Go to any college campus and you are bound to find dozens, if not hundreds of students completely engrossed in the lives of the Belcher family. The appeal of Bob's Burgers goes beyond college students, however, over the show's past six seasons, Fox has averaged out at about 4.12 million viewers. What is it that makes Bob's Burgers different than any other adult cartoon, and why do people still love it after five years?
The show's plot follows the lives of the Belcher family: Bob, the father, his wife Linda, and their children Tina, Gene, and Louise. Like any other adult cartoon, the show follows the crazy antics each characters finds themselves involved in, utilizes crude humor, and it's not necessary to follow the episodes or seasons in chronological order; however, if you do find yourself watching it in order, it is easy to follow and understand the intricacies about each character, and their relationships with other characters seen in the show. Many fans claim to love the show due to the fact that, at first sight, the family appears to have healthy, normal relationships. Bob and Linda are constantly praised for being wonderful parents and encouraging their children to be whoever they aspire to be, and the children are all often depicted on Facebook and Tumblr as fans' "spirit animals," as people are often inspired by the children who are so unapologetically themselves. While this all may be true, after taking a deeper look at the show, there's much more than what meets the eye.
As previously mentioned, Bob and Linda are often commended for being what most people view as "great" parents; while it is clear the couple has a deep love and appreciation for their children, they are also exhibit signs of being shallow, vapid, and inattentive. There are many instances where Bob clearly puts his career first, allows his distaste for his competition, Jimmy Pesto, to stand in the way of his parental and personal obligations, and often is uninterested in the whereabouts of his children—who are 13-years-old and younger; in fact, this can be seen when Bob and Linda fire the children from the restaurant, causing them to seek employment elsewhere, which ultimately lands them at a marijuana plantation. Similarly, Linda is also seen throughout the show displaying flakey characteristics, taking what her children do and say only at face value, and never taking the time to analyze their behavior. While supportive of all their endeavors, neither parent ever takes the time to truly think about the outrageous circumstances their children find themselves in, nor do they really ever discipline them, in spite of their actions.
The Belcher children are an eccentric group with Tina being the eldest, Gene the only son and middle child, and Louise being the youngest. Each child is starkly different from one another, and their differences are often a quintessential element in the shenanigans they find themselves involved in. Tina is commonly known for being a monotonous, young, socially awkward teenage girl, in spite of her having awkward tendencies, she still believes in herself and exudes confidence, always reassuring herself and others that she is a "strong, sensual woman." She finds herself having normal issues that all teenage girls face at one point or another: boys, work, friends, and school, tackling each problem with as much poise as she can muster. Gene, the only son who's 11 years old, is much more exuberant than Tina and has a myriad of interests, mostly involving music and wanting to make a name for himself, despite his blatant lack of interest in rehearsing. Louise, the youngest Belcher child at nine years old is often found being the dominant force in everything the children find themselves involved in, she is notably sarcastic, but is honestly a mastermind as she's able to swindle children and adults, alike.
At the end of the day, in spite of their character flaws, people love the Belcher's because they're easy to relate to, and, if there's not a Belcher you can relate to, there are dozens of other characters that frequent the show and exude common characteristics found in your day-to-day life. No family is perfect, in spite of what you may think, and the Belcher's perfectly embody that you don't have to be perfect to be a perfect family.
