Animation Appreciation Week 7: Chowder
for this week of animation appreciation i will not only focus on the animation of the show but also the character design, to coincide with the research I am doing for the media roles project.
Chowder was one one of those early 2000 TV shows that were unique and bold in the movements they made towards animation. The show was created by a former storyboard artist for SpongeBob SquarePants and The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy, C,H. Greenblatt. Chowder, under the mentorship of Mung Daal, dreams of becoming a great chef one day. He’s eager to please but Is easily distracted and it’s this attitude that leads to antics to ensue over the course o each episode.
As this week there is a focus on character design, it is important to learn the origins of Chowder. Greenblatt had been sketching out concepts for Chowder since his days on SpongeBob. These sketches were worked on until finalized. Chowder himself was developed with no specific species in mind but rather with the intentions of invoking the image of a child’s soft squeeze toy. This plays into Chowders playful and childish nature. Shnitzel was created originally as a personal character design exercise in the late 90′s and here’s what Greenblatt has said about it:
“I was even going to try and animate him in flash, so I did alternate pieces of him. Back then he was called “Tapiocaca.” He was supposed to be sort of like a big rock tiki monster that was always on fire. I even made a cool logo for him. Well I didn’t really do anything with him after that, but I still liked the design. So when I was forming the world of Chowder, he seemed like a good fit. I like to think of him as a living menhir from the Asterix comics”
Chowder had a slow start (being delayed to air 4 times) but it can be said that it was worth the wait.
One of the things that makes Chowder unique is that at the end of every episode there is a 30- second puppet sequence that runs over the end credits. I remember that these were always fun to watch but at first they catch you a bit off guard because a 3D sequence is a bit jarring (in a good way) when you’ve been looking at 2D forms for about 15 minutes. It’s interesting to see the media shift as it doesn’t really change the show but adds a new layer to it.
Another unique factor of Chowder lays with the design features on the characters ‘ clothing. The patterns are developed as a full screen image and then sent to a production house where the characters are modified to fill the patterns in over the character clothing . Using this technique, when the character moves, their patterns do not follow but display a “static” background.
It makes for a really enchanting display and really does make Chowder stand out as a cartoon from a time where mixed media animation was prevalent.
Pictured are the characters Shnitzel, Mung Daal, Chowder and Truffles.
Shnitzel is a rock monster who is the straight laced character that often gets frustrated by and feels the brunt of Chowders antics.
Mung Daal is the pridefull professional chef that has apparently been cooking for 386 years. He is married to Truffles but fancies himself a ladies man and feels it’s his mustache which makes him a proper chef.
Chowder is the 9-11 year old child who acts as an apprentice to Mung and lives with him and Truffles. Chowder wants to become a great chef but he often gives into the impulse of eating the customer’s order. According to his creator, Chowder is a mix of a cat, a bear and a rabbit.
Truffles handles the business side of things.she is a mushroom pixie and, like Mung she is quite old and is usually the practical one and the only one with common sense. But she has a foul temper which is easily lost with her husband and is the source of fear for other characters.
