Robot Chicken
| Robot Chicken | |
|---|---|
 Opening Credits </small> | |
| Genre | Stop-motion animation |
| Running time | 11 minutes approx. |
| Creator(s) | Seth Green Matthew Senreich |
| Starring | Seth Green Seth MacFarlane Dan Milano |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network (US) Bravo (UK) Teletoon (Canada) |
| Original run | February 20, 2005–present |
| No. of episodes | 40 (plus 1 special) |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created by Stoop!d Monkey and Sony Pictures Digital, currently airing in America as a part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim line-up, in Britain as part of the Bravo's Adult Swim line-up, and in Canada on Teletoon's Detour nightly adult programming. It premiered on Sunday, February 20 2005. Seth Green and Matthew Senreich are the creators and executive producers of the show. They are also on the writing team, provide the majority of voices, and have even directed a few episodes.
Robot Chicken is a variety show that parodies a number of pop culture conventions using stop motion animation of toys, action figures, dolls, and claymation and various other objects, such as tongue depressers. The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a Chinese restaurant where Green and Senreich had dined.
According to Adult Swim's website, Robot Chicken has been renewed for a 20 episode third season which will begin airing Spring 2007.
Contents |
Show opening
The frame story, seen during the show's opening credits, recounts the life of the eponymous Robot Chicken. It was a regular chicken who was run over by a car (presumably while crossing the road) and was brought back to life in cyborg form. Its 'creator' is a mad scientist named Fritz Huhnmorder ("Huhnmörder" is German for "chicken murderer") who resembles the "unmasked" Dr. Claw figure from the Inspector Gadget toy line, though this is just because both are somewhat stereotypical mad scientists in appearance. He forces Robot Chicken to watch a random selection of television shows as an act of 'torture' in parody of A Clockwork Orange, also similar to the series Mystery Science Theater 3000. The main focus of the show is the "TV shows" Robot Chicken watches; the chicken story is not relevant to the sketches.
The shows theme song was composed and performed by Les Claypool of Primus, and he sings the song's only lyrics, "It's alive!", in typical Frankenstein fashion. The ending theme of the show is a portion of the infamous Muzak named "The Gonk" (famously used in George A. Romero's 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead) clucked by a chorus of chickens.
TV Rating
Most of the Robot Chicken episodes are rated TV-MA, however some shows are TV-14.
Key elements
The show was inspired by the comedy antics of Twisted Mego Theatre (now called Twisted ToyFare Theater), which appears monthly in Toyfare Magazine, published by Gareb Shamus' Wizard Entertainment. The segment "The Aussie Hunter" on FOX's MADtv is an early work of the group. Matthew Senreich worked in various capacities with Wizard Entertainment prior to working on the show. Some of the first shorts were originally on the now-defunct Sony ScreenBlast website under the name "Sweet J Presents"; this website also hosted the animated Lenore shorts.
A number of celebrities have done voice acting for the series (often portraying themselves), including the entire casts of That 70's Show, Family Guy and the Scooby-Doo films, as well as "Weird Al" Yankovic, Jon Heder, Ryan Seacrest, members of 'N Sync, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mark Hamill, Scarlett Johansson, Macaulay Culkin, Hugh Hefner, Don Knotts, Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Rachael Leigh Cook, Hulk Hogan, Bruce Campbell, Phyllis Diller, Conan O'Brien, Breckin Meyer, Alfonso Ribeiro, Bea Arthur, Betty White, Amy Smart, Melissa Joan Hart, Ginnifer Goodwin, Charlize Theron, and Pat Morita. Many of these are people that Seth Green has worked with in the past on other projects or that he knows personally.
Robot Chicken often uses extremely outrageous and twisted humor, much like South Park. However, instead of political issues, the show instead mocks pop culture, referencing toys, films, television, and popular fads. One particular motif often involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (for example, Stretch Armstrong having to have a corn syrup transplant).
Co-head Writers
- Doug Goldstein
- Tom Root
Writers
- Hugh Davidson
- Jordan Allen-Dutton
- Mike Fasolo
- Seth Green
- Charles Horn
- Breckin Meyer
- Dan Milano
- Pat McCallum
- Matthew Senreich
- Erik Weiner
Episode Guide
DVD releases
| Cover | Title | Release date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | "Season One" | March 28, 2006 | 1–20 |
This two disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 1 in production order. While it contains deleted and uncensored scenes and the several of the original Sony Screenblast webtoons, the episodes are not all uncut. One particular segment that featured the Teen Titans meeting Beavis and Butt-head was omitted from the DVD due to legal problems. Seth Green stated at Comic-Con 2006 that the legal problems have been resolved and segment will be included when Season 2 is released to DVD. Also omitted was the song used in the Voltron sketch, it is replaced by a totally different song, also produced in-house at Robot Chicken. | |||
Trivia
- Several of the sketches seem to take place in or around New Jersey. Various locations are references to actual places such as the highway scenes which feature I-78 "Clinton" which is an actual sign on the 78 Interstate in New Jersey when travelling westbound.
- One recurring theme is the "Hilarious Bloopers" guy, who parodies the Bob Saget era of America's Funniest Home Videos. Whenever he is featured, he commits suicide at the end of his skit using various household methods, apart from in the Robot Chicken Telethon segment, where Matthew Senreich shoots him with a shotgun.
- Robot Chicken was not the first name suggested. Rejected names include "The Deep End", "Junk in the Trunk", "ADD TV", "Gold Dust Gasoline", "Toyz in the Attic", "Nightmare Generator", "Plastic Buffet", and "The Sack". Many of these names have now been used as episode titles.
- "Weird Al" Yankovic created the music video for Weasel Stomping Day, a song from his Straight Outta Lynnwood album, with the help of Robot Chicken. The video appeared on Robot Chicken several days before the album's release.
External links
- ADD TV: The Robot Chicken Wiki
- Adult Swim
- AdultSwim.co.uk - Broadband VOD website for Adult Swim UK
Categories
Robot Chicken | 2000s TV shows in the United States | Animated television series | Parodies | Shows on Adult Swim | Stop motion | Teletoon shows