instigator of Moralton's vibrant picket culture. Throughout the show, she protests a wide variety of seemingly innocent or innocuous things. In the flashback season 3 episode Help (seventh in the season), a younger Censordoll is shown organizing brides to protest their own wedding receptions. She begins this episode by preparing to protest a movie about the life of Jesus, The Greatest Story Ever Told. She pulls Orel into her machinations, deciding he can apprentice under her.

Characters in Moral Orel protesting The Greatest Story Ever Told being played at the local cinema

Fran's one vice in the show is a love of chicken eggs. It's this love that keeps her from protesting Sal's Corner Store. In trying to emulate Fran, Orel becomes aware of where chicken eggs come from and is convinced that eggs are evil. He organizes a protest of Sal's Corner Store and Fran confronts him. He uses the same line she did earlier in the episode about not tolerating evil just because it's convenient. Unable to cope with her own logic being used against her, she joins the protest against her beloved eggs.

Moral has a sour look on his face while holding a protest sign out front of Sal's Corner Store. The protest sign reads "We Shouldn't tolerate evil just because it's convenient". Fran Censordoll looks dismayed at Orel while he holds the sign.

Since he's not motivated by the Fran's desire to manipulate and shame others, Orel decides the simplest solution is to ask the mayor to outlaw eggs.

Fran finds herself going to a fetish environment to get her otherwise innocent eggs in a way that fetishizes them and the chickens that lay them. She joins Moralton's seedy underbelly and associates with people she would normally hate and despise because it's now the only way to get the eggs she wants.

The message could hardly be clearer: The same outrage farming and protesting you use to control and manipulate others will be used against you eventually.

Fran Censordoll holds an egg to her face in a darkly lit scene. She wears a trenchcoat and is in what appears to be a barn stall at night.

Conclusion

The theocratic bent of the Evangelical movement Moral Orel. Its tendency toward Christian Nationalism predates Moral Orel too. In the moment it was made, the idea that Christian extremists might take control of the U.S. government probably seemed absurd or hyperbolic.

Now we live in a world where that is a distinct possibility. Those of us who fall outside their narrow view of how the world should be run aren't the only ones who will suffer.

In Moralton, everyone is suffering including the extremists.

Image of the continental United States on a blue sphere. The sphere and the continent are made from clay. In large white letters, the text "Moralton" is written across the center of the continent implying that the United States has been renamed to Moralton. Screen capture from Moral Orel, Season 2 Episode 15 "Geniusis"

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#FictionalFascismEssay #MoralOrel #ChristianNationalism #ChristianFascism