Cartoonito Wideload Vacay
2021
Cartoon Network wanted something that would stand out in the crowded kid’s TV show space. So we pitched a scene with a 60ft Metal Demon Lord and another where the main character gets covered in poo. We expected a lot of pushback, but Cartoon Network loved it. Then they asked for “more poo.”
Take this job and love it.
Job #1 was to make the kids laugh. Secondary jobs included sneaking in some educational elements (“The Four C’s!”) and making it entertaining for adults as well.
We use the term “soup to nuts” here more than we should, but it was that kind of job. Concept development, writing, show production, VO talent, editing, you name it — we did it.
A crazy sprint later, we were delivering these three, unique :60 second episodes for them.
As far back as the pitch, we were aligned on the compositional idea to have the house truck anchored to the center of the screen as the world passes by. We felt that 2D was the best medium for this effect.
And we wanted to differentiate these from our Beepers work, another Cartoonito project that was going on at the same time.
Ideas would come quickly at first — from a sweaty jog to a brainstorm session. But then turning that into functional and funny dialogue proved to be a really challenging (and fun!) endeavor.
Our early character and animation tests really shaped our writing and vocal performances. We learned a lot through trial and error. Ultimately, getting on endless vocal sessions via Google Meet allowed us to test out our lines, see what worked and what didn’t, and improv the rest.
Our very own Jess Pierik took on the role of Charlie the Happy House for the scratch voiceover. The client loved it so much they asked she stay on for the real thing. Talented, that one.
Some initial design exploration looking at how these guys could move.
The combination of: audience (kids and adults), format (three 60-second episodes), timeline (4-6 weeks per episode), VO talent process (bi-costal remote recording sessions) combined to form an exciting* and delicious stew.
*mildly terrifying
The client was fantastic — a dream collaboration. They really trusted us to go wild with the style and the writing so long as the story worked and we were hitting our marks. Super clear notes like “make sure the poop ‘reads’ when it lands on his head” are always appreciated.
BUCK
Executive Creative Director
Ben Langsfeld
Group Creative Director
Thomas Schmid
Executive Producer
Jay Brooker
Jeff Ellermeyer
Joe Nash
Kirsten Collabolletta
Nick Carmen
Creative Director
Sean McClintock
Producer
Andre Araujo
Billy Mack
Art Director
Max Vogel
Animation Director
Chad Colby
2D Animation Lead
Johan Eriksson
Storyboard
Chad Colby
Junyi Xiao
Sean McClintock
Thomas Schmid
Tinghe Yang
Trystin Pease
Tucker Klein
Design
Ben Nichols
Johan Eriksson
Jose Flores
Justin Cassano
Kenni Huang
Kyle Strope
Sean McClintock
Yker Moreno
2D Animation
"Andy's Archipelago" by John Dalton Harts
Dan Cantelm
Diego Abad
Esteban Esquivo
Fabien Rousseau
Gilles Desmadrille
Lisa Kim
Matty Deans
Nick Petley
Paola Chen
Sean Merk
Timo Prousalis
Zackary Miller
Cel Animation
Tinghe Yang
Editor
Cameron Kelly
Dave Conte
Peter Brandi
Client
Producer
Heather Laird
Sound
Music Studio
Antfood
Composer
Alexander Taub
Spencer Casey
Wilson Brown
Sound Designer
Matthew Ryals
Spencer Casey
Yuta Endo
Creative Director
Wilson Brown
Audio Mix
Antfood