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Aqua Teen Hunger Force

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Aqua Teen Hunger Force
File:AquateenHFlogo.jpg
The Aqua Teen Hunger Force logo
GenreAnimated series
Comedy
Created byMatt Maiellaro
Dave Willis
StarringDana Snyder
Carey Means
Dave Willis
Narrated bySchoolly D
Theme music composerSchoolly D
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes68 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersKeith Crofford
Mike Lazzo
ProducersMatt Maiellaro
Dave Willis
Running timeApprox. 11 minutes
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseDecember 30 2000 –
present

Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known as ATHF or simply Aqua Teens) is an American animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part of its Adult Swim late-night programming block. It premiered on December 30, 2000. ATHF is one of the four original Williams Street series that premiered on Adult Swim in 2000 (the others are Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law), and the longest running original series on the network alongside Harvey Birdman.[1]

The show is about three anthropomorphic fast food items and their life together in New Jersey. The Aqua Teens were originally a detective crime fighting unit; as the series progressed, however, the crime-solving aspect of the show was quickly abandoned. There is very little continuity between episodes; all recurring cast members except Frylock have died at least once. The focus is instead on character interaction and a pervasive form of sarcastic and surreal humor. Gross out, brutal, and morbid humor were added as the series progressed.

Overview

Aqua Teen Hunger Force is written and directed by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro, and produced by Williams Street Studios. Much of the dialogue is supplemented with adlibs and improvisation by the voice talent.[2] The show is retroscripted and animated to include this improvisation. Noted 1980s rapper Schoolly D performs the theme song and provided periodic running commentaries on early episodes. Many, if not all, of the crew and cast members formerly worked on Space Ghost Coast to Coast.[1] Four seasons have been produced to date and a fifth season of 15 episodes is expected to air in late 2007.[3]

Origins

The Aqua Teens were originally created for an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast called "Baffler Meal." It featured a prototypical version of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force that resembled the future characters, but differed in appearance, personality, and voice.[4] "Baffler Meal" did not air for several years (it was not even animated or produced until after ATHF became popular); instead, the Space Ghost episode was re-written as "Kentucky Nightmare," while the Aqua Teens debuted in "Rabbot," the pilot episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. A full first season of ATHF was put into production shortly thereafter.

Title

The title of the show is largely a misnomer: the characters have no major affiliation with water (though many episodes involve their neighbor's pool), and they are not teenagers per se, and have somewhat frequently issued conflicting statements regarding their ages. They resemble food (hence the reference to hunger), but they are rarely shown wielding any kind of force.

In early episodes (particularly the first season), the trio were identified by Master Shake as the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," solving crimes for money. Shortly into its run, the premise and the use of the name by the characters was dropped, although the premise was originally added to appease Cartoon Network network heads, who "didn't want to air a show about food just going around and doing random stuff."[5]. In the show itself Frylock mentions they stopped because "that wasn't making us a whole lot of money" [6].

Cold openings

File:ATHF cold open.png
The exterior art for Dr. Weird's lab was taken from "Escape to Questworld", an episode of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest[7]

During the first two seasons, episodes cold opened with a glimpse into the laboratory of Dr. Weird. He and his assistant Steve use the first several seconds of the show to create monsters, disasters, and random silliness, generally accompanied by the phrase "Gentlemen, behold!" as Dr. Weird unveils his latest accomplishment. In earlier episodes of the first season, the monsters formed the basis for the plot, but as the crime-fighting element of the program quickly became less prominent, the Dr. Weird segment became a non sequitur opening gag.

In the third season, Dr. Weird was dropped in favor of segments from the pilot episode of Spacecataz, an unaired spin-off created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro[8]. These segments featured the Mooninites (Ignignokt and Err) and the Plutonians (Emory and Oglethorpe) clashing with each other, trading insults, gestures, and practical jokes. The full Spacecataz pilot is available as a special feature on the Volume Four DVD box-set. Cold openings were dropped altogether following the third season.

Characters

Main characters

Character Description
File:Master Shake.png Master Shake

(Dana Snyder)

 Commonly "Shake," is a lazy, stingy, simple-minded, mean-spirited, sadistic, and self-centered milkshake in the form of a white cup with a pink straw and two yellow chicken gloves. He often gets enjoyment out of torturing Meatwad, swimming in Carl's pool, and watching TV. His special power is that he is able to shoot pistachio[9] milkshake onto the ground, suck liquids (up to 85 gallons) using his straw, and is very proficient with firearms and bows. In Season 4, we learn Shake seems to also have the ability to teleport himself. Also, most of the things Shake drops explode into flames whenever they touch the ground.
File:Frylock.png Frylock

(Carey Means)

 A floating red box of french fries sporting a goatee, dental braces, and a blue mystic jewel embedded in his back. He uses his fries to grip things and occasionally as a fry radar or 'Frydar.' Frylock is scientifically-minded and conducts experiments in his room, which contains his library, supercomputer (which Shake purchased, but avoided actually paying for), cloner, and various other lab equipment. He is the most intellectual of the ATHF characters, and also attempts to provide the others with some sense of morality. His jewel gives him various powers, such as flight, lasers, fireballs, and other things. He is often annoyed by Shake and acts as a parent to Meatwad.
File:Meatwad.png Meatwad

(Dave Willis)

 A mostly peaceful, childishly simple-minded mass of compressed meat that was not approved for human consumption. Meatwad rolls and hops to get from one place to another, often picking up whatever dirt or debris happens to be in his way. He has also displayed shapeshifting abilities, and can turn into a hot dog, an igloo, a "Samurai Lincoln", "a meat bridge" and a middle finger (among other things). He can also extend meaty appendages in order to manipulate objects. He is often the victim of Shake's abuse and practical jokes. He usually sleeps on a grill, but occasionally sleeps on a bed of sand. He is also known to make "dolls" out of household items, such as Dewey the paper towel roll, Vanessa the apple, Jeffy the garden hose, and Boxy Brown, a cardboard box decorated with the face of a generic blaxploitation protagonist. One episode reveals he is retarded.
File:Carl.png Carl Brutananadilewski

(Dave Willis)

 The next door neighbor of the Aqua Teens. Carl has a love for classic rock (as seen in episode featuring Ted Nugent), and has dozens of pornographic magazines in his room. He generally dislikes the Aqua Teens and is disgusted especially by Meatwad and annoyed by Shake, but still tolerates them even when they get on his nerves. He typically gets involved in scams concerning Meatwad or Shake, as in the moon master episode, and sometimes depends on Frylock for help. Carl has a false sense of pride in his decently cut lawn and pool, both of which are often used by the trespassing Aqua Teens. He is also visited by misfortune in almost every episode, but is rarely seen completely dead. He is usually seen suffering horribly, i.e. having bug eggs hatching in his stomach, or having his fingers chopped off.

Secondary characters

Character Description
File:Drweird.jpg Dr. Weird

(C. Martin Croker)

 A mad scientist who lives in an abandoned mental asylum on the perpetually rainy Jersey Shore. Dressed in a colorful outfit reminiscent of 1960s cartoon villains, replete with a glass space helmet that heats his hair(which Dr. Weird calls his "Hair-arium"), he starts many shows by presenting his latest creation with his catch phrase "Gentlemen, behold!" to his lone lab assistant Steve (and occasionally his Hispanic janitor Javier). His first nonsensical inventions shown include a giant rabbit robot called the "Rabbot" and a rainbow-making machine that functions as a powerful tractor beam (which he just called a "thing"). Although in early episodes Dr. Weird's inventions provided a point of focus for the episode, this ended midway through the first season, and after that point were simply comic non sequiturs. In Frylock's room, a photo of a younger Dr. Weird with brown hair and Frylock can be seen in the background; the Aqua Teen movie will reveal the connection between the two characters.
File:Aqua teen steve.jpg Steve

(C. Martin Croker)

 Dr. Weird's assistant. Red haired, wearing a lab coat, and always pictured holding a test tube, Steve becomes aware of Dr. Weird's insanity over the course of the first two seasons of the series, but remains his assistant nonetheless. Over the course of the series, Steve has had his brain removed, has been assaulted twice by animated corn, and has walked out on Dr. Weird's experiments numerous times. By the end of the second season, Steve actually resigns as Dr. Weird's assistant, and as the Dr. Weird openings are no longer used, this was the end of Steve's plot development.

Villains

Main article: List of Aqua Teen Hunger Force villains

Most episodes have an antagonist, in the form of a monster, alien, or even inanimate objects. Their interactions with the main characters serve as a basis for the comedy on the series.

See also: List of Aqua Teen Hunger Force minor characters

Episodes

Main article: List of Aqua Teen Hunger Force episodes

There have been 68 episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force produced over four seasons. All episodes run for about 11 minutes, with the exception of "Deleted Scenes", which is approximately 22 minutes. When reruns for "Deleted Scenes" are broadcast, it is split into two separate episodes to fit with its 15 minute timeslot. The TV Parental Guidelines for the first three seasons varied between TV-PG and TV-14 ratings; many season four episodes were rated TV-MA.

Movie Film for Theaters

Main article: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters

A feature film based on the show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters, is being released on April 13 2007. The movie will follow the origins of the Aqua Teens, which includes an exercise machine, Neil Peart of the band Rush, and a watermelon slice, and introduces a fourth Aqua Teen, a chicken nugget named "Chicken Bittle". The Plutonians and the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past, recurring characters, both make appearances in the movie, as well as the Mooninites and MC Pee Pants[10].

Boston bomb scare

Main article: 2007 Boston Mooninite Scare

On January 31 2007, devices depicting the Mooninites, Ignignokt and Err, were taken to be suspicious, prompting authorities in Boston, Massachusetts to close down major road and waterways to investigate. Turner Broadcasting System later admitted placing the devices in ten major cities (including Boston) as part of a guerrilla marketing campaign, and apologized for the misunderstanding. Turner Broadcasting has paid one million dollars to the Boston Police Department to cover the cost of their investigation and another million is good will funding. These actions were made to settle any criminal and civil claims, and the general manager of Cartoon Network has stepped down as a result of the incident.[11]

Music

The Aqua Teen Hunger Force theme song (for the opening credits) was written and performed by Schoolly D; it is said that he wrote this song in his limousine on the way to the recording studio to perform it. The theme song for the ending credits is just a sample of Dana Snyder aka Master Shake saying "Dancing is forbidden," which he said on the pilot episode; it can also be heard in the background during the opening theme music, and is sometimes closed captioned as "dancing is stupid" or "finger puppets".

The Mooninites have their own theme music which recurs on the closing credits of several episodes that feature them. Also performed by Schoolly D, each of the three individual verses is featured on the credits of three different episodes.

On The Mouse and The Mask in 2005, MF DOOM and Danger Mouse (collectively called DANGERDOOM) expanded on the theme of ATHF characters in the track "ATHF." Another track from the record, "Vats of Urine," features a cameo with the Mooninites and their normal, egotistical banter. A hidden track at the end of the CD contains Meatwad rapping a verse from MF DOOM's "Beef Rapp".

The rapper mc chris plays the voice of MC Pee Pants, Sir Loin, and Little Brittle, and wrote a few songs under these aliases for the show.

Video games

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am is a PlayStation 2 game published by Midway Games and will be released Q3 of 2007[12]. In an interview for The Feed on G4, ATHF creator Dave Willis confirmed that there is an Aqua Teen video game in production. The game will be an "extreme combat golf" where you can play golf while battling villains that have appeared on the show, including Carl's gigantic crabs, the Brownie Monsters and the Mooninites[13].

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Destruct-O-Thon is a mobile game released on December 7 2004 by Macrospace. The object was to hit an object from the show across a course resembling the street the Aqua Teens live on, hitting other objects along the way (such as hitting a stick of dynamite into Carl's car), creating momentum and choosing an angle using only the 5 key[14].

Cameos and appearances

The characters in ATHF have made cameo appearances in a number of other television shows, and the show itself has appeared on televisions within other shows as well.

  • At the end of the Sealab 2021 episode "Murphy Murph and the Feng Shui Bunch", it is revealed that the episode was actually a video game being played by Master Shake and Meatwad. A scene from "Rabbot" is also played on a television in the episode "Predator".
  • In the Minoriteam episode "Tremendous Class", Non-Stop is awakened twice by an alarm clock that looks and sounds like Master Shake.
  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force can be seen on televisions in the crime scenes of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episodes "Formalities" and "Spark of Life".
  • In the Thief episode "I Ain't Goin' to Jail for Anyone", a picture of Master Shake can be seen on a locker about 12 minutes into the episode.
  • A deleted scene in the film The Ring shows Aidan watching the episode "Rabbot".
  • Master Shake has appeared in the Robot Chicken episodes "Suck It" and "1987".
  • In "Brakstreet: Men in the Band", an episode of The Brak Show, Meatwad can be seen riding by on a scooter twice while Brak is walking down the road rapping.
  • Meatwad makes an appearance in a Dodge commercial, in which he is coughed up by a passenger in the vehicle who is choking, splatters against the windshield, and says "Sweet!"[16]
  • The Aqua Teens appear in a 1-800-Call-ATT commercial, in which Shake is wearing a red wig to make people think that he is Carrot Top, a spokesman for the service.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Welcome to Williams Street". Daily Vanguard. 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  2. ^ "Flak Magazine". Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Interview, September 22 2003. Retrieved 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "Aqua Teen Central". Reproduction of an image that appeared on the [adult swim] home page. Retrieved January 13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ DVD audio commentary for "Baffler Meal"
  5. ^ DVD audio commentary
  6. ^ Kidney Car
  7. ^ "IMDb Trivia for Aqua Teen Hunger Force". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  8. ^ DVD commentary; Volume Four (DVD).
  9. ^ Dangerdoom. "A.T.H.F. Lyrics". The Mouse and the Mask. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  10. ^ "Ain't It Cool News". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  11. ^ "Cartoon Network Head Resigns After Scare". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  12. ^ "Aqua Teen Hunger Force to PS2". IGN. 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  13. ^ "'Aqua Teen' Creator Dave Willis Tells All". Retrieved 2007-02-22.
  14. ^ "Gamespot review for Aqua Teen Hunger Force Destruct-O-Thon". Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  15. ^ "BWE 100: Everyone's Excited!". Retrieved 2007-03-01.
  16. ^ "Dodge commercial with Meatwad" (Flash). Aqua Teen Central. Retrieved 2007-03-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ "AT&T Aqua Teen" (Flash). Aqua Teen Central. Retrieved 2007-03-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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