‘Learning with Pibby’: Adult Swim’s Cartoon Apocalypse Trailer Had Its YouTube Age-Restriction Lifted
Show pitches often profoundly impact viewers so much that a fan base forms before a studio even greenlights it. Adult Swim’s trailer for Pibby, also known as Come and Learn with Pibby! and Learning with Pibby: Apocalypse, garnered millions of views almost upon release. An animated comedy horror, with superheroes and classic cartoons, it caught everyone’s attention. However, it has already run into some drama when YouTube age-restricted the video.
What is Adult Swim’s ‘Learning with Pibby’?
On Nov. 3, 2020, Cartoon Network filed a trademark for “Learning with Pibby: Apocalypse,” according to Trademarkia.
On Oct. 30, 2021, Adult Swim uploaded a video titled ‘Come and Learn with Pibby!’ At first, it looked like Cartoon Network dumped a trailer for a new preschool show on the channel. However, things quickly went awry.
A glitchy, black mass swarmed over the colorful saturated horizon, and the titular Pibby found herself thrown across different cartoon worlds. She meets Superman and Robin-inspired heroes, she encounters Fred Flintstone, but that black mass keeps attacking these worlds.
“Pibby is ripped out of her safe, preschool world and thrown into unknown lands. She has to grow up, LEARN, and become a badass to stop the cartoon apocalypse,” The video description reads in corrupted letters.
Seeing beloved cartoon characters like Finn and Jake from Adventure Time corrupted beyond recognition not only shocked fans but left them wanting more. However, the Pibby trailer ran into some difficulties.
YouTube age-restricted the ‘Learning with Pibby’ trailer
Within one week of the Learning with Pibby trailer going live, it received over 3 million views. A fan base formed and started pushing for it to gain even more. Fans wanted Adult Swim to notice and greenlight the show with comic-book-style heroes and corrupted cartoons.
However, YouTube then age-restricted the video after its first week. This meant that anyone under 18, without a YouTube account, or trying to watch on a third-party website, could not view the video. It stood as one of the only age-restricted videos on Adult Swim’s channel.
The age restriction led to a massive slowdown in views. YouTube saw plenty of backlash from fans who wanted more from the animated horror project.
However, fans saw some good news on Thursday, Nov. 18.
Views shot back up after YouTube lifted the age-restriction
The Learning with Pibby trailer saw a big win when YouTube lifted the age restriction after almost two weeks. Either the online video website listened to fans, or Adult Swim fought for Pibby to succeed.
Many fans have taken this as a win. They hope to see the Powerpuff Girls, Adventure Time, and other famous cartoon characters corrupted in a possible series.
The trailer gathered over 5 million views going into its fourth weekend and continues to climb.
It seems almost certain that Adult Swim will greenlight the project for a full series with so much support.
