If you're lookin' at Cartoon Network's schedule, then you're seein' KND SEASON FOUR dominating the week in the 4:00-5:00pm slot! And what kind of things went down in season four?
TOOBATHON! THE MACARONI MUSEUM OF ART! A CHICKEN NUGGET GOLD RUSH! THE NEGAVERSE! TIE HUNTERS! RAINBOW MONKEYS IN SPACE! BULLY FIGHTING!
And we definitely met some fun new characters:
NUMBUH 13! ERNEST! NICK AND CHIP! ROBIN FOOD AND HIS HUNGRY MEN! MOOSK! MAURICE!
So how about I tell you some anecdotes about these episodes?
Operation: POOL - There were a bunch of cliche episode ideas I swore on The Book of KND I would never, ever, ever (forever ever?) do. Like an evil twin episode. Yet here's the evil twin episode. And it turned out to be a HUGE fan favorite... so goes to show you what I know.
Operation: NUGGET - Mr. Willems spent an unfair and inordinate amount of time throwing story ideas at me... and then throwing bricks when I said no to most of them. But when he came storming into my office and said, 'Chicken nuggets are gold nuggets' I screamed like a little girl. A pitch perfect KND premise that practically wrote itself.
BONUS: In case you were wondering what Lizzie's nugget song sounded like in Spanish--- WISH GRANTED!
Operation: CAKED FOUR - This is another of those episodes that just WORKED from start to finish. The idea that a technological genius like Numbuh Two refuses to use technology in the race, even though it's perfectly legal, made for a great story. I still chuckle at the idea of 'Farfigtoobin'.
Operation: SITTER -- I still love this line:
Cree (taking a taste): What kind of fondue is this? Numbuh Two (purring): Well, I couldn't decide between cheese or chocolate. So I went with hamburger, taffy and orange soda. Cree: (spit take)
Operation: MAURICE - This episode was partly intended as a good-bye to Mr. Willems (Mo being short for Maurice), who's first picture books came out blazing and allowed him the perfect escape from my tyrannical clutches. The idea of a great KND operative willingly being decommissioned and moving on to the next phase of his life seemed dead on with the achey-breaky loss of our 4 season head writer!
Operation: SATURN -- One of the handful of episodes to use computer animation up to this point-- the others being the Numbuh One sequence in REPORT and the opening of ARCHIVE. But this was the first one to composite our 2-D animation with 3-D elements. I was afraid of asking our overseas studio, Rough Draft, to animate billions of orbiting Rainbow Monkeys... but the Curious Pictures CG team rose to the challenge.
Operation: SNOWING - This one actually came from a dream I had where Imperial Walker-like school busses were abducting kids to drag them to school on a snow day... that's why I try to keep a notebook by my bed. You never know when an idea is going to pop into your head.
Operation: LOVE - Well, first... Mo's song writing was phenomenal and funny. Then composer Steve Rucker knocked it OUT OF THE PARK by writing uber-catchy music that got stuck in our heads. Then storyboard artist Matt Peters posed it out like he was on Broadway. And finally, with a devastatingly beautiful touch, timing director Karen Villareal choreographed it to the beat. See if I'm wrong:
When I first moved to LA, Mr. Willems was forever telling me I should look up Dan Santat. But I know better than to trust Mo. Knowing him, there probably was no 'Dan Santat'... or the phone number he gave me was for "Weenies Anonymous".
So imagine my surprise when I ran into the guy at a local book event! Not only was he REAL... he was REAL COOL! He looked like this:
Did you know he made that Disney show, The Replacements?
So this afternoon Mr. Jerry Beck (of the Cartoon Brew Beck's) mentioned on Facebook that tonight he'd be interviewing Wes Anderson at the ASIFA Hollywood screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox. And I thought--
Hey wait... I'm an ASIFA HOLLYWOOD member!
I hadn't heard about this screening, so I RSVP'd sooper triple stat! (thanks for including all the info, Jerry!)
I mean... Wes Anderson? Live? In person? Talking about his film? And available for questions?
DOCTOR WARBURTON IS IN!
I still hadn't even seen the film yet. I DID receive a screener, but I hadn't had a chance to watch it. To be honest, I was kinda hoping for one of these ASIFA screenings.
AND HERE IT WAS!
But get this... Not only was Wes Anderson there... So was Jason Schwartzman... who played Mr. Fox's son Ash. and Wally Walodarsky... who played Kylie the Possum.
Here's a picture of them all:
I, like, SO hate the camera on my phone.
Anyway, here's some insteresting stuff from the Q and A after the film, paraphrased and way less clever than it actually was. I forgot a pen so I couldn't take notes this time around. Regardless:
• All the voices were recorded 'on location'. That is, they were never inside a studio, with each individual actor recording their lines separately. They were all together, outside, digging in the dirt, improvising together and such.
• When asked why the humans have English accents but the animals don't, Mr. Anderson replied, "It's a story set in England. But when I was thinking about making the film I thought George Clooney would be great for the fox's voice. Although, I don't think American sounding animals and English accented humans is out of the realm of possibility."
• Since Mr. Anderson was working in France, he did most of his work on the film remotely. He could see through the camera of each set (in London) and discuss with the animators what he wanted. He reckons that he was actually on set for only about 20% of the actual shooting
• Asked about his writing process, Mr. Anderson said that his ideal is to be writing with friends. He tries to get into the time and place of the writing... traveling by train in India for the Darjeeling Limited, writing in Roald Dahl's actual house for Fox, etc.
• Speaking of which, the ending of the film was NOT in the book as published. They found it in Mr. Dahl's manuscripts written on a pad of paper, complete with what felt like 'animator's notes'.
• Jason Schwartzman asked Wes (for a friend) whether they remastered the Rolling Stones song STREET FIGHTING MAN because it sounded so good. He claimed that they just played it very loud, although they might have used a newer, remastered version.
Have I mentioned that I love ASIFA Hollywood for putting these screenings on?
But my big question is...
Why are there only one or two people I know at these events? I'd like to think the animation community would turn up in droves to hear the likes of Wes Anderson, Pete Docter, and Henry Selick. Granted, I don't KNOW much of the community out here since it's waaaaaay bigger than in NYC, and broken into sooooo many branches--- feature, prime time, cable, international, games, etc etc. I only really know folks from the cable TV scene.
The Codename: Kids Next Door episodes continue to thunder down the tracks of Cartoon Network this week!
With four episodes running a day (from 4:00pm to 5:00), we're blitzing through the seasons, aren't we? This week we're rockin' the rest of season three with just a smattering of season four to whet yer whistle for next week. It took us YEARS to get through these when they first aired... so all you newcomers should consider yourself sooper triple lucky (or late).
So what do this week's episodes bring?
CHAD WEARS A BRA! VAMPIRE KND! A KING KONG-SIZED RAINBOW MONKEY! NERD ZOMBIES! BRADLEY BECOMES A CYBORG! HOMEWORK EATING WEREWOLVES! THE TOILETERMINATOR!
And that's not all... new characters aboundedededed:
THE CANDY OBSESSED HEINRICH VON MARZIPAN! A TON OF NEW KND OPERATIVES! NUMBUH THREE'S PARENTS! NURSE CLAIBORNE! VALERIE!
So before you watch this week's eps... let me fill you in on some semi-useless trivia:
Operation: ARCHIVE - After seeing the SECOND RENAISSANCE in the ANIMATRIX I was blown away by Mahiro Maeda's story. I was just... WOW! It's really an incredibly cool, brilliantly imagined and terrifying piece of work.
So why not make it into a kids film?!
If man made machine and then machines rebelled... why not flip it to adults making kids and then kids rebelling? That's what KND is all about, right?
I think this is one of the episodes I'm most proud of... but I'm not really allowed to be too proud since it's basically a shot for shot rip off (um... borrowing?) of The Second Renaissance. Basically I get two reactions to this episode. It's either people who appreciate the homage... or those who've never seen the original and then look disappointed when I tell them I can't take credit for it. Regardless... the joke about the adult city being called Cleveland gets a laugh EVERY time.
OPERATION: PINK EYE - In my office we had a wall where we'd write loose story nuggets... things like Peanut Butter and Jelly, Mumps, Children of the Corn Dogs, etc. We called it 'Purgastory' and a couple times a week Mo and I would grab a couple of those ideas, go to lunch, and try to 'break' them. This was one of my favorite exchanges:
Me: Okay, what can we do with pink eye? Mo: Well, why would adults want to give kids pink eye? Me: Um... To harvest the crust? But what would they be harvesting it FOR?! Mo: Topping for apple cobbler! Me and Mo: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!
Right then and there we knew we had a story. But my wife thought this episode was so gross she punched me.
Operation: PRESIDENT - Allegedly the very first show on Cartoon Network to be allowed to use the word FART. Now THAT'S something to write home about!
Operation: RABBIT - I swear that I had NEVER seen Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when I wrote this one. Totally swear... just... not under oath or nothin'. Okay? As usual, storyboard overlord Guy Moore goes above and beyond the call of awesomeness on this one.
Operation: FLUSH - We really wanted to give the hapless Toiletnator an episode to win a battle. We also just wanted another excuse to have Maurice Fontenot draw him.
Operation: FOODFIGHT - Heavy metal mayhem! I wanted to do this episode in season two, but the band I asked to borrow the music from couldn't find the masters... so they eventually decided to actually RE-RECORD the songs just for us! The voice record almost killed Gramma Stuffum actress Grey Delisle (I sent her flowers) and the almost 500 page storyboard almost caused the normally unkillable storyboard artist Kim Arndt to kill me (I bought her a sushi dinner).
Operation: CLUES - Brilliant (and hysterical) film noiry writing by Mo and hysterical (and brilliant) storyboarding my Matt Peters. I think the decision to hire a live action 300lb Samoan guy to play a little cartoon Asian girl was possibly one of the most genius things we ever did.
And that's it for this week! Hope you enjoy watching this batch! For details check the schedule over HERE!
Aw man, what kind of kissyface mess has Numbuh Four gotten himself into this month?!
And who's gonna save him?!
You can find out in the latest issue of Cartoon Network Action Pack #45
And while this is the LATEST issue, it looks like this will also be the LASTEST for the Kids Next Door!
Yup... you read that right. We're all done making sooper exciting new adventures for the KND in the pages of Action Pack. We had a BLAST doing them but it's time to make room for some of the new shows!
I'm not sure how many stories we wrote, pencilled, inked, colored and lettered, but it was A SOOPER LOT. We started in the pages of Cartoon Cartoons, which later became Cartoon Network Block Party, and then moved over when they created Action Pack. (click them links to see all the covers!)
And while hyper-powered penciller Maurice Fontenot and Indestructible Inker Rob 'The Iguana' Smith pretty much did the heavy lifting for most of the series, let's not forget that Kim Arndt and Matt Peters rocked the pencils as well.
Big thanks to the letterers and colorists who helped out, too-- but sooper big ups to colorist Candy Bell who always went above and beyond the call of coloriffickness.
Also, thanks to the folks at DC COMICS for helping out; Joan Hilty, Harvey Richards, Rachel Gluckstern, Sean Ryan... and especially Elizabeth Gehrlein who had a special love for the KND I'll always be thankful for.
Codename: Kids Next Door is still enjoying its triumphant comeback on Cartoon Network and is soldiering it's way through the episodes in the exact order they aired!
So this week (after the Johnny Test Marathon all day Monday) you can check out the end of KND SEASON TWO and start rocking out to SEASON THREE.
And there's some GREAT action-packed stuff at the end of season two:
The Interesting Twins From Beneath The Mountain! King Sandy! Lenny separates from the Delightful Children! The Kid! And... And... OMG I can barely even write it...
Numbuh 274... the Supreme Commander of the KND... guh...
I need a moment here...
N-N-Numbuh 274 BETRAYS THE KND!
Oh, how that hurt...
But then SEASON THREE?!
That's where things really started to get out of hand:
THE BOYS NEXT DOOR! THE SIX GUM GANG! LIZZIE TAKES OVER THE KND! GREAT WHITE ASPARAGUS! NUMBUH ONE'S BIG BUTT!
And now, if I may, I'd like to spew some anecdotes about this week's episodes:
Operation: UTOPIA -- When Head Writing Hierophant Mo Willems pitched this story, I completely and utterly pooped my pants when he got to the part where Numbuh One realizes that the Utopian island is a fake because Numbuh Four is swimming. An absolutely BRILLIANT reveal that called back to older episodes.
Operation: TRAINING - The first (and only) episode without any of the five core KND in it!
Operation: ROBBERS - Sooper powered storyboard artist Matt Peters claims that "If Numbuh Four gets any stupider after this episode I'll be drawing him as a drooling mess in the corner of each panel."
Operation: FOUNTAIN -- I was writing this episode at my secret hideout in the mountains when this came up:
"Okay!" shouts an incensed and exhausted Numbuh Four, "Someone explain to me again WHY we are risking our lives to help Leaky Leona?" An exasperated Numbuh Three insists, "Because she’s got pretty hair, silly!" But that isn’t enough for Numbuh Four. "C’mon! We barely even KNOW this girl!" he shouts, "What’d she ever do for us anyway?" Numbuh Five, finally fed up with Numbuh Four, grabs him by the shirt and coolly tells him, "Because the one time Numbuh Five DIDN’T help someone who was kidnapped by The Delightful Children they did something that she can’t ever forgive." She shoves Numbuh Four away and starts down the darkened hallway. Numbuh Four is nonplussed, "What? What’d they do?!?" he shrugs. "They made me bald," growls Numbuh One as he follows Numbuh Five into the darkness. Numbuh Four stares wide eyed for a beat, realizing what’s just been said. "No way!" he gasps in awe before scampering after his teammates. Fade out.
Before that afternoon I didn't know why Nigel Uno was bald. So when that beat came to me I literally jumped out of my chair and thrust my arms in the air and shouted "YESSSSSSS!"-- which became a term I still use when someone comes up with a 'eureka moment'-- the 'jump out of your chair' thing.
Operation: DOGFIGHT - Supreme storyboard artist Guy Moore made it his personal mission to blow up EVERY KND ship that had ever been designed up to that point. Not every explosion made it into the episode, but he had fun doing it.
Operation: END - I originally pitched this to Cartoon Network as a full length movie but the powers that be thought the show wasn't ready for a movie yet. A couple months later, the consumer products people asked why we didn't have a movie in the pipeline. Sigh...
And one last tidbit... at the end of season two, Chris McCullough, aka Jackson Publick, aka creator of The Venture Brothers was hired to go through our storyboards and punch up the jokes. So pretty much anything you laughed out loud at in most of these episodes? He wrote that.
And there ya go! Hope you love watching these adventures as much as we loved making them!
Yup... as per the Cartoon Network schedule over HERE, they'll be airing a big chunk of KND season two this week!
And what a season it is:
Symbiotic Moustaches! The Fourth Flavor! Battle Ready Armor! Cheese Ninjas! Dueling Tubas! Undead Hamsters! Kid's Meals made with real Kids!
It's a wonder the KND survived such villainy!
And speaking of villains... this is the season we met The Crazy Old Cat Lady, Mr. Fizz, King Sandy and Numbuh Five's traitor sister Cree!
We also got to meet more of the KND organization-- like the boy hating Numbuh 86 and future Supreme Commander Numbuh 362!
So just for fun... here are some tidbits from the episodes that air this week:
Operation: POP - Ultra powered Head Writer of Wrongs Mo Willems and I formulate the theory that KND stories need an 'evil' and a 'sooper evil' . In this one the evil is 'adults raising the drinking age of soda to 13' and the sooper evil is '...but they're actually BOTTLING kids until they're 13'.
Operation: SUPPORT - I thought it would be cool to name Numbuh Five's older sister after the actress that played Numbuh Five but wasn't sure she'd approve. So during a recording session I asked Cree Summer if it was cool and she let out an ear piercing scream that absolutely meant YES.
OPERATION: MOVIE - To fill out the crowd of villains in the theatre, the character designers made villains out of almost all the KND crew. Someone listed a couple of them HERE.
Operation: GHOST - The original story was deemed TOO SCARY by Cartoon Network and had to be toned down a bit.
Operation: FLAVOR - The mysterious Fourth Flavor was almost licensed to an ice cream company! There was going to be a contest where kids could write in to say what they think it tasted like. Sadly, it never happened.
Operation: FUGITIVE - Many people thought the design of Numbuh 86 looked just like CN exec Linda Simensky. I tried explaining to them that 86 was Irish and had flaming red hair-- two things that Linda had not, but they still insisted I change the design... especially because 86 was such a nasty character. Linda happened to be stopping by the studio that day so I showed her the design and asked her who it looked like. "ME," she said. When I explained to her that the character was kind of a b*tch... she ordered me to leave it as is.
And there ya go!
Hope you enjoy the shows this week... hopefully there'll be more next week!
While everyone at Cartoon Network was out stuffing themselves with holiday cookies the Kids Next Door staged a daring attack on the CN programming department! Their mission?
TO PUT KND BACK ON THE AIR 28 HOURS A DAY, 11 DAYS A WEEK!
And while they weren't quite able to figure out how to do that, they WERE able to get the show back on weekdays from 4:00 to 5:00pm.
See?
I have no idea how long before CN figures out what they've done and replaces the show with re-runs of Masterpiece Theatre so watch now while you can!
A reeeeeeeeeeeeally nice way to start off the new year is with a reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally nice review of 1000 TIMES NO by the ladies over at Three Silly Chicks.
They do some fun-style reviewin' and I was hoping that they'd like 'NO' and choose to say something about it. So imagine me jumpin' up and down when I was this:
"What do we love about it? Well, let us begin by saying that NO is one of our favorite words. (Others include--but are not limited to: Guacamole, salsa, bedtime, pudding, and Clive Owen (Yes, we know that Clive Owen is two words, but they are so utterly delicious together we count them as one.) Anywhoooo, we love to say NO. And this book teaches us lots of clever new ways to do so! Our favorites include morse code, sky writing, crossword puzzle, and Inuit. 1000 Times No is innovative and downright funny."
Which makes me wonder if my next book should be called 1000 TIMES CLIVE OWEN...
If you're so inclined head on over and read the rest of the review right HERE!
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