Parents' Guide to

Axe Cop

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Absurdity rules in edgy animated series written by a kid.

TV Fox Comedy 2013
Axe Cop Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 14+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Nathan R.
Nathan R. Parent of 6-year-old
April 26, 2023
age 13+

Cartoon violence roughly on par with Tom and Jerry, written by a 5 year old and lacks a mature moral compass, for better or worse

Axe Cop is largely a parody of overly-simplistic views on morality, while also being a celebration of the outlandishly imaginative inner worlds of children. Characters are labelled unilaterally as good or bad, with no room for complexity, middle ground, ambiguity, or cultural influences on morality. Bad guys always deserve the most extreme punishments (cruelty, inhumanity, and death) without so much as a trial (or even hesitation). Viewers should have the capacity to understand this going in, because taken literally, the values being promoted by Axe Cop and other "heroes" are often fascist, cruel, and abhorrent. The casual and playful extremism is part of the irony and humor, and may even serve as commentary about extremism and justice systems that lack empathy. Axe Cop is awesome. He rides a T-Rex and teams up with vampire-warewolf-ninjas, but he's also a complete psycho. Developmentally, a five year old isn't ready to create something complex moral lessons. Letting a kid take the stage does, however, give us a chance to see how they understand the world. There's both value and entertainment to be had from that. Children at that age imagine some vivid, sometimes very dark stuff. They're still figuring out the difference between right and wrong, and what is appropriate. Axe Cop gives a kid free reign and a budget to express himself,celebrates his creative ideas, and respectfully pokes fun at the ideas that could use a little bit more maturity and empathy. I don't believe that this show is much more harmful than letting a kid roleplay on the playground. In both cases, they'll be exposed to ideas and scenarios that lack empathy and moral nuance. It's important for children to develop an understanding of who they can turn to for moral guidance - and that shouldn't be Billy from recess or some kid with a TV show. Parents should be ready to put imaginative play in context, whether it's in real life or on TV. The show is very violent and features death, decapitation, and dismemberment - a bit darker than old Looney Toons, but not by much. The tone is playful and silly, for better or worse. (Violence isn't really scary, but it's also without consequences that overtly discourage it.) The language used is pretty safe, and there's isn't any overt sexual content to worry about. There are some scary scenes and concepts, like night creatures that turn babies into monsters. I don't believe the show will turn any kids into serial killers, but parents do need to be mindful that Axe Cop himself is a bad example. The true moral messages come from parody and satire, not literal interpretation. Without guidance, children won't be able to understand that.

This title has:

Too much violence
danny800
danny800 Adult
April 21, 2019
age 14+

Axe Cop was not for kids

i think Axe cop is a amazing show but its not for kids because its very vilonte axe cop chops peoples heads off a guy falls into a pit of acid and disinigrates into a skeleton axe cop poisions and kills people axe cop kills some mermaids and the water fills with blood and in one episode axe cop tells a character to say hello to his parents for him in hell with that being said Axe cop is not for kids and i dont reccomend it for anyone under the age of 14

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
See all 4 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Comic artist Ethan Nicolle found a great way to connect with his 5-year-old brother Malachai when the two began collaborating on AXE COP, written by Malachai and drawn by Ethan. First a web comic, next a print graphic novel, and now an animated network series, AXE COP follows the adventures of an officer (voiced by Nick Offerman) who prefers to wield an axe instead of a gun. He sleeps only minutes a day and spends every night battling bad guys like Telescope Gun Cop and Doctor Stinkyhead. Sometimes there are zombies. Sometimes space aliens. Sometimes giant chickens with human heads who command an army of drill-wielding chicks. But Axe Cop fears nothing and he and his mighty axe are always ready to battle the multifarious bad guys who threaten law, order, and Axe Cop's pals.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (4 ):

In one episode of Axe Cop, the zombie who ate the world's smartest brain takes the world's smartest poop. It comes to life and becomes Dr. Doodoo, a villain who plans to travel to London, England to marry the Queen of England and take over the world. Part of Dr. Doodoo's plan involves making all the humans on earth poop themselves to death. If that strikes you as amusing, so will Axe Cop.

The goofy goings on are comparable to other animated series: The Venture Bros. and South Park comes to mind. But since (most of) the plots were formulated by a small child with a small child's vivid imagination, passing fixations and a distinct lack of real-world logic, Axe Cop's happenings are a lot weirder. Cartman and Stan never went into space to visit the giant dinosaur horn store to vanquish the king of all bad guys, right? In another scene, Axe Cop stares at himself in the mirror, mentally trying on different hair and moustache styles. "I think you'd look best with a super curly beard and moustache with a robot ghost inside," says a friend. That's Axe Cop all over.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what audience Axe Cop is aimed at. Are the showrunners hoping to reach children? Adults? Teens? Twentysomethings? Senior citizens? What brings you to this conclusion?

  • Are viewers supposed to find the character Axe Cop funny? Disturbing? Ridiculous? Is he presented as a character you can trust?

  • Given that many of Axe Cop's situations were thought up by a very young child, how does the absurdity of the goings-on compare with other animated series such as The Venture Bros. or Archer?

TV Details

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